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While research into possible post-secondary schools can be daunting, this guide will aid your search by providing information about the high-performing colleges in Rhode Island.
This guide lists the 10 best colleges in Rhode Island, filled with essential contextual data from each school such as tuition fees, cost of living, and financial support available. Each profile also details things like degree offerings, online learning options, and services for the students. You will get insight into the application process as well.
If you are interested in a school, don’t hesitate to contact admissions specialists at the university. The counselors can help you find scholarships and navigate enrollment.
1. Brown University (Providence, Rhode Island)
- Tuition fee: $58,404
- Book & supplies: $1,632
- Living cost: $15,332 (on campus)
- Financial aid (average amount of aid received): $48,433 (grant or scholarship aid), $4,923 (pell grants), $5,579 (federal student loans)
Brown University was founded in 1764 and is the seventh-oldest post-secondary school in the USA. Brown, a private educational university of the Ivy League, offers 80 concentrations of undergraduates and 84 degree programs.
Freshmen candidates undergo a stringent process of admission, including official transcripts, three letters of recommendation and ACT/SAT ratings. The university recommends that candidates be given results from two SAT subject tests as well.
Via the Brown Pledge, all students receive a generous financial aid package that includes grants and work-study incentives covering 100% of their demonstrated need.
2. Bryant University (Bryant University)
- Tuition fee: $45,395
- Book & supplies: $1,400
- Living cost: $15,705 (on campus), $10,000 (off campus)
- Financial aid (average amount of aid received): $20,829 (grant or scholarship aid), $4,357 (pell grants), $6,483 (federal student loans)
Bryant University is based in Smithfield. The university focuses on offering accessible and student-centered academics.
The undergraduate catalog of the school contains the bachelor’s degrees in social entrepreneurship, global supply chain management, studies in Africana and Black, and legal studies. Learners may also participate in a marketing analytics program which will teach them to analyze business, product, and customer data to improve decision-making and creativity in organizations. Bryant expects all business majors to complete at least one minor Liberal arts to help students diversify their studies.
Graduate programs include master’s programs in communication, professional accounting, and assisting physicians. The university also offers a master’s degree in business administration on campus that students can receive in one or two years. Alternatively, applicants for MBA may obtain their qualifications entirely online via a professional track featuring five start dates per year.
3. Community College of Rhode Island (Warwick, Rhode Island)
- Tuition fee: $4,700 (in-state), $12,544 (out-of-state)
- Book & supplies: $1,200
- Living cost: $9,573 (on campus), $4,633 (off campus)
- Financial aid (average amount of aid received): $3,928 (grant or scholarship aid), $3,555 (pell grants), $5,266 (federal student loans)
The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) is a Rhode Island public-private college. This is the state’s only community college and New England’s largest community college. The main facility of the college is situated in Warwick, with additional state-wide college facilities.
The college offers the following degrees:
- Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.)
- Associate in Applied Science in Technical Studies (A.A.S.-T.S.)
- Associate in Arts (A.A.)
- Associate in Fine Arts (A.F.A.)
- Associate in Science (A.S.)
Several one-year certificates are also awarded.
4. Paul Mitchell the School – Rhode Island (Cranston, Rhode Island)
- Tuition fee: $16,386
- Book & supplies: $2,283
- Living cost: $10,241 (off campus)
- Financial aid (average amount of aid received): $4,906 (grant or scholarship aid), $4,955 (pell grants), $7,086 (federal student loans)
Paul Mithcell the School – Rhode Island prides itself on its welcoming culture, inclusive environment, and its commitment to bringing out the best in all of the students – whether they dream of becoming a cosmetologist, instructor, or other beauty professional.
The school knows that students will succeed when theey feel supported, so its learning leaders do everything they can to help students prepare to pass the state board examination and launch their career in the beauty industry.
5. Providence College (Providence, Rhode Island)
- Tuition fee: $52,438
- Book & supplies: $1,100
- Living cost: $15,140 (on campus), $12,200 (off campus)
- Financial aid (average amount of aid received): $29,641 (grant or scholarship aid), $4,738 (pell grants), $6,542 (federal student loans)
Providence College, a private, liberal arts institution, serves more than 4,800 students annually. PC offers a variety of financial assistance opportunities including the Roddy Scholarship for medical professional candidates.
Students chose from 48 degree majors and 14 degree programs. Bachelor’s options include business innovation, management and health policy, Latin American studies, and movies. PC also provides a rigorous optometry program that helps new students to receive an optometry doctorate in seven years.
The programs at the doctoral level include areas such as urban education, religious studies and school counseling. A master of business administration, with options for part-time and full-time enrollment as well as a dual-degree track and a cohort accounting program, may also be pursued by learners.
The school uses a comprehensive selection framework for candidates that takes into account academic success (including curricular rigor), standardized test results, and leadership-centered extracurricular accomplishments. Transfer students need a minimum GPA of 3.0.
6. Rhode Island College (Providence, Rhode Island)
- Tuition fee: $9,578 (in-state), $23,043 (out-of-state)
- Book & supplies: $1,200
- Living cost: $12,394 (on campus), $13,160 (off campus)
- Financial aid (average amount of aid received): $5,957 (grant or scholarship aid), $4,234 (pell grants), $6,072 (federal student loans)
Rhode Island College (RIC), in Providence, Rhode Island, is a public institution. Founded in 1854, after Brown University, it is the second-oldest colleges in Rhode Island. The college is situated on a 180 acre campus and has a 9,000 student body: 7,518 undergraduates and 1,482 graduate students.
Academic programs at Rhode Island College are divided into five colleges:
- Faculty of Arts and Sciences
- Feinstein School of Education and Human Development
- School of Management
- School of Nursing, and
- School of Social Work
These schools offer more than 90 undergraduate and 30 graduate programs for students.
7. Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) (Providence, Rhode Island)
- Tuition fee: $52,860
- Book & supplies: $2,700
- Living cost: $13,720 (on campus), $13,720 (off campus)
- Financial aid (average amount of aid received): $26,278 (grant or scholarship aid), $4,609 (pell grants), $5,954 (federal student loans)
Rhode Island School of Design was founded in 1877, and is a private institution. It is a four year private school in Providence. It was named as a design school when the institution was founded during the Industrial Revolution to reflect its significance to economic growth in a region where textile and jewelry manufacturing industries were flourishing.
RISD is still considered an art school even though design majors are offered. RISD offers approximately 20 bachelor’s and master’s degrees, with the most common major being fine arts. The school is home to one of the top-ranked fine arts master’s programs which can include a range of specializations such as photography, sculpture, metals/jewelry, graphic design, glassware, and more.
8. Roger Williams University (Bristol, Rhode Island)
- Tuition fee: $36,978
- Book & supplies: $900
- Living cost: $15,390 (on campus), $10,300 (off campus)
- Financial aid (average amount of aid received): $15,561 (grant or scholarship aid), $4,479 (pell grants), $6,138 (federal student loans)
The Roger Williams University was founded in 1956, and is a private institution. It has a total enrollment of 4,537 undergraduates, its setting is suburban and the size of the campus is 140 hectares. The ranking of Roger Williams University in the Best Colleges year 2020 edition is Regional Universities North, # 28.
Roger Williams encourages students to get personalized attention. One faculty member prepares and presents each class, not a teaching assistant. The Roger Williams University’s Spiegel Center for Global and International Programs provides students opportunities to study abroad in over 30 countries like the UK, France and Brazil.
9. Salve Regina University (Newport, Rhode Island)
- Tuition fee: $41,450
- Book & supplies: $1,450
- Living cost: $14,960 (on campus), $11,180 (off campus)
- Financial aid (average amount of aid received): $22,285 (grant or scholarship aid), $4,538 (pell grants), $6,835 (federal student loans)
Salve Regina University regularly receives recognition as one of the best regional institutions of higher education in Northern United States. The school has more than 2,700 students enrolled in 60 undergraduate and graduate programs.
Candidates for the Bachelor degree select from majors such as cultural and historical preservation, communications, justice administration, and music. They may also pursue a degree in global business and economics highlighting ethical leadership for the international sector. High-achieving business students will speed up their education in five years and obtain both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree.
Traditional graduate programs include creative writing, practical guidance and a study of social behavior. Salve also offers a master’s degree in nursing and a nursing practice specialist. DNP candidates gain advanced research and leadership skills to work as quality healthcare specialists and director of clinical programs.
10. University of Rhode Island (Kingston, Rhode Island)
- Tuition fee: $14,566 (in-state), $31,686 (out-of-state)
- Book & supplies: $1,250
- Living cost: $12,688 (on campus), $10,486 (off campus)
- Financial aid (average amount of aid received): $10,265 (grant or scholarship aid), $4,472 (pell grants), $6,316 (federal student loans)
The University of Rhode Island is located in Kingston as the flagship university for public science and higher education in the State. URI offers 80 undergraduate and 48 graduate courses, across eight campuses.
The incoming average student has a minimum of 3.1 GPA on the SAT, with either a minimum of 25 ACT or at least 1110. Graduate applicants require baccalaureate qualifications with national accreditation, and at least a 3.0 GPA. The university offers affordable tuition rates based on residency status and financial assistance, which includes need-based grants and grants from the foundations.
Final thoughts
So, are colleges in Rhode Island for you? Well, if the idea of a cosmopolitan sophisticated city living within a spitting distance of miles of rugged coastline sounds amazing to you, then the answer is obviously yes.
