Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts

Public · Moderately Selective · MA

Photo: Magicpiano (CC BY-SA 3.0)

School data & stats

TypePublic

LocationMA · Northeast

SettingRural

Undergrads713

Student:faculty8:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate46.3%

6-yr grad rate55.6%

Drop-out rate24.3%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$12k

Out-of-state tuition$21k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity27.2%

Gender diversity55.4%

International1.4%

Identity—

Overview

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, in North Adams in the Berkshire hills, is the state's designated public liberal-arts college and a member of COPLAC, the national consortium of public liberal-arts institutions. It offers a small, personal alternative to Massachusetts's larger public universities, with a mission built specifically around undergraduate liberal-arts education rather than graduate research.

Academics

Small class sizes are the defining academic feature, with close faculty contact typical of a college a fraction the size of UMass Amherst. Arts and English programs benefit from an unusual neighbor — MASS MoCA, one of the largest contemporary art museums in the country, sits adjacent to campus and provides exhibition space, internships, and cultural programming that few public colleges anywhere can match.

Campus & student life

North Adams sits deep in the Berkshire mountains, and outdoor recreation — hiking, skiing, exploring the surrounding hills — is a defining part of campus culture. The town itself is small, and much of student social life centers on campus, athletics, and the arts scene connected to MASS MoCA and the wider Berkshires cultural corridor.

Getting in

As a COPLAC public liberal-arts college, MCLA's review looks for genuine interest in a small, discussion-based liberal-arts education rather than a large-university experience, and essays that show intellectual curiosity tend to carry real weight given the school's teaching-focused mission.

Worth knowing

MCLA offers Massachusetts residents a public-college price point for what functions much like a small private liberal-arts college experience — a combination that is unusual within the state's public system and worth knowing about for cost-conscious students who still want a small-college feel.

mcla.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate89.7%

Enrolled mid-50%—

Test policynot used

Rec letters1

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying