Facts & Rankings

The 110-acre campus on Sarasota Bay is home to 698 students and 90+ full-time faculty engaged in interdisciplinary research and collaborative learning. New College’s innovative educational model and senior capstone/thesis requirement foster students’ intellectual exploration and personal accountability. The College’s rigorous curriculum prepares students for the demands of doctoral and professional degree programs. Our student-centered academic mission and affordable state tuition consistently attract high rankings and praise from U.S. News & World Report, The Princeton Review, and Forbes.

As a result, New College is the top public college in the nation for the percentage of its graduates who go on to earn PhDs. Discover the Outcomes of New College Graduates.

Quick Facts

For more detail, see our Fact Books, which contain information and statistics on institutional enrollment, student characteristics, admissions policies, academic offerings, faculty and class size, fiscal resources, personnel and library resources.

• Degrees awarded: Bachelor of Arts, Master’s in Science in Data Science, Master’s in Science in Marine Mammal Science
• Enrollment: 732 undergraduate and graduate students (Fall 2023)
• Student-faculty ratio: 8:1
• Average class size: 13
• Percent of full-time faculty with doctorate or terminal degree in field: 98%
• Number of full-time faculty: 94
• Number of U.S. states, and D.C. and Puerto Rico represented: 34
• Number of foreign countries represented: 14
• In-state/out of state ratio: 81% / 19%
• Fall 2022 admitted class profile (middle 50%):
  • High school GPA: 3.7 – 4.4
  • Test scores: 1100 – 1320 SAT, 22 – 29 ACT
• Tuition costs: Florida resident $6,916; nonresident $29,944
• Room and Board: $10,489
• Accreditation: Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award the Bachelor of Arts Degree and Master’s in Science in Data Science
• Institutional Budget: $56.7 million (Education and General budget $40.8 million, which includes revenues from the State of Florida, plus tuition and fees)

National Rankings

Year after year, we consistently attract the attention of the most prestigious arbiters of excellence in higher education, resulting in top national rankings from the likes of U.S. News & World Report, Forbes, Kiplinger’s and The Princeton Review. 

• No. 5 public liberal arts college – U.S. News & World Report
  • Also Most Innovative Schools, a Top Performer on Social Mobility and a Best Value School.
• No. 29 on Top 50 Best Value Public Colleges – The Princeton Review
  • Also No. 4 among its Top 20 Public Best Schools for Making an Impact, and No. 7 among its Top 20 Public Best Schools for Financial Aid and its Top 20 Public Best Alumni Networks; Colleges That Create Futures, Great Financial Aid
• America’s Top Colleges – Forbes
• Top 10 Best Buy Public Colleges for 2023 – Fiske Guide
• Best Master’s Degree in Data Science – Fortune Magazine
• Best Colleges of 2022 – College of Distinction
  • Also recognizing Affordability, Career Development, and Equity & Inclusion
• No. 4 Public College among Liberal Arts Rankings – Washington Monthly
  • Also Best Colleges for Student Voting
• Best Small Colleges and Universities in the U.S – Academic Influence
• Best Hidden Gem – CollegeRaptor
• 50 Best Value Small Colleges and No. 6 Most Beautiful Coastal Campuses – Best Value Schools
• No. 2 Most Affordable Public Universities for In-State Students – AffordableColleges.com

Campus Profile

New College is located in northern Sarasota County, near the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport and just one hour south of Tampa, and 10 minutes by bus or bicycle from downtown Sarasota, which Money magazine named one of the country’s “best places to live.”

Nearby cultural and recreational resources abound, including the John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art, located next door to campus, and the white sand beaches of Siesta Key, rated as America’s Best Beach by Dr. Beach.

The 110-acre campus blends classic landmark buildings with modern facilities. New College’s visionary master plan incorporates state-of-the-art environmental design into campus architecture and landscaping.

The main Bayfront campus lies along the Gulf of Mexico on the former estate of circus magnate Charles Ringling. Enter through the iconic Ringling arch and stroll down canopied Dort Promenade all the way to College and Cook Halls, connected by a colonnade opening onto a vast lawn and Sarasota Bay, a favorite gathering spots for yoga and sunsets.

Across Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41) and linked by overhead pedestrian bridge is the Pei Campus, hub of student and residential life and home to five “green” residence halls and a student union with its own Black Box Theater.

The Caples campus, home to the Caples Fine Arts Complex and the Environmental Studies program, is located on Bay Shore Road just south of the Ringling Museum. Behind the Caples Mansion and right on the bay is the New College waterfront program.

Our newest first-class facilities include a renovation of the Jane Bancroft Cook Library, major addition to the Heiser Natural Sciences Center Complex  with teaching and research labs for chemistry, biology, computational science, physics and math; a dedicated Academic Center and Koski Plaza incorporating sustainable features; the Public Archaeology Lab for processing and interpreting artifacts, preparing archaeological site reports, and storing excavated findings; and the Pritzker Marine Biology Research Center with seven research labs and over 100 aquariums.