The top colleges for “the public good”

Washington Monthly has declared Mount Holyoke College to be one of the nation’s top 50 liberal arts colleges that contribute to the public good.

By Christian Feuerstein

Mount Holyoke College is one of the top 50 liberal arts colleges in the country, according to Washington Monthly. 

The magazine’s September/October issue ranked Mount Holyoke as No. 38 among top liberal arts colleges in the country based on their contribution to the public good.

“Mount Holyoke takes great pride in providing an academically rich and inclusive learning environment for all of our students to succeed and thrive,” said Jon Western, vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty. 

Mount Holyoke jumped 20 spots in the liberal arts college list, from No. 58 in 2018 to No. 38.  

Now in its 15th year, this annual College Guide and Rankings recognizes “not what colleges do for themselves, but what they do for their country,” ranking four-year schools based on three criteria: social mobility (recruiting and graduating low-income students), research (producing cutting-edge scholarship and Ph.D.s) and community and national service (encouraging students to give back). Washington Monthly named Mount Holyoke 38th out of a pool of more than 1,400 U.S. colleges and universities.