Best Colleges in Georgia of 2023

Georgia Institute of Technology is a preeminent public research university located in Atlanta and known around the world for its academic excellence in STEM fields. For instance, U.S. News & World Report ranks GT's undergraduate engineering program #4 in the country, and all of GT's graduate engineering programs rank in the top 10. GT also ranks highly in business, computer science, statistics and operational research, and urban planning. If you're planning to study STEM and want a world-renowned program on a campus with state-of-the art, environmentally friendly buildings and ample research opportunities and funding, GT could be the place for you.

Emory is one of the most prestigious universities in the country, currently ranked #22 nationwide by U.S. News & World Report. Located in Atlanta, Emory is sometimes referred to as a "Southern Ivy," an unofficial term for certain universities in the South, such as Duke and Vanderbilt, that rival the official Northeastern Ivies in terms of prestige and selectivity. Emory offers everything from bachelor's to doctoral and professional degrees, and one of its key strengths is undergraduate education. If you don't yet know what you want to study, you can explore a range of fields within Emory's liberal arts curriculum before deciding on a focus for your degree. In the process, you benefit from small classes and a faculty who are experts in their fields and who prioritize undergraduate teaching.

University of Georgia is known for pushing the boundaries of traditional education and trend-setting in higher education. That's certainly the case with its "Double Dawgs" linked degree programs, which enable you to complete a combined bachelor's and master's degree in just five years, saving you time and money. UGA offers over 250 Double Dawgs, including in fields such as Accounting, Engineering, Statistics, Mathematics, and many more. Many of these joint-degree programs enable you to combine degrees across schools, meaning that you can craft an interdisciplinary combination such as a bachelor's in Latin American and Caribbean Studies combined with a master's in Nonprofit Management and Leadership.

Georgia State University has a reputation for innovation in all dimensions of university life: curriculum, faculty, students, campus life, technology, and facilities. That's why U.S. News & World Report named GSU #2 most innovative university in the country, second only to Arizona State University. U.S. News & World Report also ranks GSU in the top 10 nationally for best first-year experience and best learning communities. Taken together, these rankings speak to GSU's spirit of innovation and emphasis on undergraduate teaching and learning. But GSU doesn't rest on its laurels; according to the Board of Regents, it's currently ranked #5 for the fastest-growing research portfolio in the United States and continues to climb that ladder.

Located in Macon, Mercer University is the only university in the South to offer liberal arts, law, medicine, engineering, and pharmacy all at the same institution. But Mercer's offerings don't stop there: you can also study business, teacher education, nursing, music, and theology. Whatever your academic interests and career goals, Mercer likely has a program for you. With over 130 programs to choose from, Mercer offers everything from Africana Studies, Global Health Studies, or Integrative Business to Kinesthesiology, Religion, or Southern Studies, to name but a few of the wide-ranging options. Also worth noting are Mercer's numerous pre-professional programs - everything from pre-anesthesiologist assistant studies or pre-athletic training to pre-law or pre-medicine and more.

Spelman is a historically Black women's college that prepares women to be leaders with strong cross-cultural understanding and a deep commitment to service. U.S. News & World Report ranks Spelman the #1 HBCU in the nation. If you're a Black woman looking for a liberal arts education at one of the country's finest institutions, look no further than Spelman. With a 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio, Spelman offers lots of personal attention and many opportunities to interact with faculty who are not only experts in their fields but also tend to assume the role of mentor. Spelman's intersectional approach to educating Black women is second to none.

Agnes Scott College is a private Presbyterian women's college in Decatur that also offers some coed programs. Its Gothic- and Victorian-themed architecture has received national recognition for its memorable design, and the campus is routinely cited as being among the most beautiful in the United States. Meanwhile, outlets such as U.S. News & World Report have ranked Agnes Scott College highly across a variety of metrics, including Most Innovative (#1), Best First-Year Experience (#1), Best Undergraduate Teaching (#3), and Best Learning Communities (#3), among others. The Princeton Review has named Agnes Scott #1 for Town-Gown Relations and #3 for Best Private School for Making an Impact.

Wesleyan College, like Spelman and Agnes Scott, is a private liberal arts women's college. Located in Macon, Wesleyan offers a mix of traditional liberal arts and more career-oriented degree programs. You can study anything from Applied Chemistry or Arts Management to Women, Gender & Sexuality. You can even chart your own path and customize your degree to your unique interests and goals through a self-designed major, which makes the curriculum truly your own. In addition to its undergraduate offerings, Wesleyan also offers five graduate degrees: Master of Science in Nonprofit Management, Master of Business Administration or Master of Education in Elementary Education, Master of Arts in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, and Master of Arts in Music.

Morehouse College is a private historically Black men's liberal arts college in Atlanta. It's one of only four men's colleges in the entire country and is the #1 HBCU producer of Rhodes Scholars and the #1 producer of Black men who go on to earn doctorates. U.S. News & World Report ranks Morehouse College #4 in the nation among HBCUs, and Morehouse alumni hold influential positions in a wide range of industries, particularly politics. For instance, of the 12 HBCU grads who worked in the Obama White House, four were Morehouse Men, and in the 2018 midterm elections, two Morehouse alumni won or retained elected office. Morehouse clearly has a strong track record of educating Black men who go on to change the world for the better.

Covenant College is the official college of the Presbyterian Church in America. It's a private liberal arts Christian college on Lookout Mountain, Georgia, not far from Chattanooga, Tennessee. Covenant describes itself as "distinctly Christian," with the motto, "In all things, Christ preeminent." If you're looking for a very Christ-centered liberal arts college in the South, Covenant could be a good option to explore. At Covenant, faith and academics are inexorably linked, as Covenant views academics as a way to honor God. Everything Covenant does is grounded in its reformed theology. Because faith is such a central part of the Covenant experience, you should be certain their values and beliefs align with yours.