Colleges

Colleges in Providence, Rhode Island

Providence, Rhode Island has 5 four-year colleges with at least 500 undergraduates: 1 public and 4 private. The largest is Brown University, with 7,226 undergraduates.

School	Type	Undergrads	Acceptance rate	SAT middle 50%	In-state tuition	Avg. net price	Grad rate
Brown University	private	7,226	5.4%	1510–1580	$71,412	$25,184	95.7%
Rhode Island College	public	5,049	91.8%	870–1120	$11,300	$9,478	48.1%
Providence College	private	4,229	50.9%	1250–1390	$63,550	$48,523	85.8%
Johnson & Wales University-Providence	private	3,868	88.4%	890–1160	$42,419	$31,027	55.4%
Rhode Island School of Design	private	2,084	18.7%	1396–1530	$62,688	$50,507	88.8%

A blank cell means the school did not report that figure. Net price is the average cost after grants for students receiving federal aid. Graduation rate is within six years.

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All 5 schools with their acceptance rates, score ranges, and costs.

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Frequently asked questions

How many colleges are in Providence, Rhode Island?

5 four-year public and private nonprofit colleges with at least 500 undergraduates, 1 public and 4 private, according to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard. Community colleges, for-profit schools, and online-only schools are not counted.

What is the hardest college to get into in Providence, Rhode Island?

By acceptance rate, Brown University (5.4%), Rhode Island School of Design (18.7%), Providence College (50.9%), Johnson & Wales University-Providence (88.4%), Rhode Island College (91.8%) are the most selective.

What is the cheapest public college in Providence, Rhode Island?

Rhode Island College has the lowest published in-state tuition and fees of the public four-year colleges here, at $11,300 a year. That is the sticker price before financial aid.

Source: College Scorecard, Most Recent Institution-Level Data (U.S. Department of Education), 2026-06-10 release. These are federal figures. Schools with a linked profile have also been checked against their own filings; the others have not.