List of colleges and universities in Rhode Island

This is a list of colleges and universities in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. There are currently 13 accredited, degree-granting institutions operating in the state, including two research universities, a community college, and a school of art.

Map of colleges and universities in Rhode Island

Two of the state's public institutions are administered by the Rhode Island Board of Education.^[1] The other, the University of Rhode Island, is overseen by its own board of trustees.^[2][3][4] The state operates two public universities, the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College, as well as the Community College of Rhode Island, which offers degrees at six locations. The Naval War College, operated by the federal United States Navy, is located in Newport. The oldest school in the state is Brown University, a member of the Ivy League and the only Rhode Island institution founded before the American Revolution. The newest college is College Unbound, a degree completion school in Providence.^[5] Enrollment sizes range from College Unbound at 208 students to the University of Rhode Island, the state's flagship public university, with 20,720 students.

The institutions included on this list are all regionally accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.^[6]

Institutions

School	Location(s)[7]	Control[7]	Type[7][a]	Enrollment[b] (2023)	Founded
Brown University	Providence	Private	Doctoral university	11,189	1764[8][9]
Bryant University	Smithfield	Private	Master's university	3,536	1863[10]
College Unbound	Providence	Private	Special-focus institution	285	2009[11]
Community College of Rhode Island	6 locations[c]	Public	Associate's college	12,263	1964[12]
Johnson & Wales University	Providence	Private	Master's university	4,566[d]	1914[13]
Naval War College	Newport	Public (Federal)	Master's university[e]	525[14][f]	1884[15]
New England Institute of Technology	East Greenwich	Private	Doctoral university	1,895	1940[16]
Providence College	Providence	Private (Catholic)	Master's university	4,473	1917[17]
Rhode Island College	Providence	Public	Master's university	5,787	1854[18]
Rhode Island School of Design	Providence	Private	School of art	2,620	1877[19]
Roger Williams University	Bristol	Private	Master's university	4,397[g]	1956[20]
Salve Regina University	Newport	Private (Catholic)	Master's university	2,872	1934[21]
University of Rhode Island	Kingston	Public	Doctoral university	17,473	1892[22]

• 
  University Hall at Brown University
• 
  The Academic Innovation Center at Bryant University
• 
  Community College of Rhode Island, Knight Campus
• 
  Snowden Hall at Johnson & Wales University
• 
  Luce Hall at Naval War College
• 
  The Ruane Center at Providence College
• 
  The Student Union at Rhode Island College
• 
  The Waterman Building at the Rhode Island School of Design
• 
  The Commons at Roger Williams University
• 
  The gates of Salve Regina University
• 
  East Hall and Washburn Hall at the University of Rhode Island
• 
  The entrance to the New England Institute of Technology

Defunct institutions

School	Location(s)	Founded	Closed
Barrington College	Barrington	1900	1985[23]
Gibbs College	Cranston	1911	2009
Mount Saint Joseph College	Wakefield		1975
Rhode Island College of Pharmacy and Allied Sciences	Providence	1902[24]	1957[25]
Scholfield's Commercial College	Providence	1846[26]	?
Seminary of Our Lady of Providence	Warwick	1939[27]	1975[27]

See also

• Rhode Island portal

• Higher education in the United States
• List of college athletic programs in Rhode Island
• List of American institutions of higher education

Notes

1. The types listed here are as categorized in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
2. Enrollment is the total 12-month unduplicated headcount listed by IPEDS for 2022-2023.
3. Four campuses Warwick (Knight), Lincoln (Flanagan), Providence (Liston), and Newport, and two satellite facilities used in local partnerships located in Westerly and Woonsocket.
4. The enrollment count for Johnson & Wales University does not include 2,505 students in its distance learning programs.
5. The Naval War College is not categorized by the Carnegie Classification. However, it is comparable to the Naval Postgraduate School, which is categorized as a masters university.
6. The enrollment count for the Naval War College is for the 2021–2022 academic year and does not include 5,257 students in their distance learning programs.
7. The enrollment count for Roger Williams University includes 552 students at the School of Law, which is listed as a separate school in IPEDS.