New College at a Glance

A national leader in the arts and sciences, New College is a public, independent liberal arts college recognized nationally for academic excellence and value. Founded in 1960, New College specializes in student-centered learning through collaborative curriculum development and independent research. We have earned many accolades and distinctions, among them a place in Loren Pope’s book, “Colleges That Change Lives,” and consistent national rankings by the leading arbiters of higher education.

Fast Facts

• Degree awarded: Bachelor of Arts
• Enrollment: 861 students (fall 2015)
• Student-faculty ratio: 10:1
• Average class size: 17
• Percent of full-time faculty with doctorate or terminal degree in field: 99 percent
• Number of U.S. states and D.C. represented: 38
• Number of foreign countries represented: 23
• In-state/out of state ratio: 80 percent / 20 percent
• Average high school GPA of incoming freshmen: 4.03
• Average SAT scores of incoming first-time freshmen: 1279; Critical Reading – 666; Math – 613; Writing – 626
• Number of full-time faculty: 77
• Tuition costs: Florida resident $6,916; nonresident $29,944
• Room and Board: $8,932
• Accreditation: Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award the Bachelor of Arts Degree
• Institutional Budget: $38.8 million (Education and General budget $24.2 million, which includes revenues from the State of Florida, plus tuition and fees)

Campus Profile

New College is located in northern Sarasota County, near the Sarasota 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 for 2011 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 the 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 new “green” residence halls and a recently renovated student union with its own student-run Black Box Theater.

The Caples campus, home to the Caples Fine Arts Complex (1992) 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 sailing program.

Our newest first-class facilities include a major addition to the Heiser Natural Sciences Center Complex (2017) with teaching and research labs for chemistry, biology, computational science, physics and math; a dedicated Academic Center and Koski Plaza incorporating sustainable features (2011); a Public Archaeology Lab (2010) for processing and interpreting artifacts, preparing archaeological site reports and storing excavated finds; the Pritzker Marine Biology Research Center (2001) with seven research labs and over 100 aquariums.

Future plans include a new Center for International and Area Studies.