Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger ProgramsPublic

University of Nebraska at Kearney

Kearney, Nebraska·Public, 4-year or above·Plains·unk.edu
6-yr Graduation
58%
+4.0pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Total enrollment
5,881
peer median 5,211
Avg net price
$16,242
+$229 vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
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AdmissionsOutcomesProgram outcomesAccreditationCostFederal aidLoan defaultsAcademic programsEnrollment trendsAthleticsCampus safetyFacultyPeersIR OfficeCommon Data Set

Admissions & acceptance rate

First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.

IPEDS
Applied
5,283
5,283 candidates competed
Admitted
4,728
89.5% acceptance rate
Enrolled
875
18.5% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

IPEDS
Overall completion
58%+4.0pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
4-year graduation
36%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
57%
Full-time retention
80%

Pell equity

5.7pp gap
Pell recipients
54%194 of 356
Non-Pell (all)
60%347 of 581
Subsidized loan, no Pell
57%73 of 129
No Federal Aid
61%274 of 452

Non-Pell students graduate at a 5.7-point higher rate than Pell recipients.

Source: IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) — Pell/SSL cohort, 2024 cohort.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

FVT/GE

Of 69 Title IV programs, 30 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 39 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
69
Passing
30
43.5% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

69programs
  • Passing30 · 43.5%
  • No Data39 · 56.5%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
5
Safe
25
No data
39

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Earnings premium gap

Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.

30
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+13.1%
$60,698 vs $53,672
English Language and Literature General
Bachelor Degree · English Language And Literature/Letters
+14.1%
$41,180 vs $36,082
History
Master's Degree · History
+15.8%
$62,153 vs $53,672
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
+16.2%
$41,922 vs $36,082
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Subject Areas
Bachelor Degree · Education
+23.8%
$44,687 vs $36,082
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Bachelor Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
+31.9%
$47,600 vs $36,082
History
Bachelor Degree · History
+31.9%
$47,590 vs $36,082
Student Counseling and Personnel Services
Master's Degree · Education
+31.9%
$56,621 vs $42,937

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

23
Student Counseling and Personnel Services
Master's Degree · Education
68%
$38,406 debt · $56,621 earn
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
60%
$36,099 debt · $60,698 earn
English Language and Literature General
Bachelor Degree · English Language And Literature/Letters
53%
$21,922 debt · $41,180 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Subject Areas
Bachelor Degree · Education
52%
$23,000 debt · $44,687 earn
Social Work
Bachelor Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
46%
$24,213 debt · $53,203 earn
History
Bachelor Degree · History
45%
$21,321 debt · $47,590 earn
Journalism
Bachelor Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
45%
$23,000 debt · $51,659 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
44%
$18,314 debt · $41,922 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

DAPIP
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Higher Learning Commission

Accredited since 1916Next review Aug 2034

Programmatic accreditations · 4

Action history · 7

  1. Aug 2025Loss of Accreditation or Preaccreditation: Voluntary Withdrawal
    Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education · Montessori Education (MACTE) - Montessori teacher education programs and institutions
  2. Jul 2025Voluntary Withdrawal Received
    Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education · Montessori Education (MACTE) - Montessori teacher education programs and institutions
  3. Jul 2025Loss of Accreditation or Preaccreditation: Voluntary Withdrawal
    Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education · Montessori Education (MACTE) - Montessori teacher education programs and institutions
  4. Feb 2024Renewal of Accreditation
    Higher Learning Commission
  5. Jul 2020Approved for Distance Education
    American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology · Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) - Graduate degree programs

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

College Scorecard

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$13,066
$30–48k$13,350
$48–75k$14,547
$75–110k$16,703
$110k+$20,664

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price
$16,242
+$229vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs median $16,013
Federal loans
35.4%
In-state tuition
$8,676
Out-of-state
$15,284

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

Federal Student Aid

In AY 2024–25, 1,834 students received $10.5M in Pell grants, alongside $17.7M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
1,834
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$10.5M
$10,532,507 total
Direct Loans
$17.7M
3,039 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

2k
’20
2k
’21
2k
’22
2k
’23
2k
’24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$4.5M
1,166 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$5.3M
1,236 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$6.3M
502 loan awards
Parent PLUS$1.5M
127 loan awards
Grad PLUS$123K
8 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Cohort Default Rate

Of 1,416 borrowers who entered repayment, 10 (0.7%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.7%
-1.6pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
1,416
Defaulted
10
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
4.6%
2017
4.3%
2018
3.1%
2019
0.7%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at UNK

Top program areas ranked by completions.

IPEDS
Distinct CIP programs42
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

1,157 total completions
01Education
44938.8%
02Business
22719.6%
03Health Professions
1059.1%
04Biological Sciences
867.4%
05Parks/Recreation
615.3%
06Visual/Performing Arts
585.0%
07Psychology
464.0%
08History
443.8%
09Public Admin
433.7%
10English Language
383.3%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

IPEDS
Fall total
5,881
12-mo unduplicated
7,052
Undergraduate
4,607
Graduate
2,445

Gender split

Men
35%2,463
Women
65%4,589

Race / ethnicity composition

White
73.4%
Hispanic
15.2%
Non-resident
4.3%
Black
2.8%
Two or more
2.7%
Asian
0.8%
Unknown
0.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.2%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.

EADA
Athletes
446
261 M · 185 W
Women athletes
41.5%
Athletic aid
$2.9M
Total student aid
Budget
$10.5M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$1.7M
$1.2M
Recruiting expense
$31K
$28K
Head-coach salaries
$91K
$73K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 10

Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
154 M · 110 W
$740K
Football
133 M · —
$2.5M
Swimming and Diving (combined)
— · 54 W
$310K
Wrestling
40 M · —
$734K
Basketball
18 M · 15 W
$1.3M
Soccer
— · 31 W
$422K

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Clery Act
Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
2.83
17 offenses · 6,017 students

3-year trend

1.272 yrs ago1.321 yr ago2.83Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
33
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
19
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
3
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Rape
7
Burglary
5
Motor vehicle theft
3
Aggravated assault
2

By location

17total
  • On campus16
  • Non-campus1

Includes 8 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

0
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
6
Stalking
6 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons10
Drugs51
Liquor3136

Residence-hall fires

No residence-hall fires reported.

Data quality: 4 reports were later determined unfounded across the reporting period and are excluded from the totals above.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

IPEDS
Student-to-faculty
14.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
285

UNK vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions UNK selected for federal comparison reporting.

IPEDS
GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
This institutionPeer median

A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

Carnegie
SubjectUniversity of Nebraska at Kearney
58%—5,881$16,242Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Wayne State College
52%—4,666$15,360Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Pittsburg State University
51%89.4%5,755$15,784Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Emporia State University
56%97.7%4,557$16,261Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Minnesota State University Moorhead
57%58.8%4,386$17,997Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Southwest Minnesota State University
44%62.2%8,214$15,291Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Peer group median54%75.8%5,211$16,013

Institutions like UNK

Explore the federal data for institutions in UNK's comparison group.

IPEDS

UNK Institutional Research office

The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.

Office
Office of Institutional Research
Phone
308-865-8441
Address
2504 9th Ave, Kearney, NE 68849

The UNK Factbook presents the facts and figures that are pertinent to the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Information is organized in 12 areas, General Information, Admissions, Enrollment, Staffing, Finance, Academic Programs, Degrees Conferred, Facilities, Awards, Peer Comparisons, Dashboards and the Common Data Set.

Visit IR office page
Team
2 members
  • Megan Fryda
    Director, Academic Resources & Institutional Research
  • Keri Treadway
    Assistant Director, Academic Resources & Institutional Research

Common Data Set

UNK's own annual Common Data Set: the most detailed self-reported reference for selectivity, cost, outcomes, and the student body.

Acceptance rate
85.7%
Accessible
Yield
17.9%
of admitted students enroll
Total enrollment
5,699
4,056 UG · 1,643 grad
6-yr graduation rate
61%
First-year retention
81%
Student–faculty ratio
14 to 1
01

Selectivity & Admissions

Admissions funnel

C1
Applied
5,223
Admitted
4,475
Enrolled
803

5,223 applied → 4,475 admitted (85.7%) → 803 enrolled.

Selectivity

C1
Acceptance rate
85.7%

Accessible — 85.7% acceptance rate.

Admit rate by gender

C1
male82.7%
female87.7%

Admit rate varies by gender.

SAT range (middle 50%)

C9
25th
903
Median
1010
75th
1158

Middle 50% SAT 903–1158 (median 1010).

ACT range (middle 50%)

C9
25th
18
Median
22
75th
25

Middle 50% ACT 18–25 (median 22).

High-school class rank

C10
top tenth20%
top quarter46%
top half76%
bottom half24%
bottom quarter8%

Share of enrolled first-years by HS class-rank band.

What matters in admission

C7
Important2
academic GPAstandardized test scores
Considered9
rigor of secondary school recordclass rankextracurricular activitiestalent/abilityfirst generationstate residencyvolunteer workwork experiencelevel of applicant’s interest
Not Considered7
application essayrecommendationsinterviewcharacter/personal qualitiesalumni/ae relationgeographical residencereligious affiliation/commitment

Relative importance of each admission factor.

02

Affordability & Value

Where grant aid comes from

H1
Institutional37.9%
Federal37.3%
External scholarships/grants15.6%
State9.1%

38% of need-based grant dollars come from the institution itself.

Graduate debt

H4/H5
Grads with debt
47%
Avg debt
$20,215

47% of graduates borrowed; those who did owed $20,215 on average.

03

Outcomes & Equity

Graduation & retention

B
6-yr grad rate
61%
Retention
81%

6-year graduation rate 61%; first-year retention 81%.

Equity: Pell graduation gap

B4
All students61%
Pell recipients54%

Pell-grant recipients graduate 7 pts below the overall rate (54% vs 61%).

04

Academic Experience

Class-size distribution

I3
2-9 students122
10-19 students221
20-29 students208
30-39 students64
40-49 students20
50-99 students13
100+ students0

53% of classes have under 20 students; 2% have 50+.

Faculty profile

I
Student–faculty ratio
14 to 1
Faculty with terminal degree
60%
Women faculty
54%

Key faculty indicators.

Degrees by discipline

J
Business/marketing21.91%
Education16.46%
Health professions and related programs7.83%
Parks and recreation5.9%
Psychology5.22%
Public administration and social services4.88%
Biological/life sciences4.77%
Liberal arts/general studies4.2%

STEM-dominant: ~9% of bachelor's degrees are in computing, engineering, math & sciences.

05

Student Body & Diversity

Undergraduate race/ethnicity

B2
White, non-Hispanic73.1%
Hispanic/Latino15.0%
Nonresidents4.7%
Two or more races, non-Hispanic2.9%
Black or African American, non-Hispanic2.7%
Asian, non-Hispanic0.8%
Race and/or ethnicity unknown0.5%
American Indian or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic0.2%
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic0.1%

Undergraduate enrollment by race/ethnicity.

International students

B2
International UG
187
Share
5%

5% of undergraduates are international (nonresident).

Undergrad vs graduate

B1
Undergraduate
4,05671%
Graduate
1,64329%

4,056 undergraduates and 1,643 graduate students.

06

Transfer Path

Transfer admissions

D1
Applied
633
Admitted
350
Enrolled
302

633 transfer applicants → 350 admitted (55.2%) → 302 enrolled — more selective than first-year admission.

Source publications

Frequently asked questions about University of Nebraska at Kearney

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about UNK.

What is the graduation rate at University of Nebraska at Kearney?

University of Nebraska at Kearney reports a 6-year graduation rate of 58% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend University of Nebraska at Kearney?

University of Nebraska at Kearney reports a total enrollment of 5,881 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at University of Nebraska at Kearney?

The average net price at University of Nebraska at Kearney is $16,242 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at University of Nebraska at Kearney?

University of Nebraska at Kearney's yield rate is 18.5%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is University of Nebraska at Kearney located?

University of Nebraska at Kearney is located in Kearney, Nebraska 68849-1212.

Who runs Institutional Research at University of Nebraska at Kearney?

University of Nebraska at Kearney's IR work is done by the Office of Institutional Research.

About the data on this page

Every figure comes from an official federal or public source. Here is each one and the release it is currently on.

IPEDS2025 provisional data (Fall 2025–26 release, July 28, 2026)
Enrollment, completions, graduation rates, tuition, financial aid, staffing, and finance for every U.S. institution in federal student aid programs.
National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education
College ScorecardJune 10, 2026 release (merged 2025–26 files)
Institution and field-of-study costs, graduate earnings, debt, completion, and admissions outcomes compiled from federal aid records, tax data, and IPEDS.
U.S. Department of Education
FVT/GE program performanceProvisional preview, May 18, 2026 release
Program-level debt-to-earnings and earnings-premium measures behind the FVT/GE and STATS accountability frameworks.
U.S. Department of Education
DAPIP accreditationContinuously refreshed
Accreditation status for institutions and programs, reported by recognized accrediting agencies.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Federal Pell Grant volumeAY 2025–26 (through Q3), through March 31, 2026
Pell Grant recipient counts, award amounts, and disbursements by institution and award year.
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Federal student loan volumeAY 2025–26 (through Q3), through March 31, 2026
Federal Direct Loan recipient counts and disbursement volume by institution and award year.
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Cohort Default RatesFY 2022 official rates
Institution-level federal student loan default rates, measuring borrowers who default within three years of entering repayment.
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Equity in Athletics (EADA)Academic year 2024–25
Athletics participation, coaching, revenues, and expenses by sport and gender for Title IV institutions.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Campus Safety & SecurityData through reporting year 2024
Criminal offenses, arrests, disciplinary actions, VAWA offenses, and fire statistics reported by campus under the Clery Act.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Last reviewed July 2026All data sources & release dates →

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