Northern Arizona University Overview
Northern Arizona University is a public institution situated in Flagstaff, Arizona. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life.
What Is Northern Arizona University Known For?
- Students at NAU have an easier time paying back their loans. The school's student loan default rate is only 5%, compared to the national rate of 10.1%.
- Although it may not be available for every major, the doctor's degree is the highest award a student can attain at NAU.
- For the 2019-2020 academic year, 68% of the faculty were full-time.
- A student who earns a bachelor's degree from NAU makes roughly $46,950 a year. This is 15% more than their peers from other colleges and universities.
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Northern Arizona University Rankings
Our rankings are based on an outcomes-based approach rather than subjective ones used by other media outlets. As such, we utilize data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard, among other sources. Visit our rankings and methodology section to learn more.
Program Level Awards
These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at NAU.
Awards From Around the Web
The following table lists some notable awards NAU has earned from around the web.
Rank | Ranking Name | Source |
---|---|---|
#30 | Best Hospitality Management Schools | College Factual |
#56 | Best Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools | College Factual |
#62 | Best Teacher Education Grade Specific Schools | College Factual |
#74 | Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools | College Factual |
#80 | Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools | College Factual |
#283 | Best Health Professions Schools | College Factual |
Where Is Northern Arizona University?

Contact details for NAU are given below.
Contact Details | |
---|---|
Address: | 1900 S Knoles Dr, Babbitt Administrative Center, Room 200, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-4092 |
Phone: | 928-523-9011 |
Website: | https://nau.edu/ |
Facebook: | https://www.facebook.com/pages/Northern-Arizona-University/17091779559 |
Twitter: | https://twitter.com/NAU |
How Do I Get Into NAU?
You can apply to NAU online at: https://nau.edu/admissions/how-to-apply/
Admission Requirements for NAU
Submission | Required? |
---|---|
High School GPA | required |
High School Rank | neither required nor recommended |
High School Transcript | required |
College Prep Program | neither required nor recommended |
Recommendations | neither required nor recommended |
SAT or ACT Scores | recommended |
TOEFL | required |
How Hard Is It To Get Into NAU?
Approximately 34% of accepted students are men and 66% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 79%, and the acceptance rate for women is 83%.
Can I Afford Northern Arizona University?
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.
Student Loan Debt
Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At NAU, approximately 44% of students took out student loans averaging $6,388 a year. That adds up to $25,552 over four years for those students.
The student loan default rate at NAU is 4.6%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.
Northern Arizona University Undergraduate Student Diversity

There are also 4,338 graduate students at the school.
Gender Diversity
Of the 20,642 full-time undergraduates at NAU, 37% are male and 63% are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity
The racial-ethnic breakdown of Northern Arizona University students is as follows.

Race/Ethnicity | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Asian | 438 |
Black or African American | 586 |
Hispanic or Latino | 5,380 |
White | 11,622 |
International Students | 468 |
Other Races/Ethnicities | 2,148 |
Geographic Diversity
Arizona students aren't the only ones who study at Northern Arizona University. At this time, 46 states are represented by the student population at the school.
Over 80 countries are represented at NAU. The most popular countries sending students to the school are Kuwait, China, and Saudi Arabia.
Online Learning at Northern Arizona University
The following chart shows how the online learning population at NAU has changed over the last few years.

This school is the 13th most popular in Arizona for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2019-2020.
Online Affordability Rankings of NAU
During the most recent year for which we have data, the full-time undergraduate tuition at Northern Arizona University was $11,896 for in-state students. Out-of-state students paid $26,642. The following table shows how NAU is ranked for affordability for both in-state and out-of-state students among colleges and universities that are not mostly online.
Online Growth Rankings of NAU
The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at Northern Arizona University was -0.1%. This is the #1,843 largest growth rate of all schools that are only partially online. This refers to all students at NAU regardless of major.
The following table shows the 1-year growth rate of NAU majors that offer at least one online course. This table only includes majors with positive growth.
Major | 1-Year Growth Rate |
---|---|
Business, Management & Marketing | 1% |
Criminal Justice & Corrections | 63% |
Educational Administration | 0% |
English Language & Literature | 19% |
Health Professions | 1% |
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting | 49% |
Management Information Systems | 19% |
Public Administration & Social Service | 11% |
Social Work | 12% |
Writing Studies | 24% |
The table below shows how the average growth rate over 4 years at NAU ranks compared to all other partially online schools that offer a specific major. Note that the majors may or may not be offered online at NAU.
Major | Growth Rate Rank | |
---|---|---|
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies | #20 | |
Ethnic Studies | #33 | |
Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies | #49 | |
Writing Studies | #112 | |
Management Information Systems | #125 | |
Social Work | #148 | |
Public Administration | #205 | |
English Language & Literature | #236 | |
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies | #310 | |
Special Education | #400 | |
Teacher Education Subject Specific | #404 | |
Public Administration & Social Service | #489 |
When we speak of partially online, we are referring to schools whose online population is less than 50% of its total student body. Mostly online refers to those with online populations greater than or equal to 50%.
Northern Arizona University Undergraduate Concentrations
The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.
References
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
- College Factual
- National Center for Education Statistics
- Image Credit: By Teksaz227 under License
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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