Northern Illinois University Overview
Northern Illinois University is a public institution located in Dekalb, Illinois. The suburban atmosphere of Dekalb makes it a great place for students who want the amenities of city life without actually living in the middle of a constant hustle and bustle.
What Is Northern Illinois University Known For?
- The highest award offered at NIU is the doctor's degree.
- In 2019-2020, 76% of the faculty were full-time.
- After graduation, NIU bachelor's degree recipients go on to jobs where they make $52,792 a year. That's about 29% more than their peers at other schools.
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Northern Illinois University Rankings
These rankings may look different from those published by other outlets, because we use an outcomes-based approach rather than a subjective one. We get our data from a number of places, including the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard. For more information, check out our rankings and methodology page.
Program Level Awards
These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at NIU.
Awards From Around the Web
The following table lists some notable awards NIU has earned from around the web.
Rank | Ranking Name | Source |
---|---|---|
#12 | Best Value Colleges for History | College Factual |
#24 | Best Value Colleges for English Language & Literature | College Factual |
#26 | Best Value Colleges for Psychology | College Factual |
#27 | Best Value Colleges for Biological & Biomedical Sciences | College Factual |
#27 | Best Value Colleges for Communication & Journalism | College Factual |
#182 | Best Accounting Schools | College Factual |
Where Is Northern Illinois University?

Contact details for NIU are given below.
Contact Details | |
---|---|
Address: | 1425 W. Lincoln Hwy., Dekalb, IL 60115-2828 |
Phone: | 800-892-3050 |
Website: | www.niu.edu |
Facebook: | https://www.facebook.com/NorthernIllUniv |
Twitter: | https://twitter.com/NIUlive |
How Do I Get Into NIU?
You can apply to NIU online at: www.niu.edu/apply/index.shtml
Admission Requirements for NIU
Submission | Required? |
---|---|
High School GPA | required |
High School Rank | required |
High School Transcript | required |
College Prep Program | required |
Recommendations | neither required nor recommended |
SAT or ACT Scores | neither required nor recommended |
TOEFL | required |
How Hard Is It To Get Into NIU?
Approximately 40% of accepted students are men and 60% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 58%, and the acceptance rate for women is 60%.
Can I Afford Northern Illinois University?
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.
Student Loan Debt
While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At NIU, approximately 69% of students took out student loans averaging $6,741 a year. That adds up to $26,964 over four years for those students.
The student loan default rate at NIU is 5.9%. 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 Illinois University Undergraduate Student Diversity

There are also 4,492 graduate students at the school.
Gender Diversity
Of the 10,472 full-time undergraduates at NIU, 46% are male and 54% are female.

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

Race/Ethnicity | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Asian | 596 |
Black or African American | 2,139 |
Hispanic or Latino | 2,206 |
White | 4,927 |
International Students | 156 |
Other Races/Ethnicities | 448 |
Geographic Diversity
Illinois students aren't the only ones who study at Northern Illinois University. At this time, 20 states are represented by the student population at the school.
Over 78 countries are represented at NIU. The most popular countries sending students to the school are India, China, and Saudi Arabia.
Online Learning at Northern Illinois University
The following chart shows how the online learning population at NIU has changed over the last few years.

This school is the 34th most popular in Illinois for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2019-2020.
Online Affordability Rankings of NIU
During the most recent year for which we have data, the full-time undergraduate tuition at Northern Illinois University was $12,352 for both in-state and out-of-state students. The following table shows how NIU is ranked for affordability for both in-state and out-of-state students among colleges and universities that are not mostly online.
Major | Tuition for In-State Students | Tuition for Out-of-State Students |
---|---|---|
Marketing | #16 | #13 |
Online Growth Rankings of NIU
The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at Northern Illinois University was 84.2%. This is the #468 largest growth rate of all schools that are only partially online. This refers to all students at NIU regardless of major.
The following table shows the 1-year growth rate of NIU majors that offer at least one online course. This table only includes majors with positive growth.
Major | 1-Year Growth Rate |
---|---|
Education | 16% |
Educational Administration | 27% |
The table below shows how the average growth rate over 4 years at NIU 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 NIU.
Major | Growth Rate Rank | |
---|---|---|
Marketing | #30 | |
Educational Administration | #58 | |
Education | #214 | |
Business, Management & Marketing | #313 |
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 Illinois 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 Andy McMurray under License
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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