Northwest Nazarene University Overview

Northwest Nazarene University is a private not-for-profit institution situated in Nampa, Idaho. The suburban atmosphere of Nampa 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 Northwest Nazarene University Known For?

• The 2% student loan default rate at NNU is better than the national rate of 10.1%. That's a good sign that you may be able to pay off student loans easier than your peers at other schools can.
• Although it may not be available for every major, the doctor's degree is the highest award a student can attain at NNU.
• For the 2019-2020 academic year, 99% of the faculty were full-time.
• Students who graduate from NNU with a bachelor's degree make about $47,908 a year. That's 17% more than those who graduate from other schools.

Northwest Nazarene 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 NNU.

Rank	Ranking Name	Share
#15	Best Value Social Work Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#21	Best Value Educational Administration Graduate Certificate Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#27	Best Value Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#34	Best Value Education Graduate Certificate Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#44	Most Popular Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#47	Best Educational Administration Graduate Certificate Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#48	Best Value Mental & Social Health Services Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#59	Best Value Student Counseling Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#102	Best Value Business Administration & Management Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#128	Best Value Business, Management & Marketing Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It

Awards From Around the Web

The following table lists some notable awards NNU has earned from around the web.

Rank	Ranking Name	Source
#2	Best Other Accounting and Related Services Associate Degree Schools	College Factual
#7	Best Value Graduate Degree Colleges for Social Work	College Factual
#7	Best Value Graduate Degree Colleges for Social Work	College Factual
#12	Best Value Graduate Degree Colleges for Public Administration & Social Service	College Factual
#43	Best Value Graduate Degree Colleges for Educational Administration	College Factual
#83	Best Value Graduate Degree Colleges for Education	College Factual

Where Is Northwest Nazarene University?

Contact details for NNU are given below.

	Contact Details
Address:	623 S. University Blvd., Nampa, ID 83686-5897
Phone:	208-467-8011
Website:	www.nnu.edu
Facebook:	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nampa-ID/Northwest-Nazarene-University/7401923021
Twitter:	http://twitter.com/nwnazarene

How Do I Get Into NNU?

You can apply to NNU online at: https://www.nnu.edu/apply-now

Admission Requirements for NNU

Submission	Required?
High School GPA	required
High School Rank	recommended
High School Transcript	required
College Prep Program	recommended
Recommendations	neither required nor recommended
SAT or ACT Scores	required
TOEFL	recommended

How Hard Is It To Get Into NNU?

The acceptance rate at Northwest Nazarene University is 77%. This means that is not quite as selective as some schools, but you'll still need to submit a good application if you want to be considered by the admissions department.

Approximately 41% of accepted students are men and 59% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 77%, and the acceptance rate for women is 77%.

Average Test Scores

About 78% of students accepted to NNU submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 500 and 590. Math scores were between 480 and 600.

NNU received ACT scores from 47% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT English scores ranged between 19 and 21. Math scores were between 16 and 22. Composite scores were between 19 and 25.

Can I Afford Northwest Nazarene University?

The overall average net price of NNU is $29,859. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group.

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.

Student Loan Debt

It's not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At NNU, approximately 66% of students took out student loans averaging $7,517 a year. That adds up to $30,068 over four years for those students.

The student loan default rate at NNU is 2.1%. 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.

Northwest Nazarene University Undergraduate Student Diversity

There are 1,389 undergraduate students at NNU, with 1,086 being full-time and 303 being part-time.

There are also 720 graduate students at the school.

Gender Diversity

Of the 1,086 full-time undergraduates at NNU, 43% are male and 57% are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

The racial-ethnic breakdown of Northwest Nazarene University students is as follows.

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	13
Black or African American	13
Hispanic or Latino	139
White	833
International Students	17
Other Races/Ethnicities	71

Geographic Diversity

Idaho students aren't the only ones who study at Northwest Nazarene University. At this time, 17 states are represented by the student population at the school.

Over 23 countries are represented at NNU. The most popular countries sending students to the school are China, South Korea, and Brazil.

Online Learning at Northwest Nazarene University

In 2019-2020, 1,267 students took at least one online class at the school.

The following chart shows how the online learning population at NNU has changed over the last few years.

This school is the 6th most popular in Idaho for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2019-2020.

Online Affordability Rankings of NNU

During the most recent year for which we have data, the full-time undergraduate tuition at Northwest Nazarene University was $32,780 for both in-state and out-of-state students. The following table shows how NNU 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
Chemistry	#7	#7
Physical Sciences	#25	#22
Pastoral Counseling & Specialized Ministries	#40	#40
Religious Studies	#75	#75

Online Growth Rankings of NNU

The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at Northwest Nazarene University was -3.2%. This is the #1,893 largest growth rate of all schools that are only partially online. This refers to all students at NNU regardless of major.

The following table shows the 1-year growth rate of NNU majors that offer at least one online course. This table only includes majors with positive growth.

Major	1-Year Growth Rate
Health Professions	11%
Nursing	19%
Pastoral Counseling & Specialized Ministries	75%
Theological & Ministerial Studies	19%
Theology & Religious Vocations	42%

The table below shows how the average growth rate over 4 years at NNU 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 NNU.

Major	Growth Rate Rank
Pastoral Counseling & Specialized Ministries	#66
Theological & Ministerial Studies	#161
Theology & Religious Vocations	#249

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%.

Northwest Nazarene University Undergraduate Concentrations

The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.

Major	Associate’s	Bachelor’s	Graduate Certificate	Master’s	Doctor’s	TOTAL
Nursing	0	51	0	45	0	96
Social Work	0	15	0	53	0	68
Business Administration & Management	1	30	0	33	0	64
Educational Administration	0	0	42	9	9	60
General Biology	0	30	0	0	0	30
Curriculum & Instruction	0	0	0	21	0	21
Liberal Arts General Studies	1	19	0	0	0	20
Mental & Social Health Services	0	0	0	18	0	18
Communication & Media Studies	0	16	0	0	0	16
Pastoral Counseling & Specialized Ministries	0	5	0	11	0	16
Theological & Ministerial Studies	0	0	0	16	0	16
Accounting	1	14	0	0	0	15
Health & Physical Education	0	13	0	0	0	13
Marketing	0	12	0	0	0	12
Computer Science	0	12	0	0	0	12
Teacher Education Subject Specific	0	12	0	0	0	12
General Engineering	0	12	0	0	0	12
Religious Studies	0	12	0	0	0	12
General Psychology	0	11	0	0	0	11
Teacher Education Grade Specific	0	10	0	0	0	10
Student Counseling	0	0	0	9	0	9
General English Literature	0	7	0	0	0	7
Criminal Justice & Corrections	0	7	0	0	0	7
Design & Applied Arts	0	7	0	0	0	7
Business/Managerial Economics	0	6	0	0	0	6
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology	0	5	0	0	0	5
Mathematics	0	4	0	0	0	4
Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology	0	3	0	0	0	3
International Business	0	3	0	0	0	3
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions	0	3	0	0	0	3
Interdisciplinary Studies	0	3	0	0	0	3
Philosophy	0	3	0	0	0	3
Physics	0	3	0	0	0	3
International Relations & National Security	0	2	0	0	0	2
Music	0	2	0	0	0	2
History	0	1	0	0	0	1
Chemistry	0	1	0	0	0	1
Religious Education	0	1	0	0	0	1
Computer Software & Applications	0	0	0	0	0	0
Engineering Physics	0	0	0	0	0	0
Cultural Studies & Analysis	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other Philosophy & Religious Studies	0	0	0	0	0	0
General Social Sciences	0	0	0	0	0	0
Political Science & Government	0	0	0	0	0	0
Biblical Studies	0	0	0	0	0	0
Missionary Studies	0	0	0	0	0	0
Fine & Studio Arts	0	0	0	0	0	0
TOTAL	3	335	42	215	9	604

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 Moonraker0022 under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.