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University of Kansas

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University of Kansas Overview

University of Kansas is a public institution situated in Lawrence, Kansas. The city atmosphere of Lawrence makes it a great place for students who enjoy having lots of educational and entertainment options.

What Is University of Kansas Known For?

4,650 Undergraduate Awards
$33,228 Avg Cost After Aid
91% Acceptance Rate
  • The doctor's degree is the highest award offered at KU.
  • In 2017-2018, 85% of the faculty were full-time.
  • Students who graduate from KU with a bachelor's degree make about $48,800 a year. That's 20% more than those who graduate from other schools.

Best Schools

University of Kansas Rankings

KU landed the #366 spot in our 2022 ranking of best colleges. We analyzed 2,587 colleges and universities across the nation to determine this ranking. This puts it in the top 15% of all schools in the nation. Out of the 54 colleges in Kansas, it is ranked at #3.

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.

KU has also been awarded the following overall awards by our latest rankings.

Rank Ranking Name Share
#143 Best Undergraduate Certificate Schools Tweet It - Post It

Program Level Awards

These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at KU.

Rank Ranking Name Share
#1 Best Graduate Certificate Schools Tweet It - Post It
#1 Best Non-Professional Legal Studies Graduate Certificate Schools Tweet It - Post It
#9 Best Instructional Media Design Master’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#23 Best Health/Medical Admin Services Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#26 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#26 Best Health & Physical Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#38 Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#47 Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#57 Best Communication & Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#102 Best Psychology Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It

Awards From Around the Web

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

Rank Ranking Name Source
#21 Best Journalism Schools College Factual
#36 Best Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science Schools College Factual
#73 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools College Factual
#81 Best Nursing Schools Nursing Degree Search
#89 Best Communication & Journalism Schools College Factual
#134 Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools College Factual

Where Is University of Kansas?

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Contact details for KU are given below.

Contact Details
Address: Strong Hall, 1450 Jayhawk Blvd, Room 230, Lawrence, KS 66045
Phone: 785-864-2700
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KU
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KUNews

How Do I Get Into KU?

You can apply to KU online at: https://admissions.ku.edu/

Admission Requirements for KU

Submission Required?
High School GPA required
High School Rank recommended
High School Transcript recommended
College Prep Program recommended
Recommendations recommended
SAT or ACT Scores considered but not required
TOEFL required

How Hard Is It To Get Into KU?

91% Acceptance Rate
55% Of Accepted Are Women
21% Submit SAT Scores
Since KU has an acceptance rate of 91%, it is not too hard to gain acceptance into the school. Still, you need to be sure you complete your application in full and send in any other requested documents.

Approximately 45% of accepted students are men and 55% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 88%, and the acceptance rate for women is 93%.

Average Test Scores

About 21% of students accepted to KU submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 540 and 650. Math scores were between 530 and 670.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for University of Kansas  ( 540 to 650 )
200
800

SAT Math Scores for University of Kansas  ( 530 to 670 )
200
800
KU received ACT scores from 89% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT English scores ranged between 22 and 30. Math scores were between 21 and 28. Composite scores were between 22 and 29.

ACT English Scores for University of Kansas  ( 22 to 30 )
1
36
ACT Math Scores for University of Kansas  ( 21 to 28 )
1
36
ACT Composite Scores for University of Kansas  ( 22 to 29 )
1
36

Can I Afford University of Kansas?

$33,228 Net Price
43% Take Out Loans
5.2% Loan Default Rate
The overall average net price of KU is $33,228. 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

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 KU, approximately 43% of students took out student loans averaging $7,251 a year. That adds up to $29,004 over four years for those students.

The student loan default rate at KU is 5.2%. 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.

University of Kansas Undergraduate Student Diversity

16,439 Full-Time Undergraduates
53% Women
24% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
There are 19,135 undergraduate students at KU, with 16,439 being full-time and 2,696 being part-time.

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There are also 7,609 graduate students at the school.

Gender Diversity

Of the 16,439 full-time undergraduates at KU, 47% are male and 53% are female.

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Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 898
Black or African American 660
Hispanic or Latino 1,444
White 11,578
International Students 803
Other Races/Ethnicities 1,056

Geographic Diversity

Kansas students aren't the only ones who study at University of Kansas. At this time, 48 states are represented by the student population at the school.

Over 106 countries are represented at KU. The most popular countries sending students to the school are China, India, and Saudi Arabia.

Online Learning at University of Kansas

4,611 Took All Classes Online
24,079 Took At Least One Class Online
37.4% Avg Growth Over 4 Years
There are 10 bachelor’s degree and 14 master’s degree programs available online at KU. In 2019-2020, 24,079 students took at least one online class at the school.

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

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This school is the 2nd most popular in Kansas for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2019-2020.

Online Affordability Rankings of KU

The following table shows how KU 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
Applied Statistics #1 #1
Behavioral Science #2 #2
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences #4 #4
Nutrition Science #7 #10
Radio, Television & Digital Communication #13 #16
Medical Illustration & Informatics #19 #19
Statistics #22 #10
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies #22 #47
Health & Physical Education #25 #50
General English Literature #37 #55
Biological & Biomedical Sciences #40 #40
Allied Health Professions #49 #70
Political Science & Government #49 #58
Mathematics & Statistics #58 #55

Online Growth Rankings of KU

The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at University of Kansas was 37.4%. This is the #796 largest growth rate of all schools that are only partially online. This refers to all students at KU regardless of major.

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

Major 1-Year Growth Rate
Allied Health Professions 33%
Behavioral Science 9%
Biological & Biomedical Sciences 15%
Biomathematics & Bioinformatics 18%
Business Administration & Management 0%
Communication & Media Studies 10%
General Psychology 7%
Health & Physical Education 6%
Health Professions 1%
History 23%
History 23%
Medical Illustration & Informatics 67%
Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies 14%
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies 6%
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences 1%
Psychology 5%
Public Administration 27%
Public Administration & Social Service 21%
Public Health 9%
Teaching English or French 45%

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

Major Growth Rate Rank
Applied Statistics #2
Nutrition Science #4
Behavioral Science #5
Bioethics/Medical Ethics #6
Biomathematics & Bioinformatics #10
Mathematics & Statistics #16
General English Literature #18
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences #19
Radio, Television & Digital Communication #21
Political Science & Government #23
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services #24
Medical Illustration & Informatics #24
Teaching English or French #26
History #30
History #30
Biological & Biomedical Sciences #34
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions #38
Communication & Media Studies #43
Public Administration #44
English Language & Literature #55
Allied Health Professions #64
Health & Physical Education #70
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies #76
Curriculum & Instruction #78
General Psychology #78
Public Health #80
Communication & Journalism #89
Special Education #100
General Business/Commerce #108
Teacher Education Subject Specific #115
Social Sciences #121
Public Administration & Social Service #128
Psychology #141
Educational Administration #144
Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies #178
Health & Medical Administrative Services #255
Liberal Arts General Studies #262
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities #262
Nursing #271
Education #444

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%.

University of Kansas Undergraduate Concentrations

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

Major Undergraduate Certificate Bachelor’s Graduate Certificate Master’s Doctor’s TOTAL
Business Administration & Management 0 103 6 243 0 352
Nursing 0 192 17 13 72 294
Accounting 0 164 0 128 0 292
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences 0 126 0 13 144 283
Social Work 0 60 0 207 4 271
General Psychology 0 252 5 2 2 261
Journalism 0 243 0 17 0 260
Finance & Financial Management 0 228 0 0 0 228
Medicine 0 0 0 0 208 208
General Business/Commerce 0 122 69 0 7 198
Marketing 0 180 0 0 0 180
Health & Physical Education 0 180 0 0 0 180
General Biology 0 161 0 0 0 161
Communication & Media Studies 0 131 7 5 14 157
Economics 0 121 0 13 12 146
Special Education 0 0 22 111 12 145
Computer Information Systems 0 119 2 16 4 141
Mechanical Engineering 0 118 0 8 3 129
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 0 13 0 45 69 127
Curriculum & Instruction 0 0 0 111 8 119
Political Science & Government 0 112 0 3 2 117
Liberal Arts General Studies 0 109 2 0 0 111
Behavioral Science 0 96 9 2 4 111
Teacher Education Grade Specific 0 109 0 0 0 109
Law 0 0 0 0 103 103
Educational Administration 0 0 0 70 27 97
Chemical Engineering 0 90 0 3 0 93
General English Literature 0 81 0 4 7 92
Architectural Sciences & Technology 0 0 18 71 1 90
Civil Engineering 0 56 1 17 13 87
Teacher Education Subject Specific 0 28 18 32 6 84
Communication Sciences 0 42 0 26 16 84
Design & Applied Arts 0 78 1 2 0 81
Public Administration 0 21 13 40 5 79
History 0 67 0 1 10 78
Music 0 29 1 26 19 75
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods 0 68 0 0 0 68
Mathematics 0 50 2 10 5 67
Allied Health Professions 9 57 0 0 0 66
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 0 61 1 2 1 65
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology 0 54 0 6 4 64
Romance Languages 0 51 0 9 3 63
Human Biology 0 62 0 0 0 62
Fine & Studio Arts 0 39 0 18 5 62
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 0 43 0 7 6 56
International Studies 0 28 2 23 0 53
Chemistry 0 31 0 1 20 52
Natural Resources Conservation 0 47 1 0 0 48
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 0 0 30 15 0 45
Area Studies 0 25 8 10 2 45
Child Development & Psychology 0 29 0 8 8 45
Microbiological Sciences & Immunology 0 37 0 4 3 44
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology 0 0 0 25 19 44
Ethnic Studies 0 24 10 6 2 42
Management Information Systems 0 41 0 0 0 41
Architectural History 0 38 0 0 0 38
Health & Medical Administrative Services 0 20 0 15 3 38
Petroleum Engineering 0 29 4 4 0 37
Architectural Engineering 0 34 0 2 0 36
Electrical Engineering 0 25 0 4 7 36
Applied Statistics 0 0 1 34 0 35
Geological & Earth Sciences 0 21 0 12 2 35
Anthropology 0 29 0 3 3 35
Public Health 0 0 0 33 0 33
Sociology 0 28 0 1 3 32
Drama & Theater Arts 0 23 0 3 3 29
Computer Engineering 0 18 0 7 0 25
Engineering-Related Fields 0 0 0 24 0 24
Linguistics & Comparative Literature 0 15 0 7 2 24
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science 0 24 0 0 0 24
Mental & Social Health Services 0 24 0 0 0 24
Nutrition Science 0 0 0 20 4 24
Urban & Regional Planning 0 0 0 22 0 22
Geography & Cartography 0 10 4 5 3 22
East Asian Languages 0 19 1 1 0 21
Religious Studies 0 17 1 3 0 21
Teaching English or French 0 0 20 0 0 20
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology 0 14 0 3 2 19
Homeland Security 0 0 0 18 0 18
Biomathematics & Bioinformatics 0 0 4 4 9 17
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services 0 0 17 0 0 17
Physics 0 9 0 1 7 17
Non-Professional General Legal Studies 0 12 2 0 2 16
Biomedical Engineering 0 0 0 10 5 15
Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology 0 0 0 5 9 14
Dance 0 14 0 0 0 14
Pharmacology & Toxicology 0 0 0 8 5 13
Philosophy 0 9 0 2 2 13
Museum Studies 0 0 2 9 0 11
Physiology & Pathology Sciences 0 0 0 5 5 10
Slavic, Baltic & Albanian Languages 0 7 0 2 1 10
Biological & Physical Science 0 0 10 0 0 10
Cell Biology & Anatomical Sciences 0 0 0 4 5 9
Biotechnology 0 8 0 0 0 8
Instructional Media Design 0 0 1 7 0 8
Other Engineering 0 0 0 0 8 8
Environmental Engineering 0 0 0 5 2 7
Data Science 0 0 6 0 0 6
Engineering Physics 0 5 0 0 0 5
Writing Studies 0 0 0 5 0 5
Legal Research 0 0 0 1 4 5
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies 0 0 2 1 2 5
International Business 0 4 0 0 0 4
Education Philosophy 0 0 0 4 0 4
Classical Languages & Literature 0 2 0 2 0 4
Classical & Ancient Studies 0 4 0 0 0 4
Engineering Science 0 0 0 1 2 3
Medical Illustration & Informatics 0 0 1 2 0 3
Neurobiology & Neurosciences 0 0 0 1 1 2
Construction Management 0 0 0 2 0 2
Bioethics/Medical Ethics 0 0 2 0 0 2
Medieval Studies 0 0 2 0 0 2
Entrepreneurial Studies 0 0 1 0 0 1
Astronomy & Astrophysics 0 1 0 0 0 1
General Architecture 0 0 0 0 0 0
Zoology 0 0 0 0 0 0
Germanic Languages 0 0 0 0 0 0
Legal Professions (Other) 0 0 0 0 0 0
Statistics 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gerontology 0 0 0 0 0 0
TOTAL 9 4,641 326 1,675 951 7,602

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.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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