University of Nebraska at Kearney Overview
University of Nebraska at Kearney is a public institution situated in Kearney, Nebraska. The surrounding location of Kearney is ideal for students who enjoy the charms of a college town.
What Is University of Nebraska at Kearney Known For?
- The 5% student loan default rate at UNK 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 post-master's certificate is the highest award a student can attain at UNK.
- In 2017-2018, 72% of the faculty were full-time.
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University of Nebraska at Kearney Rankings
According to our 2021 analysis, UNK is ranked #334 out of 2,320 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 15% of all schools in the nation. It is also ranked #4 out of 17 schools in Nebraska.
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 UNK.
Awards From Around the Web
The following table lists some notable awards UNK has earned from around the web.
Rank | Ranking Name | Source |
---|---|---|
#5 | Best Value Colleges for Education | College Factual |
#18 | Best Colleges for Education | College Factual |
#44 | Best Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies | College Factual |
#46 | Best Colleges for Fine & Studio Arts | College Factual |
#64 | Best Teaching Bachelor’s Degree Schools | Teaching Degree Search |
#64 | Best Colleges for Teacher Education Grade Specific | College Factual |
Where Is University of Nebraska at Kearney?

Contact details for UNK are given below.
Contact Details | |
---|---|
Address: | 2504 9Th Avenue, Kearney, NE 68849-1212 |
Phone: | 308-865-8441 |
Website: | www.unk.edu |
Facebook: | http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kearney-NE/University-of-Nebraska-at-Kearney/24920010058 |
How Do I Get Into UNK?
You can apply to UNK online at: www.unk.edu/admissions/apply.php
Admission Requirements for UNK
Submission | Required? |
---|---|
High School GPA | neither required nor recommended |
High School Rank | required |
High School Transcript | required |
College Prep Program | neither required nor recommended |
Recommendations | neither required nor recommended |
SAT or ACT Scores | required |
TOEFL | required |
How Hard Is It To Get Into UNK?
Approximately 42% of accepted students are men and 58% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 80%, and the acceptance rate for women is 83%.
Average Test Scores
About 1% of students accepted to UNK submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 510 and 555. Math scores were between 525 and 588.
Can I Afford University of Nebraska at Kearney?
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 UNK, approximately 51% of students took out student loans averaging $5,959 a year. That adds up to $23,836 over four years for those students.
The student loan default rate at UNK 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.
University of Nebraska at Kearney Undergraduate Student Diversity

There are also 1,850 graduate students at the school.
Gender Diversity
Of the 3,827 full-time undergraduates at UNK, 40% are male and 60% are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity
The racial-ethnic breakdown of University of Nebraska at Kearney students is as follows.

Race/Ethnicity | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Asian | 34 |
Black or African American | 81 |
Hispanic or Latino | 474 |
White | 2,890 |
International Students | 233 |
Other Races/Ethnicities | 115 |
Geographic Diversity
Nebraska students aren't the only ones who study at University of Nebraska at Kearney. At this time, 23 states are represented by the student population at the school.
Over 31 countries are represented at UNK. The most popular countries sending students to the school are Japan, China, and Oman.
Online Learning at University of Nebraska at Kearney
The following chart shows how the online learning population at UNK has changed over the last few years.

This school is the 5th most popular in Nebraska for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2017-2018.
Online Growth Rankings of UNK
The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at University of Nebraska at Kearney was 6.4%. This is the #1,579 largest growth rate of all schools that are only partially online. This refers to all students at UNK regardless of major.
The following table shows the 1-year growth rate of UNK majors that offer at least one online course. This table only includes majors with positive growth.
Major | 1-Year Growth Rate |
---|---|
Curriculum & Instruction | 39% |
Education | 15% |
English Language & Literature | 5% |
Family & Consumer Economics | 2% |
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences | 2% |
General English Literature | 4% |
History | 13% |
History | 13% |
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities | 17% |
Liberal Arts General Studies | 17% |
Special Education | 43% |
Student Counseling | 2% |
Teacher Education Grade Specific | 13% |
Writing Studies | 7% |
The table below shows how the average growth rate over 4 years at UNK 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 UNK.
Major | Growth Rate Rank | |
---|---|---|
Fine & Studio Arts | #14 | |
Romance Languages | #17 | |
General Biology | #19 | |
Music | #19 | |
Geography & Cartography | #30 | |
Foreign Languages & Linguistics | #31 | |
General English Literature | #35 | |
Biological & Biomedical Sciences | #36 | |
Sociology | #37 | |
Student Counseling | #38 | |
History | #43 | |
History | #43 | |
Writing Studies | #49 | |
Social Work | #51 | |
Visual & Performing Arts | #67 | |
English Language & Literature | #78 | |
Curriculum & Instruction | #94 | |
Special Education | #133 | |
Social Sciences | #138 | |
Teacher Education Subject Specific | #138 | |
Public Administration & Social Service | #144 | |
Teacher Education Grade Specific | #186 | |
Educational Administration | #186 | |
Criminal Justice & Corrections | #273 | |
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting | #311 | |
Education | #442 |
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 Nebraska at Kearney 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 Ammodramus under License
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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