Northern Kentucky University

Overview

Rankings

• #1 Best Business Colleges in Kentucky
• #2 Best Online Colleges in Kentucky
• #2 Best Computer Science Colleges in Kentucky
• #2 Best Nursing Colleges in Kentucky
• #2 Best Data Science Colleges in Kentucky
• #3 Best Colleges in Kentucky
• #3 Best Bachelor's Programs in Kentucky
• #3 Best Master's Programs in Kentucky

Academics & Admissions

Is It Hard to Get Into Northern Kentucky University? Acceptance Rate & Requirements

Northern Kentucky University, located in Highland Heights, Kentucky, offers a realistic path to admission, with roughly 68% of applicants receiving an offer. Admitted students typically arrive with an average SAT score near 1,087. The graduation rate is roughly 50%.

Acceptance Rate

68%

Retention Rate

76%

SAT Average

1087

ACT Midpoint

23

SAT Range

953–1150

ACT Range

18–25

Full-Time Faculty

55%

Faculty Salary (mo)

$8,693

Student–Faculty Ratio

17:1

Diversity Index

0.43

First-Gen Students

38%

Applicants

6,905

Admitted

5,939

Inside the Admissions Office

School-reported Common Data Set · 2025-26

The acceptance rate tells you how hard Northern Kentucky University is to get into. Its Common Data Set tells you what happens once you are admitted: how many students say yes, how many arrived without test scores, and whether applying early tilts the odds. 23% of admitted students go on to enroll here, making it a school most admitted students ultimately pass on.

Yield Rate

23%

of admits enroll

Submitted SAT

3%

of enrolled freshmen

Submitted ACT

40%

of enrolled freshmen

Cost & Financial Aid

How Much Does It Cost to Attend Northern Kentucky University? Tuition, Net Price & Aid

Published tuition at Northern Kentucky University is $21,912, but few families pay that. The number to watch is net price, what students actually pay each year after federal grants and institutional scholarships. Here it averages about $8,191. Students from families earning under $30,000 typically pay closer to $2,603 after need-based grants. The median graduate leaves with about $23,000 in federal student loans.

In-State Tuition

$11,088

Out-of-State

$21,912

Avg Net Price

$8,191

Median Debt

$23,000

Pell Grant Rate

25%

Federal Loan Rate

31%

Students Like You

Tell us a little about yourself to see what students like you have typically experienced at Northern Kentucky University — the net price for your income, your admission odds, and the outcomes that follow. These are patterns from federal data, not predictions.

Graduate Outcomes

Is Northern Kentucky University Worth It? Graduate Earnings & ROI

Ten years out, alumni of Northern Kentucky University earn a median of $50,220, roughly in line with the national average for college graduates.

6 Years After Entry

$42,105

8 Years

$46,837

10 Years

$50,220

Debt-to-Earnings

0.46x

Earning > $25K

64%

Social Mobility

Data: Raj Chetty's Mobility Report Card · 30M+ anonymized tax records

Does Northern Kentucky University Drive Upward Mobility? Economic Mobility & Low-Income Outcomes

Northern Kentucky University is a measurable contributor to upward mobility. Its mobility rate, the share of students who start in the bottom income quintile and climb to the top, is 0.94%, in line with strong performers nationally. About 6.5% of students come from families in the bottom income quintile. Among bottom-quintile students who attend, roughly 14.4% go on to reach the top of the income ladder. The median family income of students sits near $86,400, a snapshot of the campus's socioeconomic mix.

Mobility Rate

0.94%

Bottom 20% → Top 20%

Success Rate

14.4%

If bottom 20% get in

From Bottom 20%

6.5%

Share of students

Parent Median Income

$117,387

today's $ (2015 cohort data)

Social Capital

Data: Opportunity Insights Social Capital Atlas

How Connected Is Northern Kentucky University? Social Capital & Cross-Class Networks

Social capital, the web of cross-class friendships that researchers link to long-run upward mobility, runs high at Northern Kentucky University. Its economic connectedness score is 1.57, where about 1.0 is the national norm. Its friending bias is low (-0.02), a sign that students from different economic backgrounds actually mix rather than self-segregate. Around 8% of students take part in civic and volunteering activity.

Economic Connectedness

1.57

Cross-class friendships

Friending Bias

-0.02

Lower = more inclusive

Volunteering Rate

8.0%

Support Ratio

0.99

Community support

Innovation & Knowledge Creation

Patents, inventors, and research influence · Opportunity Insights & Times Higher Education

Northern Kentucky University produces inventors at a measurable rate, with 15 patents tied to its graduates.

Inventor Rate

0.14%

Top 87% nationally

Patents Produced

15

Linked to graduates

Patent Citations

17

Downstream influence

Institutional Finances

Data: NCES IPEDS

Federal Grants

$3,068,000

Investment Income

$2,471,000

Top Programs

The fields Northern Kentucky University awards the most degrees in, by share of completions. Where federal field-of-study data exists, we show what graduates in that major earned early in their careers. Each links to its degree guide — or see what someone with your income, scores, and major would pay and earn here in the Students Like You simulator.

• Business & Marketing 23% $74,862 early-career
• Health Professions 17% $65,708 early-career
• Computer Science & IT 9% $70,188 early-career
• Humanities 7% $28,558 early-career
• Biology & Biomedical 6% $41,024 early-career
• Psychology 6% $34,444 early-career
• Education 6% $42,931 early-career
• Communications 5% $44,437 early-career

Early-career median earnings by major (typically 1–2 years after completion, bachelor's level where available), in today's dollars (CPI-adjusted). Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard field of study. Distinct from the school-wide 10-year median; suppressed for small programs.