Schools – Nebraska
Prospective students interested in Nebraska’s few, but well-established colleges and universities will likely be attracted to the potential provided by the state’s institutions. Nebraska is a leader among the Midwestern states in many ways. Their motto, “Equality Before the Law”, reflects the state’s spirit of justice and equality for everyone. The state’s dedication to education is uniquely reflected in the state’s public and private institutions as well. Few may realize that Nebraska has some of the oldest post-secondary institutions in the Midwest. And indeed, while the state is relatively small in population, as most Midwestern states tend to be, it has a very high quality of education to provide residents and non-residents alike.
Nebraska’s public institutions are few, but distinguished. Ostensibly, there is only one public university in Nebraska: The University of Nebraska. Originally founded in 1869 in Lincoln, the school slowly absorbed several other institutions over the next 100 years, eventually encompassing 4 schools across the state. The four schools that carry the University of Nebraska name are the University of Nebraska Omaha, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Nebraska at Kearney, and University of Nebraska Medical Center, which is located in Omaha. The Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture, located in Curtis, Nebraska, is not a part of the school’s public university system, but is managed by the University of Nebraska. There are 3 other public schools within the state: Chadron State College, Peru State College and Wayne State College. These schools are members of the Nebraska State College System, and each have different educational focuses.
Each of the schools maintain unique focuses, allowing students enrolled in the institution to attend various campuses for various different purposes. The University of Nebraska Omaha, which was originally founded in 1908 as Omaha University, can be seen as the state’s primary commuter school. It is also one of the few institutions in the country that maintains a Space Grant from the federal government. UNO’s academic renown can be found in its School of Public Administration, in which it is a national leader. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is the state’s flagship school, and maintains a highly intensive focus on research. The school boasts of a hefty $1.5 billion endowment. Its English department is world-renowned. The University of Nebraska at Kearney has a unique focus on undergraduates. It operates in a smaller setting than the other institutions. Founded in 1905, it’s eCampus was ranked 8th in overall for online colleges in the entire United States. Finally, the University of Nebraska Medical Center, founded in 1880, joined with the school in 1902. The school ranks well in the U.S. News and World Report’s national rankings for medical schools, coming in at #4 out of 153 schools for primary care programs.
Although it only has 7, distinctly interconnected public universities, Nebraska is home to more than twice as many as many private colleges and universities. The majority of these (10 in all), were founded in the Later 1800s, not long after the state was admitted into the Union. The four liberal arts colleges in the state are: Creighton University, Doane College, Hastings College, and Nebraska Wesleyan University. The private colleges and universities within the state are Bellevue University, Bryan College of Health Sciences, Clarkson College, College of Saint Mary, Concordia University, Grace University, Midland University, Nebraska Christian College, Nebraska Methodist College, Summit Christian College, Union College and York College. There are also several community colleges across the state, each providing 2-year degree programs for local students. A few of these are tribal colleges for the state’s Native American populations.
Students interested in Nebraska’s schools will be pleased to learn that most of the state’s schools, both public and private, are ranked well both nationally and regionally. Creighton University holds the honor of being ranked #1 among Midwestern schools in the U.S. News and World Report’s regional university rankings. You will find the College of Saint Mary (ranked #75), Concordia University (ranked #44). Hastings College (ranked #14), Midland University (ranked #60), Union College (ranked #48), University of Nebraska-Kearney (ranked #46), Wayne State College (ranked #75) and York College (ranked #69). As far as national rankings, Doane College ranks #158 among national liberal arts colleges, and Nebraska Wesleyan University ranks at #143 in the same category. While prospective students will find themselves likely paying more for college in Nebraska than in most other Midwestern states, they can also rest easy that the average salary after attending schools is higher than the national average for most of the state’s institutions.
Traditional Colleges In Nebraska
Chadron State College
- Site – www.csc.edu
- Phone – 800-CHADRON
- Admissions – inquire@csc.edu
- Financial Aid – start@csc.edu
College of St. Mary
- Site – www.csm.edu
- Phone – 800-926-5534
- Admissions – info@csm.edu
- Financial Aid – expresscenter2@csm.edu
Creighton University
- Site – www.creighton.edu
- Phone – 866-717-6365
- Admissions – info@creighton.edu
- Financial Aid – expresscenter2@csm.edu
Doane College
- Site – www.doane.edu
- Phone – 800-333-6263
- Admissions – aoffice@doane.edu
- Financial Aid – faoffice@doane.edu
Grace University
- Site – www.graceuniversity.edu
- Phone – 402-449-2831
- Admissions – tchristensen@graceu.edu
- Financial Aid – tchristensen@graceu.edu
Hastings College
- Site – www.hastings.edu
- Phone – 800-532-7642
- Admissions – hcadmissions@hastings.edu
- Financial Aid – tgraham@hastings.edu
Midland Lutheran College
- Site – www.cofo.edu
- Phone – 800-642-8382
- Admissions – admiss4@cofo.edu
- Financial Aid – FinancialAid2@cofo.edu
Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture
- Site – www.cottey.edu
- Phone – 1-800-3CURTIS (308)-367-4124
- Admissions – enrollmgt@cottey.edu
- Financial Aid – financialaid@cottey.edu
Nebraska Methodist College
- Site – www.culver.edu
- Phone – 800-335-5510 or 402-354-4879
- Admissions – admissions@culver.edu
- Financial Aid – admissions@culver.edu
Nebraska Wesleyan University
- Site – www.drury.edu
- Phone – 800-541-3818
- Admissions – druryad@lib.drury.edu
- Financial Aid – druryad@lib.drury.edu
Peru State College
- Site – www.evangel.edu
- Phone – 800-742-4412
- Admissions – admissions@evangel.edu
- Financial Aid – admissions@evangel.edu
Union College
- Site – www.fontbonne.edu
- Phone – 800-228-4600
- Admissions – fadmiss@fontbonne.edu
- Financial Aid – financialaid@fontbonne.edu
University of Nebraska
- Site – www.nebraska.edu
- Phone – 800-742-8800
- Admissions – na
- Financial Aid – na
Wayne State College
- Site – www.wsc.edu
- Phone – 800-228-9972
- Admissions – na
- Financial Aid – na
York College
- Site – www.york.edu
- 800-950-YORK or (402) 363-5627
- Admissions – na
- Financial Aid – na
Community Colleges – Nebraska
Central Community College
- Site – www.cccneb.edu
- Address – 3134 US-34, Grand Island, NE 68802
- Phone – (308) 398-4222
Little Priest Tribal College
- Site – www.littlepriest.edu
- Address – E College Dr, Winnebago, NE 68071
- Phone – (402) 878-2380
Metropolitan Community College
- Site – www.mccneb.edu
- Address – 5300 N 30th St, Omaha, NE 68111
- Phone – (402) 457-2400
Mid-Plains Community College
- Site – www.mccneb.edu
- Address – 1101 Halligan Drive, North Platte, NE, 69101
- Phone – 800-658-4308
Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture
- Site – ncta.unl.edu
- Address – 404 E 7th St, Curtis, NE 69025
- Phone – (308) 367-4124
Nebraska Indian Community College
- Site – www.thenicc.edu
- Address – 1111 US-75, Macy, NE 68039
- Phone – (402) 494-2311
Northeast Community College
- Site – www.northeast.edu
- Address – 801 E Benjamin Ave, Norfolk, NE 68701
- Phone – (402) 371-2020
Southeast Community College
- Site – www.southeast.edu
- Address – 68520, 8800 O St, Lincoln, NE 68520
- Phone – (402) 761-2131
Western Nebraska Community College
- Site – www.wncc.net
- Address – 1601 E 27th St, Scottsbluff, NE 69361
- Phone – (308) 635-3606
Nebraska Vocational, Career & Trade
Lincoln
Kaplan University
Omaha
Kaplan University
University of Phoenix
Vatterott College
Online Degrees and Programs In Nebraska
Nebraska is one of the leaders in online degree programs, especially among Midwestern states. The state has a very active online degree program at its undergraduate-focused university, The University of Nebraska Kearney. The eCampus located at the school offers a wide variety of both fully-online and blended degree programs for Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, as well as Minors, endorsements and certificates. UNK’s eCampus offers undergraduate degrees in Business Administration, Criminal Justice, Early Childhood Education, Organizational and Relational Communication and Sociology. Graduate degree offerings cover a somewhat minimal spectrum, primarily in education of various sorts.
All public institutions in Nebraska participate what is called the Online Worldwide program. This program allows students to access degrees at all 4 of the state’s University of Nebraska campuses. Through this system, over 100 online programs are made available. Programs cover the academic spectrum, and include Agriculture, Architecture, Business, Computer Science, Education, Engineering, Family Studies, General Studies, Health Sciences, Humanities, Journalism, Law, Library Sciences, Natural and Physical Sciences, Public Administration and Social Sciences. The offered degree programs are unique among online degree programs, with options that students are likely to find in very few other places across the country. The Space, Cyber and Telecommunications Law LLM Master’s degree, offered through the Online Worldwide program from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is a 21st century degree with a future-forward curriculum. The graduate certificate in Quilt Studies offered from UNL also provides interesting variety.
Because Nebraska’s public schools are more expensive than most other Midwestern public schools, prospective students can expect to pay a bit more than in competing states. However, the institutions still provide the quality online degrees at well under the national average. The top ranked programs, however, can be found in several of the state’s private institutions: Chadron State College, Wayne State College, Nebraska Methodist College, Creighton University and Bellevue University. Students will find that Chadron, Wayne and Nebraska Methodist each come in under the national average for annual costs, while Creighton University costs a rather hefty $26,000 annually. Students looking for value should consider the following schools: Chadron State College (cost per credit: $185), Peru State College (cost per credit: $225), University of Nebraska at Omaha (cost per credit: $244), University of Nebraska at Kearney (cost per credit: $252) and University of Nebraska-Lincoln (cost per credit: $257).