Iowa State University

Ames, IA · Public · 25,367 undergrads (large, city) · website ↗

Test-optional
$40 application fee

What you'll actually pay

Average net price per year — tuition, fees, room & board minus grant and scholarship aid — for in-state students by household income.

Household income	Avg net price / year
Under $30,000	$10,582
$30,000 – $48,000	$11,506
$48,000 – $75,000	$15,463
$75,000 – $110,000	$19,605
Over $110,000	$22,496
All incomes (average)	$18,589

Sticker tuition and fees: $10,787 in-state, $28,881 out-of-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use Iowa State University's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator ↗

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, on campus	$10,928
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$9,904
Books and supplies	$800
Other expenses, on campus	$2,900
Other expenses, off campus	$3,400

Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (5,683 of them) in 2022–23; 89% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.

Type of aid	Students awarded	Average amount
Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own	77%	$10,718
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	18%	$5,176
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	75%	$9,582
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	46%	$5,237

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.

Admissions & outcomes

Acceptance rate: 89%
Average SAT: 1204
Median ACT: 25
Students with Pell grants: 19%
Graduation rate (6yr): 75%
Freshman retention: 88%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $63,386
Median debt at graduation: $22,869
International undergrads: 875 (3.5%)

For comparison, the median across all 1,596 four-year colleges on this site: graduation rate 56%, earnings ten years after entering $54,869, debt at graduation $23,250.

Admission policy, test scores and teaching

SAT/ACT policy: Test-optional
Application fee: $40
Students per faculty member: 18 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 84%
Open admission: No

Middle 50% of test scores, fall 2024

25th to 75th percentile of enrolled first-year students who submitted scores. A quarter scored below the first figure and a quarter above the second. Section ranges can't be added together into a total-score range.

SAT Reading and Writing: 560–670
SAT Math: 560–690
ACT composite: 21–28

What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023

How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.

High school GPA	Required
High school class rank	Considered if submitted
High school record	Required
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Required
Recommendations	Not considered
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Not considered
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Required
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	Not considered
Work experience	Not considered
Personal statement or essay	Not considered
Legacy status	Not considered

First-time applicants: 22,995
Admitted: 20,496
Enrolled: 5,859

Counts of first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, including early decision and early action. The acceptance rate higher up this page comes from a different College Scorecard release, so it may not match these counts.

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.

Most popular fields of study

Share of bachelor's degrees awarded.

Engineering21%

Business20%

Agriculture10%

Biology & Life Sciences6%

Computer Science6%

Education4%

Kinesiology & Sports Science4%

Psychology4%

Visual & Performing Arts4%

Communications & Media3%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Bachelor's degrees (79)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Mechanical Engineering	369	$77,031	$85,938national $92,135	$22,971
Marketing	270	$56,055	$66,482national $69,303	$21,500
Business Administration, Management and Operations	260	$60,808	$78,304national $68,257	$19,427
Design and Applied Arts	245	$45,054	$52,671national $51,490	$25,490
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	235	$40,853	$60,059national $54,562	$23,250
Finance and Financial Management Services	232	$64,168	$75,360national $83,343	$20,750
Animal Sciences	231	$44,561	$51,644national $49,634	$20,000
Computer Engineering	217	$83,366	$105,753national $109,015	$24,250
Psychology, General	217	$38,802	$49,286national $50,706	$20,500
Agricultural Business and Management	212	$59,562	$67,529national $66,647	$15,000
Biology, General	177	$39,244	$53,447national $57,214	$21,500
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering	173	$79,517	$94,089national $98,207	$25,250
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	171	$46,492	$47,462national $47,382	$22,500
Computer Science	141	$81,601	$104,211national $107,009	$24,050
Computer and Information Sciences, General	134	$62,978	$83,267national $92,374	$21,400
Accounting and Related Services	134	$62,351	$70,706national $76,194	$19,500
Plant Sciences	118	$48,895	$60,997national $56,567	$17,504
Criminal Justice and Corrections	113	$44,847	$61,166national $55,378	$19,550
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	98	$81,522	$99,705national $100,647	$22,429
Civil Engineering	96	$75,489	$85,427national $86,517	$21,500
Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology	95	$34,656	$39,143national $48,842	$21,500
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication	90	$48,560	$62,965national $63,560	$19,500
Natural Resources Conservation and Research	80	$43,359	$51,387national $55,012	$19,095
Apparel and Textiles	79	$43,793	$60,349national $57,640	$22,525
Architectural Sciences and Technology	78	$61,214	—national $70,074	$28,253
Engineering-Related Fields	77	$69,879	$82,548national $89,619	$22,475
Industrial Engineering	76	$78,621	$92,914national $98,442	$23,250
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	76	$39,154	$54,889national $53,072	$19,498
Chemical Engineering	73	$79,106	$92,773national $98,158	$23,201
Hospitality Administration/Management	70	$46,372	$55,491national $56,726	$22,250
Communication and Media Studies	66	$45,887	$57,110national $56,359	$19,425
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services	66	$38,938	$46,253national $48,568	$18,445
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	66	$69,353	—national $86,176	$21,000
Political Science and Government	64	$41,710	$57,752national $63,293	$17,750
History	63	$41,458	$52,934national $50,680	$25,000
English Language and Literature, General	58	$43,430	$49,626national $48,590	$18,761
Construction Engineering	54	$79,703	$100,676national $97,303	$22,500
International Agriculture	51	$43,523	$56,405national $56,491	$17,282
Mathematics	50	$55,421	$62,261national $69,562	$18,625
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	47	$47,409	$52,622national $51,389	$17,250
Chemistry	44	$57,526	$66,486national $65,120	$19,500
Education, General	43	—	—national $49,808	$21,375
Intelligence, Command Control and Information Operations	42	—	—national $75,803	$25,500
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	40	$49,981	$61,697national $55,000	$27,000
Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services	40	—	$54,391national $55,753	$19,500
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations	40	$58,250	—national $61,027	$18,722
Agricultural Mechanization	39	$69,450	$78,890national $71,278	$15,777
Journalism	37	$43,049	$53,633national $56,278	$18,855
Genetics	36	$42,109	$55,037national $66,076	$23,500
Agricultural Engineering	35	$74,047	$88,576national $84,624	$18,750
Statistics	35	$60,621	$72,581national $92,425	$22,000
Microbiological Sciences and Immunology	31	—	$49,875national $62,582	$24,572
Sociology	31	$36,395	$55,714national $52,657	$19,641
Materials Engineering	30	$72,014	$83,416national $91,449	$25,500
Forestry	28	$42,466	$52,650national $58,784	$22,413
Sustainability Studies	28	$55,068	—national $57,887	$27,250
Economics	24	$60,188	$75,355national $82,686	$19,694
Food Science and Technology	21	—	$65,943national $70,873	—
Nutrition Sciences	21	$41,420	$53,933national $60,053	—
Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology	20	—	$52,786national $60,997	$24,292
Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services	19	—	$40,726national $49,984	—
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology	19	$46,267	$63,026national $65,466	$21,117
Anthropology	19	$35,190	$43,443national $46,676	$26,000
Human Resources Management and Services	18	—	—national $68,069	$22,335
Visual and Performing Arts, General	16	$33,710	$39,403national $41,688	—
Family and Consumer Economics and Related Studies	15	—	$62,341national $53,262	—
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	15	—	$44,892national $70,786	—
City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning	14	$49,560	$61,173national $66,874	$24,375
Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General	14	—	$51,531national $48,460	—
International Business	14	$66,155	—national $73,201	—
Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering	13	—	—national $81,171	$25,286
Area Studies	11	$31,298	$61,860national $56,625	—
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies	11	—	$69,673national $48,471	—
Medical Illustration and Informatics	9	—	$49,493national $73,739	—
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences	8	—	$65,204national $60,190	—
Business/Managerial Economics	8	—	$93,379national $77,981	—
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other	3	—	$54,064national $55,693	—
Architecture	0	—	$69,310national $66,914	—
Management Information Systems and Services	0	—	$87,413national $83,290	—

Master's degrees (21)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Computer and Information Sciences, General	115	$88,599	—national $124,201	—
Human Computer Interaction	73	$121,685	—national $115,403	$27,560
Biology, General	44	$34,126	—national $69,830	$26,000
Accounting and Related Services	39	—	$92,050national $95,833	—
Plant Sciences	36	$80,421	$116,149national $70,814	—
Civil Engineering	26	$77,995	$95,102national $98,323	—
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	22	$79,989	—national $124,807	$19,650
Architectural Sciences and Technology	20	—	$66,778national $77,466	—
Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General	19	$55,172	—national $60,397	—
Design and Applied Arts	18	$53,760	—national $70,073	—
Agricultural Engineering	15	—	$87,824national $91,410	—
Agricultural Public Services	10	$58,070	$60,737national $59,544	—
Industrial Engineering	8	$111,454	$139,590national $119,184	—
Statistics	7	—	$130,131national $123,816	—
English Language and Literature, General	5	$43,026	—national $55,512	—
Food Science and Technology	3	$58,971	—national $88,332	$25,879
Education, General	2	$53,026	$60,708national $65,824	$22,884
City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning	1	—	$79,527national $79,665	—
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	0	$119,229	$136,132national $133,654	—
Mechanical Engineering	—	$99,600	$106,245national $115,974	—
Business Administration, Management and Operations	0	$87,465	$123,109national $103,485	$40,569

First professional degrees (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Veterinary Medicine	157	$100,172	$111,742national $131,316	$150,771

Doctoral degrees (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Psychology, General	11	$76,763	—national $98,707	—

Graduate certificates (2)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Food Science and Technology	0	$53,521	—	—
Education, General	0	$61,490	—national $69,448	—

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 223 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: 1750 Beardshear Hall, Ames, IA 50011-2103
Phone: (515) 294-4111
Institutional accreditor: Higher Learning Commission

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS Fall Enrolment for international student counts. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Verify current costs and requirements with the school.

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