University of Kansas

Lawrence, KS · Public · 21,217 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	$12,544
$30,000 – $48,000	$12,942
$48,000 – $75,000	$15,154
$75,000 – $110,000	$19,169
Over $110,000	$22,544
All incomes (average)	$18,059

Sticker tuition and fees: $12,102 in-state, $30,432 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 University of Kansas'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	$12,998
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$11,359
Books and supplies	$1,224
Other expenses, on campus	$4,176
Other expenses, off campus	$4,176

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

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (4,371 of them) in 2022–23; 93% 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	89%	$10,644
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	21%	$5,099
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	85%	$9,441
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	42%	$5,176

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: 94%
Average SAT: 1190
Median ACT: 25
Students with Pell grants: 21%
Graduation rate (6yr): 69%
Freshman retention: 87%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $61,945
Median debt at graduation: $21,000
International undergrads: 699 (3.4%)

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: 78%
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: 540–650
SAT Math: 530–650
ACT composite: 20–28

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	Not considered
High school record	Not considered
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Not considered
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: 19,226
Admitted: 16,958
Enrolled: 5,259

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.

Business23%

Health & Nursing9%

Engineering9%

Psychology8%

Communications & Media6%

Kinesiology & Sports Science6%

Visual & Performing Arts5%

Biology & Life Sciences4%

Computer Science4%

Social Sciences4%

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 (53)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Psychology, General	289	$36,830	$55,329national $50,706	$21,500
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	223	$39,819	$62,876national $54,562	$20,000
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	187	$71,919	$78,601national $88,910	$15,000
Marketing	179	$51,242	$70,404national $69,303	$22,437
Finance and Financial Management Services	175	$66,413	$86,453national $83,343	$20,593
Computer and Information Sciences, General	173	$77,854	$92,008national $92,374	$18,100
Journalism	170	$46,649	$62,394national $56,278	$19,500
Business/Commerce, General	148	$51,375	$68,572national $68,407	$18,500
Accounting and Related Services	134	$63,395	$84,736national $76,194	$19,500
Mechanical Engineering	128	$75,737	$82,934national $92,135	$20,500
Political Science and Government	118	$40,063	$61,839national $63,293	$19,500
Business Administration, Management and Operations	110	$61,688	$77,725national $68,257	$18,844
Architectural Sciences and Technology	104	—	—national $70,074	$23,197
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	102	$44,967	$58,777national $53,072	$20,000
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	100	$45,792	$50,434national $47,382	$22,125
Human Biology	100	$31,592	$70,399national $64,732	$19,500
Communication and Media Studies	88	$50,341	$60,258national $56,359	$19,750
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	86	$71,577	$107,635national $86,176	$21,500
English Language and Literature, General	74	$32,613	$46,464national $48,590	$23,375
Chemical Engineering	71	$74,998	$93,391national $98,158	$19,183
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration	71	—	$125,384national $116,539	$12,577
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering	69	$75,920	$92,335national $98,207	$21,805
Social Work	63	$45,857	$55,582national $51,790	$20,500
Natural Resources Conservation and Research	61	$38,001	$54,687national $55,012	$18,353
Design and Applied Arts	60	$40,564	$59,441national $51,490	$21,250
Film/Video and Photographic Arts	58	$34,952	$41,191national $43,765	$18,375
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology	55	$53,479	$81,568national $65,466	$20,500
Civil Engineering	47	$75,378	$89,087national $86,517	$21,508
Behavioral Sciences	44	$40,365	$58,883national $48,673	$19,500
Microbiological Sciences and Immunology	41	$39,001	$65,861national $62,582	$21,500
Research and Experimental Psychology	39	$39,412	—national $55,695	—
Economics	39	$57,100	$69,084national $82,686	$18,500
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	38	$28,650	$59,436national $58,928	$16,750
Management Information Systems and Services	38	$65,889	$87,704national $83,290	$21,353
History	37	$35,065	$58,936national $50,680	$24,125
Sociology	35	$38,518	$48,146national $52,657	$17,949
Mathematics	32	—	$64,905national $69,562	—
Fine and Studio Arts	31	$33,953	$38,355national $41,367	$20,500
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	28	$81,760	—national $100,647	$21,000
Biology, General	28	$35,397	$61,561national $57,214	$17,353
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	24	$46,468	$52,106national $51,389	$23,250
Architectural Engineering	24	$79,698	$84,319national $89,406	$19,500
International/Globalization Studies	24	—	—national $59,972	$25,361
Interior Architecture	21	—	—national $60,369	$27,000
Chemistry	21	$51,584	—national $65,120	—
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions	21	$42,217	$57,252national $52,119	—
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	20	—	$53,864national $70,786	—
Computer Engineering	15	—	$113,339national $109,015	—
Anthropology	15	$35,167	—national $46,676	—
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft	14	$30,974	—national $39,775	—
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences	11	—	$61,838national $60,190	—
Petroleum Engineering	6	—	$97,527national $104,823	—
Architectural History, Criticism, and Conservation	—	—	$66,286national $65,003	—

Master's degrees (25)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business Administration, Management and Operations	220	$106,776	$112,311national $103,485	$32,267
Social Work	192	$54,784	$59,791national $65,123	$29,391
Architectural Sciences and Technology	116	$64,337	—national $77,466	$20,500
Accounting and Related Services	82	$68,100	$97,676national $95,833	$20,500
Special Education and Teaching	73	$59,941	$59,173national $64,397	$32,755
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	52	$60,208	—national $63,707	—
Curriculum and Instruction	35	$52,843	$60,341national $63,399	$29,526
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	33	$63,525	$66,494national $67,030	$35,500
Public Health	28	$65,192	$81,232national $82,751	—
Public Administration	27	$66,170	$82,043national $81,408	—
Educational Administration and Supervision	25	$63,069	$67,598national $71,685	$26,150
Behavioral Sciences	25	$55,257	—national $65,111	$32,757
Engineering-Related Fields	23	—	$141,101national $125,651	—
Civil Engineering	22	$89,357	$105,565national $98,323	—
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	22	$76,312	—national $124,807	—
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology	21	$53,374	$57,816national $65,184	$41,000
Journalism	20	$74,988	—national $69,034	—
Nutrition Sciences	20	$68,062	—national $67,126	—
Health and Medical Administrative Services	19	—	$123,582national $89,981	—
Fine and Studio Arts	16	—	$42,421national $49,079	—
Music	16	—	$49,191national $48,285	—
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	13	—	$136,168national $120,193	—
City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning	11	—	$65,373national $79,665	—
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	1	$71,546	$61,253national $71,416	—
Architecture	—	—	$71,293national $74,139	—

First professional degrees (5)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Medicine	200	$62,359	$123,824national $112,460	$189,977
Law	118	$76,192	$94,898national $107,773	$61,500
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	115	—	$81,392national $81,641	—
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration	111	$101,754	$136,128national $138,348	$71,500
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	69	$147,653	$176,643national $133,099	$100,005

Doctoral degrees (4)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Educational Administration and Supervision	29	$80,069	$84,513national $100,573	$46,418
Music	23	—	$52,762national $59,592	—
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology	14	$80,998	$119,800national $99,878	—
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	2	$73,191	$76,326national $82,893	$68,000

Graduate certificates (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business/Commerce, General	0	—	$105,467national $103,299	—

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 277 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: Strong Hall, 1450 Jayhawk Blvd, Room 230, Lawrence, KS 66045
Phone: (785) 864-2700
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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