University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Lincoln, NE · Public · 19,178 undergrads (large, city) · website ↗

Test-optional
$45 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	$12,751
$30,000 – $48,000	$13,054
$48,000 – $75,000	$14,699
$75,000 – $110,000	$18,975
Over $110,000	$22,346
All incomes (average)	$17,747

Sticker tuition and fees: $10,434 in-state, $28,584 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 Nebraska-Lincoln'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	$14,210
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$14,210
Books and supplies	$1,128
Other expenses, on campus	$2,364
Other expenses, off campus	$2,364

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

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (4,616 of them) in 2022–23; 97% 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	93%	$9,554
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	24%	$5,013
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	92%	$8,033
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	40%	$4,933

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: 88%
Average SAT: 1191
Median ACT: 25
Students with Pell grants: 23%
Graduation rate (6yr): 67%
Freshman retention: 86%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $56,887
Median debt at graduation: $21,000
International undergrads: 585 (3%)

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: $45
Students per faculty member: 17 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 85%
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: 538–660
ACT composite: 22–28

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	Considered if submitted
High school class rank	Considered if submitted
High school record	Required
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Considered if submitted
Recommendations	Not considered
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Not considered
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Considered if submitted
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: 18,354
Admitted: 14,146
Enrolled: 4,699

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.

Business21%

Engineering10%

Agriculture8%

Biology & Life Sciences7%

Education7%

Communications & Media7%

Psychology6%

Visual & Performing Arts5%

Computer Science3%

Social Sciences3%

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 (62)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business Administration, Management and Operations	327	$53,922	$67,918national $68,257	$20,500
Psychology, General	268	$38,067	$49,965national $50,706	$19,500
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication	224	$47,765	$61,145national $63,560	$21,500
Marketing	198	$55,099	$74,165national $69,303	$21,500
Finance and Financial Management Services	196	$61,616	$77,504national $83,343	$20,500
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	173	$45,116	$48,046national $47,382	$20,119
Family and Consumer Economics and Related Studies	154	$41,164	$48,305national $53,262	$18,780
Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services	152	$38,625	$61,092national $54,945	$19,648
Biology, General	147	$35,571	$64,930national $57,214	$22,500
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	132	$70,767	$96,087national $86,176	$17,500
Computer Science	116	—	—national $107,009	$16,788
Mechanical Engineering	108	$75,676	$88,972national $92,135	$20,500
Political Science and Government	95	$43,954	$63,466national $63,293	$18,500
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology	88	$31,982	$64,521national $65,466	$15,500
Natural Resources Conservation and Research	86	$36,259	$46,817national $55,012	$21,500
Animal Sciences	83	$44,305	$49,193national $49,634	$17,812
Agricultural Business and Management	77	$57,374	$65,312national $66,647	$14,000
Journalism	72	$41,162	$53,618national $56,278	$23,329
Civil Engineering	71	$68,944	$81,620national $86,517	$20,500
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	70	$47,004	$51,293national $51,389	$19,091
Computer Engineering	70	$86,967	$103,934national $109,015	$24,349
Architectural Sciences and Technology	69	—	—national $70,074	$23,000
Construction Engineering Technology/Technician	63	$74,985	$88,628national $93,843	$21,500
Economics	63	$54,396	$75,784national $82,686	$18,625
Design and Applied Arts	54	$39,981	—national $51,490	$21,500
English Language and Literature, General	53	$38,160	$48,785national $48,590	$23,250
Plant Sciences	50	$49,939	$61,946national $56,567	$18,750
Mathematics	50	$54,330	$79,251national $69,562	$19,314
History	47	$32,582	$47,944national $50,680	$22,458
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	46	—	$60,420national $58,928	$21,000
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	45	$80,860	$100,972national $100,647	$12,500
Biological/Biosystems Engineering	43	$64,721	$76,741national $83,998	$18,026
Accounting and Related Services	43	$61,436	$78,760national $76,194	$15,849
Communication and Media Studies	42	$43,132	$59,017national $56,359	$19,825
Security Science and Technology	38	$43,360	$58,037national $57,805	$16,799
Interior Architecture	35	$52,235	$62,201national $60,369	$22,000
Hospitality Administration/Management	30	$46,838	$53,777national $56,726	$18,618
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	29	$47,022	$60,001national $55,000	$14,000
Anthropology	27	$35,828	$47,485national $46,676	$20,750
Chemical Engineering	26	$75,613	$88,067national $98,158	$27,000
Chemistry	26	—	—national $65,120	$13,585
Fine and Studio Arts	26	$28,106	$41,549national $41,367	$25,971
Music	26	—	$47,990national $42,892	$26,575
International/Globalization Studies	25	$40,906	$54,106national $59,972	$15,000
Special Education and Teaching	24	$47,326	$47,592national $50,499	$13,000
Microbiological Sciences and Immunology	24	—	$62,095national $62,582	$27,000
Visual and Performing Arts, General	23	—	—national $41,688	$10,750
Agriculture/Veterinary Preparatory Programs	19	$36,570	—national $49,880	$17,000
Agricultural Mechanization	17	$61,751	$74,003national $71,278	—
Sociology	17	$43,855	$45,674national $52,657	$20,000
Classical and Ancient Studies	16	—	$40,615national $50,477	—
Agriculture, General	15	$59,503	$52,997national $53,676	—
Applied Horticulture and Horticultural Business Services	13	$52,966	$59,376national $58,494	—
Apparel and Textiles	13	$38,033	$51,654national $57,640	$21,875
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies	11	$37,622	$42,635national $51,710	—
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft	11	$34,035	$44,825national $39,775	—
Physics	7	—	$71,752national $76,786	—
Agricultural Engineering	5	$75,834	$96,908national $84,624	—
Architecture	—	$40,533	$62,700national $66,914	—
Computer and Information Sciences, General	—	$78,404	$116,221national $92,374	—
Criminal Justice and Corrections	—	$43,297	$57,236national $55,378	$16,510
Business/Managerial Economics	—	$55,714	$83,175national $77,981	—

Associate degrees (2)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Agricultural Production Operations	—	$38,958	$39,559national $42,438	$12,000
Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians	—	$35,049	$37,386national $41,460	$12,000

Master's degrees (17)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business Administration, Management and Operations	130	$126,257	$138,487national $103,485	$30,750
Educational Administration and Supervision	43	$53,116	$63,853national $71,685	—
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	38	$57,418	$61,308national $67,030	$38,077
Engineering, General	34	$128,439	$128,974national $120,215	—
Curriculum and Instruction	24	$51,440	$53,319national $63,399	—
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services	24	$50,652	$56,989national $58,524	—
Agriculture, General	23	$55,472	—national $61,941	—
Special Education and Teaching	23	—	$57,549national $64,397	—
Zoology/Animal Biology	21	$75,157	$76,344national $60,772	—
Plant Sciences	20	$69,885	$73,346national $70,814	—
Animal Sciences	18	—	$90,085national $75,394	—
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	17	$61,717	—national $63,707	—
Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services	16	$57,112	$58,509national $66,523	—
Music	16	—	$53,139national $48,285	—
Accounting and Related Services	14	$69,583	$92,988national $95,833	$13,642
Journalism	13	$63,102	$73,130national $69,034	—
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other	0	—	$65,905national $96,656	—

First professional degrees (3)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Law	155	$74,327	$90,759national $107,773	$65,500
Architecture	—	—	$69,607national $74,323	—
Architectural Sciences and Technology	—	$60,212	—national $72,699	$37,468

Doctoral degrees (6)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Educational Administration and Supervision	33	$93,991	$90,552national $100,573	$40,753
Psychology, General	13	—	$96,534national $98,707	—
Education, Other	11	$65,788	—national $90,635	—
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology	11	—	$105,900national $99,878	—
Music	9	$31,238	$60,133national $59,592	—
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	—	—	$83,816national $88,343	—

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 183 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed. These figures are calculated for all 2 campuses that share this college's federal student-aid ID, so a branch campus shows its institution's figures.

Contact and accreditation

Address: 1400 R Street, Lincoln, NE 68588-0419
Phone: (402) 472-7211
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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