List of colleges and universities in Iowa

There are fifty-six colleges and universities in the U.S. state of Iowa that are listed under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The Iowa Board of Regents, a governing board, oversees the state's three public universities – the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and the University of Northern Iowa.^[1]

The Old Capitol Building at the University of Iowa, the state's largest university

With 4,685 students, Drake University is the state's largest private not-for-profit school. The state's oldest post-secondary institution is Loras College, a private Catholic school in Dubuque that was founded in 1839,^[2][3] seven years before Iowa became a state.^[4]

The state's only two law schools, the University of Iowa College of Law and Drake University Law School, are both accredited by the American Bar Association.^[5] Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine and Des Moines University are the state's two medical schools. The majority of Iowa's post-secondary institutions are accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).^[6] Most are accredited by multiple agencies, such as the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM), and the National League for Nursing (NLNAC).

Extant institutions

Institution	Location(s)[note 1]	Control[note 2]	Type[note 3]	Enrollment[7] (fall 2022)	Founded	Accreditation[7]
University of Iowa	Iowa City	Public	Research university	30,015[8]	1847[9]	HLC, ACPE, ABA, ADA, APTA, APA, ASHA, CPE, CAHME, CCNE, CELPA, AANA, CEPH, JRCERT, LCME, NASD, NASM, NAST
Iowa State University	Ames	Public	Research university	29,969	1858[10]	HLC, AAMFT, ADA, APA, AVMA, NASM
University of Northern Iowa	Cedar Falls	Public	Master's university	8,945	1876[11]	HLC, ASHA, NASM
Des Moines Area Community College	Ankeny	Public	Associate's college	21,637	1966[12]	HLC, ABFSE, ADA, NLNAC
Eastern Iowa Community Colleges	Davenport	Public	Associate's college	7,145	1965[13]	HLC
Ellsworth Community College	Iowa Falls	Public	Associate's college	718	1890[14]	HLC
Hawkeye Community College	Waterloo	Public	Associate's college	4,787	1966[15]	HLC, ADA, APTA
Indian Hills Community College	Ottumwa	Public	Associate's college	3,361	1969[16]	HLC, AOTA, APTA, JRCERT
Iowa Central Community College	Fort Dodge	Public	Associate's college	5,058	1966[17]	HLC, ADA, JRCERT, NLNAC
Iowa Lakes Community College	Estherville	Public	Associate's college	1,960	1967[18]	HLC
Iowa Western Community College	Council Bluffs	Public	Associate's college	5,342	1966[19]	HLC, NLNAC, ADA
Kirkwood Community College	Cedar Rapids	Public	Associate's college	12,406	1966[20]	HLC, ADA, AOTA, APTA
Marshalltown Community College	Marshalltown	Public	Associate's college	1,707	1927[21]	HLC, ADA
North Iowa Area Community College	Mason City	Public	Associate's college	2,479	1918[22]	HLC, APTA, NLNAC
Northeast Iowa Community College	Calmar	Public	Associate's college	4,355	1967[23]	HLC
Northwest Iowa Community College	Sheldon	Public	Associate's college	1,811	1966[24]	HLC
Southeastern Community College	West Burlington	Public	Associate's college	2,476	1967[25]	HLC
Southwestern Community College	Creston	Public	Associate's college	1,581	1966[26]	HLC
Western Iowa Tech Community College	Sioux City	Public	Associate's college	5,150	1966[27]	HLC, ADA, APTA, NLNAC
Allen College	Waterloo	Private not-for-profit	Special-focus institution	497	1925[28]	HLC, CCNE, JRCERT, NLNAC
Briar Cliff University	Sioux City	Private not-for-profit	Baccalaureate college	927	1930[29]	HLC, CCNE, NLNAC
Buena Vista University	Storm Lake	Private not-for-profit	Baccalaureate college	1,973	1891[30]	HLC
Central College	Pella	Private not-for-profit	Baccalaureate college	1,169	1853[31]	HLC, NASM
Clarke University	Dubuque	Private not-for-profit	Baccalaureate college	965	1843[32]	HLC, APTA, CCNE, NASM
Coe College	Cedar Rapids	Private not-for-profit	Baccalaureate college	1,264	1851[33]	HLC, CCNE, NASM
Cornell College	Mount Vernon	Private not-for-profit	Baccalaureate college	1,073	1853[34]	HLC
Des Moines University	Des Moines	Private not-for-profit	Special-focus institution	1,527	1898[35]	HLC, AOA, APTA, APMA, CEPH
Divine Word College	Epworth	Private not-for-profit	Special-focus institution	68	1931[36]	HLC
Dordt University	Sioux Center	Private not-for-profit	Baccalaureate college	1,861	1955[37]	HLC, CCNE
Drake University	Des Moines	Private not-for-profit	Master's university	4,685	1881[38]	HLC, ACPE, ABA, NASAD, NASM
Emmaus University	Dubuque	Private not-for-profit	Special-focus institution	206	1941[39]	ABHE, HLC
Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary	Ankeny	Private not-for-profit	Special-focus institution	448	1921[40]	ABHE, HLC
Graceland University	Lamoni	Private not-for-profit	Master's university	1,237	1895[41]	HLC, TCATE
Grand View University	Des Moines	Private not-for-profit	Master's university	1,827	1896[42]	HLC, CCNE
Grinnell College	Grinnell	Private not-for-profit	Baccalaureate college	1,759	1846[43]	HLC
Loras College	Dubuque	Private not-for-profit	Baccalaureate college	1,319	1839[44]	HLC
Luther College	Decorah	Private not-for-profit	Baccalaureate college	1,610	1861[45]	HLC, CCNE, NASM, TCATE
Maharishi International University	Fairfield	Private not-for-profit	Master's university	2,673	1971[46]	HLC
Mercy College of Health Sciences	Des Moines	Private not-for-profit	Special-focus institution	911	1995[47]	HLC, APTA, CCNE, JRCERT, JRCNMT, NLNAC
Morningside University	Sioux City	Private not-for-profit	Baccalaureate college	2,249	1894[48]	HLC, CCNE, NASM, TCATE
Mount Mercy University	Cedar Rapids	Private not-for-profit	Baccalaureate college	1,526	1928[49]	HLC, CCNE
Northwestern College	Orange City	Private not-for-profit	Baccalaureate college	1,651	1882[50]	HLC, CCNE, TCATE
Palmer College of Chiropractic	Davenport	Private not-for-profit	Special-focus institution	2,178	1897[51]	HLC, CCE
Simpson College	Indianola	Private not-for-profit	Baccalaureate college	1,151	1860[52]	HLC, NASM
St. Ambrose University	Davenport	Private not-for-profit	Master's university	2,747	1882[53]	HLC, AOTA, APTA, CCNE, TCATE
St. Luke's College	Sioux City	Private not-for-profit	Special-focus institution	196	1966[54]	HLC, JRCERT, NLNAC
University of Dubuque	Dubuque	Private not-for-profit	Master's university	1,776	1852[55]	HLC, ATSCA, CCNE
Upper Iowa University	Fayette	Private not-for-profit	Master's university	3,072	1857[56]	HLC, CCNE
Wartburg College	Waverly	Private not-for-profit	Baccalaureate college	1,444	1852[57]	HLC, NASM, NAST
Wartburg Theological Seminary	Dubuque	Private not-for-profit	Special-focus institution	186	1854[58]	ATSCA, HLC
William Penn University	Oskaloosa	Private not-for-profit	Baccalaureate college	1,473	1873[59]	HLC
Waldorf University	Forest City	Private for-profit[60]	Baccalaureate college	2,763	1903[61]	HLC

Defunct institutions

Institution	Location(s)	Control	Founded	Closed	Ref(s)
AIB College of Business	Des Moines	Private	1921	2016
Algona College	Algona	Private	1868	1875	[62]
Ashford University	Clinton	Private for-profit	1918	2016 [note 4]	[63]
Charles City College	Charles City	Private	1891	1914 (merged into Morningside College)	[62]
Des Moines University	Des Moines	Private	1865	1929	[64]
Grundy College	Grundy Center, Iowa	Private	1916	1934	[65]
Highland Park College	Des Moines	Private	1890	1918 (merged with Des Moines College)	[62]
Iowa Wesleyan University	Mount Pleasant	Private not-for-profit	1842[66]	2023
Kaplan University	various	Private for-profit	1937[67]	2018
Leander Clark College	Toledo	Private	1857	1918 (merged into Coe College)	[62]
Lenox College	Hopkinton	Private	1859	1944	[62]
Marycrest International University	Davenport	Private	1939	2002	[62]
Midwestern College	Denison	Private	1965	1970	[62]
Ottumwa Heights College	Ottumwa	Private	1864	1980	[68]
Parsons College	Fairfield	Private	1875	1973	[62]
Sioux Empire College	Hawarden	Public	1965	1985	[69][70]
Tabor College	Tabor	Private	1853	1927	[62]
Vatterott College	Des Moines	Private for-profit	1969[71]	2018
Vennard College	University Park	Private	1910	2008	[62][72]
Westmar University	Le Mars	Private	1890	1997	[62][73]
Wilton German English College	Wilton	Private	1894	1904

Key

Abbreviation	Accrediting agency
AAMFT	American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
AANA	American Association of Nurse Anesthetists
ABA	American Bar Association
ABFSE	American Board of Funeral Service Education
ABHE	Association for Biblical Higher Education
ABHES	Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools
ACCSC	Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges
ACICS	Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools
ACPE	Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education
ACPE	Association for Clinical Pastoral Education
ADA	American Dental Association
ADA	American Dietetic Association
AOA	American Osteopathic Association
AOTA	American Occupational Therapy Association
APA	American Psychological Association
APMA	American Podiatric Medical Association
APTA	American Physical Therapy Association
ASHA	American Speech–Language–Hearing Association
ATSCA	Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada
AVMA	American Veterinary Medical Association
CAHME	Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education
CCE	Council on Chiropractic Education
CCNE	Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
CELPA	Commission on English Language Program Accreditation
CEPH	Council on Education for Public Health
JRCERT	Joint Review Committee on Education Programs in Radiologic Technology
JRCNMT	Joint Review Committee on Educational Programs in Nuclear Medicine Technology
LCME	Liaison Committee on Medical Education
NASAD	National Association of Schools of Art and Design
NASD	National Association of Schools of Dance
NASM	National Association of Schools of Music
NAST	National Association of Schools of Theatre
HLC	Higher Learning Commission
NCATE	National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
NLNAC	National League for Nursing

See also

• Iowa portal

• List of college athletic programs in Iowa
• Higher education in the United States
• Lists of American universities and colleges
• List of recognized higher education accreditation organizations

Notes

1. School location is based on the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
2. School control is based on the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
3. School types are based on the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
4. Ashford University closed its physical campus in 2016 and operates online only, based out of San Diego, California.