According to College Navigator, there are 55 colleges and universities in Indiana, including 15 public institutions, 36 private nonprofit colleges, and four private for-profit colleges.
According to College Board, the average college student in Indiana paid a little under $10,000 in tuition and fees during the 2021-22 school year.
Nationwide, the average full-time college student in the U.S. received this amount in financial aid during the 2020-21 school year.
This list features some of the best brick-and-mortar schools in Indiana. Each school featured is a nonprofit, accredited institution — either public or private — with a high standard of academic quality for post-secondary institutions. We included liberal arts colleges and research universities as well as small, midsize, and large institutions. Next, we compared this comprehensive list to a list of aggregated college rankings from reputable publications like the U.S. News & World Report among others to simplify a student’s college search. We pored through these rankings so students don’t have to.
The colleges on our list are accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), a reputable organization that examines the objectives, quality, and overall effectiveness of education programs in the central United States.
We evaluated each school on tuition costs, admission, retention and graduation rates, faculty, and reputation as well as the student resources provided for on-campus students. Then we calculated the Intelligent Score on a scale of 0 to 100. Read more about our ranking methodology.
When deciding where to pursue your bachelor’s degree, consider whether your chosen state has career opportunities in your field of study. Choosing a state that offers jobs relevant to your major may make it easier to find a job after graduating. In Indiana, the top five industries include goods-producing; trade, transportation, and utilities; manufacturing; education and health services; and government.
Indiana has a strong economy with nearly 600 growing occupations. Between 2020 and 2030, the top five occupations in Indiana that require a bachelor’s degree and are projected to experience the most growth include information security analysts, logisticians, and medical and health services managers.
Indiana is home to numerous large employers, including Purdue University’s West Lafayette campus, Eli Lilly & Company, Roche Diagnostics Corporation, Rolls-Royce Corporation, and Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Incorporated. A full list of the state’s top 150 employers in Indiana can be found here.
Most Indiana students receive financial aid to help cover the cost of higher education. We’ve put together a list of federal and state resources that can connect you with grants, scholarships, and loans.