Best Colleges in Kansas

Why Should I Consider Studying in Kansas?

Students looking for an unique mix of higher education options will not be disappointed in Kansas. The state is filled with unique programs and rare, specialized educational institutions. Beginning in Topeka, the state capitol, there are a handful of exceptional options. Washburn University being one of them, it also has an incredible looking campus. One of the particularly better known programs there is the Kansas School of Law. Moving up the road a bit there’s Manhattan, which is filled with several unique schools, including Kansas State University in Manhattan. The school maintains a heavy focus in technology and engineering-related fields and consistently receives top marks for these majors nationally.

Shifting further west, there’s the University of Kansas in Lawrence which has typically ranked well for communication-related majors, including journalisms and also has distinguished performance in business. Moving south and further east from there, students will find a number of highly ranked and extremely affordable options - Emporia State University being one and Fort Hays State University the other.

As mentioned, there are specialized gems scattered throughout the state as well, so that really calls for some closer inspection if those degree types call your attention. Specifically, the Kansas City Art Institute is known as a benchmark for the arts, and as it relates to technology, there’s the Midwest Technical Institute. The University of Saint Mary’s might be another option, typically the school accepts close to 90% of applicants, so it can make for a less stressful entrance experience.

Kansas Higher Education By The Numbers

Colleges in Kansas

Kansas has the 31st most colleges in the nation with 74 colleges. For some context, that is 9 fewer colleges than your typical state. 46% of Kansas' colleges are public, and 54% of its colleges are private. (34 public colleges & 40 private colleges). It has the 13th highest public to private college ratio of all the states.

Our favorite colleges in Kansas are Washburn Institute of Technology, University of Kansas, and MidAmerica Nazarene University. University of Kansas has the most students of any public college in Kansas' top 25 colleges (30,983). Newman University has the most students of any private college in our top 25 (5,018).

Students in Kansas

The median state has 314,827 college students. Kansas has 32,414 fewer. There are 236,931 public college students and 45,482 private college students in Kansas. It has fewer public college students than 28 states and fewer private college students than 35 states. Its 282,413 total students make it the 29th most popular destination in the US. 84% of students in Kansas attend public colleges which is the 14th highest percentage around the nation.