Arkansas Private Colleges & Universities

Independent Colleges, Schools, and Universities

Arkansas colleges have made tremendous headway in recent years thanks to increased federal spending, and community involvement. While Arkansas schools and universities once ranked relatively low on test scores, those days seem to be long gone. Instead, Arkansas colleges have excelled in ways unimaginable just a few decades ago. Increasingly, schools in the "Natural State" have begun drawing teachers away from prestigious universities all over the world. And it is not hard to see why.

Arkansas private colleges and universities offer a wide range of education programs with degrees and certificates up to the doctoral level, as well as professional degrees such as law and medicine. These Arkansas private schools are diverse in character, academic emphasis, and origins. Some private colleges or schools have a religious affiliation; others are secular. Private colleges and universities  may be profit or non-profit institutions. Typically, Arkansas independent colleges or private schools give weight to personal characteristics and activities in addition to considering GPA and test scores. While many Arkansas private schools are considerably more expensive than comparable state institutions, they also tend to offer more generous financial aid packages. Many students have found the actual out-of-pocket cost to earn a degree from a private college in Arkansas to be less than the cost of the state schools to which they were accepted. On the one hand, public colleges are usually less expensive, particularly for in-state residents. They get most of their money from the state or local government. Check out your state's Guide to Residency. Arkansas private colleges rely on tuition, fees, endowments, and other private sources of funding. On the other hand, Arkansas private colleges are usually smaller and can offer more personalized attention (and some believe, more prestige).

Arkansas Private Colleges and Universities

Arkansas' Independent Colleges and Universities

AICU colleges and universities enroll 13,518 students or about 10 percent of those pursuing baccalaureate degrees in our state. Since 1954, annual solicitations of corporations and foundations on behalf of 11 well-established and well-respected institutions have been conducted.

AICU's success is based on a corporate/education partnership that raises unrestricted funds and scholarships for member colleges so they can continue to provide learning opportunities for individuals of all ethnic and economic backgrounds.

• Bryan College - Rogers
• ITT Technical Institute - Little Rock
• Remington College - Little Rock
• University of Phoenix - Little Rock Campus
• University of Phoenix - NW Arkansas Campus
• White River School of Massage

• Arkansas Baptist College
  • Little Rock, AR
• Central Baptist College
  • Conway, AR
• Freedom Bible College & Seminary
  • Rogers, AR
• Harding University
  • Searcy, AR
• Hendrix College
  • Conway, AR
• John Brown University
  • Siloam Springs, AR
• Lyon College
  • Batesville, AR
• Ouachita Baptist University
  • Arkadelphia, AR
• Philander Smith College
  • Little Rock, AR
• University of the Ozarks
  • Clarksville, AR
• Williams Baptist College
  • Walnut Ridge, AR