Drake University

“A private Iowa university where business, journalism, and pharmacy programs meet a tight-knit Midwestern campus minutes from downtown Des Moines.”

Drake University is a midsize private institution in Des Moines, Iowa, organized around six undergraduate and professional schools: the College of Arts and Sciences, the Zimpleman College of Business, the School of Education, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and the Law School. With roughly 2,800 undergraduates, Drake combines the personal scale of a small liberal arts college with the professional depth of a comprehensive university, and roughly one in three undergraduates pursues a business degree. The Pre-Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy track, the actuarial science program, and the journalism school (which produces a high concentration of working professionals) are widely regarded as Drake's signature programs. Life at Drake centers on a 150-acre urban campus about a five-minute drive from downtown Des Moines, one of the fastest-growing insurance, finance, and agribusiness hubs in the Midwest. On-campus housing is required for the first two years, which feeds a strong residential culture organized around six residence halls, an active Greek system, and traditions like the annual Drake Relays and the student street-painting kickoff on Carpenter Avenue. International students from more than 50 countries sit alongside Iowans and out-of-state students from across the U.S., and the International Student & Scholar Services team runs orientation, immigration advising, and a structured pre-arrival program. For a prospective international applicant, Drake's most distinctive features are its Tuition Guarantee (a fixed tuition rate locked in for four years), its high-touch admissions process built around test-optional applications and counselor interviews, and the Presidential and Provost's Scholarships that bring net tuition meaningfully below sticker price for almost every admitted student.