,·Private (Presbyterian-affiliated, PCUSA) Liberal Arts College·Est. 1882
“A Presbyterian-founded liberal arts college on the Great Plains where every student gets a laptop, a study-abroad trip, and free textbooks built into tuition.”
Hastings College is a small, residential liberal arts college of roughly 900 undergraduates, founded in 1882 by Presbyterians who believed that the life of the mind and the life of the spirit go hand-in-hand. It maintains a covenant relationship with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) but enrolls students of all faiths and backgrounds. The 120-acre campus sits in Hastings, a small city in south-central Nebraska — a traditional college-town environment about two hours west of Lincoln, with twelve buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. The college is best known for the Hastings College Plan (sometimes called the Bronco Advantage), an unusually comprehensive bundle that includes a MacBook Air and iPad for every incoming student, all required textbooks rolled into tuition (saving roughly $1,000 a year), a fully-funded study-abroad or study-away experience in the second year, and grant funding in the third year for an internship, research project, or practicum. Combined with personal advising and small classes, the Plan is built to make the high-impact pieces of a private liberal arts education available without surprise add-on costs. Academically, Hastings is most recognized for its music, theatre and fine arts programs — the Bachelor of Music and Music Education degrees have long been considered the college's signature, and the Gray Center for the Communication Arts (dedicated by President Reagan in 1988) anchors a strong performing-arts culture. The college also offers solid teacher education, business, psychology and pre-health programs across more than 40 majors. Athletics are a major part of campus life: the Broncos field 24 NAIA varsity teams in the Great Plains Athletic Conference, and roughly half of the student body plays a sport. With its small size, Presbyterian roots and emphasis on hands-on experience, Hastings appeals to students who want a tight community, faculty who know their names, and a college experience built around participation rather than spectating.
Visa, OPT, H-1B alumni outcomes, and acceptance rates by country — sourced from FOIA, USCIS H-1B Hub, and DHS SEVIS.
Test Optional — You can submit scores if they help your case, but they're not required.
Official SourceRolling Admission (Domestic)
No formal deadline; rolling review until classes are filled.
International — Fall Enrollment
Hard deadline for international applicants entering in fall.
International — Spring Enrollment
Hard deadline for international applicants entering in spring.
The deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Tuition & Fees (All Students)
$37,430
/yr
Beyond the sticker price — every named scholarship, the financial aid policy, need-aware notes, and a personalized net-cost estimate.
How life on campus actually feels — clubs, sports, traditions, housing realities, and how the school integrates with its city.
Hastings' historic strength: a Bachelor of Music, Music Education and Theatre programs housed in the Gray Center for the Communication Arts, plus art, art history and graphic design. Multiple ensembles, productions and recitals each year give students substantial stage and studio time from the first semester.
Long-established teacher preparation pathway leading to Nebraska teaching certification, with elementary, secondary and special education tracks. The college also offers its only graduate degree, a Master of Arts in Teaching, for students continuing into licensure.
Undergraduate business with majors in business administration, accounting, finance, marketing and sport management. Small classes and direct faculty mentorship support the third-year internship/experiential requirement built into the Hastings College Plan.
Biology, chemistry, biochemistry, environmental science and exercise science, with strong placement into nursing, PA, medical, dental and physical therapy programs. Research opportunities are required for science majors via the Plan's experiential year.
Psychology is one of the largest majors on campus; the college also offers history, English, communication studies, religion, political science and criminal justice — taught with the discussion-driven, small-seminar format typical of LACs.
4 years
Hastings' signature program since 1882. Students perform in choirs, band, orchestra and opera, and take private lessons every semester. Music Education graduates are sought after by Nebraska and surrounding-state K-12 districts.
4 years
A flexible black-box and main-stage program with multiple productions a year. Students can double-major or minor in musical theatre, working alongside Hastings' deep music faculty in the Gray Center for the Communication Arts.
1 years
Hastings' only graduate program — a focused pathway for college graduates seeking initial K-12 teacher licensure in Nebraska. Cohort-based, with embedded classroom placements.
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
Sticker price (annual, out-of-state): $37,770
Net-cost estimate is US-resident-only — international applicants are typically excluded from need-based aid at most schools and should treat the sticker price as the planning baseline.
