,·Private (Church of the Nazarene, Christian)·Est. 1913
“A residential Christian university in the Boise Valley where faith, character, and pre-professional training shape every undergraduate.”
Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) is a small private Christian university affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene, located on a 90-acre campus in Nampa, Idaho — about 20 miles west of downtown Boise in the Treasure Valley. Founded in 1913, NNU enrolls roughly 1,150 traditional undergraduates inside a total population of about 1,800, which keeps classes small (14:1 student-to-faculty ratio) and lets faculty know students by name. The university is openly Wesleyan-Holiness in its identity: undergraduates attend chapel multiple times each week, every degree includes biblical studies and Christian-formation coursework, and the institutional language emphasizes character development, vocation, and service alongside academics. Academically, NNU is best known for its School of Health and Science programs — particularly its CCNE-accredited Bachelor of Science in Nursing (the most-awarded degree on campus), biology and pre-health pipelines, and growing engineering offerings — as well as its School of Education (Idaho's largest producer of K-12 teachers among private universities) and a broad School of Business. The Aldersgate Honors College replaces general-education requirements with a Western-tradition seminar sequence for high-achieving students. Roughly 100% of incoming freshmen receive institutional aid, and 94% receive grants or scholarships. Residential life is central: roughly 87% of freshmen live on campus and the university requires most students to live in residence for three years, distributed across seven residence halls ranging from traditional doubles to apartment-style units. NNU competes in NCAA Division II in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) under the Nighthawks identity (rebranded from Crusaders in 2017) across 16 varsity sports. The location is a genuine selling point — the Boise metro is one of the fastest-growing US regions, and the Owyhee Mountains, Snake River, Bogus Basin skiing, and high-desert hiking are all inside a 90-minute drive. The result is a small, faith-centered, outdoorsy undergraduate experience oriented toward students who want pre-professional training (especially nursing, education, and ministry) inside an explicitly Christian community.
Visa, OPT, H-1B alumni outcomes, and acceptance rates by country — sourced from FOIA, USCIS H-1B Hub, and DHS SEVIS.
Regional Universities West
US News Best Colleges 2026
Test Optional — You can submit scores if they help your case, but they're not required.
Official SourceEarly Action
Non-binding; early decision and HawkBox welcome gift.
Spring Regular Admission
For January start.
Rolling Admission
Applications reviewed continuously through the summer for fall start; intent-to-enroll due May 1.
The deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Tuition & Fees (All Students)
$40,000 – $41,000
/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.
Houses NNU's flagship pre-professional sciences — including the CCNE-accredited BSN nursing program (the university's most-awarded degree), biology, chemistry, kinesiology, and engineering. Students benefit from undergraduate research opportunities and a recent NSF/HHMI-style STEM initiative that funds faculty-mentored research across biology, chemistry, and engineering.
One of the larger producers of certified K-12 teachers in Idaho, with bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs (including an EdD). Strong field-experience pipeline into Treasure Valley school districts and a noted special education concentration.
Offers undergraduate majors in business administration, accounting, marketing, management, and finance, plus a graduate MBA. Curriculum integrates Christian ethics with practical career preparation; small cohorts enable close mentorship.
Reflects NNU's Wesleyan-Holiness heritage with degrees in Christian ministry, theology, youth ministry, and biblical studies. Houses ministerial scholarships and pastoral training for students preparing for ordination in the Church of the Nazarene and other traditions.
Spans English, history, communication, social work, psychology, music, and visual art. Social Work and Psychology are strong pipelines into NNU's master's programs and into community-service careers across the Treasure Valley.
Replaces standard general-education requirements with a four-year, seminar-style Great-Books sequence rooted in the Western intellectual tradition. Available to high-achieving students across any major and packaged with NNU's largest academic scholarship.
4 years
NNU's most-awarded undergraduate degree and the program the university is best known for. CCNE-accredited, with two cohort starts per year (fall and spring), simulation labs, and clinical rotations across St. Luke's and Saint Alphonsus health systems in the Boise metro. Strong NCLEX pass rates and a clear pipeline into Treasure Valley hospitals.
4 years
Idaho-state-approved teacher preparation across elementary, secondary, and special-education tracks, plus paths into educational leadership at the master's and doctoral levels. NNU graduates a meaningful share of new K-12 teachers in southwestern Idaho each year.
4 years
Faculty-mentored undergraduate research, dedicated pre-health advising, and articulation into medical, dental, PA, and pharmacy schools. Recent grant-funded initiatives have expanded research opportunities in cell/molecular biology, ecology, and chemistry.
4 years
An interdisciplinary, discussion-based core taken alongside any major. Replaces standard gen-eds with a chronological tour of foundational Western texts, paired with NNU's $22,000/year flagship academic scholarship for accepted students.
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
Sticker price (annual, out-of-state): $40,794
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.
