Quad
Aurora UniversityAurora, IL · Private nonprofit

Academics

Majors and faculty

The most popular major is Social Work (13% of graduates). 18 students for every faculty member, more than at 83% of colleges. 25% of faculty are full-time. Spends $5,125 a year on instruction per student.

Most popular majors

1,240 bachelor's degrees, 2024–25 graduates

The top 5 programs account for 55% of graduates; 37 programs in 20 fields awarded at least one.

  1. Social Work 44.070113% 165
    Graduates in this field earn $55,546 4 years out
  2. Business Administration and Management, General 52.020113% 164
    Graduates in this field earn $64,446 4 years out
  3. Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse 51.380113% 160
    Graduates in this field earn $84,022 4 years out
  4. Psychology, General 42.01018.0% 99
    Graduates in this field earn $55,697 4 years out
  5. Health/Medical Preparatory Programs, Other 51.11997.5% 93
    Graduates in this field earn $52,987 4 years out

Fastest-growing field: Parks, recreation, and kinesiology, 1.7% → 5.5% of graduates since 2014–15 (68 graduates in 2024–25).

Source:IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2014–15 to 2024–25About the data(built 2026-10-12; CPI retrieved 2026-10-12)

Bachelor's degrees awarded July through June, by federal program name (), which can differ from what the college calls a major. A double major counts once, under the ; its other field is a . Earnings are College Scorecard's median for graduates of the program's broader field (), 4 years after completion; see Top-earning majors below.

Top-earning majors here

By earnings 4 years after completion

  1. Computer Science$90,089 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $51,605

    4 years after completion$90,089
    National median: $107,009Below typical

    Median federal debt: $22,850 · 52 graduates, two most recent years combined

  2. Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$84,022 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $72,520

    4 years after completion$84,022
    National median: $88,910Below typical

    4 years out, Pell: $69,199 · Non-Pell: $70,573(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $22,654 · 374 graduates, two most recent years combined

  3. Finance and Financial Management Services$77,436 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $51,437

    4 years after completion$77,436
    National median: $83,343Below typical

    Median federal debt: $20,000 · 66 graduates, two most recent years combined

  4. Accounting and Related Services$74,820 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $50,086

    4 years after completion$74,820
    National median: $76,194About typical

    4 years out, Pell: $69,656 · Non-Pell: Too few graduates to report(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $21,500 · 46 graduates, two most recent years combined

  5. Marketing$64,813 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $39,482

    4 years after completion$64,813
    National median: $69,303Below typical

    4 years out, Pell: $58,649 · Non-Pell: Too few graduates to report(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $19,500 · 98 graduates, two most recent years combined

Bachelor's programs only, among graduates who received federal financial aid and were working (not enrolled in school) in the measurement year.

Students per faculty member vs. every college18 to 1
18 to 1
← Fewer students per facultymore students per faculty member than 83% of 1,892More students per faculty →

The college also reports 20 to 1 in its Common Data Set (3,972 students, 202 faculty).

Not the average class size: faculty also teach graduate students and do research, and large lectures can sit alongside small seminars.

Class sizes

26%

of classes have fewer than 20 students; 4% have 50 or more

Under 20 students 20 or moreStudents per class section
Undergraduate class sections by number of students
StudentssectionsShare
2–9357%
10–199118%
20–2923147%
30–399319%
40–49255%
50–99194%
100+00%

This counts class sections, not students: a lecture of 300 is one section, so a student is more likely to sit in a large class than the share of sections suggests. Labs and discussion sections are counted separately and left out here.

Programs & curriculum

  • Cross-registration
  • Distance learning
  • Independent study
  • Internships
  • Student-designed major
  • Study abroad
  • Undergraduate research

Requires coursework in English composition.

Full-time faculty25%
National median: 67%Below typical
Average faculty salary

$82,027

9-month equated, all ranks combined. Pay tracks local cost of living as much as a college's generosity.

Spending and endowment

Fiscal 2023–24. Compared only against other private nonprofit colleges: public and private colleges report finances on different accounting forms that aren't comparable.

Instruction spending per student$5,125
$5,125
← Lessmore than 13% of 1,199More →
Endowment per student$8,890
$8,890
← Lessmore than 16% of 1,065More →

Sources:IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2024–25 graduates;College Scorecard Field of Study data, most recent release;IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey (part D), Fall 2024;IPEDS Salaries survey (SAL, instructional staff, all ranks), Fall 2024;College Scorecard, Fall 2024;IPEDS Finance survey, derived per-student figures, 2023–24;Aurora University Common Data Set 2025–26, Fall 2025;Aurora University Common Data Set 2025–26, 2025–26;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey (athletics, programs, services, religious affiliation), 2025–26About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)