Arizona Colleges Summary

There are numerous reasons for thinking about attending one of the colleges or universities in Arizona. One is the state's abundance of choices — more than 80 schools serve residents either on campus or online. Students looking for colleges in Arizona that offer two- or four-year degree programs may be interested in the options at its three public universities or its 21 community colleges. These schools, in addition to private colleges, such as Prescott College and Western International University, offer students a variety of programs when it comes to undergraduate, graduate, career-oriented and online education.

Arizona's Credit and Transfer Agreements

Like public schools in other states, the universities in Arizona offer college credit for high school exams, including for Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate tests.

The public universities in the state also have certain transfer agreements set up with specific community colleges there. For example, Arizona State University, in Phoenix, has established a Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) with numerous public community colleges, including the community colleges in Maricopa County, where Phoenix is located.

Arizona Colleges: A Few Highlights

Northern Arizona University is well-known for its location in Flagstaff, but also for numerous campus sites and options for online learning. Of note, the school was awarded a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to inspire rural Native Americans to pursue STEM education. Arizona State University, in Tempe, has six different campuses and is notable for producing 185 Fulbright scholar winners in the past 10 years.

For more details on public institutions of higher education in Arizona, see https://highered.az.gov/

Sources:

  • ASU a Top Producer of Fulbright Scholars, Accessed March 2018, https://www.asu.edu/
  • http://aztransfer.com/
  • Board of Regents, Arizona's Public Universities, Accessed March 2018, http://www.azregents.edu/arizonas-public-universities/arizona-state-university
  • Points of Pride, Northern Arizona University, Accessed March 2018, https://nau.edu/about/points-of-pride
Education Institutes in Arizona
Total Number of Educational Institutes
116
Total Enrollment in all institutes
589,137
Number of Public Educational Institutes
33
Number of Private For-Profit Institutes
68
Number of Private Non-Profit Institutes
13
Graduation Rate
10.35%
Total Graduates With Bachelors Degree
13,326
On Campus and Online Programs in Arizona
Number of Institutes Offering on-campus programs
8
Number of Institutes Offering on-line programs
26
Number of Institutes Offering both
82

Source: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2018-19, National Center for Education Statistics, http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/