Best Christian Colleges in Iowa 2024

Published: May 6, 2021
Updated: Oct 26, 2023

For prospective college students looking for schools that align with their Christian faith and demonstrate academic excellence, here are the best Christian colleges and universities in Iowa.

10 Best Christian Colleges in Iowa

Coe College
Cornell College
Luther College
Loras College
Graceland University
Clarke University
Simpson College
Iowa Wesleyan University
Wartburg College
St. Ambrose University

Grand View University 100%
Simpson College 91%
Clarke University 89%
Wartburg College 83%
Northwestern College 83%
Iowa Wesleyan University 82%
Cornell College 81%
Mount Mercy University 81%
Luther College 76%
University of Dubuque 76%

University of Dubuque 15 to 1
William Penn University 15 to 1
Dordt University 14 to 1
Graceland University 14 to 1
Mount Mercy University 14 to 1
Morningside University 13 to 1
Coe College 12 to 1
Grand View University 12 to 1
Loras College 12 to 1
Cornell College 12 to 1

Coe College $48,822
Cornell College $47,726
Wartburg College $47,500
Luther College $46,760
Simpson College $44,030
Buena Vista University $37,518
Clarke University $36,870
Mount Mercy University $36,540
University of Dubuque $36,010
Morningside University $35,270

Wartburg College $21,850
St. Ambrose University $18,360
Cornell College $14,850
Clarke University $13,847
Loras College $12,960
Mount Mercy University $11,106
Graceland University $10,970
William Penn University $10,500
Buena Vista University $9,936
Dordt University $9,750

Dordt University
Morningside University
Buena Vista University
William Penn University
Mount Mercy University
Briar Cliff University
Northwestern College
Grand View University
University of Dubuque
St. Ambrose University

William Penn University 58%
Buena Vista University 66%
Graceland University 67%
Loras College 72%
St. Ambrose University 72%
Dordt University 73%
Coe College 73%
Morningside University 74%
University of Dubuque 76%
Luther College 76%

Clarke University 8 to 1
Buena Vista University 10 to 1
Luther College 11 to 1
Simpson College 11 to 1
Northwestern College 11 to 1
Briar Cliff University 11 to 1
Coe College 12 to 1
Grand View University 12 to 1
Loras College 12 to 1
Cornell College 12 to 1

William Penn University $27,200
Grand View University $30,864
Graceland University $31,920
St. Ambrose University $33,570
Northwestern College $33,590
Iowa Wesleyan University $33,650
Briar Cliff University $33,998
Dordt University $34,170
Loras College $35,268
Morningside University $35,270

Northwestern College $6,120
Iowa Wesleyan University $6,300
Morningside University $6,516
Simpson College $6,526
University of Dubuque $6,960
Grand View University $9,270
Briar Cliff University $9,450
Dordt University $9,750
Buena Vista University $9,936
William Penn University $10,500

Table of Contents

Colleges and Universities in Iowa

With a large number of both brick-and-mortar and online colleges in Iowa, students have plenty of great schools to choose from.

Iowa’s largest public university, Iowa State University, serves over 30,000 students and offers extra flexibility for both undergraduate and graduate students through a selection of online degree programs in more than 50 academic fields including business administration, psychology, computer science, and more.

The University of Iowa-home of the Hawkeyes-is also home to some of the nation’s top programs in literature, philosophy, and law. The University of Iowa has also been at the forefront of higher education, starting the nation’s first co-educational medical school, as well as being the first public school to grant a law degree to a woman, Mary B. Hickey Wilkinson, in 1873.

Find college admissions consultants in your state.

For prospective students hoping to obtain their degrees at a smaller school, Iowa offers over 40 options to choose from. For a more affordable option, students can pay $4,000 per year for tuition at Indian Hills Community College. Like most community colleges in Georgia, Indian Hills also offers an array of online programs.

At the other end of the spectrum, students will pay up to $52,000 for an academic year at Grinnell College. Furthermore, nearly half of the schools in Iowa are religiously affiliated.

Iowa is often recognized for its agriculture as it produces the most pork and corn in the nation. Equally noteworthy is Iowa’s wealth of one-of-a-kind roadside attractions. From the largest wooden nickel, to the crookedest street, to the Grotto of Redemption, The Hawkeye State is full of wonders. Students in search of curiosities and oddities while earning a degree can attend one of Iowa’s public or private colleges.

Whether you’re looking to earn your associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree, Iowa offers a wealth of on-campus and online learning options. Discover more about Iowa’s top brick-and-mortar and online programs as well as top career paths in the state of Iowa.

What are Iowa’s Colleges & Universities?

Iowa’s Best Overall

The following list of the best Christian schools consists entirely of colleges and universities that offer four-year undergraduate degrees. We’ve identified 19 Christian colleges in Iowa. In order to be included in this ranking list of best Christian colleges and universities, a school must self-identify as Christian, be fully accredited, and offer a broad range of bachelor degree programs.

How do we determine Iowa's best Christian colleges and universities?

Methodology

The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great! If you are serious about finding the best colleges and universities for a bachelor’s degree, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching and whether their graduates are themselves advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence in their fields of study.

Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Concentrated Influence provides a ranking that is freer from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.

To rank the influence of schools, we first determine the influence of scholars and professionals based on the number of citations and publications they have had over the past 10 years. In addition to publications and citations, we consider the web links to and from these sources, and the page views of those sources. We then match the influential people to their alma maters and institutions of employment, so that their influence is attributed to those schools. Our machine-learning Influence Ranking algorithm produces a numerical score of academic achievements, merits, and citations across Wikipedia, wikidata, Crossref, Semantic Scholar and an ever-growing body of data. If you are interested in exploring how and why we rank by influence, explore our methodology in more depth.

Best Christian Colleges in Iowa 2023

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Iowa’s Best Christian Colleges in Your Area of Interest

2021 Ranking Archive

Many of our 2022 undergraduate focused rankings look considerably different than 2021. That’s because we took a fundamentally different apporach. For 2021 we utilized our Concentrated Influence algorithm, designed to take away the size advantage larger schools have when we rank their faculty and alumni’s academic influence. Concentrated influence highlights smaller schools that are proportionally as successful as larger universities at cultivating influential alumni and faculty.

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Best Christian Colleges in Iowa 2024

10 Best Christian Colleges in Iowa

Colleges and Universities in Iowa

What are Iowa’s Colleges & Universities?

Best Christian Colleges in Iowa 2023

Most Influential Alumni

Cornell College’s Online Degrees

Degree Concentrations

Most Influential Alumni

Most Influential Alumni

Most Influential Alumni

Most Influential Alumni

Graceland University’s Online Degrees

Most Influential Alumni

Grand View University’s Online Degrees

Degree Concentrations

Most Influential Alumni

Iowa Wesleyan University’s Online Degrees

Degree Concentrations

Degree Concentrations

Most Influential Alumni

Most Influential Alumni

Briar Cliff University’s Online Degrees

Most Influential Alumni

Most Influential Alumni

St. Ambrose University’s Online Degrees

Degree Concentrations

Most Influential Alumni

Simpson College’s Online Degrees

Most Influential Alumni

Clarke University’s Online Degrees

Most Influential Alumni

Mount Mercy University’s Online Degrees

Degree Concentrations

Most Influential Alumni

William Penn University’s Online Degrees

Degree Concentrations

Most Influential Alumni

Dordt University’s Online Degrees

Degree Concentrations

Most Influential Alumni

Northwestern College ’s Online Degrees

Most Influential Alumni

Morningside University’s Online Degrees

Iowa’s Best Christian Colleges in Your Area of Interest

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