Here are the best colleges and universities in Missouri. Our list will help you find the right kind of school for you.
Tuition costs in Missouri fall below the national average, allowing students access to many affordable options. For example, at Missouri State University, the second largest public school, tuition fees are around $7,000. Students of actor John Goodman’s alma mater can major in fields like religious studies, history, and business, and even have the option of earning an associate degree in arts or a bachelor’s in business at the university’s sister school in China. Missouri also offers more than 40 private schools.
Find college admissions consultants in your state.
Tuition and student populations vary greatly among these schools, but students who attend these higher education institutes also have the option to attend classes at other campuses. For example, Saint Louis University, a college with Jesuit roots, has campuses in both St. Louis and Madrid, Spain. Additionally, Missouri offers special loan forgiveness programs for nurses and other health professionals, including dentists, psychiatrists, and primary care physicians, who work in designated, high-need areas.
When you aren’t exploring one of its 6,000 caves, chowing down on some barbecue, or taking in a live jazz performance, Missouri can serve as the perfect place to begin a road trip. The Show Me State is bordered by eight other U.S. states, making it ideal for students love travelling and planning weekend getaways. During the week days, students can continue on their road to success by pursuing their degree at one of Missouri’s 72 higher education institutes.
See where Missouri’s many roads can take you while earning your degree at one this state’s top learning institutions.
Related: Differences between research universities and teaching colleges
We’ve identified 38 colleges and universities in Missouri that meet our criteria. This list of the top 25 colleges in Missouri below focuses on schools that offer bachelor’s degrees. The ranking features fully accredited public and private colleges and universities in Missouri.
Tuition + fees
$59K
Acceptance
16%
Graduation
94%
Student body
13K
Median SAT/ACT
1520/34
Washington University in St. Louis’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
82%
Graduation
73%
Student body
25K
Median SAT/ACT
1230/26
University of Missouri’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$49K
Acceptance
56%
Graduation
79%
Student body
10K
Median SAT/ACT
1275/27
Saint Louis University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
81%
Graduation
67%
Student body
7K
Median SAT/ACT
1325/29
Missouri University of Science and Technology’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
63%
Graduation
54%
Student body
10K
Median SAT/ACT
1155/24
University of Missouri–Kansas City’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$29K
Acceptance
53%
Graduation
55%
Student body
7K
Median SAT/ACT
1130/24
Webster University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
72%
Graduation
75%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1250/27
Truman State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
80%
Graduation
54%
Student body
6K
Median SAT/ACT
1119/22
Northwest Missouri State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
87%
Graduation
58%
Student body
17K
Median SAT/ACT
1140/24
Missouri State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
64%
Graduation
51%
Student body
9K
University of Central Missouri’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
58%
Graduation
56%
Student body
9K
Median SAT/ACT
1130/24
University of Missouri–St. Louis’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$19K
Acceptance
36%
Graduation
67%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
1190/24
William Jewell College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
93%
Graduation
51%
Student body
9K
Southeast Missouri State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$19K
Acceptance
92%
Graduation
47%
Student body
8K
Median SAT/ACT
1075/22
Lindenwood University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$27K
Acceptance
63%
Graduation
52%
Student body
2K
William Woods University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$26K
Acceptance
95%
Graduation
55%
Student body
2K
Evangel University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$40K
Acceptance
73%
Graduation
73%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1169/24
Rockhurst University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$32K
Acceptance
71%
Graduation
60%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1135/25
Drury University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$25K
Acceptance
64%
Graduation
59%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
1120/22
Stephens College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$12K
Graduation
28%
Student body
8K
Park University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$26K
Acceptance
95%
Graduation
44%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1015/22
Central Methodist University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$28K
Acceptance
85%
Graduation
66%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1045/20
Fontbonne University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Graduation
36%
Student body
4K
Missouri Western State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$27K
Acceptance
95%
Graduation
75%
Student body
8K
Median SAT/ACT
1145/22
Maryville University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
98%
Graduation
32%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
990/21
Missouri Southern State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Many of our 2022 undergraduate focused rankings look considerably different than 2021. That’s because we took a fundamentally different apporach. For 2021 we utiulized 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.
