Northwest Nazarene University

Northwest Nazarene University logo
#6407 / #1687
Global Influence / U.S. Influence
#1168
Most Desirable School
Private Christian university in Nampa, Idaho, U.S.

Northwest Nazarene University at a Glance

U.S. influence rank
#1687
Acceptance rate (fall 2024)
65%
Tuition and fees (2025–26)
$41,990
Graduation rate
60%
Undergraduates (fall 2024)
1,024

Reviewed by , Vice President and Academic Editor. Influence ranks come from our InfluenceRanking™ methodology; other figures come from federal data, with the year shown under each section. Report an error

Northwest Nazarene University Featured Rankings

About Northwest Nazarene University

According to Wikipedia, Northwest Nazarene University is a private Nazarene university in Nampa, Idaho. History Eugene Emerson organized a combination grade school and Bible school in 1913 as Idaho Holiness School. It was renamed twice in 1916, first to Northwest Holiness College and then to Northwest Nazarene College, and then became a liberal arts college in 1917 with degree-granting authority from the Idaho state Board of Education. While the college's first president, elected in 1916, was H. Orton Wiley of Pasadena University, Fred J. Shields filled in as acting president before leaving for the Eastern Nazarene College in 1919, while Wiley finished his graduate work.

Northwest Nazarene University's Online Degrees

MBA in Business Administration
  • Required Credits: 33
  • Completion Time: 12-16 months
  • Format: Fully online
AA in Accounting
  • Required Credits: 63
  • Completion Time: 2 years
  • Format: Fully online
AA in Business
  • Required Credits: 63
  • Completion Time: 2 years
  • Format: Fully online
BS in Business Administration
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Completion Time: 4 years
  • Format: Fully online
BS in Accounting
  • Required Credits: 150
  • Completion Time: 5 years
  • Format: Fully online
EdS in Educational Leadership
Degree Concentrations
  • Building Administration
  • Superintendent
  • Director Of Special Education
  • Required Credits: 32
  • Completion Time: 16 months
  • Format: Fully online
MEd in Curriculum, Instruction And Innovation
  • Required Credits: 33
  • Completion Time: 1.5 years
  • Format: Fully online
MEd in Educational Leadership
Degree Concentrations
  • Building Administration
  • Required Credits: 36
  • Completion Time: 22 months
  • Format: Fully online
MA in Youth, Children And Family Ministry
  • Required Credits: 36
  • Format: Fully online
AA in Secondary Education
  • Required Credits: 63
  • Completion Time: 2 years
  • Format: Fully online
MDiv in Youth, Children And Family Ministry
  • Required Credits: 75
  • Format: Fully online
EdD in Education
  • Completion Time: 26 months
  • Format: Fully online
PhD in Education
  • Completion Time: 26 months
  • Format: Fully online
MA in Missional Leadership
  • Required Credits: 36
  • Format: Fully online
MA in Spiritual Formation
  • Required Credits: 36
  • Format: Fully online
MA in Pastoral Ministry
  • Required Credits: 40
  • Format: Fully online
AA in Christian Studies
  • Required Credits: 63
  • Completion Time: 2 years
  • Format: Fully online
AA in Liberal Studies
  • Required Credits: 63
  • Completion Time: 2 years
  • Format: Fully online
MDiv in Missional Leadership
  • Required Credits: 75
  • Format: Fully online
MDiv in Spiritual Formation
  • Required Credits: 75
  • Format: Fully online
BA in Christian Ministry
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Completion Time: 3 years
  • Format: Fully online
BA in Liberal Studies
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Completion Time: 4 years
  • Format: Fully online
BSN in Nursing Rn To Bsn
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Completion Time: 4 years
  • Format: Fully online
MSN in Family Nurse Practitioner
  • Format: Fully online

Northwest Nazarene University Admissions, Retention, and Graduation Information

Annual ApplicationsAcceptanceRetention RateGraduation RateMedian SAT ScoreMedian ACT Score
3,57165%77%60%112224

Source: U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and NCES); acceptance rate for fall 2024; test scores for fall 2024; applications and enrollment for fall 2023; retention for students who started in fall 2023; graduation rate within six years for students who started in 2019.

How Much Does Northwest Nazarene University Cost To Attend?

Tuition and fees (in-state)
$41,990
Average Net Price by Family Income (2021–22)
IncomeAverage Net Cost
0 - 30K$25,523
30K - 48K$20,727
48K - 75K$23,051
75K - 110K$21,655
110K+$25,206

Source: U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and NCES); tuition and fees for 2025–26; net price for 2024–25, for first-time, full-time students receiving financial aid.

How Much Do Northwest Nazarene University Graduates Make?

Ten years after starting college, former Northwest Nazarene University students who received federal financial aid earn a median of $60,370 a year, and 90% of those not still in school are working.

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard; students who started college in 2011–12 or 2012–13, measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars.

Northwest Nazarene University's Demographics

Students enrolled at any time during the 2023–24 school year, including part-time and online students.

Student BodyUnder-GradsGraduates
10,2379,466771

Source: National Center for Education Statistics; 12-month enrollment for 2023–24.

Where is Northwest Nazarene University?

Northwest Nazarene University is located at 623 S. University Blvd., Nampa, ID 83686-5897.

How Safe is Northwest Nazarene University?

Relative to its enrollment, Northwest Nazarene University has a violent crime rate of less than 0.01% and a property crime rate of less than 0.01%. Nampa has a violent crime rate of 0.37% and a property crime rate of 0.76%. Sources: campus: U.S. Department of Education Campus Safety and Security data, on-campus offenses in 2024 (violent: murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault; property: burglary, motor vehicle theft and arson, which excludes ordinary theft); city: FBI Crime Data Explorer, offenses reported to the city police in 2024.

What Is Northwest Nazarene University Known For?

Northwest Nazarene University is known for its academic work in the following disciplines:

Northwest Nazarene University's Top Areas of Influence With Degrees Offered

Each rank compares how much Northwest Nazarene University's faculty and alumni have shaped a field with other schools, using Wikipedia, Wikidata and scholarly citation databases such as Crossref and Semantic Scholar. World and U.S. ranks reflect modern influence; the historical rank counts influence across all time. How we rank influence

Religious Studies
#1626
World Rank
#1651
Historical Rank
#375
USA Rank

Northwest Nazarene University ranks #375 in the U.S. and #1626 worldwide for influence in Religious Studies.

religious-studies-hub Degrees
Philosophy
#1950
World Rank
#1997
Historical Rank
#584
USA Rank

Northwest Nazarene University ranks #584 in the U.S. and #1950 worldwide for influence in Philosophy.

philosophy Degrees
Psychology
#1735
World Rank
#1749
Historical Rank
#668
USA Rank

Northwest Nazarene University ranks #668 in the U.S. and #1735 worldwide for influence in Psychology.

psychology Degrees
Literature
#3158
World Rank
#3200
Historical Rank
#1054
USA Rank

Northwest Nazarene University ranks #1054 in the U.S. and #3158 worldwide for influence in Literature.

literature Degrees
Education
#4765
World Rank
#4772
Historical Rank
#1130
USA Rank

Northwest Nazarene University ranks #1130 in the U.S. and #4765 worldwide for influence in Education.

education Degrees
History
#4379
World Rank
#4389
Historical Rank
#1373
USA Rank

Northwest Nazarene University ranks #1373 in the U.S. and #4379 worldwide for influence in History.

history Degrees
Physics
#5571
World Rank
#5587
Historical Rank
#1445
USA Rank

Northwest Nazarene University ranks #1445 in the U.S. and #5571 worldwide for influence in Physics.

physics Degrees
Social Work
#4434
World Rank
#4434
Historical Rank
#1684
USA Rank

Northwest Nazarene University ranks #1684 in the U.S. and #4434 worldwide for influence in Social Work.

social-work Degrees
Political Science
#7213
World Rank
#7221
Historical Rank
#1719
USA Rank

Northwest Nazarene University ranks #1719 in the U.S. and #7213 worldwide for influence in Political Science.

political-science Degrees
Communications
#7031
World Rank
#7048
Historical Rank
#1884
USA Rank

Northwest Nazarene University ranks #1884 in the U.S. and #7031 worldwide for influence in Communications.

communications Degrees
Sociology
#5639
World Rank
#5642
Historical Rank
#1891
USA Rank

Northwest Nazarene University ranks #1891 in the U.S. and #5639 worldwide for influence in Sociology.

sociology Degrees
Biology
#7994
World Rank
#8009
Historical Rank
#1988
USA Rank

Northwest Nazarene University ranks #1988 in the U.S. and #7994 worldwide for influence in Biology.

biology Degrees
Business
#7912
World Rank
#7913
Historical Rank
#2206
USA Rank

Northwest Nazarene University ranks #2206 in the U.S. and #7912 worldwide for influence in Business.

business Degrees
Mathematics
#8031
World Rank
#8057
Historical Rank
#2209
USA Rank

Northwest Nazarene University ranks #2209 in the U.S. and #8031 worldwide for influence in Mathematics.

math Degrees
Chemistry
#7762
World Rank
#7768
Historical Rank
#2251
USA Rank

Northwest Nazarene University ranks #2251 in the U.S. and #7762 worldwide for influence in Chemistry.

chemistry Degrees
Medical
#8685
World Rank
#8687
Historical Rank
#2473
USA Rank

Northwest Nazarene University ranks #2473 in the U.S. and #8685 worldwide for influence in Medical.

medicine Degrees
Engineering
#11614
World Rank
#11621
Historical Rank
#2685
USA Rank

Northwest Nazarene University ranks #2685 in the U.S. and #11614 worldwide for influence in Engineering.

engineering Degrees
Computer Science
#10233
World Rank
#10244
Historical Rank
#2733
USA Rank

Northwest Nazarene University ranks #2733 in the U.S. and #10233 worldwide for influence in Computer Science.

computer-science Degrees
Nursing
#8265
World Rank
#8265
Historical Rank
#3012
USA Rank

Northwest Nazarene University ranks #3012 in the U.S. and #8265 worldwide for influence in Nursing.

nursing Degrees
Criminal Justice
#6682
World Rank
#6684
Historical Rank
#3110
USA Rank

Northwest Nazarene University ranks #3110 in the U.S. and #6682 worldwide for influence in Criminal Justice.

criminal-justice Degrees

Who Are Northwest Nazarene University's Most Influential Alumni?

Northwest Nazarene University's most influential alumni include professors and professionals in the fields of Religious Studies, Psychology, and Philosophy. Here are some of Northwest Nazarene University's most famous alumni:

Thomas Jay Oord
Thomas Jay Oord
An American philosopher.
Michael Lodahl
An American theologian.
Mildred Bangs Wynkoop
An American theologian.
Lori Otter
Lori Otter
A First Lady of Idaho.