🎯 Parent/student verdict

Likely

Accessible for most applicants. Affordable on average — net price runs around $18,551/yr. Major value play for in-state residents.

✅ Best for

  • In-state residents (tuition ~$10,951 — major value play)
  • Students drawn to Transportation & Materials Moving or Business, Management, & Marketing (the two biggest majors)
  • Research-curious students (R2 — active research output)

Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price by income, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.

🏛️ Institutional snapshot

What kind of college is this?

Carnegie classification
R2: Doctoral - High Research Activity
Total enrollment
9,981
10,000 - 19,999
In-state tuition
$10,951
sticker, before aid
Out-of-state tuition
$15,570
+$4,619 vs in-state
Admit rate
77.1%
Accessible
Test policy
Test-optional
2023
10-yr earnings
$63,552
median, after entry

Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.

📊 Outcomes & cost

What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.

Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).

Earnings, 6 yrs after entry
$54,588
Earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$63,552
4-year completion
60%
Median debt (completers)
$22,057
Cost of attendance
$25,605
sticker price, not net
Pell-eligible students
17%

💰 True ROI

8.6× return

What families actually pay (after aid) vs. the sticker — and how 10-yr earnings stack against the real cost. Most sites quote sticker; we quote what families really pay.

What families actually pay (4 yrs)
$74,204
$18,551/yr avg net
Aid that hides behind the sticker
$28,216
vs sticker $102,420
10-yr earnings total
$635,520
$63,552/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup actual cost
1.2 yrs
at the median earnings rate

"True ROI" = (10-yr median earnings × 10) ÷ (actual 4-yr net price). The actual net is from Scorecard (average across all families); your family's net price will vary by income — see the breakdown above. Earnings are 10 years after enrollment (Scorecard PP-FOS, all majors combined).

💰 What families actually pay

Net price by family income

Net price = sticker price minus grant aid. This is what families actually pay out-of-pocket after scholarships and need-based aid — the most honest affordability signal there is. At University of North Dakota, the average net price is $18,551/yr across all families.

Family income $0-30k
$13,126/yr
Family income $30-48k
$12,251/yr
Family income $48-75k
$15,206/yr
Family income $75-110k
$18,981/yr
Family income $110k+
$20,730/yr

🔎 Earning over $110K? The federal brackets above lump every family from $110K to $1M+ into one row.

Need-based aid usually phases out somewhere between $200K and $300K at private colleges — but the exact threshold varies a lot. For a precise estimate based on your family's actual income, assets, and your student's academic profile, use University of North Dakota's official Net Price Calculator:

Get your family's estimate from University of North Dakota →

Opens on University of North Dakota's site. Takes about 10–15 minutes; have your most recent tax return handy.

Source: College Scorecard (NPT41-NPT45). Net price = total cost of attendance minus federal, state, institutional, and other grants. Some brackets may be suppressed for student-privacy reasons (small cohorts). Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates only. The $110K+ ceiling is a federal data limitation — Department of Education hasn't refreshed these brackets since the early 2010s.

📚 What students study here

Most popular majors at University of North Dakota

Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what University of North Dakota actually graduates — not just what it markets.

1. Transportation & Materials Moving
320 degrees · 28.2%
2. Business, Management, & Marketing
281 degrees · 24.7%
Typical career outcomes
Financial Analyst $100k Management Analyst (Consultant) $99k Marketing Manager $158k Accountant / Auditor $80k
Broad set of corporate roles. Finance + consulting pay top, accounting + HR pay middle, sales spread is wide.
3. Health Professions
244 degrees · 21.5%
Typical career outcomes
Registered Nurse $86k Physician Assistant $130k Pharmacist $136k Physical Therapist (post-DPT) $100k
Highest-paying group on this list, but most careers require additional training beyond a 4-year degree.
4. Engineering
176 degrees · 15.5%
Typical career outcomes
Mechanical Engineer $100k Electrical Engineer $107k Civil Engineer $93k Chemical Engineer $112k
Engineering majors land high-paying technical roles. Top-earning sub-disciplines: petroleum, chemical, computer engineering.
5. Psychology
115 degrees · 10.1%
Typical career outcomes
HR Specialist $68k Market Research Analyst $75k Clinical Psychologist (post-PhD) $93k Social Worker $58k
Most undergrad psych grads go into non-clinical roles. Clinical/counseling psych requires a master's or doctoral.

Source: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a), bachelor's-level first majors aggregated to 2-digit CIP family. Share is of these top 5 only — not all majors.

💼 Top programs by earnings

Highest-earning majors at University of North Dakota

Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major (CIP code). From the federal College Scorecard program-level outcomes.

Major (CIP) Credential Cohort 1-yr earnings 4-yr earnings
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 39 $78,285 $106,162
Air Transportation. Bachelor's Degree 298 $46,193 $104,472
Petroleum Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 11 $73,821 $99,932
Mechanical Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 77 $73,603 $89,704
Civil Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 49 $73,260 $87,828
Chemical Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 34 $73,112 $87,309
Computer and Information Sciences, General. Bachelor's Degree 25 $65,020 $86,268
Accounting and Related Services. Bachelor's Degree 60 $61,280 $82,187
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. Bachelor's Degree 123 $73,097 $79,624
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions. Bachelor's Degree 37 $68,029 $78,774

For full college-vs-major comparison + ROI leaderboards, see /college-outcomes →

🤖 AI program signal

AI + computing education at University of North Dakota

CS degrees (annual)
17
CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

⚖️ Compare side-by-side

University of North Dakota vs. another college

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