University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV) vs California State University-Northridge (CSUN)

When it comes to higher education, University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV) and California State University-Northridge (CSUN) stand out as two compelling options for prospective students. UNLV, located in the vibrant city of Las Vegas, boasts a diverse student body and a wide range of academic programs, while CSUN, situated in the heart of the San Fernando Valley, offers a strong focus on the arts and sciences. With acceptance rates of 84% and 52%, respectively, both universities welcome students from various backgrounds. While UNLV's popular majors include Business, Hospitality, and Engineering, CSUN excels in fields like Film, Television, and Radio Production, as well as Criminal Justice. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to delve into further details about these institutions, including student demographics, graduation rates, and more, to help you make an informed decision about your academic journey.

	California State University-Northridge	University of Nevada-Las Vegas
Overview
Location	Northridge, California	Las Vegas, Nevada
Campus setting	City: Large	City: Midsize
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	82.0%	77.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	88.1%	83.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $60
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	23,656	13,025
Total number of admissions given out	20,842	10,873
Admitted students who chose to enroll	4,716	4,125
Yield rate	22.6%	37.9%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $31,857 Out of state: $43,737	In state: $28,003 Out of state: $44,094
Average net price	$8,708	$13,030
Tuition	In state: $5,742 Out of state: $17,622	In state: $7,949 Out of state: $24,040
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,316 Meal plan: $4,506	Room/dormitory: $5,880 Meal plan: $5,456
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	82.0% Average amount $10,882	92.0% Average amount $6,217
Students receiving federal student loan	14.0% Average amount $4,779	21.0% Average amount $5,000
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $12,360	1.0% Average amount $17,424

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	34,496 Men 45.0% Women 55.0%	25,312 Men 43.1% Women 56.9%
Graduate students	5,612 Men 33.0% Women 67.0%	5,367 Men 40.8% Women 59.2%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	1.7%	N/A
International students	6.0%	2.7%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	4,029	2,850
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Washington Hawaii Nevada Texas	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Engineering Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Public Administration and Social Service Computer and Information Science	Education Business Health Professions Visual & Performing Arts Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	26:1	18:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Outcome
Graduation rate	54.2%	47.2%
Dropout rate	33.7%	44.5%
Transferred out	5.6%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $95,739 Year 3: $108,158 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $89,831 Year 2: $92,124 Year 3: $98,535 Taxation (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $72,745 Year 2: $86,867 Year 3: $97,852 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $83,455 Year 2: $88,907 Year 3: $96,626 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $79,863 Year 2: $75,204 Year 3: $92,559 Engineering-Related Fields (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $80,493 Year 3: $92,252 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $83,281 Year 2: $83,669 Year 3: $89,964 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,782 Year 2: $75,047 Year 3: $84,221 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,859 Year 2: $73,070 Year 3: $82,977 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $78,180 Year 2: $76,863 Year 3: $82,194	Dentistry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $115,835 Year 2: $106,421 Year 3: $118,208 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $116,502 Year 2: $99,683 Year 3: $105,571 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $81,563 Year 2: $81,433 Year 3: $93,426 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $86,908 Year 2: $90,856 Year 3: $92,054 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $68,344 Year 2: $72,177 Year 3: $86,154 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $73,087 Year 2: $84,653 Year 3: $85,010 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $71,477 Year 2: $75,313 Year 3: $79,196 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,725 Year 2: $70,296 Year 3: $78,028 Hospitality Administration/Management (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $76,060 Year 2: $73,949 Year 3: $73,853 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,877 Year 2: $59,942 Year 3: $73,118

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