University of Nebraska at Omaha

Public · Moderately Selective · NE

Photo: Beatmastermatt (CC BY-SA 3.0)

School data & stats

TypePublic

LocationNE · Midwest

SettingUrban

Undergrads11,488

Student:faculty15:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate27.2%

6-yr grad rate47.1%

Drop-out rate22.1%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$9k

Out-of-state tuition$23k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity41%

Gender diversity55.5%

International2.9%

Identity—

Overview

UNO is a metropolitan public university serving the Omaha area, built around programs well-suited to a working city population: criminology, information science, and business. It has long-standing national recognition for its support of military-connected students, reflecting the influence of nearby Offutt Air Force Base and U.S. Strategic Command, and it fields one of the most competitive Division I hockey programs in the country in place of football, which the university dropped years ago.

Academics

Criminology and criminal justice is one of the university's most nationally recognized programs, with strong ties into Omaha's civic, legal, and public-safety institutions. The College of Information Science and Technology is a rarer type of academic unit — a dedicated IT college rather than a computer science department folded into engineering — reflecting Omaha's growing tech and data-services employer base. Business programs benefit directly from proximity to Omaha's unusually dense cluster of Fortune 500 headquarters, giving students internship and networking access uncommon at a school this size. The curriculum and campus culture lean toward practical, career-connected learning suited to a largely commuter student body.

Campus & student life

Most students are from the Omaha region and many commute, giving campus life a distinctly metropolitan, less residential-campus feel than a traditional flagship, with the redeveloped Aksarben Village district nearby adding a walkable mix of shops and restaurants to campus life. Military-connected students make up a notable share of the population, supported by services the university has built a national reputation around, unsurprising given the presence of Offutt Air Force Base and U.S. Strategic Command just outside the city. Since the university dropped football, Maverick hockey — playing in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference at Baxter Arena — has become the clear centerpiece of campus athletic identity.

Getting in

Admission is generally accessible, consistent with UNO's role as a regional access-oriented university serving working students and the broader Omaha metro. The process is straightforward and credentials-based, and information science and criminology applicants aren't typically subject to additional screening beyond standard academic review. A meaningful share of students are transfers, veterans, or working adults, and the admissions process reflects that flexibility more than a traditional-freshman-only model would.

After graduation

Business graduates have direct pipelines into Omaha's Fortune 500 companies — Berkshire Hathaway, Union Pacific, and Mutual of Omaha among them — a genuine local advantage for internships and first jobs rarely matched by universities in smaller metro areas. Criminology and information science graduates are well placed with regional employers and government agencies, including law enforcement and the area's growing data and cybersecurity sector tied to the military presence nearby.

Worth knowing

UNO doesn't field a football team, which is unusual for a public university this size, and hockey fills that role as the school's marquee sport instead. The military-connected student population and veteran-support infrastructure are genuinely strong, worth knowing for students or families with a military background. Being commuter-heavy means the on-campus social scene is quieter than at a residential flagship, with Omaha itself functioning as the real backdrop to student life.

unomaha.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate87%

Enrolled mid-50%ACT 19–26

Test policyrequired

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying