Bradley University

Private · Moderately Selective · IL

Photo: Jimcrone at English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationIL · Midwest

SettingUrban

Undergrads3,574

Student:faculty11:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate57.6%

6-yr grad rate76.2%

Drop-out rate17.3%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$42k

Out-of-state tuition$42k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity40.5%

Gender diversity51.1%

International2.3%

Identity—

Overview

Bradley University is a private university in Peoria, Illinois, that pairs a liberal arts foundation with career-oriented professional schools. It's mid-sized, residential, and known for placing engineering, business, nursing, and communications programs on equal footing with a solid core curriculum, giving it a reputation as a practical, outcomes-minded private school in the Midwest.

Academics

Engineering and manufacturing-adjacent programs draw on Peoria's industrial base as Caterpillar's headquarters city, and the business school has a long-standing regional reputation. Bradley's game design and simulation program is nationally recognized, an unusual specialty for a school its size. Nursing and health sciences are competitive, direct-entry programs. Class sizes stay small, with a teaching-focused faculty culture rather than a heavy research emphasis.

Campus & student life

The campus is compact and walkable, set in a residential Peoria neighborhood a short distance from downtown. Greek life and a full slate of student organizations shape social life, and Missouri Valley Conference basketball, with a long NCAA tournament history, is a genuine campus rallying point that draws crowds well beyond the athletic department.

Getting in

Bradley reviews holistically but weighs the intended major's rigor and fit closely, especially for competitive programs like nursing and engineering, which often admit directly into the major rather than to the university at large. Essays and demonstrated interest matter more at the margins than at large public flagships.

After graduation

Bradley's professional programs feed directly into regional and Midwest employers; engineering and business graduates in particular land at Caterpillar and other central Illinois industry, while game design graduates place into studios nationally. Alumni networks run strong in the Midwest corporate and manufacturing sectors.

Worth knowing

Direct-admit majors mean a change of heart about nursing or engineering partway through isn't automatic; internal transfer between colleges can be competitive. The Peoria location, while modest in size, keeps costs and campus scale manageable compared to bigger private universities with similar program breadth.

bradley.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate76.8%

Enrolled mid-50%1300

Test policynot used

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying