Judson University

Private · Selective · IL

Photo: RSchulenburg (CC BY-SA 3.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationIL · Midwest

SettingUrban

Undergrads708

Student:faculty10:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate42.8%

6-yr grad rate59.9%

Drop-out rate40.8%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$31k

Out-of-state tuition$31k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity57.6%

Gender diversity41%

International9.3%

IdentityBaptist

Overview

Judson University, in Elgin, Illinois, is an evangelical Christian university on a riverside campus in Chicago's far northwest suburbs, best known nationally for its architecture program rather than its size or research profile.

Academics

Judson's architecture degree is one of the few accredited programs of its kind at a Christian college, with a strong emphasis on sustainable design that gives it a distinct identity among small evangelical schools. Studio culture in the architecture program runs more intensively than in Judson's other, generally small and career-oriented, majors.

Campus & student life

The riverside suburban campus supports a close, faith-integrated community, with daily life shaped by evangelical Christian expectations around conduct and chapel participation typical of similar institutions, alongside the more secular, studio-heavy culture of the architecture cohort specifically.

Worth knowing

The sustainable-design architecture program is a genuine outlier at a school this size and this religiously oriented, and it's the primary reason students who aren't otherwise looking at Christian colleges consider Judson at all.

judsonu.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate47.6%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 816–1118 · ACT 16–24

Test policyoptional

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying