Grand View University

Private · Moderately Selective · IA

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationIA · Midwest

SettingUrban

Undergrads1,486

Student:faculty12:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate45.4%

6-yr grad rate54%

Drop-out rate29.8%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$35k

Out-of-state tuition$35k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity46.2%

Gender diversity54.7%

International3.3%

IdentityEvangelical Lutheran Church

Overview

Grand View University is an ELCA Lutheran university in Des Moines, Iowa, with roots in the city's Danish immigrant community, known for nursing and other applied, career-focused programs taught in small classes.

Academics

Nursing is the strongest and most established program, and the broader curriculum leans practical and career-focused rather than heavily theoretical, consistent with a small university whose students often come intending a direct path into a profession.

Campus & student life

Being in Des Moines gives Grand View students access to the city's insurance, finance, and health care employers for internships that a rural small college couldn't offer — a real advantage that shapes how many students describe choosing the school. Campus life itself is modest in scale, with a close-knit, Lutheran-inflected community feel.

Getting in

Admission is accessible rather than highly selective, in keeping with Grand View's identity as a career-focused regional university rather than a prestige-driven liberal arts college.

After graduation

Nursing graduates place well into the Des Moines area's hospital systems, and the internship pipeline into local insurance and finance employers is a recurring theme in how the university describes its outcomes.

grandview.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate99.1%

Enrolled mid-50%1080

Test policynot used

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying