Indiana Wesleyan University-Marion

Private · Moderately Selective · IN

Photo: Flavius Constantine (Public domain)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationIN · Midwest

SettingRural

Undergrads1,974

Student:faculty12:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate56.8%

6-yr grad rate66.7%

Drop-out rate17.1%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$32k

Out-of-state tuition$32k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity18.4%

Gender diversity60.2%

International1.6%

IdentityWesleyan

Overview

Indiana Wesleyan University is an evangelical Christian university in Marion, Indiana, affiliated with The Wesleyan Church, combining a traditional residential campus with one of the largest Christian adult and online education operations in the country. The Marion campus serves traditional-age students while a separate College of Adult and Professional Studies enrolls working adults through regional centers and online programs nationwide. Faith is explicit throughout, with chapel attendance and a stated Wesleyan-Arminian theological identity shaping campus culture.

Academics

Nursing, education, and ministry or theology are the university's signature strengths, drawing students toward licensure-track professions alongside a biblical studies core built into general education. Business is also a large program, benefiting from the university's scale and its adult-education infrastructure. Class sizes on the traditional campus stay modest, and faculty are expected to integrate Christian faith into coursework rather than treat it as separate from academics.

Campus & student life

Marion is a small city in east-central Indiana, and campus culture centers on chapel services, small groups, and residential life built around Wesleyan evangelical practice. Athletics compete at the NAIA level, and student life outside academics runs heavily through campus ministries and service trips.

Getting in

Admissions requests a statement of faith or spiritual reference alongside academic materials, consistent with the university's explicit evangelical identity, and is generally less formula-driven than a comparably sized secular school.

Worth knowing

The scale of IWU's online and adult-degree arm is unusual for a school its size: far more students take courses through its national online and regional-center system than attend the Marion campus itself, which is worth understanding when comparing IWU to a conventional small Christian college.

indwes.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate88.9%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 960–1180 · ACT 19–28

Test policyoptional

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying