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Grand Canyon University Data & Information Overview

766 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
79% Acceptance Rate

If you want to know more about Grand Canyon University, such as what majors does it offer, how diverse it is, how well it ranks, and more, this is your one-stop resource.

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* Rankings

How Does Grand Canyon University Stack Up?

#1,240 Best Colleges in Nation
#12 Best Colleges in AZ
Grand Canyon University ranking badge

2026 Best Colleges Rankings

In its yearly rankings, College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities to determine which ones are the best in a variety of categories, such as overall value, quality, diversity, which schools are the best for each major, and much more.

Grand Canyon University was awarded 766 badges in the 2026 rankings.

Overall Ranking

College Factual ranked GCU as #1,240 out of 3,449 colleges and universities in the country on its 2026 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation.

GCU is also ranked #12 on the Best Colleges in Arizona list.

See all of the rankings for Grand Canyon University.

How Difficult Is Admission to Grand Canyon University?

79% Acceptance Rate
79% Of Accepted Are Women
1% Submit SAT Scores

Acceptance Rate

Grand Canyon University has an acceptance rate of 79%, which makes it somewhat selective. Make sure it’s not the only school you apply to, even if it’s your school of choice. Whether you get in or not will largely depend on how you compare to other applicants.

Average Test Scores

About 1% of students accepted to GCU submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 518 and 580. Math scores were between 488 and 533.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for Grand Canyon University  ( 518 to 580 )
200
800
SAT Math Scores for Grand Canyon University  ( 488 to 533 )
200
800

GCU received ACT scores from 1% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 20 and 22.

ACT Composite Scores for Grand Canyon University  ( 20 to 22 )
1
36

Learn more about Grand Canyon University admissions.

Faculty at Grand Canyon University

20 to 1 Student to Faculty
9% Full Time Teachers

Faculty Accessibility

The student to faculty ratio at Grand Canyon University is 20 to 1, which is high when compared to the national average of 15 to 1. This may indicate that some of your classes will be larger in size than they would be at other schools. However, upper level classes will probably be smaller.

Full-Time Faculty Share

Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.

The full-time faculty percentage at Grand Canyon University is 9%. This is lower than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  9 out of 100
0
100

Academic Performance at Grand Canyon University

68% Freshmen Retention
43% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshman Success

The freshmen retention rate tells us what percentage of first-year, full-time students choose to continue on to their sophomore year at a particular school. The rate at Grand Canyon University is 68%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 68%.

Freshmen Retention Rate  68 out of 100
0
100

Academic Completion

Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At GCU the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 43%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  43 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Grand Canyon University.

Student Demographics at Grand Canyon University

68,619 Undergraduate Students
50.5% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
70.9% Percent Women

During the most recent academic year, there were 68,619 undergraduates at GCU.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Grand Canyon University.

Cost of Attending Grand Canyon University

$16,772 Net Price
53% Take Out Loans
$31,036 Total Student Loans

The average net price of GCU is $16,772. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.### Net Price by Income Group for GCU

$0-30 K$30K-48K$48-75$75-110K$110K +
$18,474$19,082$22,037$23,907$24,177

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of GCU, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Debt

Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At GCU, approximately 53% of students took out student loans averaging $7,759 a year. That adds up to $31,036 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 12.5%. This is higher than the national default rate of 10.1% so you should proceed with caution when taking out student loans. Get more details about paying for Grand Canyon University.

What Do Grand Canyon University Alumni Earn?

$42,186 Avg Salary of Grads
Low Earnings Boost

Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Grand Canyon University make around $42,186 per year during the early years of their employment. Unfortunately, this is 14% less than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. However, graduates in your major field may make more.

See which majors at Grand Canyon University make the most money.

Location of Grand Canyon University

Arizona State
68,619 Undergraduate Students
Large City Campus Setting

Grand Canyon University is an private for-profit institution situated in Phoenix, Arizona. The location of the school is great for students who enjoy the amenities of city life. Get more details about the location of Grand Canyon University.

Location of Grand Canyon University

Contact details for Grand Canyon University are listed below.

Contact Details
Address:3300 W Camelback Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85017
Phone:8008009776
Website:www.gcu.edu
Facebook:www.facebook.com/GrandCanyonU
Twitter:twitter.com/gcu

Grand Canyon University Majors

23 Majors With Completions
56,044 Undergraduate Degrees

In the most recent reporting year, students from 23 majors graduated from Grand Canyon University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.

Most Popular MajorsCompletionsAverage Salary of Graduates
Multi-Disciplinary Studies28,022NA
Nursing5,116$85,008
Business Administration & Management2,948$54,950
Teacher Education Grade Specific2,897$38,608
Mental & Social Health Services1,975$39,177
Special Education1,564$42,405
Educational Administration1,421$59,804
Human Services1,216$32,131
Teacher Education Subject Specific1,047$50,929
Other Psychology834$43,695

Learn more about the majors offered at Grand Canyon University along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Online Study Options at GCU

97% Take At Least One Class Online
78% Take All Classes Online

Online courses are a great option for busy, working students as well as for those who have scheduling conflicts and want to study on their own time. As time goes by, expect to see more and more online learning options become available.

66,660 students took at least one online class at Grand Canyon University.

Learn more about online learning at Grand Canyon University.

Data Sources and References

Footnotes

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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