NIU earned 35 ranking badges in the 2027 College Factual rankings: 0 in the top 1%, 5 in the top 5%, 18 in the top 10% and 12 in the top 15% of the schools in each ranking. Its highest placement is #13 of 302 in Most Popular for Health/Medical Prep Programs, a top 5% award.
Key facts
Badges earned: 35 (2027 edition)
In the top 1% / top 5%: 0 / 5
Highest placement: #13 of 302, a top 5% award
Fields of study with a badge: 10
Placements this edition: 341
Badge cutoff: a top 15% placement in a ranking
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
How Many Ranking Badges Has Northern Illinois University Earned?
Northern Illinois University holds 35 ranking badges across 10 fields of study, 5 of them in the top 5% or better; each badge is an award for placing in the top 15% of a ranking. College Factual re-runs each ranking as fresh data is published. The current ranking cycle is 2027 edition. The tier columns show the best placement reached in each ranking. Read about our data sources and methodologies. Administrators interested in displaying College Factual badges can contact us.
Count by Award Level
Award Level
Badges
Top 1%
0
Top 5%
5
Top 10%
18
Top 15%
12
Total
35
What Is Northern Illinois University Known For?
Northern Illinois University is best known for Education: 4 of its 29 traditional-student awards are in that field. Its top-ranked majors include Health/Medical Prep Programs, Textile & Apparel Studies and Accounting.
How Does Northern Illinois University Rank in Athletics?
In College Factual’s 2027 athletics rankings, Northern Illinois University earned 2 badges across 2 sports; its highest placement is #104 of 933 in Basketball.
How Does Northern Illinois University Rank for Online Students?
In College Factual’s 2027 online-program rankings, Northern Illinois University earned 3 badges across 3 online programs; its highest placement is #19 of 172 in Most Popular Online for Teacher Education Subject Specific.
College Factual’s rankings are based primarily on data from the U.S. Department of Education, 2027 edition. Northern Illinois University appears in 341 of the College Factual rankings covered on this page.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), serves as the core of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
by our College Data Analytics Team