by our College Data Analytics TeamUniversity of Central Arkansas is a public institution in Conway, Arkansas enrolling 7,762 undergraduates. It accepts 90% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 54%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #1,409 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 27%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
University of Central Arkansas ranks #1,409 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 27%.
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.
University of Central Arkansas was awarded 11 badges in the 2027 rankings.
According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, UCA is ranked #1,409 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality.
UCA also holds the #10 spot on the Best Colleges in Arkansas ranking.
See all of the rankings for University of Central Arkansas.
University of Central Arkansas has an acceptance rate of 90%, so it is easier to gain admission to this school than some others. Still, the admissions staff will examine your application closely to make sure you’re a good fit for UCA.
About 2% of students accepted to UCA submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 480 and 590. Math scores were between 430 and 580.
UCA received ACT scores from 95% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 19 and 25.
Learn more about University of Central Arkansas admissions.
The student to faculty ratio at University of Central Arkansas is about average at 15 to 1. This ratio is often used to gauge how many students might be in an average class and how much time professors will have to spend with their students on an individual level. The national average for this metric is 15 to 1.
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 University of Central Arkansas is 76%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
University of Central Arkansas has a freshmen retention rate of 73%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At UCA the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 54%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at University of Central Arkansas.
In the current academic year, there are 7,762 undergraduates at UCA.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at University of Central Arkansas.
The typical net cost at UCA is $17,140. 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.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $14,656 | $13,988 | $16,203 | $20,318 | $20,157 |
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 UCA, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
It’s not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At UCA, approximately 40% of students took out student loans averaging $7,620 a year. That adds up to $30,480 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 6.7%. Although this is lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, you’ll still want to keep this in mind when taking out student loans. Get more details about paying for University of Central Arkansas.
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from University of Central Arkansas make about $45,938 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is right on par with the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. Also, graduates in your major field may make more.
See which majors at University of Central Arkansas make the most money.
University of Central Arkansas is a public institution located in Conway, Arkansas. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life. Get more details about the location of University of Central Arkansas.
Contact details for University of Central Arkansas are given below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 201 Donaghey Ave, Conway, AR 72035-0001 |
| Phone: | 5014505000 |
| Website: | www.uca.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Central_Arkansas |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/ucentralarkansas |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/ucabears |
In the latest year of available data, students from 24 majors graduated from University of Central Arkansas. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 2,510 | NA |
| Nursing | 156 | $59,073 |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 149 | $37,620 |
| General Psychology | 144 | $24,926 |
| Rehabilitation Professions | 104 | $72,491 |
| Business & Commerce | 102 | $41,417 |
| Teacher Education Subject Specific | 102 | $41,531 |
| Health & Physical Education | 100 | $26,820 |
| General Biology | 99 | $23,535 |
| Liberal Arts General Studies | 91 | NA |
3,670 students took at least one online class at University of Central Arkansas.
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.
Learn more about online learning at University of Central Arkansas.
Want to see how other colleges compare to UCA? Pit them head to head with College Combat, our free interactive tool that lets you compare colleges on the features that matter most to you.
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.
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