Northern Arizona University—or Arizona Normal College as it was named back then—opened its doors in 1899 with 23 students, two faculty members (one, Almon Nicholas Taylor, was also the school president), and two copies of Webster’s International Dictionary bound in sheepskin.
In 1901, the first graduating class consisted of four women who received credentials to teach in the Arizona Territory.
We deliver world-class academic programs for a world-ready generation. In every classroom, top-flight research powers personalized teaching.
Every one of our programs—undergraduate and graduate alike—is led by expert faculty who recognize and develop students’ talents.
Meet your community in any of our eight colleges and follow your true north to a lifetime of discovery and a career you’ll love.
At Northern Arizona University, we’ve always been a part of the world and a partner to it—starting in our hometown, a city that prizes innovation. NAU, widely recognized as a higher-research institution, has built a reputation for scientific discovery and the invention of new technologies.
The mission of NAU Career Development is to empower students and alumni to confidently navigate their careers as citizens of an evolving and global world. They offer individual appointments to review career options, resumes and cover letters, job search strategies, internship exploration, and mock interviews. They also offer online modules to learn more about career related topics, spring career and graduate school expos, and multiple recruiting events.
The University Advising team’s purpose is to guide and support students as they progress through their academic careers. Advisors assist with academic plan and sub-plan selection, course selection and sequencing, resource and tool referral, enrollment, policy interpretation, and coach students through their academic requirements and challenges. The Gateway Student Success Center provides academic advising services and programs for First-Year, Exploratory, and Premed students. After the first year, you will move to an academic-based advisor within your college.
As a freshman, you’ll live in a Residential College which is aligned with your academic college at NAU. Living with others who share similar majors or career interests provides an engaging opportunity to establish valuable connections and friendships. Residential Colleges feature programs, events, amenities and academic resources tailored to your college and major. Benefits of living in a Residential College include:
Cline Library offers robust virtual services and thousands of electronic resources to support your research, learning, and online instruction needs.
The Information Technology Services (ITS) – Student Technology Center (STC) provides support to students for anything technologically related from email and LOUIE to Ethernet and Internet connections. The STC also offers walk in hours at Cline Library, help via telephone, and residence hall calls, where they come to you!
The Health and Learning Center (HLC) offers many resources including flu shots, acupuncture, mental health, physical therapy, massage therapy, immediate care, immunizations, allergy clinic, and nutrition. HLC Counseling Services provides short-term individual and couples counseling, group counseling, crisis services, outreach, and consultation about students of concern.
Our campus is lively year round, which means you’ll have your pick of countless adventures. Four distinct, stunning seasons and a ton of options to live, play, and work on campus enrich your NAU experience and ensure these years will be some of the best of your life.
From the Aquatic & Tennis Complex to the one-of-a-kind Walkup Skydome, our modern athletic facilities offer the ideal environment for training, fun, and fitness.
Gain experience, meet new people, and get involved on campus with more than 375 student clubs & organizations.
The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is one of six regional associations recognized by the U.S. Department of Education that accredit institutions of higher education. The Higher Learning Commission accredits Northern Arizona University. Northern Arizona University’s accreditation extends through 2027-2028.
Studyportals ranking look at the scores of the most used ranking systems and present you with one number of how well this University performs.
By U.S. News & World Report
Dropped 42 places compared to 2026
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report presents all the top universities from the U.S. and 60 other countries around the world. They measure the rate of students going to their second year of studies, as well as the rate of students who graduate. It also asks university representatives on the performance of universities, and evaluates university resources, teacher salaries, graduation rates, student academic achievements and satisfaction. After calculating and comparing these criteria, U.S. News ranks the top international universities accordingly.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 519 | 578 | 620 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By TopUniversities
The university hasn’t moved up or down in the rankings over the past year.
QS World University Rankings is one of the top international rankings measuring the popularity and performance of universities all over the world. They measure university reputation based on the impressions of higher education experts, companies who hire graduates, and teaching quality. QS also considers the ratio of international teachers and students present at universities, as well as the times research papers were mentioned by researchers. After calculating and comparing these criteria, QS ranks the universities accordingly.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 1001 | 1001 | 1001 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By Shanghai Jiao Tong University
This university doesn’t have a ranking for 2026 yet. Rankings are updated yearly, so check back later for the latest info.
ARWU World University rankings is the first world university ranking. It ranks the world's top 1000 colleges and universities based on objective indicator. They look at the number of award-winning (Fields Medals and Nobel Prize) scientists who are located there, how much of their research is cited and referenced around the world, and how much they've contributed to different academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, ARWU ranks the universities accordingly.
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 501 | 501 | - |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
Based on 28 reviews
the university is in the middle of the city, helpin people of all state to get more easily the ride to it, the instalation and infraestructure are greats, the estudents are happy to stay in his class room takeing his clasess, great place
NAU is in Flagstaff Arizona, one of the most sought after places to live in AZ, and it makes a huge difference. I transferred from ASU's Tempe Campus. I was not comfortable there. NAU is much less of a party school than ASU. Campus life is a lot more laid back, and even at the bigger parties we do not see the kind of thugs who crash parties in Tempe.
This university offers 100% online education programs, which allows people like me who for some reason must stay home. However, I believe there is little support, no virtual classes, and in most cases, students must do everything alone.
The Global Student Satisfaction Awards empower students across the globe to determine the best universities of 2025. Universities with a score above 4.0 (out of 5) in any of the 7 award categories, receive Badges of Excellence. Congratulations!
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