•AVERAGE: 69
One of only eight Church of the Nazarene-affiliated colleges, MidAmerica Nazarene University was founded in 1966 to provide a Nazarene educational option to the North Central Region of the denomination (roughly the upper Midwest). As a highly missions-centered holiness denomination, the Nazarene Church places great importance on education and service, and those qualities come through in MNU, which uses affordable tuition and ample financial support to make their degrees highly accessible. This commitment to making themselves available to students has earned MNU national recognition as a best value, including Money magazine’s rankings.
Academic Programs
MidAmerica Nazarene’s curriculum draws on the classical liberal arts, carrying undergraduate students through a foundational education in the humanities and sciences, but MNU brings to that tradition an awareness of the centrality of Christian faith to their effort. All of MNU’s programs, including the undergraduate and graduate, as well as online and adult education, are developed around the mission of training Christian leaders driven by love and service to their fellow human beings.With more than 40 degree programs, ranging from traditional undergraduate majors to pre-professional programs life pre-law, medicine, engineering, and chiropractic, MNU has a wide variety of options for their more than 2000 students. While MNU’s focus is largely on traditional-aged residential students, in recent years their adult education program has become more influential and expanded, particularly in nursing, business, and counseling, typically strengths of Christian universities like MNU. Small class sizes keep students connected to one another as well as their instructors, building the supportive community MNU takes pride in.
Student Life
Between undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as their growing slate of distance programs, MNU calls more than 2000 students Pioneers. While MNU is a Nazarene university, students come from a wide selection of backgrounds, including half a dozen different religions and more than 40 Christian denominations. One things all Pioneers have in common is a commitment to community, both the small on-campus community, and the world at large outside of Olathe, KS. The Nazarene Church is highly missional, and students regularly take part in study abroad, international missions trips, and local community service.Spiritual life is especially important at MNU, with four worship services throughout the week for students, as well as faith-based clubs and groups taking part in prayer, bible study, and activities. On-campus events are a major part of life for residential students, and the Pioneers compete in nine different NAIA varsity sports. Olathe’s proximity to Kansas City means students can easily access the cultural events of the city that made barbecue and jazz into fundamental parts of Kansas life.