Briar Cliff University is a nationally recognized, academically rigorous, liberal arts university located in Sioux City, Iowa. With a deep commitment to openness and respect for the individual rooted in our Catholic Franciscan tradition, Briar Cliff shapes the hearts, minds and lives of its students. Because teaching and learning at Briar Cliff focuses on outcomes, graduates enjoy an outstanding placement rate and are equipped to be successful in the workplace and beyond.
About Our Students
FALL 2019 ADMISSIONS
Numbers are for degree-seeking students applied, admitted, and enrolled in the fall of 2019.
Middle 50% ACT Range for Freshman Class
Numbers are for degree-seeking students applied, admitted, and enrolled in the fall of 2019.
ACT Writing component not required.
English
18 - 24
Mathematics
17 - 25
Reading
19 - 25
Science
20 - 24
FALL 2019 ENROLLMENT
Numbers are for degree-seeking undergraduate students and graduate students enrolled in the fall of 2019.
Graduate Student:
A student that holds a bachelor's degree or equivalent, and is taking courses at the post-baccalaureate level. Students formerly designated as first-professional students are now captured in the graduate student enrollment numbers.
Average High School GPA of the Freshman Class
GENDER: ALL UNDERGRADUATES
DIVERSITY: ALL UNDERGRADUATES
What Students Pay
Price of Attendance in 2019 - 2020
Note: Numbers are estimates only for full-time undergraduate students living on campus in academic year 2019 - 2020.
Room & Board: This figure assumes double occupancy in institutional housing and 19 meals per week (or the maximum meal plan).
Books and Supplies: These costs include the average cost of books and supplies for a typical full-time undergraduate student living on campus. Unusual costs for special groups of students (for example, engineering or art majors) are not included unless they constitute a majority of the students at the institution.
Transportation: These costs include two round trips per year to the hometown of a typical full-time undergraduate student living on campus.
Other Expenses: These expenses include average costs for a typical full-time undergraduate student living on campus, for clothing, laundry, entertainment, medical (if not a required fee), and furnishings.
Estimated Tuition & Fees$27,312
Estimated Room & Board$7,888
Estimated Books & Supplies$1,253
Estimated Transportation$1,526
Other Expenses$1,759
Percent of Freshmen Receiving Aid by Type
Note: Percentages are for full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students enrolled in fall 2019 - 2020.
Federal Grants: These monies include Pell Grants and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants made by the U.S. Department of Education as well as need-based and merit-based educational assistance funds and training vouchers from other federal agencies.
State/Local Grants: These monies include grants provided by the state to the institution through the LEAP program as well as state merit scholarships and tuition and fee waivers. Local grants are any local government grants, scholarship, or gift-aid awarded directly to the student.
Institutional Grants: These monies include scholarships and fellowships funded by the institution and/or individual departments. Also included are tuition and fee waivers and athletic scholarships from the institution.
Student Loans: These monies include subsidized and unsubsidized loans made directly to the student, including Perkins Loans. Also included are institutionally- and privately-sponsored loans for which the student is the designated borrower and funds go through the institution. PLUS and other loans for which the parent is the designated borrower are excluded.
Average Undergraduate Loans Owed At Graduation
The average per-undergraduate-borrower cumulative principal borrowed of the 2019 undergraduate class (does not include students who transferred in or any money borrowed while at other institutions) who started at this institution as first-time students and received a bachelor’s degree between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019. Includes loans through all loan programs: institutional, state, Federal Perkins, Federal Stafford Subsidized and Unsubsidized, Federal Direct Student Loans and Federal Family Education Loans, and private loans certified by this institution; parent loans are excluded but co-signed loans are included.
Use Our Net Price Calculator
An institution's Net Price Calculator provides an individualized estimate of the net price of attendance for a first-time, full-time aided undergraduate at that institution. The federal definition of net price is as follows: an institution's cost of attendance for first-time, full-time undergraduate students less the total need- and merit-based federal, state and institutional grant aid awarded (i.e., monetary awards that do not have to be paid back) divided by the number of first-time, full-time undergraduate students receiving such aid.
The estimates generated by an institution's Net Price Calculator do not represent a final determination, or actual award, of financial assistance or a final net price; they are only estimates.
Our Graduates
Percentage of Students Who Graduate
Percentages are for full-time first-time bachelor's (or equivalent) degree-seeking undergraduate students who entered this institution in the summer or fall of 2013 and completed their degree at this institution by the fall of 2019.
Within 4 Years
41%
Within 5 Years
46%
Within 6 Years
48%
Number of Degrees Awarded in 2019
Numbers are for degrees awarded between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019.
Bachelor’s:
Bachelor’s degrees are any degrees that normally require at least four but not more than five years of full-time equivalent college-level work. This includes ALL bachelor’s degrees awarded in a five-year cooperative (work-study plan) program which provides for alternate class attendance and employment in business, industry, or government and thus allows students to combine actual work experience with their college studies. Also, it includes bachelor’s degrees in which the normal four years of work are completed in three years.
Master’s:
Master’s degrees require the successful completion of a program of study of at least the full-time equivalent of one but not more than two academic years of study beyond the bachelor’s degree. Some of these degrees, such as those in Theology (ex., M.Div., M.H.L./Rav) that were formerly classified as first-professional degrees, may require more than two full-time equivalent academic years of work.
Doctoral
Doctoral degrees are the highest award a student can earn for graduate study. There are three categories of Doctoral degrees:
- Doctor's degree-research/scholarship: Requires advanced work beyond the master's level, including the preparation and defense of a dissertation based on original research, or the planning and execution of an original project demonstrating substantial artistic or scholarly achievement.
- Doctor's degree-professional practice: A doctor's degree that is conferred upon completion of a program providing the knowledge and skills for the recognition, credential, or license required for professional practice. The degree is awarded after a period of study such that the total time to the degree, including both pre-professional and professional preparation, equals at least six full-time equivalent academic years. Some of these degrees were formerly classified as first-professional and may include: Chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.); Dentistry (D.D.S. OR D.M.D.); Law (L.L.B. or J.D.); Medicine (M.D.); Optometry (O.D.); Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.); Pharmacy (Pharm.D.); Podiatry (D.P.M., Pod.D., D.P.); or, Vetrinary Medicine (D.V.M.), and others, as designated by the awarding institution.
- Doctor's degree-other: A doctor's degree that does not meet the definition of a doctor's degree-research/scholarship or a doctor's degree-professional practice.
Thinking About Life After College
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About Our Faculty
Faculty Information
Student Faculty Ratio: Ratios are for full-time equivalent students to full-time equivalent instructional faculty for the fall of 2019. Full-time equivalent equals all the full-time individuals plus one-third of the part-time individuals. Faculty and students in stand-alone graduate programs such as medicine, law, veterinary, dentistry, social work, business, or public health in which faculty teach virtually only graduate level students are not included in the ratio calculations. Undergraduate or graduate student teaching assistants are not included as faculty.
Full-Time Faculty with Highest Degree: Full-time instructional faculty in the fall of 2019 who held a doctorate, first professional, or the highest degree available in their field. Instructional faculty is defined as those members of the instructional-research staff whose major regular assignment is instruction, including those with released time for research.
Student Faculty Ratio: 14:1
Full-time Faculty with highest degree: 79%
Undergraduate Class Size
Undergraduate Class Size:This table reports on the number of classes by class size that was offered in the fall of 2019.
Number of Classes:This is the number of classes per semester. A class is an organized course offered for credit, and not a subsection such as a laboratory or discussion section. Not included in this table is distance learning classes, noncredit classes, individual instruction such as thesis research and music instruction, independent studies, co-operative programs, internships, foreign language taped tutor sessions, practicums, and all students in one-on-one classes.
| Number of Students |
2-19 |
20-39 |
40-99 |
100+ |
Total |
| Number of Classes |
143 |
71 |
8 |
0 |
222 |
Life on Campus
Watch your future take shape at Briar Cliff University, a nationally recognized university in Sioux City, Iowa. We have more than 1,100 students, a 14:1 student-to-faculty ratio, over 40 areas of study, a technology-rich campus, 35-plus clubs and organizations and 18 intercollegiate athletic programs.
Campus Safety
BCU provides 24-hour campus security protection, including secure access to residence halls, emergency phones, security escorts upon request to/from parking lots and a well-lighted campus. Briar Cliff’s scenic hilltop location is monitored round-the-clock by security officers who have immediate access to local law enforcement.
Student Life Helpful Links