College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

North Dakota State University-Main Campus

NDMedium public institution · Overall rank #367 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks North Dakota State University-Main Campus #367 nationally.

Who it’s a good fit for

North Dakota State University-Main Campus is a public university in Fargo, North Dakota, where the degree mix is led by Engineering, Business, and Health Professions. Mobility is well above average.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them, and the typical graduate earns above the median at comparable schools. The model attributes part of that to the factors it measures, which adds, and part to what it cannot explain, which subtracts.

Pell students complete at a rate that trails the overall rate, and access is modestly below average. Families at both ends of the income scale pay less than the published cost, with the lowest-income band paying the least.

The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study. A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid ones are in engineering and pharmacy, not the social sciences.

North Dakota State University-Main Campus at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
95.0%
Six-year completion[2]
63.9%
Four-year earnings[3]
$67,679

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$11,923
Median student debt[4]
$23,199
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$14,621

North Dakota State University-Main Campus rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

9,471 undergraduates enroll at North Dakota State University-Main Campus, a public university in Fargo, North Dakota. The institution sits in the upper portion of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (75th percentile).

North Dakota State University-Main Campus accepts 95.0% of those who apply, compared with a peer median of 85.9% among comparable institutions of the same type and size. Among first-time, full-time students, 78.4% continue into a second year and 63.9% finish within six years.

Both figures sit above the peer medians of 73.7% and 49.1%. Because an estimated 21.4% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, the six-year graduation rate captures only part of the undergraduate population.

North Dakota State University-Main Campus shows a wide spread across its four . Mobility is the strongest, at the 81st percentile, while access is the weakest, at the 30th percentile.

Return and affordability sit between them (at the 77th and 72nd percentiles). Access sits far below the other three.

Azimuth evaluates North Dakota State University-Main Campus across four pillars among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions. The university's strongest pillar is mobility, in the 81st percentile.

The return pillar sits in the 77th percentile and affordability in the 72nd percentile. Access is the weakest pillar, in the 30th percentile.

19.7% of undergraduates at North Dakota State University-Main Campus receive Pell Grants, a measure of financial access at this public university in Fargo, North Dakota. Azimuth ranks North Dakota State University-Main Campus #1,029 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at a rate of 55.5%, which sits 8.4 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate (63.9%). The gap is a fact about the entering cohort, not an explanation of it.

Azimuth ranks the university #285 for mobility. Graduates earn about $4,090 more than the model expects for similar students, and the mobility pillar is the strongest of the four for this institution.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

North Dakota State University-Main Campus rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#367

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 81
Access & reach
National percentile: 30
Affordability
National percentile: 72
Return on investment
National percentile: 77

Top-ranked majors

  1. Agricultural Production Operations#1
  2. Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians#3
  3. Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration#4

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / North Dakota State University-Main Campus briefing

North Dakota State University-Main Campus cost & financial aid[6][7]

North Dakota State University-Main Campus publishes a cost of attendance of $23,716, with in-state tuition and fees at $11,110 and out-of-state at $15,764. Room and board adds another $9,928.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients is $15,543, a savings of $8,173 against the sticker total. Aid covers about 34% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

That sits above the peer median of $14,068 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,475. Azimuth ranks the university #400 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For families with the tightest budgets, the average net price drops to $9,370 for those earning under $30,000, which is well below the all-aid-recipient average. The spread between the lowest and highest income bands is $9,486, showing that aid narrows the gap but does not flatten it entirely.

North Dakota State University-Main Campus publishes a cost of attendance of $23,716, with in-state tuition and fees at $11,110 and room and board at $9,928. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—is $9,370; for the $48,001–$75,000 band it is $11,923, and for families earning over $110,000 it is $18,856.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $9,486. Azimuth ranks the university #400 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid covers about 34% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, a savings of $8,173 against the sticker price. The average net price across all aid recipients is $15,543, which sits above the peer median of $14,068 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,475.

Out-of-state students face a higher published tuition of $15,764 before aid. Graduates who borrow federal loans leave with a median debt of $23,199.

About 93.2% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, and that debt is above the peer median of $21,229 by $1,970. It corresponds to an estimated payment of $264 a month if repaid over ten years.

Parents who take out Parent PLUS loans borrow a median of $14,621.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$11,923

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at North Dakota State University-Main Campus

Completing borrowers at North Dakota State University-Main Campus carry a median federal student debt of $23,199. That median is above the $21,229 figure at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,970.

Across all undergraduates, 93.2% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Parent borrowers show median Parent PLUS debt of $14,621.

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported that 68% of graduates borrowed from any source, including 66% with federal loans and 30% with private loans. Average cumulative borrowing was $33,062 per borrower, with federal borrowers averaging $21,014 and private borrowers averaging $27,894. Debt sits above the peer median alongside broad undergraduate borrowing.

Graduates of North Dakota State University-Main Campus see earnings that outpace both peers and expectations. Four years after completion, the median is $67,679, a figure in the 72nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

That is above the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $10,378. Graduates earn about $4,090 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome in the 69th percentile nationally.

Earnings scenarios derived from the university's program mix show a typical earnings level at the same median, with a downside scenario of $50,706 and an upside scenario of $92,010. On the cost side, the median federal student debt at completion is $23,199, which is above the $21,229 peer median.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $264 a month if repaid over ten years. Above-expected earnings combined with a debt load that is only modestly above the peer median point to a solid return for graduates.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $14,621. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $264.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$23,199
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$14,621

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$264/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$186/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / North Dakota State University-Main Campus briefing

North Dakota State University-Main Campus career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Graduates of North Dakota State University-Main Campus earn about $4,090 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 69th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $10,836.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $6,746. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $2,341.

Four years after completion, median earnings reach $67,679, in the 72nd percentile. That sits above the peer median of $57,301 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $10,378.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 77th percentile nationally. The earnings strength coincides with a program mix that leans toward Engineering and Health Professions, which together account for about three in ten degrees awarded.

Four years after completing a degree at North Dakota State University-Main Campus, the median earnings among the 3,061 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled are $67,679. That figure sits above the peer median of $57,301 for comparable institutions (same type and size), and it places the university in the 72nd percentile nationally.

Graduates earn about $4,090 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that lands in the 69th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios, which reflect the university's program mix, point to a typical outcome that matches the institutional median, with a lower-bound scenario of $50,706 and an upper-bound scenario of $92,010.

An estimated 26.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. A median that clears the peer benchmark and earnings that run ahead of the model point the same way for graduates.

Federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $67,679 four years after completing a degree. That figure is $10,378 above the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks North Dakota State University-Main Campus #344 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $4,090 more than the model expects for similar students.

That puts the gap at the 69th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $10,836.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $6,746. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $2,341.

The program mix tilts toward engineering, business and the health professions, and the earnings scenarios reflect that range. The downside earnings scenario, estimated from the program mix, sits at $50,706 and the upside at $92,010.

An estimated 26.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

The spread between the downside and upside earnings scenarios at North Dakota State University-Main Campus runs from $50,706 to $92,010, with the typical scenario at $67,679. That range reflects the variation in outcomes across the university's 47 programs with earnings data four years after completion.

The highest-earning fields illustrate the upper end. Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration completers earn a median of $125,175, Construction Engineering Technology/Technician graduates reach $95,019, and Electrical Engineering completers earn $94,510.

Graduates of North Dakota State University-Main Campus earn about $4,090 more than the model expects for similar students. The median federal student debt for borrowers who complete a degree is $23,199, which runs above the median of $21,229 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $264 a month. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $15,543, which is above the peer median of $14,068.

Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, carry a median of $14,621. Earnings that run ahead of the model coincide with a debt load that sits above the peer median and an average net price that is also above the peer median.

The return picture is mixed: graduates earn more than expected, but the financing side leans higher than comparable schools.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$10,836
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$6,746
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$4,090

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / North Dakota State University-Main Campus briefing

North Dakota State University-Main Campus acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

North Dakota State University-Main Campus admits 95.0% of applicants, a rate that sits above the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size). The university's door is wider than most of its peers'.

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported 7,228 applicants and 6,864 admitted students for the fall entering class.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
95.0%
25th percentile
1130
Median
1280
75th percentile
1430

CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / North Dakota State University-Main Campus briefing

What are the largest majors at North Dakota State University-Main Campus?[12]

The highest-earning programs at North Dakota State University-Main Campus are concentrated in health sciences and engineering, but the largest programs by degrees awarded span a wider earnings range. Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration leads with median earnings of $125,175 four years after completion, from 58 degrees awarded.

Azimuth ranks it #4 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. Mechanical Engineering, the second-largest program with 154 degrees awarded, reports median earnings of $87,702 and a national rank of #183.

Nursing is the largest program at 204 degrees awarded, with earnings of $73,935 and a national rank of #290. At the more moderate end, Human Development and Family Studies awards 144 degrees and posts median earnings of $50,052.

Azimuth ranks it #37 nationally. The highest-paid program reports median earnings of $125,175, while the largest program reports $73,935.

North Dakota State University-Main Campus has 31 nationally ranked bachelor's programs, and the strongest among them sit in agriculture and the health sciences. Agricultural Production Operations is the top-ranked program, at #1 in its field, with 43 degrees awarded and median earnings of $83,779 four years after completion.

The largest program is Nursing, ranked #290 nationally, with 204 degrees awarded and median earnings of $73,935. Mechanical Engineering follows at 154 degrees and $87,702 in earnings, ranked #183 nationally.

The highest-earning program is a smaller one: Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration graduates earn $125,175, from 58 degrees a year, and it ranks #4 nationally. The three largest program families are Engineering, Business, and Health Professions, together accounting for nearly half of all bachelor's degrees.

A student drawn to the largest departments should know that the best-paid programs are not the largest ones.

North Dakota State University-Main Campus awards bachelor's degrees across 31 ranked programs, with earnings data available for 47. The largest program families are Engineering, Business, and Health Professions, which together account for nearly half of all degrees awarded.

The single largest program is Nursing, at 204 degrees awarded, followed by Mechanical Engineering at 154 and Human Development and Family Studies at 144. Agricultural Production Operations is the highest-ranked program, awarding 43 degrees a year with median earnings of $83,779 four years after completion.

It carries a benchmark ratio of 1.56x against the national median for its field. Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians ranks #3 nationally and #1 in North Dakota within its field, with 24 degrees awarded.

The highest-earning program is Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration, where graduates earn $125,175. Azimuth ranks it #4 nationally and #1 in North Dakota within its field.

Construction Engineering Technology/Technician is another strong performer, with median earnings of $95,019 and a national rank of #16 from 49 degrees awarded. The pattern is one of concentrated strength in applied and agricultural fields.

Several of the university's top-ranked programs sit in these areas, and the highest-earning programs are not the largest by degrees awarded. 24.2% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields, and four-year earnings for fields that commonly go on to graduate study may understate later trajectories.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 204 degrees awarded
$73,935
Mechanical Engineering 154 degrees awarded
$87,702
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services 144 degrees awarded
$50,052
Business Administration, Management and Operations 135 degrees awarded
$67,405
Psychology, General 99 degrees awarded
$54,784
Biology, General 96 degrees awarded
$58,662

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / North Dakota State University-Main Campus briefing

How does North Dakota State University-Main Campus serve students from different backgrounds?

North Dakota State University-Main Campus earns its strongest pillar in mobility, where Azimuth places the public university in the 81st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 63.9%, well above the peer median of 49.1%.

Pell recipients complete at a rate of 55.5%, which sits below the overall rate by 8.4 percentage points. Graduates earn about $4,090 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the 69th percentile nationally.

A graduation rate that clears the peer median and earnings that beat the model point the same way for this public university.

North Dakota State University-Main Campus admits 95.0% of applicants, well above the median among comparable institutions (85.9%), and enrolls 9,471 undergraduates. Pell Grant recipients make up 19.7% of the undergraduate body, and an estimated 21.4% arrive as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth places the access pillar in the 30th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

06 / North Dakota State University-Main Campus briefing

What colleges are similar to North Dakota State University-Main Campus?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with North Dakota State University-Main Campus.

Admissions peerUniversity of Wisconsin-Platteville89.4% admitted
Comparison with North Dakota State University-Main Campus
MeasureNorth Dakota State University-Main CampusUniversity of Wisconsin-Platteville
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,679$70,899+$3,220 vs North Dakota State University-Main Campus
Average annual net price$15,543$16,032+$489 vs North Dakota State University-Main Campus · higher cost
Admission rate95.0%89.4%
Explore University of Wisconsin-Platteville →
Nearby alternativeUniversity of North DakotaNearby option · ND
Comparison with North Dakota State University-Main Campus
MeasureNorth Dakota State University-Main CampusUniversity of North Dakota
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,679$69,563+$1,884 vs North Dakota State University-Main Campus
Average annual net price$15,543$18,551+$3,008 vs North Dakota State University-Main Campus · higher cost
Admission rate95.0%76.9%
Explore University of North Dakota →
Higher-earnings alternativeMichigan Technological University$84,560 earnings
Comparison with North Dakota State University-Main Campus
MeasureNorth Dakota State University-Main CampusMichigan Technological University
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,679$84,560+$16,881 vs North Dakota State University-Main Campus
Average annual net price$15,543$14,182-$1,361 vs North Dakota State University-Main Campus · lower cost
Admission rate95.0%92.4%
Explore Michigan Technological University →
Lower-cost alternativeUniversity of Minnesota-Crookston$12,212 average net price
Comparison with North Dakota State University-Main Campus
MeasureNorth Dakota State University-Main CampusUniversity of Minnesota-Crookston
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,679$62,786-$4,893 vs North Dakota State University-Main Campus
Average annual net price$15,543$12,212-$3,331 vs North Dakota State University-Main Campus · lower cost
Admission rate95.0%87.9%
Similar profileUniversity of ToledoMatched across several measures
Comparison with North Dakota State University-Main Campus
MeasureNorth Dakota State University-Main CampusUniversity of Toledo
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,679$66,084-$1,595 vs North Dakota State University-Main Campus
Average annual net price$15,543$17,249+$1,706 vs North Dakota State University-Main Campus · higher cost
Admission rate95.0%92.0%
Explore University of Toledo →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings