Capella University is a private for-profit university based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that serves its 18,364 undergraduates entirely online. Admission is open to applicants who meet basic requirements, and the student-to-faculty ratio is 41:1.
Capella University has an open admissions policy: applicants who meet basic requirements are accepted, so admission is not competitive and there is no acceptance-rate hurdle to clear.
Tuition and fees at Capella University are $14,400, within a $22,820 total cost of attendance; the average net price students pay after aid is $17,956.
Graduates who borrowed carry a median monthly repayment of about $159.
After aid, Capella University costs $17,956 a year — about 38% less than a typical similar college.
Each bar is the median of that group, with the number of schools in brackets. “Similar colleges” means the same control and the same predominant degree awarded. Groups of fewer than 15 schools are not shown.
Capella University reports a 26.7% six-year graduation rate. Median earnings are $48,500 six years after entry and $42,189 ten years after entry.
| Major | Graduates |
|---|---|
| Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | 7,779 |
| Psychology, General | 807 |
| Business Administration and Management,... | 502 |
| Health/Health Care Administration/Management | 290 |
| Human Resources Management/Personnel... | 132 |
| Accounting | 99 |
| Computer and Information Systems... | 81 |
| Information Technology | 79 |
| Project Management | 67 |
| Health Information/Medical Records... | 59 |
Median earnings eight years after entering Capella University are $43,273, and 76% of former students earn more than $25,000 six years after entry.
Six years after entry, former Capella University students earn $48,500 — 33% more than at a typical similar college.
Each bar is the median of that group, with the number of schools in brackets. “Similar colleges” means the same control and the same predominant degree awarded. Groups of fewer than 15 schools are not shown.
Capella University is an online institution without a traditional campus; its 18,364 undergraduates study remotely. The student body is 84.9% women and 49.7% first-generation, with 38.5% receiving Pell grants.
Graduate and professional students outnumber undergraduates here, which shapes class sizes, housing and campus life in ways an undergraduate figure alone doesn't show.
16,177 of 16,177 undergraduates study entirely at a distance, against 27,738 of 27,738 graduate students.
Capella University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
Each bar is the median of that group, with the number of schools in brackets. “Similar colleges” means the same control and the same predominant degree awarded. Groups of fewer than 15 schools are not shown.
Capella University is in Minneapolis, MN, in what IPEDS classifies as a large city setting. The campus sits about 0.9 miles from the center of Minneapolis.
Hennepin County scores 12.2 out of 20 on the EPA National Walkability Index — above average walkable. The index is a county-wide average of block groups, so it describes the surrounding area rather than the campus itself.
Undergraduates make up about 8.5% of Minneapolis's residents.
Every college that receives federal financial aid must publish its crime statistics each year under the Clery Act. These are the figures Capella University reported for 2024.
Read these numbers carefully. A Clery figure counts reports, not incidents. A university with active reporting channels, a large campus police force and a teaching hospital will record more offenses than one where the same events go unreported — so a higher count is not evidence of a more dangerous campus, and a low count is not evidence of a safe one. In 2024, 833 campuses with more than 1,000 students reported no offenses at all. Use these figures to ask a college questions, not to rank one against another.
Common questions about Capella University admissions, costs, and outcomes.
Yes. Capella University has an open admissions policy, so applicants who meet basic requirements are accepted. Admission is not competitive.
Yes. Capella University is an online-exclusive institution based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Coursework is delivered remotely rather than on a physical campus.
Tuition and fees are $14,400 per year, within a total cost of attendance of $22,820. The average net price students actually pay after aid is $17,956.
38.5% of students receive Pell grants, and 47.1% take out federal loans. Among graduates who borrowed, median federal loan debt is $14,968.
Capella University reports a six-year graduation rate of 26.7%, counting students who complete within six years of entry.
Median earnings for former Capella students are $48,500 six years after entry and $42,189 ten years after entry.
Registered nursing is by far the largest undergraduate program, with 7,779 bachelor's degrees awarded in the latest reported year. Psychology is next, with 807.
The student-to-faculty ratio is 41:1, in line with large online institutions.
The student body of 18,364 undergraduates is 84.9% women, and 49.7% are first-generation college students. 44.4% of students are white, 27.8% are Black, and 14.7% are Hispanic.
Yes. Capella University is a private for-profit institution.