State Hub

Colleges in Arkansas

CampusPin tracks 53 colleges in Arkansas, 28 universities and 25 community colleges. Compare tuition, acceptance, size, and setting to build a shortlist that fits.

Colleges tracked

53

Universities

28

Community colleges

25

Avg. in-state tuition

$11k

About college search in Arkansas

How Arkansas's higher-education landscape shapes a search

Arkansas’s public higher-education sector is anchored by the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville flagship), with additional University of Arkansas System campuses including UALR (Little Rock), UAPB (Pine Bluff, HBCU), UAFS (Fort Smith), and UAM (Monticello). Arkansas State University (Jonesboro) operates a separate system. Arkansas Tech (Russellville), Henderson State (Arkadelphia), and the University of Central Arkansas (Conway) round out the state public universities. The Arkansas Community Colleges system operates 22 community and technical colleges with formal transfer paths.

University of Arkansas flagship

The University of Arkansas in Fayetteville is the state’s primary public research and land-grant institution.

Two HBCUs

UAPB (University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, public) and Philander Smith University (private, Little Rock) are Arkansas’s historically Black colleges.

22 community colleges

The Arkansas Community Colleges system covers most of the state and operates Arkansas Course Transfer System (ACTS) for guaranteed credit transfer.

Arkansas Future Grant

The Arkansas Future (ArFuture) Grant covers tuition and fees at two-year colleges for eligible in-state students in targeted high-demand fields.

Public university system

University of Arkansas System + Arkansas State University System + independent publics

The UA System governs UA Fayetteville, UALR, UAPB, UAFS, UAM, and UA Community Colleges. ASU System governs ASU Jonesboro and related campuses. ATU, UCA, Henderson State, and SAU are independent publics.

Community college network

Arkansas Community Colleges (22 institutions)

Arkansas operates 22 community and technical colleges with formal transfer through the Arkansas Course Transfer System (ACTS).

In-state vs. out-of-state tuition

Arkansas in-state public tuition is among the lower rates in the U.S. Out-of-state rates are materially higher; some institutions offer regional reciprocity for students in neighboring states.

Top metros for college search

Where Arkansas's higher-education density concentrates

  • Little Rock

    Little Rock hosts UALR, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), Philander Smith (HBCU), and Pulaski Technical College.

  • Fayetteville / Northwest Arkansas

    Northwest Arkansas is built around the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville), with Northwest Arkansas Community College and John Brown (private, Siloam Springs) nearby.

  • Jonesboro

    Jonesboro is the home of Arkansas State University and its associated community college campuses.

  • Conway

    Conway hosts the University of Central Arkansas (UCA), Hendrix (private), and Central Baptist (private).

What Arkansas actually costs

Median net price after grants
$12,803 for families under $30,000
$18,456 at $110,000 or more
Across 33 Arkansas colleges reporting the full series. All five income bands
Median federal debt at graduation
$18,750 with 39.5% borrowing
Debt without the borrower share is misleading, so CampusPin never shows one alone. Debt by college
Studying entirely online
24% of Arkansas students
Federal enrolment collection, weighted by students rather than campuses. Where they study

Every college we track

Colleges and universities in Arkansas

Filter all Arkansas schools

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South region overview

What students weigh when searching colleges in Arkansas

Across Arkansas (AR), CampusPin currently indexes 53 institutions: 34 public and 19 private, split between 28 universities and 25 community colleges. Students often compare fast-growing metros, flagship publics, regional campuses, and cost-sensitive pathways across a wide mix of institutions.

Run one search for broad public options and another for community-college or commuter-oriented pathways.
Check campus setting and support services early because regional fit can vary more than names alone suggest.
Keep cost, transfer, and online flexibility visible if location is important but not completely fixed.

Browse by major

Arkansas colleges by program

Jump straight to Arkansas colleges and universities that offer a specific major. Each page compares tuition, acceptance rate, and enrollment for that program across Arkansas.

Fields with a distinct set of Arkansas colleges

58 fields where the colleges that awarded credentials in Arkansas are a materially different set from those of any closely related field, based on federal completions data. Showing the 36 with the most colleges. The number is how many colleges awarded credentials.

How to use the Arkansas hub

Start with CampusPin results filtered to Arkansas so your first pass stays geographically focused.
Use school profiles to compare tuition, admissions, program format, and campus fit before building a shortlist.
If you are looking for lower-cost or transfer-first options, compare community colleges and four-year destinations separately.
Use blog guides and help-center content when you need stronger decision frameworks, not just more schools.

Next actions for Arkansas

Explore all colleges in ArkansasView community colleges in ArkansasView online programs in ArkansasRead planning guides before you compare

Frequently asked questions

Questions families ask about colleges in Arkansas

Which is the public flagship university in Arkansas?
The University of Arkansas in Fayetteville is the state’s primary public flagship and land-grant research university.
How many HBCUs are in Arkansas?
Arkansas has two HBCUs: the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB, public) and Philander Smith University (private, Little Rock).
How does the Arkansas Future Grant (ArFuture) work?
ArFuture covers tuition and mandatory fees at Arkansas two-year colleges for eligible in-state students enrolled in targeted high-demand fields (STEM, regional industry programs). Eligibility includes residency, FAFSA completion, and service or workplace commitments, verify with the institution.
What is the difference between Arkansas Tech and the University of Arkansas?
Arkansas Tech University (ATU) in Russellville is an independent public regional university. The University of Arkansas in Fayetteville is the state’s flagship. They are separate institutions, not part of the same system.
How many Arkansas colleges are flagged for lower earnings on the FAFSA?
19 schools in the Department of Education's March 2026 release, the list the 2027-28 FAFSA uses, out of 68 Arkansas schools with an earnings figure. The December 2025 release flagged 21: 4 came off and 2 were added. Every one is named in the Arkansas section of CampusPin's FAFSA lower earnings list. The notice is informational and does not affect financial aid, and it describes a whole school, not a program.
How many Arkansas colleges cost more than a family can borrow from the federal government?
For families earning under $30,000, 0 of the 33 Arkansas colleges reporting the complete federal net-price series charge more after grants than the $25,500 a first-year dependent student and their parents can borrow federally from 1 July 2026; the median college there charges $12,803. For families earning $48,001–$75,000 it is 0 (median $14,750). Net prices are averages for students who received federal aid in a prior cohort, not a quote for any family, and Parent PLUS requires no adverse credit history.

Related blog clusters

Guides that pair well with a Arkansas search

Cost and Financial Aid

College affordability, net price, aid interpretation, borrowing decisions, and budgeting guidance for students and families using CampusPin to compare higher-ed options with more discipline.

Community College

Community-college strategy, affordability, transfer readiness, and credential pathway content for students exploring two-year options through CampusPin.

College Search Strategy

Filter-first search strategy, shortlist building, and planning content for students and parents using CampusPin to discover best-fit colleges and universities.

Help Center

Workflow guides for students searching in Arkansas

Getting Started With CampusPin

A fast orientation to the CampusPin workflow, from your first search through profile review, pins, and next-step planning.

How to Use Filters to Narrow Your College List

A practical help article on how to use CampusPin filters without over-filtering or locking yourself into the wrong criteria too early.

How to Read a CampusPin School Profile

A guide to the major sections inside a CampusPin institution profile and how to interpret them effectively. Each page connects to clearer next steps, related guides, and the CampusPin tools that help you decide.

CampusPin research

National analyses with Arkansas in the data

Each report is built from a checksum-verified snapshot, with full methodology and a downloadable CSV that includes Arkansas.

Comparing schools on price? See our national analysis of how college cost relates to graduation and earnings, an association driven by selectivity and sector, not evidence that a pricier college pays off.

Explore Arkansas

More ways to explore Arkansas colleges

By city

Colleges in Arkansas cities

CampusPin publishes a directory for 1 city in Arkansas, every one where federal data reports at least five colleges.

Browse colleges by city nationwide

What this count of 53 includes

Other sites publish very different totals for Arkansas, and most do not say what they are counting. Here is exactly what this one counts, so you can check it against anyone else's.

By level
28 listed as universities and 25 as community colleges. CampusPin records this as an institution type, and uses it as an approximation of four-year versus two-year; it is not a separately reported degree-level field.
By control
34 public and 19 private. CampusPin records control as public or private only, so private nonprofit and private for-profit institutions are not separated here.
  • Every institution counted has its own CampusPin profile listing the figures behind it and where each one came from, so the total can be checked against its parts rather than taken on trust.
  • This is CampusPin's directory of 3,798 institutions nationwide, not the full federal universe. NCES counted 5,829 Title IV institutions, administrative offices, and U.S. service academies nationwide for 2024-25. That figure includes entities a student would never apply to, which is one reason published totals differ so widely.
  • Figures come from federal sources on a reporting lag, so a very new or very recently closed institution may not be reflected yet. Found something wrong? Tell us and we will correct it.
Full data methodologyCoverage and data quality

Data sources & methodology

College listings for Arkansas are compiled from federal datasets and each institution's own published information.

Sources used across this page

Not every source informs every figure. Each data point draws on the source appropriate to it see the relevant section and the data dictionary for field-level provenance.

  • IPEDS / NCES College Navigator

    Federal enrollment, admissions, tuition, retention, and program data. Released annually with a 1–2 year lag.

  • U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

    Net price by income band, post-graduation earnings, and federal aid context.

  • Institutional websites

    Each school's official admissions, registrar, and financial-aid pages are the authoritative source for current details.

Where a value is unavailable it is shown as unavailable, never as 0, free, or a negative judgment. Always confirm final details with the institution before applying.

Methodology Data dictionary Report a correction

Suggested citation

CampusPin. Colleges in Arkansas. Retrieved from https://campuspin.com/colleges-by-state/arkansas