10 Higher-Ed Options in Northern Kentucky
The Northern Kentucky region offers a wealth of excellent higher education options.
Students in Northern Kentucky don’t have far to travel for a quality higher education experience. Several college and university options are within an easy commute:
In This Article
1. Northern Kentucky University
Headquartered in Highland Heights, NKU serves more than 12,000 undergraduate and 2,000 graduate students who attend the university’s seven on-campus colleges. Those seven colleges are the arts, arts & sciences, business, education, health & human services, honors college and informatics. NKU also offers 100% online opportunities to earn bachelor’s, master’s, graduate and postgraduate degrees and advanced nursing certificates.
2. Cincinnati State Technical & Community College
Popularly known as Cincinnati State, the college’s main campus is located in Cincinnati near the junction of Interstates 74 and 75. The school features about 80 majors and associate degrees, along with 40 one-year certificate courses. One of the most popular on-campus academic programs is a Midwest Culinary Institute that is housed in its own high-tech kitchen building.
3. Gateway Community & Technical College
Locations in Covington, Edgewood and Florence make up the three campuses of Gateway Community & Technical College, which has a total enrollment of about 4,000 students. Gateway offers over 30 subjects and features 200 diplomas, certificates and associate degree opportunities. Leading students to success, the college works with about 400 local businesses that help Gateway graduates find high-paying jobs and careers in the region.
4. Miami University
Miami University is an hour’s drive north of the Northern Kentucky region, headquartered in Oxford, with nearby regional campuses in Hamilton, Middletown and West Chester. Often referred to as Miami of Ohio, the university currently has students from all 50 states and 79 countries, and the Oxford campus features 120 areas of study for bachelor’s degrees. There are also more than 70 master’s and doctoral degree programs.
5. Mount St. Joseph University
About 15 minutes from Covington is Mount St. Joseph University, a private Roman Catholic university known popularly as The Mount and founded in 1920 by the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati. The university has an enrollment of more than 2,300 students and offers certificates, associate’s degrees, pre-professional programs and graduate degrees in about 50 programs.
6. Thomas More University
This liberal arts college in Crestview Hills has an enrollment of 2,000 students. It offers a variety of academic programs, including the Thomas More University Accelerated Program, specifically designed for working adults. Thomas More also has a variety of online programs, and 95% of TMU graduates are either employed or enrolled in graduate school within six months of graduation.
7. University of Cincinnati
With an annual enrollment of more than 44,000 students, the University of Cincinnati offers 300+ majors and 100+ certificate programs — everything from classical civilization to classical guitar. In addition, UC has 14 campus colleges, including a medical college with a teaching hospital and biotech research laboratories.
8. University of Kentucky
About 80 miles south of Covington via Interstate 75 is the University of Kentucky, located in Lexington. UK has more than 30,000 students who attend its 16 colleges, and there are 93 undergraduate programs, 99 master’s and 66 doctoral programs.
9. Wilmington College
An hour northeast of Northern Kentucky via Interstate 71 is Wilmington College, with its main branch in Wilmington, along with two Cincinnati campuses at Blue Ash and Cincinnati State. The private college was founded by Quakers in 1870, and today about 1,000 students attend the main campus. University officials point out that graduating students not only leave with degrees but also with thousands of hours of practical application.
10. Xavier University
The private Jesuit university in Cincinnati has about 4,500 undergrad students and 1,200 graduate students, and Xavier has four on-campus colleges that offer 90+ undergraduate majors, 60+ minors and 40+ graduate programs. About 98% of XU students are employed within six months of graduation, attending grad school or working in volunteer service positions.
Want to learn more about living and working in the Northern Kentucky region? Check out the latest edition of Livability Northern Kentucky.
