Avila University

Avila University is a private, Catholic, not-for-profit university in Kansas City, Missouri, founded and inspired by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. It offers undergraduate and graduate education in liberal arts and professional fields, with delivery formats that include on-campus, online, and hybrid study. Avila describes itself as values-based and mission-driven, with emphasis on teaching, service, belonging, and support for diverse and underserved learners.

Private, not-for-profit, Catholic university

• Founded: 1916 as a two-year college for women
• Became the first four-year liberal arts institution for women in Kansas City in 1940, under the name College of St. Teresa
• Renamed Avila College and later became Avila University in 200

• Liberal arts and professional education
• Strong visibility in nursing, business, education, psychology, health-related fields, and online programs
• Carnegie classification: Professions-focused Undergraduate/Graduate-Master’s Small

• Institutional accreditation: Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
• School of Nursing:
  • Baccalaureate nursing program accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)
  • Prelicensure nursing programs have full approval from the Missouri State Board of Nursing
• School of Education: State-level accreditation noted through the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)

• Forbes ranked it #3 among best accredited online schools in Missouri offering online undergraduate programs, and #9 in a national ranking of best affordable online master’s programs of 2024.
• Recognition by U.S. News & World Report as a Top Performer in Social Mobility (2026).
• OnlineU ranked its online BS in Cybersecurity #15 nationally for affordability in 2026.

• 13:1 student-to-faculty ratio
• 98% of freshmen received scholarships on the cited Avila page; another 2024 article says 98% of students receive scholarships of some kind.
• 100% of first-year students serve in the community.
• Carnegie access-and-earnings classification: Higher Access, Medium Earnings