These charts outline the four main types of postsecondary institutions and list the names and Web addresses for iowa colleges of that type. It contains general information to help you examine your options, but it shouldn’t be used as a substitute for the information provided by the schools you’re considering.

Liberal Arts Colleges	Universities
Offer undergraduate students a bachelor’s(four-year) or associate’s (two-year) degree. Advanced degrees may not be offered. Broad base of courses are available (such as social sciences, humanities, sciences and business). Courses of study begin with general  education requirements; students      choose at least one area of in-depth study as their major. Generally smaller than universities, with smaller classes.	Offer several levels of degrees (bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate). Include a liberal arts college as well as professional colleges and graduate programs. Divided into several colleges such as the College of Business or the College of Education. Wide variety of academic programs. In general, universities are larger than liberal arts colleges (although there are smaller universities) with larger classes. Classes are often taught in a lecture format.
Business/Health Profession Institutes	Community Colleges
May offer an associate’s (two-year) degree  (or higher), certificate or diploma program. Preparation for a specific career with specialization in one skill area. Specialized programs offer training in a technical area (i.e., medical technology, business, cosmetology or computer programming) and few general education classes are required. Offer career-specific core classes.	May offer an associate’s (two-year) degree, certificate or diploma program. Specialized occupational preparation. Many students attend before transferring to a four-year college or university. Class size is generally small and students are able to receive individual attention. An affordable option.

Liberal Arts Colleges	Universities	Business/Health Profession Institutes	Community Colleges
Central College www.central.edu Clarke College www.clarke.edu Coe College www.coe.edu Cornell College   www.cornellcollege.edu Divine Word College www.dwci.edu Dordt College www.dordt.edu Emmaus Bible College www.emmaus.edu Faith Baptist Bible College www.faith.edu Grand View College www.gvc.edu Grinnell College www.grinnell.edu Iowa Wesleyan College www.iwc.edu Loras College www.loras.edu Luther College www.luther.edu Morningside College www.morningside.edu Mount Mercy College www.mtmercy.edu Northwestern College www.nwciowa.edu Simpson College www.simpson.edu Vennard College www.vennard.edu Waldorf College www.waldorf.edu Wartburg College www.wartburg.edu	Ashford University www.ashford.edu Briar Cliff University www.briarcliff.edu Buena Vista University www.bvu.edu Des Moines University www.dmu.edu Drake University www.choose.drake.edu Graceland University www.graceland.edu Iowa State University www.iastate.edu Maharishi University of Management www.mum.edu St. Ambrose University www.sau.edu University of Dubuque www.dbq.edu University of Iowa www.uiowa.edu University of Northern Iowa www.uni.edu Upper Iowa University www.uiu.edu William Penn University www.wmpenn.edu	AIB College of Business www.aib.edu Allen College www.allencollege.edu Hamilton College www.hamiltonia.edu Kaplan University www.kaplan.edu Mercy College of Health Sciences www.mchs.edu Palmer College of Chiropractic www.palmer.edu St Luke’s College www.stlukes.org	Clinton  Community College www.eicc.edu Des Moines Area Community College www.dmacc.edu Ellsworth  Community College www.iavalley.cc.ia.us/ecc Hawkeye  Community College www.hawkeyecollege.edu Indian Hills  Community College www.indianhills.edu Iowa Central  Community College www.iowacentral.com Iowa Lakes  Community College www.iowalakes.edu Iowa Western  Community College www.iwcc.edu Kirkwood Community College www.kirkwood.edu Marshalltown  Community College www.iavalley.cc.ia.us/mcc Muscatine Community College www.eicc.edu North Iowa Area Community College www.niacc.edu Northeast Iowa  Community College   www.nicc.edu Northwest Iowa Community College www.nwicc.edu Scott Community  College www.eicc.edu Southeastern  Community College www.scciowa.edu Southwestern  Community College www.swcc.cc.ia.us Western Iowa Tech Community College www.witcc.com