American InterContinental University: Cost, Outcomes (2026)

15% of undergraduates who started at American InterContinental University’s online system in 2017-18 earned an award within eight years, College Scorecard’s October 2026 data show. Of first-time, full-time students who started in fall 2019, 10% graduated within six years, and the average net price was $16,125 for 2024-25.

If this is your own hard-earned money on the line, start with those numbers. AIU is a for-profit school, and its price list, its graduates’ debt and its operator’s 2019 FTC settlement are all public records.

AIU is a for-profit school, accredited by HLC through the AIU System

American InterContinental University (AIU) is part of the American InterContinental University System, which the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) accredits. HLC reaffirmed that accreditation after a review in July 2024, and its next reaffirmation is set for 2033-2034.

Fact	AIU System
Control	Private for-profit
Owner	Perdoceo Education Corporation
Accreditor	Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
Federal school ID (UNITID)	445027, filed as the AIU System, Chandler, AZ
Undergraduates studying only online (fall 2024)	100%
Degree-seeking undergraduates (fall 2024)	7,111
Graduate students (fall 2024)	4,091
Undergraduates 25 or older (fall 2023)	89%
Undergraduates studying part-time (fall 2024)	5%
Admission	Open admission; admission rate Not published

AIU’s own 2026 catalog says the AIU System “is owned by American InterContinental University System, Inc., which is wholly owned by Perdoceo Education Corporation.” Perdoceo, then named Career Education Corporation, acquired AIU in January 2001. Perdoceo also owns Colorado Technical University (CTU).

To run the same checks on any online school, use the five checks for whether an online school is legit. For how for-profit, nonprofit and public schools compare on cost and outcomes, see nonprofit vs for-profit online colleges.

The figures cover AIU’s online system, not its Atlanta and Houston campuses

Scorecard and College Navigator file ID 445027 as the American InterContinental University System in Chandler, Arizona. Navigator lists every program at that ID as distance education. AIU’s Atlanta and Houston campuses report under their own IDs, 438586 and 445133.

The System is wider than AIU. HLC’s record says its accreditation covers AIU, Trident University International (since February 28, 2020) and California Southern University (since July 1, 2022). CalSouthern’s catalog says the Department of Education assigned OPE ID 02113600 to the AIU System, the same OPE ID Navigator lists for this ID.

Navigator’s 2024-25 award counts for this ID include 231 doctorates in psychology, while AIU Online’s own price list stops at the master’s degree. Scorecard and Navigator report one set of figures for this ID, so read every figure on this page as the System’s, not AIU Online’s alone.

AIU Online runs 5-week courses inside 10-week terms

AIU’s catalog splits each 10-week term, which it calls a quarter, into two 5-week sessions. A 4.5-credit course taken in 5 weeks takes about 27 hours a week, the catalog’s credit hour policy says.

AIU counts three terms as a full-time academic year, “generally seven months in length.” The next starts on AIU’s online calendar are November 4, 2026 (B session) and December 9, 2026 (A session).

AIU charges $345 a credit for 7 of its 8 online undergraduate degrees

AIU’s 2026 catalog carries this online tuition schedule, marked “Effective July 2023.” Tuition includes all textbooks and course materials, the schedule says.

AIU Online program	Full-time tuition per credit	Credits	Total program cost
Associate degrees (business, criminal justice)	$345	90	$32,740
Bachelor's degrees (accounting, business, healthcare management, criminal justice, IT)	$345	180	$65,110
BS in Cybersecurity and AI	$365	135	$51,625
MBA, MS in IT, Master of Healthcare Management	$652	45	$30,370
Master of Education (MEd)	$472	45	$22,270

AIU Online program Associate degrees (business, criminal justice)

Full-time tuition per credit $345

Credits 90

Total program cost $32,740

AIU Online program Bachelor's degrees (accounting, business, healthcare management, criminal justice, IT)

Full-time tuition per credit $345

Credits 180

Total program cost $65,110

AIU Online program BS in Cybersecurity and AI

Full-time tuition per credit $365

Credits 135

Total program cost $51,625

AIU Online program MBA, MS in IT, Master of Healthcare Management

Full-time tuition per credit $652

Credits 45

Total program cost $30,370

AIU Online program Master of Education (MEd)

Full-time tuition per credit $472

Credits 45

Total program cost $22,270

The totals include fees: $220 a term for technology and $150 to graduate. MEd tracks that require teacher certification charge $333 a credit.

Part-time undergraduates, below 13.5 credits a term, pay $425 a credit instead of $345 ($450 in the BS in Cybersecurity and AI). Active-duty and reserve members pay $166.66 a credit for undergraduate courses under AIU’s military schedule.

AIU’s schedule builds its Bachelor of Business Administration total from 180 credits over 13 terms:

Bachelor of Business Administration, online	Cost
Tuition: 180 credits x $345	$62,100
Technology fee: 13 terms x $220	$2,860
Graduation fee	$150
Total, as AIU lists it	$65,110

That assumes the full-time rate and every course passed the first time, before any aid. AIU says it can change tuition and fees at any time, and repeated courses raise the total.

Transfer credit lowers it. AIU takes up to 75% of a program’s credits, and undergraduates must earn at least 25% at AIU. AIU evaluates transfer credit “on an individual basis” and says not all credits are eligible, so the count is its call.

Example, our arithmetic: if 90 of your credits apply to a 180-credit bachelor’s, 90 are left, and at $345 that is $31,050. At 13.5 credits a term, they take seven terms, which add $1,540 in technology fees. With the $150 graduation fee, the total is $32,740 before aid.

AIU takes federal aid, and its average net price is $16,125 (2024-25)

74% of AIU System undergraduates had a Pell Grant in 2024-25, Scorecard shows, and for 2026-27 Pell pays up to $7,395 a year to eligible undergraduates.

Scorecard lists $12,501 in tuition and fees for 2025-26, the same for students in every state. Net price is the full cost of attendance, including housing and living costs, minus grants and scholarships.

Family income	Average net price, 2024-25
$0 to $30,000	$15,927
$30,001 to $48,000	$16,261
$48,001 to $75,000	$16,697
$75,001 to $110,000	$19,769
$110,001 and up	$20,640

The average covers 361 full-time, first-time undergraduates who got federal aid in 2024-25. Your own net price depends on your income, family size and state.

15% of 2017-18 starters at the AIU System earned an award in eight years

Measure	AIU System	Who and when
Earned an award within 8 years	15%	Undergraduates who started in 2017-18
Graduated within 6 years	10%	First-time, full-time students, fall 2019 cohort
Median earnings 6 years after starting	$32,228	Aided students who entered in 2015-16 and 2016-17
Median earnings 10 years after starting	$42,612	Aided students who entered in 2011-12 and 2012-13
Graduates’ median earnings 4 years after finishing	$50,399	Graduates who finished in 2017-18 and 2018-19
Graduates’ median federal loan debt	$30,084	Graduates who entered repayment in fiscal 2024 and 2025
Undergraduates with a federal loan	73%	2024-25

College Navigator adds one more measure: 36% of full-time, first-time bachelor’s students who began in fall 2023 came back in fall 2024.

These are system-wide medians. Your payoff depends on the program, the job you target and what you pay.

Business is the AIU System’s largest field by graduates

These are the System’s largest fields by awards in 2023-24, from Scorecard’s field-of-study file. Scorecard shows every credential in each of them as fully online.

Field and credential	Awards, 2023-24	Median earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business Administration, Management and Operations (associate)	998	$38,042	$22,625
Business Administration, Management and Operations (bachelor's)	973	$53,959	$30,922
Business Administration, Management and Operations (master's)	557	$60,434	$34,643
Criminal Justice and Corrections (associate)	371	$38,683	$23,000
Criminal Justice and Corrections (bachelor's)	254	$45,672	$40,065
Psychology, General (first professional degree)	185	Not published	Not published
Health and Medical Administrative Services (bachelor's)	148	$47,083	$41,594
Computer and Information Sciences, General (bachelor's)	138	$71,486	$39,188

Field and credential Business Administration, Management and Operations (associate)

Awards, 2023-24 998

Median earnings, 4 yrs after $38,042

Median federal debt $22,625

Field and credential Business Administration, Management and Operations (bachelor's)

Awards, 2023-24 973

Median earnings, 4 yrs after $53,959

Median federal debt $30,922

Field and credential Business Administration, Management and Operations (master's)

Awards, 2023-24 557

Median earnings, 4 yrs after $60,434

Median federal debt $34,643

Field and credential Criminal Justice and Corrections (associate)

Awards, 2023-24 371

Median earnings, 4 yrs after $38,683

Median federal debt $23,000

Field and credential Criminal Justice and Corrections (bachelor's)

Awards, 2023-24 254

Median earnings, 4 yrs after $45,672

Median federal debt $40,065

Field and credential Psychology, General (first professional degree)

Awards, 2023-24 185

Median earnings, 4 yrs after Not published

Median federal debt Not published

Field and credential Health and Medical Administrative Services (bachelor's)

Awards, 2023-24 148

Median earnings, 4 yrs after $47,083

Median federal debt $41,594

Field and credential Computer and Information Sciences, General (bachelor's)

Awards, 2023-24 138

Median earnings, 4 yrs after $71,486

Median federal debt $39,188

Field names are the federal program categories Scorecard uses, not AIU’s program titles. Earnings are medians for graduates who finished in 2017-18 and 2018-19, measured in 2022 and 2023 in 2024 dollars; debt is the median federal loan balance of graduates who finished in 2022-23 and 2023-24, a different group.

The business fields hold the top three rows. The health administration bachelor’s carries the highest median debt in the list, $41,594. To compare business degrees at other online schools on the same measures, see online business administration degrees: cost and pay.

AIU’s operator agreed in 2019 to pay $30 million to settle FTC charges

On August 27, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that Career Education Corporation (CEC), which operated AIU, would pay $30 million to settle FTC charges. CEC now operates as Perdoceo Education Corporation. Two AIU companies, American InterContinental University, Inc. and AIU Online, LLC, were defendants, along with two CTU companies.

The FTC charged that CEC used sales leads from lead generators that falsely told people they were affiliated with the U.S. military, posed as job or benefits help, and falsely said people’s information would not be shared. It also charged that CEC and its lead generators called people on the National Do Not Call Registry.

The order, entered by the court on June 17, 2020, states: “Defendants neither admit nor deny any of the allegations in the Complaint, except as specifically stated in this Order.” It requires CEC to review all marketing its lead generators use, investigate complaints about them and not use or buy leads obtained deceptively.

On June 9, 2021 the FTC announced it was mailing about $30 million in refunds to more than 8,000 people.

Who AIU fits, and the watch-outs

It fits if

• You are a working adult. 89% of undergraduates were 25 or older in fall 2023.
• You want 5-week courses online. Every program at this ID is distance education, and each 10-week term holds two 5-week sessions.
• You want business, criminal justice, health administration or computing. Those fields fill the System’s largest award counts in 2023-24.
• You bring credits. AIU takes up to 75% of a program’s credits in transfer, after its own evaluation.

Watch-outs

• Few starters finish. 15% of 2017-18 undergraduate starters earned an award within 8 years, and 36% of full-time, first-time bachelor’s students who began in fall 2023 returned in fall 2024.
• Borrowing is common. 73% of undergraduates took a federal loan in 2024-25, and graduates owe a median $30,084 (entered repayment in fiscal 2024 and 2025).
• Part-time costs more per credit. Below 13.5 credits a term, the rate is $425 instead of $345.
• Not every state. The AIU System’s site says it does not accept applications from residents of Massachusetts and New York.
• The marketing record. The FTC case was about how CEC’s lead generators reached people, so check any price or transfer claim against AIU’s written schedule and catalog.

Check your own aid before you apply to AIU

AIU’s averages describe what other students paid. The aid check applies the federal aid rules for the year you start (2026-27 or 2027-28) to your income and family, takes about two minutes and shows the result before any email or school contact. AIU’s financial aid office sets the actual offer.

To compare on the same measures, see Colorado Technical University (26% of 2017-18 starters earned an award within 8 years; graduates’ median federal debt $29,971, repayment fiscal 2024 and 2025) or University of Phoenix (36% and $26,090 on the same measures), from College Scorecard’s October 2026 data.

Degree Sources may refer readers to schools through partners. School matching is optional and comes after you see your aid result. The figures here come from federal data and AIU’s own pages, and this profile does not rank schools.