| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Mostly online university, with two small branch campuses |
| Locations | Online (all states through SARA; availability may vary by state); Atlanta, GA; Houston, TX |
| Credentials | Associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees; no trade, technician or licensure programs |
| Typical length | Associate about 24 months; bachelor’s about 48 months; master’s 11 months (accelerated) or 24 months |
| Accreditation | Higher Learning Commission (since 2009, reaffirmed 2024); ACBSP for business; AAQEP for the M.Ed. |
| Federal aid | Yes (Title IV); off provisional certification since February 2025 |
| Owner | Perdoceo Education Corporation; part of the AIU System with Trident University and CalSouthern |
| Founded | 1970, in Switzerland; Atlanta campus 1976, Houston 2003 |
| Facts checked | 12 October 2026 |
A mostly online university with two small campuses
AIU began in 1970 in Lucerne, Switzerland, as the American Fashion College of Switzerland, and has been owned since 2001 by the company now called Perdoceo Education Corporation. Today it is part of the American InterContinental University System, which the Higher Learning Commission accredits as one institution together with Trident University International and California Southern University. The three schools had 10,510 students on 30 June 2026, per Perdoceo’s second-quarter 2026 results; Perdoceo does not publish a figure for AIU alone. Nearly all AIU students study online. The Atlanta and Houston campuses each have about 80 students who are not online, in IPEDS figures republished by College Tuition Compare. AIU teaches academic degrees, not trades.
Degrees online and in Atlanta and Houston
AIU’s credits are quarter credits. Its March 2024 outcomes disclosure gives standard lengths of 24 months for associate degrees, 48 months for bachelor’s degrees and 11 (accelerated) or 24 months for master’s degrees. The campuses list the same core degrees as the online campus, though the catalog’s program-by-campus list notes that not all concentrations are available in Atlanta or Houston. AIU says its programs are not designed to prepare students for state certification or licensing exams.
| Program | Credential | Quarter credits | Where taught | Online rate (2026 catalog) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accounting | Bachelor of Accounting | 180 | Online, Atlanta, Houston | $345 per credit |
| Business Administration | Associate (AABA), BBA | 90, 180 | Online, Atlanta, Houston | $345 per credit |
| Business Administration | MBA | 45 | Online, Atlanta, Houston | $652 per credit |
| Criminal Justice | Associate, bachelor’s | 90, 180 | Online, Atlanta, Houston | $345 per credit |
| Healthcare Management | Bachelor’s | 180 | Online, Atlanta, Houston | $345 per credit |
| Healthcare Management | Master’s | 45 | Online, Atlanta, Houston | $652 per credit |
| Information Technology | BSIT | 180 | Online, Atlanta, Houston | $345 per credit |
| Information Technology | MSIT | 45 | Online, Atlanta, Houston | $652 per credit |
| Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence | Bachelor of Science | 135 | Online only | $365 per credit |
| Education | M.Ed. (4 versions) | 45 | Online only | $333 or $472 per credit |
| Fashion Design and Marketing; Media Production | BFA | 180 | Atlanta only | Campus rates only |
The campus tuition schedules also list an Audio and Sound Recording certificate (Atlanta and Houston) and a Digital Filmmaking certificate (Atlanta), but neither appears on the catalog’s program-by-campus list. Ask AIU whether they are enrolling before planning on them. The M.Ed. versions in Leadership of PreK-12, Teaching and Special Education require an existing teaching certificate.
What the IT and cybersecurity degrees cover
Information Technology (BSIT)
The 180-credit BSIT has a Cybersecurity concentration or a general IT track; there is no networking or software-development concentration. The cybersecurity courses include Linux, Ethical Hacking, Network Defense and Cybersecurity Operations. Some courses line up with CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+, Linux+, PenTest+ and CySA+, and students may get a discounted exam fee, but AIU’s catalog says the degree does not prepare students for these exams and does not guarantee eligibility to take them. It is taught online and at both campuses.
Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence (BS)
This online-only bachelor’s has 135 quarter credits: 58.5 in general education, 58.5 in the core and 18 in electives. The core covers networking, including an AI-Enabled Network Engineering course, one programming course, ethical hacking, digital forensics and AI-based threat detection. Like the BSIT, it is aligned with CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+ and PenTest+, with the same statement that AIU does not prepare students for the exams. At 10 terms of full-time study, it is shorter than AIU’s 180-credit bachelor’s degrees.
Information Technology (MSIT)
The 45-credit MSIT takes 11 months on the accelerated schedule or 24 months on the standard one. Students choose a concentration in Cybersecurity, Data Analytics, IT Management or Public Safety, or a general IT track. Software Development Management is a required core course, not a specialization. The catalog says the degree is not designed to lead to any licence or certification. It is offered online and at both campuses, though not every concentration is available on campus.
Tuition: 2026 catalog rates, marked effective July 2023
AIU publishes no separate 2026-27 tuition schedule. The rate tables in its 2026 catalog are all marked “Effective July 2023”, and there is no in-state or out-of-state difference.
Online: full-time undergraduates pay $345 per quarter credit ($365 for the cybersecurity and AI bachelor’s), and part-time students taking under 13.5 credits a term pay $425 ($450). The MBA, MHCM and MSIT cost $652 per credit. Textbooks and course materials are included, and every term adds a $220 technology fee, with a $150 graduation fee at the end. With fees, the catalog puts a 180-credit online bachelor’s at $65,110, an associate at $32,740 and the MBA at $30,370, per AIU’s online tuition table.
Atlanta and Houston: undergraduates pay $4,750 per 10-week term for 12 to 18 credits, or $57,000 for a 12-term bachelor’s degree. Graduate rates are $623 per credit for the MBA and MHCM in Atlanta and $544 for the MSIT in Atlanta and for all three in Houston. Campus students pay the same $220 technology fee, plus a fee for each online course they take. In Atlanta, textbooks are extra: the Atlanta tuition table estimates about $400 per 15 undergraduate credits. The BFAs in Atlanta cost $5,850 (Fashion) or $6,020 (Media Production) per term.
Federal aid and military rates
AIU takes federal student aid. Perdoceo’s 2025 annual report says the AIU System came off provisional certification in February 2025 and that its program participation agreement with the Department of Education runs to 30 June 2027.
Active-duty and reserve service members studying online pay $166.66 per undergraduate credit, about 52% below the civilian rate, so a 180-credit bachelor’s comes to about $29,999. The military rate for the MBA, MHCM and MSIT is $497 per credit. Course-material charges are waived, per the military tuition table. The rate is for serving members; we found no published veteran rate or grant amounts.
Terms and schedule
AIU’s year runs in 10-week terms, taken as two 5-week sessions or one 10-week session. Full-time undergraduates on campus take 12 to 18 credits a term; online, part-time means fewer than 13.5 credits.
Accreditation and AIU’s record
The Higher Learning Commission has accredited the AIU System since 2009 and lists no sanctions. It reaffirmed accreditation in July 2024 and has set the next reaffirmation for 2033-34, per HLC’s record for the AIU System.
ACBSP accredits all of AIU’s business specializations, and AAQEP accredits the M.Ed., with its next site visit due by 30 June 2033, per AIU’s accreditation page. AIU is authorized by the Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission (Atlanta), the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (Houston) and the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education (online), and takes part in SARA.
We found no lawsuit, settlement or state attorney-general action specific to AIU from 2023 to 2026. The AIU System is one of the 150-plus schools on the Sweet v. Cardona settlement list, under which former students of listed schools got automatic or expedited federal loan discharges; Perdoceo was not a party to the case. In 2019, Perdoceo, then named Career Education Corporation, settled with 49 state attorneys general and DC and, separately, with the FTC over lead-generator practices.
Completion and retention rates
The AIU System’s outcomes disclosure, dated March 2024, measures full-time first-time students who finished within 150% of normal program length, for cohorts whose time ran out before the 2022-23 award year. Online undergraduate programs ranged from 14% (associate in business administration) to 35% (BBA), with the BSIT at 19%. Online master’s rates were higher, from 30% to 61%. AIU’s overall retention rate was 51%. AIU publishes no job placement rate.
Before you enroll
- Most students do not finish on time. Fewer than 36% of full-time online undergraduates in each program finished within 150% of normal length in AIU’s March 2024 disclosure.
- The campuses are small. Each has about 80 students who are not online; most students counted at the Atlanta campus study online.
- No licence or certification is built in. AIU says its IT degrees do not prepare students for CompTIA exams, and its criminal justice degrees are not police certification programs.
- Check availability where you live. AIU’s catalog says programs may vary by state, and some concentrations are not offered on campus.
- Campus and online prices are built differently. Online tuition is charged per credit and includes textbooks; campus undergraduate tuition is charged per term, and Atlanta lists textbooks as extra.
What students say on Niche
On Niche, AIU’s online campus scores 4.3 out of 5 from 2,399 reviews (checked 12 October 2026). Reviewers praise supportive faculty and advisors who call to check in, a flexible format that fits around work, and the Intellipath adaptive learning tool. Complaints focus on confusing financial aid and disbursements, unclear information about grants, and loan repayment starting sooner than students expected. Reviews are still being posted (the newest were 10 to 22 days old), while Niche’s own overall grade for the online campus is a D+.
The Atlanta campus scores 3.6 from 161 reviews, with a Niche grade of D-, and its latest dated review is from November 2023, so it reflects older experience. Houston scores 4.3 from 44 reviews.
Facts checked October 2026.
Programs & Courses
Business
- Accounting (Bachelor of Accounting)
- Business Administration (AABA, BBA, MBA)
Computer and Information Technology
- Information Technology (BSIT, MSIT)
- Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence (BS, online only)
Criminal Justice and Law
- Criminal Justice (Associate of Science, Bachelor of Science)
Healthcare Administration
- Healthcare Management (Bachelor's, Master's)
Education
- Master of Education, four versions (online only)
Design and media (Atlanta only)
- Fashion Design and Marketing (BFA)
- Media Production (BFA)
Campus Locations
100% Online
Atlanta, GA 6600 Peachtree-Dunwoody Road, 500 Embassy Row, Atlanta, GA 30328
Houston, TX 9999 Richmond Avenue, Houston, TX 77042