The City of Fort Dodge Public School System has an enrollment of over 3,600 students in grades K-12. Additionally, over 1,000 students are enrolled in the City's three private school systems. Fort Dodge is the home of Iowa Central Community College which offers two-year college transfer programs in applied science and technology classes, health science, office technology, marketing and industrial sciences to its more than 5,500 students.
Buena Vista University offers undergraduate programs in accounting, elementary education, history, human services, management/entrepreneurship, psychology, sociology, and computer sciences at the Iowa Central campus.
Fort Dodge is located 45 miles from Ames, Iowa, home of Iowa State University, 85 miles from Des Moines, Iowa, home of Drake University, 90 miles from Cedar Falls, Iowa, home of the University of Northern Iowa, and 150 miles from Iowa City, Iowa, home of the University of Iowa.
Additional education for adults also includes the ISU Extension Office here in Fort Dodge, Iowa.