Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger ProgramsPrivate nonprofit

Bentley University

Waltham, Massachusetts·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·New England·bentley.edu
6-yr Graduation
87%
+14.0pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Total enrollment
5,333
peer median 4,829
Avg net price
$38,787
+$444 vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
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Admissions & acceptance rate

First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.

Applied
11,012
11,012 candidates competed
Admitted
4,961
45.1% acceptance rate
Enrolled
1,056
21.3% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

Overall completion
87%+14.0pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
4-year graduation
81%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
87%
Full-time retention
93%

Pell equity

9.0pp gap
Pell recipients
82%
Non-Pell
91%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 9.0-point higher rate than Pell recipients.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

Of 47 Title IV programs, 19 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 28 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
47
Passing
19
40.4% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

47programs
  • Passing19 · 40.4%
  • No Data28 · 59.6%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
19
No data
28

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Earnings premium gap

Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.

19
Accounting and Related Services
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+91.6%
$115,201 vs $60,112
Taxation
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+98.5%
$119,302 vs $60,112
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+117.9%
$130,975 vs $60,112
Finance and Financial Management Services
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+119.6%
$131,993 vs $60,112
Business/Corporate Communications
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+132.1%
$80,781 vs $34,808
Marketing
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+154.1%
$88,461 vs $34,808
Business Administration Management and Operations
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+159.6%
$156,061 vs $60,112
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+185.9%
$99,514 vs $34,808

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

17
Business/Corporate Communications
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
30%
$24,250 debt · $80,781 earn
Marketing
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
27%
$23,500 debt · $88,461 earn
Business Administration Management and Operations
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
25%
$39,349 debt · $156,061 earn
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
25%
$25,000 debt · $99,514 earn
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Bachelor Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
25%
$26,000 debt · $105,183 earn
Business/Managerial Economics
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
24%
$26,000 debt · $108,886 earn
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
24%
$26,596 debt · $111,433 earn
Business Management Marketing and Related Support Services Other
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
24%
$26,000 debt · $109,922 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

New England Commission of Higher Education

Accredited since 1966Next review Dec 2032

Action history · 2

  1. Sep 2022Renewal of Accreditation
    New England Commission of Higher Education
  2. Nov 2013Renewal of Accreditation
    New England Commission of Higher Education

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$24,239
$30–48k$23,482
$48–75k$25,331
$75–110k$35,581
$110k+$49,750

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price (private)
$38,787
+$444vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs median $38,343
Federal loans
42.7%
In-state tuition
$58,150
Out-of-state
$58,150

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

In AY 2024–25, 933 students received $5.8M in Pell grants, alongside $27.5M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
933
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$5.8M
$5,762,860 total
Direct Loans
$27.5M
3,716 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

1k
20
1k
21
1k
22
1k
23
1k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$6.1M
1,376 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$6.2M
1,806 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$3.4M
185 loan awards
Parent PLUS$11.2M
313 loan awards
Grad PLUS$612K
36 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Of 816 borrowers who entered repayment, 6 (0.7%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.7%
-1.6pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
816
Defaulted
6
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
0.9%
2017
2.1%
2018
0.8%
2019
0.7%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at Bentley

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs45
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

1,467 total completions
01Business
1,28387.5%
02Computer Sciences
483.3%
03Multi/Interdisciplinary
412.8%
04Mathematics
382.6%
05Liberal Arts
362.5%
06Social Sciences
130.9%
07Health Professions
30.2%
08Public Admin
30.2%
09History
10.1%
10Foreign Languages
10.1%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

Fall total
5,333
12-mo unduplicated
5,534
Undergraduate
4,521
Graduate
1,013

Gender split

Men
59%3,260
Women
41%2,274

Race / ethnicity composition

White
55.3%
Non-resident
14.1%
Hispanic
12.5%
Asian
10.1%
Black
4.0%
Two or more
3.0%
Unknown
0.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.0%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.

Athletes
576
381 M · 195 W
Women athletes
33.9%
Athletic aid
$5.0M
Total student aid
Budget
$16.5M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$3.2M
$1.9M
Recruiting expense
$109K
$25K
Head-coach salaries
$82K
$61K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 13

Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
92 M · 59 W
$201K
Lacrosse
68 M · 27 W
$495K
Football
93 M ·
$1.6M
Soccer
42 M · 27 W
$530K
Swimming and Diving (combined)
26 M · 25 W
$233K
Baseball
44 M ·
$416K

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
1.36
7 offenses · 5,165 students

3-year trend

1.552 yrs ago2.911 yr ago1.36Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
30
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
6
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
2
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
7

Criminal offenses by type

Rape
3
Fondling
2
Burglary
1
Statutory rape
1

By location

7total
  • On campus7

Includes 7 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

1
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
1
Stalking
2 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons02
Drugs045
Liquor0104

Residence-hall fires

  • Forest Hall1 fire
    Cooking1 injured · 0 deathsDamage $25,000-$49,999
  • Rhodes Hall1 fire
    CookingDamage $0-$99

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

Student-to-faculty
12.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
294

Bentley vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Bentley selected for federal comparison reporting.

GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
This institutionPeer median

A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

Carnegie
SubjectBentley University
87%5,333$38,787Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Emerson College
77%51.3%5,263$46,766Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Endicott College
75%71.2%4,394$39,324Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Merrimack College
70%70.0%5,862$37,899Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Regis College
71%69.8%2,517$28,346Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Bay Path University
44%85.2%2,605$14,590Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Peer group median73%70.0%4,829$38,343

Frequently asked questions about Bentley University

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Bentley.

What is the graduation rate at Bentley University?

Bentley University reports a 6-year graduation rate of 87% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Bentley University?

Bentley University reports a total enrollment of 5,333 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Bentley University?

The average net price at Bentley University is $38,787 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Bentley University?

Bentley University's yield rate is 21.3%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Bentley University located?

Bentley University is located in Waltham, Massachusetts 02452-4705.

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