About
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology and began granting four-year degrees. In 1967, it became Carnegie Mellon University through its merger with the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research, founded in 1913 by Andrew Mellon and Richard B. Mellon and formerly a part of the University of Pittsburgh.
Admissions & acceptance rate
First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.
Graduation rate & outcomes
Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.
Pell equity
Non-Pell students graduate at a 4.0-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 160 Title IV programs, 36 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 1 fails. 123 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing36 · 22.5%
- No Data123 · 76.9%
- Failing1 · 0.6%
Severity spectrum
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.
Debt vs earnings
Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.
Accreditation status & history
Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.
Middle States Commission on Higher Education
Programmatic accreditations · 3
Action history · 2
- Jun 2018Renewal of AccreditationMiddle States Commission on Higher Education
- Aug 2014Change in Agency recognitionNational Association of Schools of Music, Commission on Accreditation · Music (MUS) - Institutions and units within institutions offering degree-granting and/or non-degree-granting programs
Tuition & cost
What families actually pay, broken down by family income.
Net price by family income
Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.
Federal aid volume & trends
Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.
In AY 2024–25, 1,435 students received $9.3M in Pell grants, alongside $44.6M in federal Direct Loans.
Pell recipients · 5-year trend
Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25
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.
Student loan default rate
The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.
Of 1,220 borrowers who entered repayment, 2 (0.1%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.
Default rate vs national, by cohort
* 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.
Academic programs at Carnegie Mellon
Top program areas ranked by completions.
Top program families by completions
Enrollment trends & demographics
Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.
Gender split
Race / ethnicity composition
Athletics & Title IX gender equity
How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.
Men vs women · spending splits
Sport-by-sport · 9
Campus safety & crime statistics
Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.
3-year trend
Criminal offenses by type
By location
- On campus7
- Non-campus1
Includes 4 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
- National origin4
- Race1
- Gender1
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
- Fifth Neville Apartments1 fireCookingDamage $0-$99
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
Carnegie Mellon vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions Carnegie Mellon selected for federal comparison reporting.
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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectCarnegie Mellon University | 94% | — | 15,888 | $31,671 | R1 Research |
Brown University | 96% | 5.4% | 11,956 | $26,572 | R1 Research |
California Institute of Technology | 94% | 2.6% | 2,430 | $18,902 | R1 Research |
Cornell University | 95% | 8.8% | 26,793 | $32,337 | R1 Research |
Duke University | 97% | 5.7% | 17,499 | $34,454 | R1 Research |
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 94% | 14.1% | 53,363 | $13,289 | R1 Research |
Johns Hopkins University | 94% | 6.4% | 30,210 | $18,161 | R1 Research |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 96% | 4.5% | 11,886 | $19,813 | R1 Research |
New York University | 88% | 9.2% | 56,832 | $35,035 | R1 Research |
Northwestern University | 95% | 7.7% | 23,856 | $27,143 | R1 Research |
Princeton University | 98% | 4.6% | 9,137 | $10,555 | R1 Research |
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 84% | 63.5% | 7,040 | $33,139 | R1 Research |
Rice University | 95% | 8.0% | 8,961 | $12,640 | R1 Research |
Stanford University | 92% | 3.6% | 18,625 | $12,136 | R1 Research |
University of California-Berkeley | 93% | 11.0% | 45,882 | $14,979 | R1 Research |
University of California-Los Angeles | 93% | 9.0% | 47,335 | $14,013 | R1 Research |
University of Chicago | 96% | 4.5% | 18,566 | $18,967 | R1 Research |
University of Maryland-College Park | 89% | 44.8% | 41,725 | $15,590 | R1 Research |
University of Notre Dame | 95% | 11.3% | 13,042 | $27,823 | R1 Research |
University of Pennsylvania | 97% | 5.4% | 29,109 | $31,229 | R1 Research |
University of Southern California | 92% | 9.8% | 46,566 | $31,927 | R1 Research |
Washington University in St Louis | 94% | 12.1% | 16,357 | $22,117 | R1 Research |
| Peer group median | 94% | 8.0% | 18,596 | $20,965 |
Carnegie Mellon Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
By collecting, organizing, and analyzing information, their resulting insights allow staff and faculty to better understand the CMU community and the environment in which they work.
Visit IR office page- Dr. Henry ZhengVice Provost of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning
- Melissa BakerAssistant Vice Provost for Institutional Research and Analysis
- Shannon FosterAssociate Director for Institutional Research and Assessment
- Mark ChimelAssistant Director for Institutional Research and Analysis
- Kirby LivingstonData Strategy & Institutional Research Manager
- Zoraya Cruz-BonillaData Quality Analyst
- Madison SpeckInstitutional Research and Student Affairs Assessment Specialist
- Julia ParkerAdministrative and Special Projects Coordinator
- Malak AlseafSenior Data Analyst, CMU Qatar
- Matthew HoolsemaDirector of Data Science and Advanced Analytics
- Diana LomelinData Scientist
Research funding
External research funding from NSF, NIH, HERD, and federal spending sources.
Common Data Set (10)
The institution's official annual Common Data Set publications — the most detailed reference for enrollment, admissions, and outcomes.
Reports & documents (5)
Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.
- Data definitionData CatalogThe Carnegie Mellon University Data Catalog is a repository intended to share and formalize definitions for data elements involved in university business, aiming to improve data literacy and trust. It provides resources like the Main Systems and Snowflake Catalog to identify data sources and streamline report building or troubleshooting. Key aspects include governance structures, access protocols, and guidelines for data classification and sharing.cmu.edu
- Data dictionaryData Catalog - Data @ CMU - Office of the CIO - Carnegie Mellon University2026The Data Catalog at Carnegie Mellon University is a repository for data element definitions used in managing university business. It enables data domain experts to create and approve definitions, promoting data literacy and trust. The catalog helps to create a shared knowledge base of institutional data, assists in creating and interpreting reports, demonstrates data availability, and eliminates duplicate work. It includes a reference guide for CMU's key systems and data in the Snowflake data lake, aiding in identifying authoritative data sources and ensuring university-wide consistency.cmu.edu
- DFR reportIPEDS Data Feedback Report 20242024nces.ed.gov
- FactbookFactbook 2010-2011, Vol. 252011The Factbook 2010-2011 from Carnegie Mellon University provides comprehensive information on various aspects of the institution, including enrollment statistics, degrees granted, faculty and staff data, and financial information. Additionally, it offers context on student programs, academic support, alumni, and campus facilities.cmu.edu
- Strategic planStrategic Framework - Carnegie Mellon University2025Carnegie Mellon University's Strategic Framework sets a dynamic roadmap aimed at fostering innovation and societal impact through education, research, and community engagement. It outlines four major thematic priorities including shaping the Human-Centered Future of Education and Work, expanding research and creativity, cultivating global community engagement, and enhancing institutional agility and resilience. The framework highlights specific strategies like improving student access and affordability, leveraging AI for educational excellence, and fostering impactful global collaborations.cmu.edu
Notable alumni of Carnegie Mellon (24)
A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.
- John L. HallPhysics
- Finn E. KydlandEconomics
- Dale Thomas MortensenEconomics
- John Forbes NashEconomics
- Edward C. PrescottEconomics
- Clifford ShullPhysics
- Oliver E. WilliamsonEconomics
- Edward FeigenbaumComputer Science
- Shafi GoldwasserCryptography
- Allen NewellArtificial Intelligence
- Stephanie KwolekChemistry
- Luis von AhnComputer Science
Frequently asked questions about Carnegie Mellon University
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Carnegie Mellon.
What is the graduation rate at Carnegie Mellon University?
How many students attend Carnegie Mellon University?
What is the average net price at Carnegie Mellon University?
What is the yield rate at Carnegie Mellon University?
Where is Carnegie Mellon University located?
Who runs Institutional Research at Carnegie Mellon University?
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