Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger ProgramsPublic

Central Washington University

Ellensburg, Washington·Public, 4-year or above·Far West·cwu.edu
6-yr Graduation
54%
-4.5pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Total enrollment
10,811
peer median 10,493
Avg net price
$14,715
+$1.3k 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
8,919
8,919 candidates competed
Admitted
8,082
90.6% acceptance rate
Enrolled
1,619
20.0% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
54%-4.5pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
4-year graduation
36%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
54%
Full-time retention
70%

Pell equity

12.0pp gap
Pell recipients
45%
Non-Pell
57%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 12.0-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 146 Title IV programs, 47 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 1 fails. 98 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
146
Passing
47
32.2% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
1
0.7% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.7%
+0.1pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

146programs
  • Passing47 · 32.2%
  • No Data98 · 67.1%
  • Failing1 · 0.7%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
1
Recoverable
0
At Risk
2
Watch
8
Safe
37
No data
98

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.

48
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
-13.5%
$33,800 vs $39,073
Fine and Studio Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+3.0%
$40,251 vs $39,073
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies
Bachelor Degree · English Language And Literature/Letters
+7.4%
$41,971 vs $39,073
English Language and Literature General
Bachelor Degree · English Language And Literature/Letters
+10.3%
$43,101 vs $39,073
Parks Recreation and Leisure Facilities Management
Bachelor Degree · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, And Fitness Studies
+11.3%
$43,480 vs $39,073
Anthropology
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
+12.8%
$44,089 vs $39,073
Film/Video and Photographic Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+15.6%
$45,152 vs $39,073
Natural Resources Conservation and Research
Master's Degree · Natural Resources And Conservation
+17.3%
$62,984 vs $53,672

Near the line (±5%)

Programs within five points of the pass line, one cohort year from flipping.

1
Fine and Studio Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+3.0%
+$1,178

Debt vs earnings

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

43
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
75%
$25,500 debt · $33,800 earn
Fine and Studio Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
58%
$23,488 debt · $40,251 earn
Parks Recreation and Leisure Facilities Management
Bachelor Degree · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, And Fitness Studies
53%
$23,050 debt · $43,480 earn
Music
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
53%
$26,999 debt · $51,008 earn
Natural Resources Conservation and Research
Bachelor Degree · Natural Resources And Conservation
50%
$25,250 debt · $50,776 earn
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies
Bachelor Degree · English Language And Literature/Letters
47%
$19,865 debt · $41,971 earn
Film/Video and Photographic Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
47%
$21,000 debt · $45,152 earn
Educational Administration and Supervision
Master's Degree · Education
41%
$33,223 debt · $81,827 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Accredited since 1918Next review Oct 2025

Programmatic accreditations · 5

Action history · 9

  1. Apr 2025Voluntary Withdrawal Received
    American Psychological Association, Commission on Accreditation · Professional Psychology (IPSY) - Predoctoral internship programs
  2. Apr 2025Loss of Accreditation or Preaccreditation: Voluntary Withdrawal
    American Psychological Association, Commission on Accreditation · Professional Psychology (IPSY) - Predoctoral internship programs
  3. Nov 2024Voluntary Withdrawal Received
    American Psychological Association, Commission on Accreditation · Professional Psychology (IPSY) - Predoctoral internship programs
  4. Jul 2019Renewal of Accreditation
    Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics · Dietetics (DIETI) - Dietetic Internship
  5. Jul 2019Renewal of Accreditation
    Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics · Didactic Program in Dietetics

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$7,978
$30–48k$11,430
$48–75k$15,182
$75–110k$18,886
$110k+$22,366

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

Avg net price
$14,715
+$1,280vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs median $13,436
Federal loans
35.7%
In-state tuition
$9,192
Out-of-state
$26,771

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 3,511 students received $19.3M in Pell grants, alongside $38.8M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
3,511
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$19.3M
$19,290,463 total
Direct Loans
$38.8M
5,720 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

4k
20
4k
21
3k
22
3k
23
4k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$9.0M
2,222 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$10.3M
2,388 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$3.6M
232 loan awards
Parent PLUS$15.5M
855 loan awards
Grad PLUS$457K
23 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 3,061 borrowers who entered repayment, 58 (1.8%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
1.8%
-0.5pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
3,061
Defaulted
58
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
5.8%
2017
6.9%
2018
5.2%
2019
1.8%
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 Central Washington

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs117
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

2,121 total completions
01Business
43420.5%
02Education
39818.8%
03Psychology
28413.4%
04Computer Sciences
25612.1%
05Social Sciences
1878.8%
06Visual/Performing Arts
1738.2%
07Security/Protective
1346.3%
08Parks/Recreation
1024.8%
09Engineering Tech
783.7%
10Biological Sciences
753.5%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
10,811
12-mo unduplicated
20,461
Undergraduate
19,638
Graduate
823

Gender split

Men
46%9,339
Women
54%11,122

Race / ethnicity composition

White
55.7%
Hispanic
21.8%
Two or more
8.0%
Black
5.0%
Asian
4.1%
Non-resident
2.4%
Unknown
1.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.6%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

Athletes
426
247 M · 179 W
Women athletes
42.0%
Athletic aid
$2.7M
Total student aid
Budget
$9.5M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$1.6M
$1.1M
Recruiting expense
$47K
$39K
Head-coach salaries
$72K
$70K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 8

Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
53 M · 90 W
$652K
Football
118 M ·
$2.1M
Other Sports
42 M · 39 W
$899K
Baseball
36 M ·
$516K
Soccer
· 35 W
$459K
Basketball
17 M · 15 W
$1.3M

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
2.70
25 offenses · 9,257 students

3-year trend

1.162 yrs ago1.771 yr ago2.70Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
56
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
55
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
9
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
7

Criminal offenses by type

Burglary
13
Rape
4
Aggravated assault
4
Motor vehicle theft
3
Fondling
1

By location

25total
  • On campus25

Includes 14 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

5
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
7
Stalking
12 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

  • Race4

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons13
Drugs228
Liquor982

Residence-hall fires

  • North Hall1 fire
    ElectricalDamage $0-$99

Data quality: 8 reports were later determined unfounded across the reporting period and are excluded from the totals above.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

Student-to-faculty
15.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
393

Central Washington vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Central Washington 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
SubjectCentral Washington University
54%10,811$14,715Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Eastern Washington University
43%90.7%10,492$13,091Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Western Washington University
65%93.2%14,710$18,680Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
University of Washington-Bothell Campus
65%90.6%6,058$10,898Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
University of Washington-Tacoma Campus
63%82.5%4,965$10,017Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
University of Alaska Anchorage
28%66.5%10,493$13,780Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Peer group median59%90.6%10,493$13,436

Frequently asked questions about Central Washington University

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Central Washington.

What is the graduation rate at Central Washington University?

Central Washington University reports a 6-year graduation rate of 54% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Central Washington University?

Central Washington University reports a total enrollment of 10,811 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Central Washington University?

The average net price at Central Washington University is $14,715 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Central Washington University?

Central Washington University's yield rate is 20.0%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Central Washington University located?

Central Washington University is located in Ellensburg, Washington 98926.

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