About
Edward Waters University is a private Christian historically Black university in Jacksonville, Florida. It was founded in 1866 by members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church as a school to educate freedmen and their children. It was the first independent institution of higher education and the first historically black college in the State of Florida. It continues to be affiliated with the AME Church and is a member of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida.
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 20.8-point higher rate than Pell recipients.
Source: IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) — Pell/SSL cohort, 2024 cohort.
Program outcomes
Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.
Of 24 Title IV programs, 0 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 24 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing0 · 0.0%
- No Data24 · 100.0%
- Failing0 · 0.0%
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.
Accreditation status & history
Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
Action history · 9
- Dec 2025Renewal of AccreditationSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
- Mar 2023Grant Substantive Change: ProgramSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
- Mar 2023Grant Substantive Change: ProgramSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
- Jun 2022Grant Substantive Change: DegreeSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
- Jun 2022Grant Substantive Change: DegreeSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
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, 871 students received $5.6M in Pell grants, alongside $7.8M 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 382 borrowers who entered repayment, 34 (8.9%) defaulted within three years — above 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 Edward Waters
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 campus1
- Public property7
Includes 1 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
No hate crimes reported.
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
Edward Waters vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions Edward Waters 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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectEdward Waters University | 28% | — | 1,177 | $13,649 | Baccalaureate |
| 13% | 72.5% | 610 | $10,972 | Baccalaureate | |
| 43% | 41.9% | 1,080 | $22,094 | Baccalaureate | |
| 31% | 85.3% | 1,277 | $23,238 | Baccalaureate | |
| 15% | — | 622 | $9,825 | Baccalaureate | |
| 34% | 45.2% | 1,302 | $20,894 | Baccalaureate | |
| 32% | 99.2% | 659 | $7,099 | Baccalaureate | |
| 28% | 59.2% | 936 | $13,479 | Baccalaureate | |
| 16% | — | 1,180 | $14,271 | Baccalaureate | |
| 17% | — | 383 | $20,555 | Baccalaureate | |
| 12% | 48.7% | 467 | $12,587 | Baccalaureate | |
| 22% | 80.2% | 964 | $16,512 | Baccalaureate | |
| 25% | 62.2% | 731 | $15,258 | Baccalaureate | |
| 31% | 85.4% | 760 | $15,560 | Baccalaureate | |
| 33% | 59.9% | 1,301 | $17,043 | Baccalaureate | |
| 43% | 65.4% | 578 | $13,335 | Baccalaureate | |
| Peer group median | 28% | 63.8% | 848 | $14,765 |
Institutions like Edward Waters
Explore the federal data for institutions in Edward Waters's comparison group.
- BaccalaureateSouth Carolina
Allen University
Grad rate13%Admit rate72.5%Enrollment610Net price$10,972View data - BaccalaureateLouisiana
Dillard University
Grad rate43%Admit rate41.9%Enrollment1,080Net price$22,094View data - BaccalaureateFlorida
Florida Memorial University
Grad rate31%Admit rate85.3%Enrollment1,277Net price$23,238View data - BaccalaureateTexas
Jarvis Christian University
Grad rate15%Admit rate—Enrollment622Net price$9,825View data - BaccalaureateNorth Carolina
Johnson C Smith University
Grad rate34%Admit rate45.2%Enrollment1,302Net price$20,894View data - BaccalaureateTennessee
Le Moyne-Owen College
Grad rate32%Admit rate99.2%Enrollment659Net price$7,099View data - BaccalaureateNorth Carolina
Livingstone College
Grad rate28%Admit rate59.2%Enrollment936Net price$13,479View data - BaccalaureateAlabama
Miles College
Grad rate16%Admit rate—Enrollment1,180Net price$14,271View data - BaccalaureateSouth Carolina
Morris College
Grad rate17%Admit rate—Enrollment383Net price$20,555View data - BaccalaureateMississippi
Rust College
Grad rate12%Admit rate48.7%Enrollment467Net price$12,587View data - BaccalaureateNorth Carolina
Shaw University
Grad rate22%Admit rate80.2%Enrollment964Net price$16,512View data - BaccalaureateAlabama
Stillman College
Grad rate25%Admit rate62.2%Enrollment731Net price$15,258View data - BaccalaureateAlabama
Talladega College
Grad rate31%Admit rate85.4%Enrollment760Net price$15,560View data - BaccalaureateMississippi
Tougaloo College
Grad rate33%Admit rate59.9%Enrollment1,301Net price$17,043View data - BaccalaureateSouth Carolina
Voorhees University
Grad rate43%Admit rate65.4%Enrollment578Net price$13,335View data
Edward Waters Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
The Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Operations provides official institutional statistics, analyses, and research to support and improve management decision-making on campus.
Visit IR office page- Dr. Michael T. WestVice President for Institutional Effectiveness, Operations, Systems Management and Process Optimization
- Bernice Parker-BellDirector of Institutional Effectiveness
Reports & documents (1)
Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.
Notable alumni of Edward Waters (5)
A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.
- Tracie Davis
- Dennis P. Gallon
- Mercedes Gilbert
- Betty Holzendorf
- Buck O'Neil
Frequently asked questions about Edward Waters University
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Edward Waters.
What is the graduation rate at Edward Waters University?
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Who runs Institutional Research at Edward Waters University?
About the data on this page
Every figure comes from an official federal or public source. Here is each one and the release it is currently on.
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