Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger ProgramsPrivate nonprofit

Emerson College

Boston, Massachusetts·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·New England·emerson.edu
6-yr Graduation
77%
+4.0pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Total enrollment
5,263
peer median 5,298
Avg net price
$46,766
+$7.7k 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
10,378
10,378 candidates competed
Admitted
5,325
51.3% acceptance rate
Enrolled
828
15.5% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
77%+4.0pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
4-year graduation
71%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
77%
Full-time retention
87%

Pell equity

10.0pp gap
Pell recipients
70%
Non-Pell
80%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 10.0-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 30 Title IV programs, 15 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 2 fail. 13 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
30
Passing
15
50.0% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
2
6.7% of portfolio
Fail rate
6.7%
+6.1pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

30programs
  • Passing15 · 50.0%
  • No Data13 · 43.3%
  • Failing2 · 6.7%

Severity spectrum

Critical
2
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
1
Watch
4
Safe
10
No data
13

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.

17
Communication and Media Studies
Master's Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
-21.6%
$46,040 vs $58,761
Journalism
Master's Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
-17.8%
$48,294 vs $58,761
Publishing
Master's Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
+4.3%
$61,304 vs $58,761
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft
Master's Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+11.5%
$53,881 vs $48,304
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies
Master's Degree · English Language And Literature/Letters
+14.2%
$56,485 vs $49,483
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+23.1%
$74,005 vs $60,112
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Subject Areas
Master's Degree · Education
+23.9%
$57,493 vs $46,391
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+28.6%
$44,760 vs $34,808

Near the line (±5%)

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

1
Publishing
Master's Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
+4.3%
+$2,543

Debt vs earnings

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

13
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies
Master's Degree · English Language And Literature/Letters
107%
$60,150 debt · $56,485 earn
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
83%
$61,688 debt · $74,005 earn
Publishing
Master's Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
74%
$45,556 debt · $61,304 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Subject Areas
Master's Degree · Education
71%
$41,000 debt · $57,493 earn
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
56%
$25,250 debt · $44,760 earn
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies Other
Bachelor Degree · Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
54%
$26,471 debt · $49,381 earn
Film/Video and Photographic Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
47%
$23,250 debt · $49,951 earn
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies
Bachelor Degree · English Language And Literature/Letters
45%
$23,000 debt · $51,742 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

New England Commission of Higher Education

Accredited since 1950Next review Jun 2033

Programmatic accreditations · 1

Action history · 5

  1. Apr 2023Renewal of Accreditation
    New England Commission of Higher Education
  2. May 2022Accreditation Reaffirmed: Probation Removed
    American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology · Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) - Graduate degree programs
  3. Feb 2022Probation or Equivalent or a More Severe Status: Probation
    American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology · Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) - Graduate degree programs
  4. Aug 2018Approved for Distance Education
    American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology · Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) - Graduate degree programs
  5. Sep 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$31,412
$30–48k$34,742
$48–75k$39,297
$75–110k$43,628
$110k+$55,833

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

Avg net price (private)
$46,766
+$7,711vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs median $39,056
Federal loans
46.6%
In-state tuition
$55,392
Out-of-state
$55,392

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 786 students received $4.9M in Pell grants, alongside $49.2M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
786
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$4.9M
$4,911,353 total
Direct Loans
$49.2M
4,265 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$5.7M
1,235 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$5.1M
1,515 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$16.0M
817 loan awards
Parent PLUS$15.6M
417 loan awards
Grad PLUS$6.9M
281 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 933 borrowers who entered repayment, 14 (1.5%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
1.5%
-0.8pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
933
Defaulted
14
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
1.8%
2017
2.5%
2018
3.2%
2019
1.5%
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 Emerson College

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs35
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

1,720 total completions
01Visual/Performing Arts
61335.6%
02Health Professions
33619.5%
03Communication
28216.4%
04English Language
22813.3%
05Business
18010.5%
06Education
573.3%
07Multi/Interdisciplinary
241.4%
08Comm. Technologies
00.0%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
5,263
12-mo unduplicated
5,988
Undergraduate
4,301
Graduate
1,687

Gender split

Men
28%1,676
Women
72%4,312

Race / ethnicity composition

White
55.1%
Non-resident
16.4%
Hispanic
11.1%
Asian
5.7%
Black
5.0%
Two or more
4.8%
Unknown
1.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.1%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

Athletes
254
151 M · 103 W
Women athletes
40.6%
Athletic aid
$0
Total student aid
Budget
$3.4M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$0
$0
Recruiting expense
$32K
$35K
Head-coach salaries
$50K
$51K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 8

Lacrosse
31 M · 20 W
$337K
Soccer
26 M · 19 W
$336K
Baseball
45 M ·
$277K
Basketball
15 M · 17 W
$365K
Volleyball
14 M · 14 W
$200K
Tennis
11 M · 12 W
$217K

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
3.06
18 offenses · 5,891 students

3-year trend

3.522 yrs ago2.031 yr ago3.06Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
48
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
15
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
1

Criminal offenses by type

Aggravated assault
6
Robbery
4
Fondling
3
Rape
2
Arson
2
Motor vehicle theft
1

By location

18total
  • On campus6
  • Public property12

Includes 6 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

5
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
1
Stalking
6 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons11
Drugs14
Liquor0361

Residence-hall fires

  • Piano Row1 fire
    Open Flame (Burn Marks to Ceiling Tile in the shape of a face )Damage $100-$999

Data quality: 1 report was 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
14.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
233

Emerson College vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Emerson College 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
SubjectEmerson College
77%5,263$46,766Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Bentley University
87%45.1%5,333$38,787Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Merrimack College
70%70.0%5,862$37,899Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Endicott College
75%71.2%4,394$39,324Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Berklee College of Music
67%43.5%8,369$50,404Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Regis College
71%69.8%2,517$28,346Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Peer group median73%69.8%5,298$39,056

Frequently asked questions about Emerson College

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Emerson College.

What is the graduation rate at Emerson College?

Emerson College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 77% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Emerson College?

Emerson College reports a total enrollment of 5,263 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Emerson College?

The average net price at Emerson College is $46,766 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Emerson College?

Emerson College's yield rate is 15.5%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Emerson College located?

Emerson College is located in Boston, Massachusetts 02116-4624.

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