Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger ProgramsPrivate nonprofit

Golden Gate University

San Francisco, California·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Far West·ggu.edu
Total enrollment
3,098
peer median 4,276
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AboutProgram outcomesAccreditationCostFederal aidLoan defaultsAcademic programsEnrollment trendsCampus safetyFacultyPeersDocumentsAlumni

About

Golden Gate University is a private university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1901, GGU specializes in educating professionals through its schools of law, business, taxation, technology, accounting, and undergraduate studies. The university offers 4 undergraduate degrees and 18 graduate degree programs.

Program outcomes

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

FVT/GE

Of 42 Title IV programs, 10 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 32 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
42
Passing
10
23.8% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

42programs
  • Passing10 · 23.8%
  • No Data32 · 76.2%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
10
No data
32

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.

10
Finance and Financial Management Services
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+61.0%
$107,694 vs $66,899
Law
First Professional Degree · Legal Professions And Studies
+76.2%
$96,079 vs $54,534
Accounting and Related Services
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+79.8%
$120,311 vs $66,899
Human Resources Management and Services
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+85.0%
$123,772 vs $66,899
Clinical Counseling and Applied Psychology
Master's Degree · Psychology
+96.4%
$95,577 vs $48,653
Taxation
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+101.7%
$134,927 vs $66,899
Business Administration Management and Operations
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+102.0%
$135,150 vs $66,899
Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies
Master's Degree · Legal Professions And Studies
+140.9%
$131,366 vs $54,534

Debt vs earnings

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

9
Law
First Professional Degree · Legal Professions And Studies
164%
$157,887 debt · $96,079 earn
Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies
Master's Degree · Legal Professions And Studies
49%
$63,876 debt · $131,366 earn
Accounting and Related Services
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
43%
$51,250 debt · $120,311 earn
Finance and Financial Management Services
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
42%
$45,095 debt · $107,694 earn
Public Administration
Master's Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
39%
$48,322 debt · $122,598 earn
Business Administration Management and Operations
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
35%
$47,734 debt · $135,150 earn
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
32%
$29,500 debt · $91,369 earn
Taxation
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
30%
$40,798 debt · $134,927 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

DAPIP
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

WASC Senior College and University Commission

Accredited since 1959Next review Jun 2031

Programmatic accreditations · 1

Action history · 10

  1. Sep 2025Grant Substantive Change: Program
    WASC Senior College and University Commission
  2. Jun 2025Heightened Monitoring or Focused Review
    WASC Senior College and University Commission
  3. Jun 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    WASC Senior College and University Commission
  4. Mar 2024Heightened Monitoring or Focused Review
    WASC Senior College and University Commission
  5. Feb 2023Probation or Equivalent or More Severe Status: Monitoring
    American Bar Association, Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar · Law (LAW) - Professional schools

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

College Scorecard
Net price by income not reported.
Federal loans
18.0%
In-state tuition
$31,243
Out-of-state
$31,243

Federal aid volume & trends

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

Federal Student Aid

In AY 2024–25, 124 students received $652K in Pell grants, alongside $13.1M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
124
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$652K
$652,106 total
Direct Loans
$13.1M
769 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

0k
’20
0k
’21
0k
’22
0k
’23
0k
’24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$330K
79 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$572K
82 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$10.1M
481 loan awards
Grad PLUS$2.1M
127 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.

Cohort Default Rate

Of 441 borrowers who entered repayment, 4 (0.9%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.9%
-1.4pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
441
Defaulted
4
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
4.2%
2017
3.9%
2018
1.9%
2019
0.9%
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 Golden Gate

Top program areas ranked by completions.

IPEDS
Distinct CIP programs27
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

1,083 total completions
01Business
64559.6%
02Legal Professions
21219.6%
03Psychology
918.4%
04Computer Sciences
615.6%
05Public Admin
393.6%
06Multi/Interdisciplinary
181.7%
07Mathematics
100.9%
08Liberal Arts
70.6%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

IPEDS
Fall total
3,098
12-mo unduplicated
5,866
Undergraduate
1,291
Graduate
4,575

Gender split

Men
53%3,105
Women
47%2,761

Race / ethnicity composition

White
28.7%
Unknown
22.6%
Black
16.9%
Hispanic
16.9%
Asian
8.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
2.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native
1.8%
Non-resident
1.8%

Campus safety & crime statistics

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

Clery Act
Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
0.00
0 offenses · 2,661 students

3-year trend

0.402 yrs ago0.411 yr ago0.00Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
2
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
0
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

No criminal offenses reported.

By location

0total

    VAWA offenses

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

    Hate crimes by bias

    No hate crimes reported.

    Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

    CategoryArrestsReferrals
    Weapons00
    Drugs00
    Liquor00

    Residence-hall fires

    No residence-hall fires reported.

    Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

    Student-faculty ratio

    Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

    IPEDS
    Student-to-faculty
    7.0:1
    Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
    29

    Golden Gate vs Peer comparison

    The peer institutions Golden Gate selected for federal comparison reporting.

    IPEDS
    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
    SubjectGolden Gate University
    		——3,098—Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Anderson University
    		66%54.7%4,710$28,183Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Bentley University
    		87%45.1%5,333$38,787Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Bryant University
    		80%65.5%3,636$40,846Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    California Lutheran University
    		70%75.7%3,351$26,433Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Carroll University
    		71%66.8%3,138$24,362Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Columbia College
    		43%—5,689$24,051Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Concordia University-Chicago
    		36%92.8%4,770$16,774Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Davenport University
    		55%97.8%4,815$19,988Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Elmhurst University
    		70%73.6%3,997$21,063Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Endicott College
    		75%71.2%4,394$39,324Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus
    		54%90.7%8,045$15,266Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Hawaii Pacific University
    		35%85.9%4,921$30,557Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Herzing University-Madison
    		22%94.3%5,274$20,319Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Houston Christian University
    		49%84.4%4,276$19,710Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Iona University
    		56%86.9%3,958$27,951Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Jacksonville University
    		51%56.9%4,247$26,255Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Johnson & Wales University-Providence
    		50%88.4%4,303$32,478Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Lynn University
    		52%73.5%3,514$38,222Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Monmouth University
    		72%89.0%4,767$31,650Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Niagara University
    		74%87.4%4,033$18,740Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Norwich University
    		60%74.4%3,149$25,600Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Point Loma Nazarene University
    		77%83.7%4,757$50,168Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Providence College
    		86%50.9%4,666$45,538Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Rider University
    		61%78.6%4,003$25,287Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    St. Joseph's University-New York
    		69%72.0%3,899$17,622Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Stetson University
    		62%71.6%3,775$21,318Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    University of Scranton
    		80%81.2%4,724$30,528Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Utica University
    		56%92.0%3,627$21,869Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
    Peer group median62%78.6%4,276$25,928

    Institutions like Golden Gate

    Explore the federal data for institutions in Golden Gate's comparison group.

    IPEDS

    Reports & documents (1)

    Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.

    Notable alumni of Golden Gate (20)

    A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.

    • Solomon Darwin
      Academia
    • Mary Hayashi
      Politics
    • Fiona Ma
      Politics
    • Betty Yee
      Politics
    • Susan Pamerleau
      Law and justice
    • Lawrence Joseph O'Neill
      Law and justice
    • Terence T. Henricks
      Military
    • Timothy Maude
      Military
    • Ralph Atkin
      Business
    • Sophia Bekele
      Business
    • Richard Belluzzo
      Business
    • Joan Blades
      Business
    Showing 1–12 of 20
    1 / 2

    Frequently asked questions about Golden Gate University

    Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Golden Gate.

    How many students attend Golden Gate University?

    Golden Gate University reports a total enrollment of 3,098 students per the latest IPEDS.

    Where is Golden Gate University located?

    Golden Gate University is located in San Francisco, California 94105-2968.

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