Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger ProgramsPublic

Pennsylvania Western University

California, Pennsylvania·Public, 4-year or above·Mid East·pennwest.edu
6-yr Graduation
52%
-3.0pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Total enrollment
10,834
peer median 7,221
Avg net price
$19,352
-$526 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
5,930
5,930 candidates competed
Admitted
5,594
94.3% acceptance rate
Enrolled
1,529
27.3% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
52%-3.0pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
4-year graduation
38%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
52%
Full-time retention
72%

Pell equity

15.0pp gap
Pell recipients
43%
Non-Pell
58%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 15.0-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 203 Title IV programs, 66 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 4 fail. 133 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
203
Passing
66
32.5% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
4
2.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
2.0%
+1.4pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

203programs
  • Passing66 · 32.5%
  • No Data133 · 65.5%
  • Failing4 · 2.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
1
Severe
2
Recoverable
1
At Risk
3
Watch
14
Safe
49
No data
133

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.

70
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
-17.4%
$48,558 vs $58,761
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions
Graduate Certificate · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
-6.7%
$54,813 vs $58,761
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Associate Degree · Education
-6.1%
$33,108 vs $35,274
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
-0.6%
$58,424 vs $58,761
History
Bachelor Degree · History
+6.5%
$37,579 vs $35,274
Fine and Studio Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+6.8%
$37,684 vs $35,274
English Language and Literature General
Bachelor Degree · English Language And Literature/Letters
+7.2%
$37,813 vs $35,274
Social Sciences General
Master's Degree · Social Sciences
+11.4%
$65,444 vs $58,761

Near the line (±5%)

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

1
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
-0.6%
$337

Debt vs earnings

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

30
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
101%
$49,000 debt · $48,558 earn
Student Counseling and Personnel Services
Master's Degree · Education
76%
$41,000 debt · $54,323 earn
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
71%
$41,464 debt · $58,424 earn
Social Work
Master's Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
69%
$40,480 debt · $58,490 earn
Design and Applied Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
66%
$27,000 debt · $40,854 earn
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions
Graduate Certificate · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
65%
$35,459 debt · $54,813 earn
Social Sciences General
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
59%
$24,935 debt · $42,582 earn
Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness
Bachelor Degree · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, And Fitness Studies
57%
$27,000 debt · $47,468 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Accredited since 1951Next review Jan 2033

Programmatic accreditations · 9

Action history · 14

  1. Jun 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    Middle States Commission on Higher Education
  2. Feb 2024Approved 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
  3. Oct 2023Renewal of Accreditation
    Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the baccalaureate degree levels
  4. Oct 2023Renewal of Accreditation
    Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the graduate degree levels
  5. Oct 2023Renewal of Accreditation
    Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNDNP) - Nursing education programs at the doctorate degree levels

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$14,651
$30–48k$15,059
$48–75k$18,863
$75–110k$23,147
$110k+$24,265

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

Avg net price
$19,352
-$525vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs median $19,878
Federal loans
56.8%
In-state tuition
$11,388
Out-of-state
$16,006

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 3,649 students received $20.5M in Pell grants, alongside $58.7M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
3,649
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$20.5M
$20,455,474 total
Direct Loans
$58.7M
9,731 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

5k
20
4k
21
4k
22
4k
23
4k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$13.1M
3,445 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$15.7M
4,085 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$21.8M
1,480 loan awards
Parent PLUS$6.8M
593 loan awards
Grad PLUS$1.3M
128 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 5,933 borrowers who entered repayment, 129 (2.1%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
2.1%
-0.2pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
5,933
Defaulted
129
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
7.4%
2017
7.1%
2018
5.9%
2019
2.1%
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 Pennsylvania Western

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs170
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

2,968 total completions
01Education
63421.4%
02Health Professions
58519.7%
03Business
36412.3%
04Parks/Recreation
30710.3%
05Public Admin
2669.0%
06Social Sciences
2177.3%
07Visual/Performing Arts
1555.2%
08Library Science
1555.2%
09Liberal Arts
1444.9%
10Psychology
1414.8%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
10,834
12-mo unduplicated
13,624
Undergraduate
9,288
Graduate
4,336

Gender split

Men
34%4,679
Women
66%8,945

Race / ethnicity composition

White
74.3%
Unknown
8.1%
Black
8.1%
Hispanic
4.0%
Two or more
3.1%
Non-resident
1.2%
Asian
1.0%
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
1,117
657 M · 460 W
Women athletes
41.2%
Athletic aid
$4.2M
Total student aid
Budget
$21.3M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$2.4M
$1.8M
Recruiting expense
$117K
$44K
Head-coach salaries
$69K
$63K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 12

Football
312 M ·
$3.5M
Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
99 M · 196 W
$1.5M
Soccer
30 M · 100 W
$1.1M
Basketball
47 M · 51 W
$2.8M
Swimming and Diving (combined)
37 M · 61 W
$1.3M
Baseball
76 M ·
$823K

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
0.31
4 offenses · 12,778 students
Offenses · 3-yr
35
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
28
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
1
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
2

Criminal offenses by type

Rape
2
Fondling
2

By location

4total
  • On campus3
  • Non-campus1

Includes 2 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

0
Domestic violence
7
Dating violence
2
Stalking
9 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons20
Drugs2128
Liquor1867

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.

Student-to-faculty
18.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
453

Pennsylvania Western vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Pennsylvania Western 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
SubjectPennsylvania Western University
52%10,834$19,352Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
66%71.5%8,376$19,524Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
54%90.8%7,467$21,205Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Millersville University of Pennsylvania
58%86.2%6,975$20,231Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania
43%92.1%5,633$15,089Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
56%86.5%5,161$23,553Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Peer group median55%86.5%7,221$19,878

Frequently asked questions about Pennsylvania Western University

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Pennsylvania Western.

What is the graduation rate at Pennsylvania Western University?

Pennsylvania Western University reports a 6-year graduation rate of 52% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Pennsylvania Western University?

Pennsylvania Western University reports a total enrollment of 10,834 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Pennsylvania Western University?

The average net price at Pennsylvania Western University is $19,352 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Pennsylvania Western University?

Pennsylvania Western University's yield rate is 27.3%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Pennsylvania Western University located?

Pennsylvania Western University is located in California, Pennsylvania 15419.

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