BaccalaureatePrivate nonprofitHBCU

Shaw University

Raleigh, North Carolina·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Southeast·shawu.edu
6-yr Graduation
22%
-17.5pp vs Baccalaureate
Total enrollment
964
peer median 963
Avg net price
$14,083
-$6.9k vs Baccalaureate
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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
7,390
7,390 candidates competed
Admitted
5,924
80.2% acceptance rate
Enrolled
243
4.1% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
22%-17.5pp vs Baccalaureate
4-year graduation
10%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
22%
Full-time retention
52%

Pell equity

2.0pp gap
Pell recipients
20%
Non-Pell
22%

Pell and non-Pell students graduate at nearly identical rates — a notably small equity gap.

Program outcomes

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

Of 70 Title IV programs, 4 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 1 fails. 65 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
70
Passing
4
5.7% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
1
1.4% of portfolio
Fail rate
1.4%
+0.8pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

70programs
  • Passing4 · 5.7%
  • No Data65 · 92.9%
  • Failing1 · 1.4%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
1
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
4
No data
65

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.

5
Communication and Media Studies
Bachelor Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
-11.4%
$28,545 vs $32,203
Criminal Justice and Corrections
Bachelor Degree · Security And Protective Services
+34.5%
$43,299 vs $32,203
Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness
Bachelor Degree · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, And Fitness Studies
+36.7%
$44,010 vs $32,203
Social Work
Bachelor Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
+45.9%
$46,981 vs $32,203
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+47.2%
$47,401 vs $32,203

Debt vs earnings

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

4
Communication and Media Studies
Bachelor Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
121%
$34,658 debt · $28,545 earn
Social Work
Bachelor Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
75%
$35,063 debt · $46,981 earn
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
69%
$32,515 debt · $47,401 earn
Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness
Bachelor Degree · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, And Fitness Studies
61%
$26,875 debt · $44,010 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges

Accredited since 1943Next review Jun 2028

Programmatic accreditations · 2

Action history · 9

  1. Jun 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools · Theology (THEOL) - Freestanding schools, as well as programs affiliated with larger institutions, offering graduate professional education for ministry and graduate study of theology
  2. Feb 2024Renewal of Accreditation
    Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools · Theology (THEOL) - Freestanding schools, as well as programs affiliated with larger institutions, offering graduate professional education for ministry and graduate study of theology
  3. Mar 2023Renewal of Accreditation
    Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools · Theology (THEOL) - Freestanding schools, as well as programs affiliated with larger institutions, offering graduate professional education for ministry and graduate study of theology
  4. Dec 2022Renewal of Accreditation
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  5. Jun 2021Accreditation Reaffirmed: Warning Removed
    Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools · Theology (THEOL) - Freestanding schools, as well as programs affiliated with larger institutions, offering graduate professional education for ministry and graduate study of theology

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$12,125
$30–48k$14,508
$48–75k$16,310
$75–110k$15,059
$110k+$24,706

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

Avg net price (private)
$14,083
-$6,937vs Baccalaureate median $21,021
Federal loans
58.4%
In-state tuition
$17,176
Out-of-state
$17,176

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 654 students received $3.9M in Pell grants, alongside $6.2M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
654
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$3.9M
$3,918,081 total
Direct Loans
$6.2M
1,338 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$2.3M
601 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$2.0M
564 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$728K
53 loan awards
Parent PLUS$1.3M
120 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 725 borrowers who entered repayment, 67 (9.2%) defaulted within three years above the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
9.2%
+6.9pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
725
Defaulted
67
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
21.3%
2017
21.4%
2018
25.1%
2019
9.2%
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 Shaw

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs24
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

160 total completions
01Theology
3924.4%
02Business
3018.8%
03Parks/Recreation
2515.6%
04Security/Protective
1610.0%
05Education
127.5%
06Psychology
95.6%
07Communication
85.0%
08Social Sciences
74.4%
09Computer Sciences
74.4%
10Biological Sciences
74.4%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
964
12-mo unduplicated
1,078
Undergraduate
941
Graduate
137

Gender split

Men
47%508
Women
53%570

Race / ethnicity composition

Black
63.2%
Unknown
13.7%
Non-resident
10.5%
Two or more
5.0%
Hispanic
3.8%
White
2.7%
Asian
0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.2%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

Athletes
366
218 M · 148 W
Women athletes
40.4%
Athletic aid
$2.6M
Total student aid
Budget
$5.6M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$1.4M
$1.1M
Recruiting expense
$48K
$47K
Head-coach salaries
$51K
$37K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 9

Football
118 M ·
$1.4M
Soccer
57 M · 37 W
$825K
Basketball
33 M · 17 W
$1.2M
Track and Field (Outdoor)
· 32 W
$154K
Cross Country
10 M · 20 W
$310K
Softball
· 19 W
$172K

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
19.68
21 offenses · 1,067 students

3-year trend

4.682 yrs ago3.511 yr ago19.68Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
31
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
2
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Motor vehicle theft
8
Robbery
5
Aggravated assault
5
Arson
2
Burglary
1

By location

21total
  • On campus2
  • Public property19

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
Weapons11
Drugs1210
Liquor73

Residence-hall fires

No residence-hall fires reported.

Data quality: 9 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
14.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
52

Shaw vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Shaw 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
SubjectShaw University
22%964$14,083Baccalaureate
William Peace University
45%94.3%722$21,728Baccalaureate
Mars Hill University
45%67.9%1,110$20,313Baccalaureate
Saint Augustine's University
25%33.8%175$17,740Baccalaureate
Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte
34%79.9%1,184$28,901Baccalaureate
Montreat College
48%69.2%962$26,328Baccalaureate
Peer group median40%69.2%963$21,021

Frequently asked questions about Shaw University

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Shaw.

What is the graduation rate at Shaw University?

Shaw University reports a 6-year graduation rate of 22% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Shaw University?

Shaw University reports a total enrollment of 964 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Shaw University?

The average net price at Shaw University is $14,083 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Shaw University?

Shaw University's yield rate is 4.1%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Shaw University located?

Shaw University is located in Raleigh, North Carolina 27601.

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