BaccalaureatePrivate nonprofitHBCU

Spelman College

Atlanta, Georgia·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Southeast·spelman.edu
6-yr Graduation
78%
+14.0pp vs Baccalaureate
Total enrollment
3,417
peer median 1,441
Avg net price
$36,828
+$12k 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
12,023
12,023 candidates competed
Admitted
2,990
24.9% acceptance rate
Enrolled
705
23.6% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
78%+14.0pp vs Baccalaureate
4-year graduation
70%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
78%
Full-time retention
94%

Pell equity

1.0pp gap
Pell recipients
76%
Non-Pell
75%

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 31 Title IV programs, 10 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 1 fails. 20 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
31
Passing
10
32.3% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
1
3.2% of portfolio
Fail rate
3.2%
+2.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

31programs
  • Passing10 · 32.3%
  • No Data20 · 64.5%
  • Failing1 · 3.2%

Severity spectrum

Critical
1
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
10
No data
20

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.

11
Ethnic Cultural Minority Gender and Group Studies
Bachelor Degree · Area, Ethnic, Cultural, And Gender Studies
-27.8%
$25,137 vs $34,808
Biology General
Bachelor Degree · Biological And Biomedical Sciences
+40.8%
$48,995 vs $34,808
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
+44.7%
$50,364 vs $34,808
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
+51.6%
$52,775 vs $34,808
International/Globalization Studies
Bachelor Degree · Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
+62.4%
$56,538 vs $34,808
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences General
Bachelor Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+75.2%
$60,978 vs $34,808
English Language and Literature General
Bachelor Degree · English Language And Literature/Letters
+79.3%
$62,425 vs $34,808
Sociology
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
+79.8%
$62,587 vs $34,808

Debt vs earnings

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

11
Ethnic Cultural Minority Gender and Group Studies
Bachelor Degree · Area, Ethnic, Cultural, And Gender Studies
105%
$26,495 debt · $25,137 earn
Biology General
Bachelor Degree · Biological And Biomedical Sciences
54%
$26,500 debt · $48,995 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
52%
$26,000 debt · $50,364 earn
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
51%
$26,767 debt · $52,775 earn
International/Globalization Studies
Bachelor Degree · Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
46%
$25,711 debt · $56,538 earn
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences General
Bachelor Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
43%
$26,000 debt · $60,978 earn
English Language and Literature General
Bachelor Degree · English Language And Literature/Letters
40%
$24,979 debt · $62,425 earn
Political Science and Government
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
39%
$25,750 debt · $66,378 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 1932Next review Jun 2031

Programmatic accreditations · 2

Action history · 3

  1. Jun 2021Renewal of Accreditation
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  2. Dec 2017Renewal of Accreditation
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  3. Aug 2014Change in Agency recognition
    National Association of Schools of Music, Commission on Accreditation · Music (MUS) - Institutions and units within institutions offering degree-granting and/or non-degree-granting programs

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$31,898
$30–48k$31,961
$48–75k$34,390
$75–110k$35,209
$110k+$42,201

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

Avg net price (private)
$36,828
+$12,300vs Baccalaureate median $24,528
Federal loans
57.7%
In-state tuition
$30,058
Out-of-state
$30,058

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 1,158 students received $6.9M in Pell grants, alongside $45.3M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
1,158
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$6.9M
$6,880,440 total
Direct Loans
$45.3M
3,337 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$4.9M
1,110 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$3.7M
1,146 loan awards
Parent PLUS$36.7M
1,081 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 523 borrowers who entered repayment, 11 (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
523
Defaulted
11
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
5.0%
2017
5.6%
2018
3.5%
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 Spelman College

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs42
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

441 total completions
01Social Sciences
11325.6%
02Psychology
8920.2%
03Biological Sciences
6915.6%
04Health Professions
4810.9%
05Multi/Interdisciplinary
327.3%
06Visual/Performing Arts
255.7%
07English Language
225.0%
08Area/Ethnic Studies
163.6%
09Education
143.2%
10Mathematics
132.9%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
3,417
12-mo unduplicated
4,039
Undergraduate
4,039
Graduate
0

Gender split

Men
8%313
Women
92%3,726

Race / ethnicity composition

Black
73.6%
Unknown
20.2%
White
3.1%
Two or more
0.9%
Asian
0.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.6%
Non-resident
0.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.1%

Campus safety & crime statistics

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

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
4.19
13 offenses · 3,102 students

3-year trend

0.912 yrs ago4.961 yr ago4.19Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
27
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
10
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Burglary
7
Aggravated assault
3
Robbery
1
Fondling
1
Motor vehicle theft
1

By location

13total
  • On campus6
  • Non-campus7

Includes 5 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

0
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
3
Stalking
3 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons00
Drugs08
Liquor033

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
11.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
203

Spelman College vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Spelman 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
SubjectSpelman College
78%3,417$36,828Baccalaureate
Morehouse College
59%44.0%2,847$35,949Baccalaureate
Oglethorpe University
54%88.4%1,425$21,735Baccalaureate
Young Harris College
42%62.6%1,457$11,008Baccalaureate
Agnes Scott College
71%62.2%1,079$24,224Baccalaureate
Covenant College
69%86.5%1,100$24,832Baccalaureate
Peer group median64%62.6%1,441$24,528

Frequently asked questions about Spelman College

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

What is the graduation rate at Spelman College?

Spelman College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 78% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Spelman College?

Spelman College reports a total enrollment of 3,417 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Spelman College?

The average net price at Spelman College is $36,828 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Spelman College?

Spelman College's yield rate is 23.6%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Spelman College located?

Spelman College is located in Atlanta, Georgia 30314-4399.

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