Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger ProgramsPublic

Towson University

Towson, Maryland·Public, 4-year or above·Mid East·towson.edu
6-yr Graduation
69%
+8.5pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Total enrollment
19,401
peer median 17,683
Avg net price
$16,791
+$1.3k 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
19,777
19,777 candidates competed
Admitted
16,212
82.0% acceptance rate
Enrolled
2,947
18.2% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
69%+8.5pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
4-year graduation
47%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
69%
Full-time retention
83%

Pell equity

5.0pp gap
Pell recipients
66%
Non-Pell
71%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 5.0-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 131 Title IV programs, 56 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 1 fails. 74 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
131
Passing
56
42.7% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
1
0.8% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.8%
+0.2pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

131programs
  • Passing56 · 42.7%
  • No Data74 · 56.5%
  • Failing1 · 0.8%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
1
At Risk
1
Watch
3
Safe
52
No data
74

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.

57
Music
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
-0.6%
$36,285 vs $36,491
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+8.9%
$39,753 vs $36,491
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+13.8%
$70,385 vs $61,854
Radio Television and Digital Communication
Bachelor Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
+16.7%
$42,584 vs $36,491
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+23.0%
$76,069 vs $61,854
Linguistic Comparative and Related Language Studies and Services
Bachelor Degree · Foreign Languages, Literatures, And Linguistics
+27.3%
$46,447 vs $36,491
Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies General
Bachelor Degree · Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
+30.4%
$47,597 vs $36,491
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences General
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+31.1%
$81,097 vs $61,854

Near the line (±5%)

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

1
Music
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
-0.6%
$206

Debt vs earnings

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

43
Music
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
67%
$24,328 debt · $36,285 earn
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
62%
$47,500 debt · $76,069 earn
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
55%
$38,477 debt · $70,385 earn
Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies General
Bachelor Degree · Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
46%
$21,750 debt · $47,597 earn
Education General
Master's Degree · Education
45%
$28,000 debt · $61,994 earn
Radio Television and Digital Communication
Bachelor Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
44%
$18,750 debt · $42,584 earn
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences General
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
42%
$34,234 debt · $81,097 earn
Human Services General
Bachelor Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
41%
$21,125 debt · $52,223 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Accredited since 1949Next review Jan 2029

Programmatic accreditations · 15

Action history · 18

  1. Apr 2023Accreditation Reaffirmed: Probation Removed
    American Occupational Therapy Association, Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education · Occupational Therapy (OTD) - Programs leading to a Doctoral Degree
  2. Dec 2022Probation or Equivalent or a More Severe Status: Probation
    American Occupational Therapy Association, Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education · Occupational Therapy (OTD) - Programs leading to a Doctoral Degree
  3. Apr 2022Renewal of Accreditation
    American Occupational Therapy Association, Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education · Occupational Therapy (OTM) - Programs leading to a Master's Degree
  4. Mar 2022Renewal of Accreditation
    Middle States Commission on Higher Education
  5. Dec 2021Initial Accreditation
    American Occupational Therapy Association, Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education · Occupational Therapy (OTD) - Programs leading to a Doctoral Degree

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$6,677
$30–48k$10,748
$48–75k$16,686
$75–110k$22,490
$110k+$25,031

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

Avg net price
$16,791
+$1,306vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs median $15,485
Federal loans
43.1%
In-state tuition
$11,306
Out-of-state
$28,326

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 6,794 students received $39.7M in Pell grants, alongside $89.4M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
6,794
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$39.7M
$39,687,430 total
Direct Loans
$89.4M
13,581 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

6k
20
6k
21
6k
22
6k
23
7k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$19.7M
5,017 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$21.5M
5,785 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$11.3M
742 loan awards
Parent PLUS$35.1M
1,924 loan awards
Grad PLUS$1.7M
113 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 4,453 borrowers who entered repayment, 80 (1.7%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
1.7%
-0.6pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
4,453
Defaulted
80
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
3.5%
2017
3.8%
2018
2.7%
2019
1.7%
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 Towson

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs110
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

4,502 total completions
01Business
69815.5%
02Health Professions
69715.5%
03Education
65714.6%
04Computer Sciences
49511.0%
05Communication
4359.7%
06Psychology
4299.5%
07Social Sciences
3758.3%
08Parks/Recreation
2575.7%
09Biological Sciences
2375.3%
10Visual/Performing Arts
2224.9%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
19,401
12-mo unduplicated
21,858
Undergraduate
18,205
Graduate
3,653

Gender split

Men
39%8,472
Women
61%13,386

Race / ethnicity composition

White
40.9%
Black
32.8%
Hispanic
11.0%
Asian
7.0%
Two or more
5.7%
Non-resident
1.5%
Unknown
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
511
248 M · 263 W
Women athletes
51.5%
Athletic aid
$7.7M
Total student aid
Budget
$27.4M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$3.5M
$4.1M
Recruiting expense
$239K
$148K
Head-coach salaries
$247K
$110K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 13

Football
106 M ·
$5.2M
Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
· 101 W
$770K
Lacrosse
52 M · 34 W
$2.3M
Swimming and Diving (combined)
23 M · 28 W
$932K
Baseball
43 M ·
$856K
Basketball
15 M · 15 W
$4.4M

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
2.17
43 offenses · 19,793 students

3-year trend

1.462 yrs ago1.731 yr ago2.17Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
111
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
56
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
6
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
4

Criminal offenses by type

Aggravated assault
12
Rape
10
Fondling
7
Motor vehicle theft
6
Burglary
5
Robbery
2
Arson
1

By location

43total
  • On campus38
  • Non-campus3
  • Public property2

Includes 15 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

4
Domestic violence
8
Dating violence
6
Stalking
18 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

  • Race2

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons10
Drugs312
Liquor457

Residence-hall fires

  • Scarborough Hall1 fire
    A resident student was arrested for setting fire to a trash can in a residence hall's bathroom.Damage $100-$999

Data quality: 4 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)
951

Towson vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Towson 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
SubjectTowson University
69%19,401$16,791Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Salisbury University
68%87.5%7,025$16,456Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Bowie State University
38%72.4%6,353$19,335Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
CUNY Bernard M Baruch College
72%47.5%20,081$2,978Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
CUNY Queens College
53%64.3%15,965$3,830Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
University of Maryland Global Campus
20%63,012$14,514Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Peer group median61%68.4%17,683$15,485

Frequently asked questions about Towson University

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Towson.

What is the graduation rate at Towson University?

Towson University reports a 6-year graduation rate of 69% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Towson University?

Towson University reports a total enrollment of 19,401 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Towson University?

The average net price at Towson University is $16,791 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Towson University?

Towson University's yield rate is 18.2%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Towson University located?

Towson University is located in Towson, Maryland 21252-0001.

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