Wagner College
About
Wagner College is a private college in Staten Island, New York, United States. It was established in 1883 and, as of the 2023–2024 academic year, it enrolled approximately 1,932 students, including 1,592 undergraduates and 340 graduates. Its theatre program consistently ranks among the top collegiate programs and was awarded the #2 spot in The Princeton Review's 2025 rankings. Additionally, Wagner offers academic programs in nursing and business. The institution is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
Admissions & acceptance rate
First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.
Graduation rate & outcomes
Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.
Pell equity
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 51 Title IV programs, 11 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 40 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing11 · 21.6%
- No Data40 · 78.4%
- Failing0 · 0.0%
Severity spectrum
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.
Debt vs earnings
Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.
Accreditation status & history
Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.
Middle States Commission on Higher Education
Programmatic accreditations · 5
Action history · 5
- Oct 2024Renewal of AccreditationAccreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. — May 6, 2013 Formerly: National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission · Nursing (NUR) - Baccalaureate program
- Oct 2024Renewal of AccreditationAccreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. — May 6, 2013 Formerly: National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission · Nursing (MNUR) - Master's program
- Mar 2022Renewal of AccreditationMiddle States Commission on Higher Education
- Jun 2021Approved for Distance EducationMiddle States Commission on Higher Education
- Jan 2021Approved for Distance EducationMiddle States Commission on Higher Education
Tuition & cost
What families actually pay, broken down by family income.
Net price by family income
Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.
Federal aid volume & trends
Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.
In AY 2024–25, 464 students received $2.9M in Pell grants, alongside $13.6M in federal Direct Loans.
Pell recipients · 5-year trend
Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25
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.
Student loan default rate
The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.
Of 515 borrowers who entered repayment, 7 (1.3%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.
Default rate vs national, by cohort
* 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.
Academic programs at Wagner College
Top program areas ranked by completions.
Top program families by completions
Enrollment trends & demographics
Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.
Gender split
Race / ethnicity composition
Athletics & Title IX gender equity
How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.
Men vs women · spending splits
Sport-by-sport · 15
Campus safety & crime statistics
Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.
3-year trend
Criminal offenses by type
By location
- On campus10
Includes 9 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
No hate crimes reported.
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
Wagner College vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions Wagner College selected for federal comparison reporting.
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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectWagner College | 65% | — | 2,001 | $27,733 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
Augustana University | 73% | 67.7% | 2,390 | $24,723 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
Buena Vista University | 62% | 77.6% | 1,890 | $18,321 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
Caldwell University | 57% | 71.3% | 2,005 | $21,188 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
California Institute of the Arts | 67% | 32.3% | 1,277 | $47,183 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
Chaminade University of Honolulu | 65% | 91.4% | 2,709 | $28,061 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
Christian Brothers University | 55% | 86.7% | 1,772 | $10,896 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
Columbia International University | 46% | 94.5% | 2,914 | $21,660 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
Evangel University | 65% | 71.6% | 2,289 | $18,705 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
Felician University | 47% | 94.0% | 2,427 | $41,315 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
Franklin Pierce University | 54% | 93.5% | 1,654 | $26,906 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
Freed-Hardeman University | 69% | 59.7% | 2,306 | $20,082 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
Grace College and Theological Seminary | 69% | 82.1% | 2,304 | $18,406 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
John Brown University | 72% | 76.1% | 2,350 | $21,144 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
Kettering University | 71% | 78.7% | 1,466 | $33,092 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
King's College | 60% | 93.1% | 1,939 | $23,281 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
Madonna University | 60% | 63.4% | 2,124 | $17,815 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
McKendree University | 53% | 71.7% | 2,392 | $24,190 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
Mid-America Christian University | 39% | 91.8% | 2,397 | $17,123 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
Mount Saint Mary College | 65% | 88.9% | 2,491 | $23,736 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
Mount Vernon Nazarene University | 68% | 84.1% | 1,671 | $21,812 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
Neumann University | 53% | 81.3% | 2,244 | $28,714 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
Newman University | 51% | 74.0% | 2,939 | $19,045 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
Northwestern College | 66% | 80.4% | 1,705 | $23,519 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
Siena Heights University | 39% | 68.9% | 1,781 | $17,185 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
University of Dubuque | 40% | 88.6% | 1,757 | $23,250 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
University of Evansville | 65% | 77.6% | 2,114 | $20,230 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
University of Saint Francis-Fort Wayne | 54% | 96.0% | 1,763 | $20,361 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
Vanguard University of Southern California | 57% | 62.4% | 2,246 | $19,761 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs |
| Peer group median | 60% | 79.5% | 2,124 | $21,660 |
Reports & documents (1)
Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.
Grants & funding (2)
Federal grant awards and open funding opportunities awarded to this institution.
Notable alumni of Wagner College (7)
A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.
- Dawn AponteSports management
- Regina Askia-WilliamsEntertainment and health
- Peter L. BergerSociology
- Jedediah BilaMedia
- Nicole MalliotakisPolitics
- Guy MolinariPolitics
- Paul ZindelLiterature
Frequently asked questions about Wagner College
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Wagner College.
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