Chapman University

Overview

Rankings

• #8 Best Business Colleges in California
• #17 Best Communications Colleges in California
• #17 Best MBA Programs in California
• #27 Best Computer Science Colleges in California
• #27 Best Data Science Colleges in California
• #35 Best Colleges in California
• #38 Best Biology Colleges in California
• #41 Best Bachelor's Programs in California

Academics & Admissions

Is It Hard to Get Into Chapman University? Acceptance Rate & Requirements

Based in Orange, California, Chapman University offers a realistic path to admission, with roughly 65% of applicants receiving an offer. Admitted students typically arrive with an average SAT score near 1,357. The graduation rate is roughly 81%.

Acceptance Rate

65%

Retention Rate

92%

SAT Average

1357

ACT Midpoint

29

SAT Range

1260–1440

ACT Range

28–31

Full-Time Faculty

100%

Faculty Salary (mo)

$13,611

Student–Faculty Ratio

12:1

Diversity Index

0.70

First-Gen Students

18%

Applicants

13,690

Admitted

9,928

Inside the Admissions Office

School-reported Common Data Set · 2024-25

The acceptance rate tells you how hard Chapman University is to get into. Its Common Data Set tells you what happens once you are admitted: how many students say yes, how many arrived without test scores, and whether applying early tilts the odds.

Submitted SAT

14%

of enrolled freshmen

Submitted ACT

5%

of enrolled freshmen

Cost & Financial Aid

How Much Does It Cost to Attend Chapman University? Tuition, Net Price & Aid

Published tuition at Chapman University is $64,984, but few families pay that. The number to watch is net price, what students actually pay each year after federal grants and institutional scholarships. Here it averages about $46,555. Students from families earning under $30,000 typically pay closer to $33,559 after need-based grants. The median graduate leaves with about $20,500 in federal student loans.

In-State Tuition

$64,984

Out-of-State

$64,984

Avg Net Price

$46,555

Median Debt

$20,500

Pell Grant Rate

19%

Federal Loan Rate

60%

Students Like You

Tell us a little about yourself to see what students like you have typically experienced at Chapman University — the net price for your income, your admission odds, and the outcomes that follow. These are patterns from federal data, not predictions.

Graduate Outcomes

Is Chapman University Worth It? Graduate Earnings & ROI

Ten years out, alumni of Chapman University earn a median of $70,070, well above the national average for bachelor's degree holders.

6 Years After Entry

$58,080

8 Years

$67,467

10 Years

$70,070

Debt-to-Earnings

0.29x

Earning > $25K

73%

Social Mobility

Data: Raj Chetty's Mobility Report Card · 30M+ anonymized tax records

Does Chapman University Drive Upward Mobility? Economic Mobility & Low-Income Outcomes

Chapman University is a genuine engine of upward mobility. Its mobility rate, the share of students who start in the bottom income quintile and climb to the top, is 1.70%, well above the typical college. About 5.3% of students come from families in the bottom income quintile. Among bottom-quintile students who attend, roughly 31.9% go on to reach the top of the income ladder. The median family income of students sits near $109,600, a snapshot of the campus's socioeconomic mix.

Mobility Rate

1.70%

Bottom 20% → Top 20%

Success Rate

31.9%

If bottom 20% get in

From Bottom 20%

5.3%

Share of students

Parent Median Income

$148,908

today's $ (2015 cohort data)

Social Capital

Data: Opportunity Insights Social Capital Atlas

How Connected Is Chapman University? Social Capital & Cross-Class Networks

Social capital, the web of cross-class friendships that researchers link to long-run upward mobility, runs high at Chapman University. Its economic connectedness score is 1.90, where about 1.0 is the national norm. Its friending bias is low (-0.01), a sign that students from different economic backgrounds actually mix rather than self-segregate. Around 9% of students take part in civic and volunteering activity.

Economic Connectedness

1.90

Cross-class friendships

Friending Bias

-0.01

Lower = more inclusive

Volunteering Rate

9.3%

Support Ratio

1.00

Community support

Institutional Finances

Data: NCES IPEDS

Investment Income

$4,962,000

Top Programs

The fields Chapman University awards the most degrees in, by share of completions. Where federal field-of-study data exists, we show what graduates in that major earned early in their careers. Each links to its degree guide — or see what someone with your income, scores, and major would pay and earn here in the Students Like You simulator.

• Business & Marketing 31% $78,006 early-career
• Visual & Performing Arts 19% $61,913 early-career
• Communications 9% $54,380 early-career
• Psychology 9% $38,360 early-career
• Computer Science & IT 4% $82,387 early-career
• Health Professions 4% $52,890 early-career
• Biology & Biomedical 4% $32,990 early-career
• Social Sciences 4% $45,495 early-career

Early-career median earnings by major (typically 1–2 years after completion, bachelor's level where available), in today's dollars (CPI-adjusted). Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard field of study. Distinct from the school-wide 10-year median; suppressed for small programs.