Radford University

Overview

Rankings

• #1 Best Nursing Colleges in Virginia
• #3 Best Criminal Justice Colleges in Virginia
• #9 Best Online Criminal Justice Programs in Virginia
• #10 Best Online Colleges in Virginia
• #10 Best MBA Programs in Virginia
• #11 Best Online Nursing Programs in Virginia
• #11 Best Online Education Programs in Virginia
• #12 Best Colleges in Virginia

Academics & Admissions

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

Radford University, located in Radford, Virginia, admits most of the students who apply; the acceptance rate is roughly 90%. Admitted students typically arrive with an average SAT score near 1,060. The graduation rate is roughly 49%.

Acceptance Rate

90%

Retention Rate

76%

SAT Average

1060

ACT Midpoint

21

SAT Range

940–1160

ACT Range

19–26

Full-Time Faculty

68%

Faculty Salary (mo)

$9,967

Student–Faculty Ratio

12:1

Diversity Index

0.55

First-Gen Students

31%

Applicants

11,442

Admitted

10,680

Inside the Admissions Office

School-reported Common Data Set · 2025-26

The acceptance rate tells you how hard Radford 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. 17% of admitted students go on to enroll here, making it a school most admitted students ultimately pass on.

Yield Rate

17%

of admits enroll

Submitted SAT

11%

of enrolled freshmen

Cost & Financial Aid

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

Published tuition at Radford University is $25,633, 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 $14,578. Students from families earning under $30,000 typically pay closer to $8,965 after need-based grants. The median graduate leaves with about $24,000 in federal student loans.

In-State Tuition

$12,548

Out-of-State

$25,633

Avg Net Price

$14,578

Median Debt

$24,000

Pell Grant Rate

37%

Federal Loan Rate

51%

Students Like You

Tell us a little about yourself to see what students like you have typically experienced at Radford 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 Radford University Worth It? Graduate Earnings & ROI

Ten years out, alumni of Radford University earn a median of $53,739, roughly in line with the national average for college graduates.

6 Years After Entry

$44,830

8 Years

$50,773

10 Years

$53,739

Debt-to-Earnings

0.45x

Earning > $25K

72%

Where Grads Go

Top employers of Radford University’s MBA graduates, by hires reported in the school’s employment report.

• Carilion Clinic ✓ Verified

  Healthcare & hospitals

Social Mobility

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

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

Radford University is a measurable contributor to upward mobility. Its mobility rate, the share of students who start in the bottom income quintile and climb to the top, is 0.97%, in line with strong performers nationally. About 4.4% of students come from families in the bottom income quintile. Among bottom-quintile students who attend, roughly 22% go on to reach the top of the income ladder. The median family income of students sits near $101,700, a snapshot of the campus's socioeconomic mix.

Mobility Rate

0.97%

Bottom 20% → Top 20%

Success Rate

22.0%

If bottom 20% get in

From Bottom 20%

4.4%

Share of students

Parent Median Income

$138,175

today's $ (2015 cohort data)

Social Capital

Data: Opportunity Insights Social Capital Atlas

How Connected Is Radford 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 Radford University. Its economic connectedness score is 1.65, where about 1.0 is the national norm. Its friending bias is low (-0.02), a sign that students from different economic backgrounds actually mix rather than self-segregate. Around 6% of students take part in civic and volunteering activity.

Economic Connectedness

1.65

Cross-class friendships

Friending Bias

-0.02

Lower = more inclusive

Volunteering Rate

5.6%

Support Ratio

1.00

Community support

Innovation & Knowledge Creation

Patents, inventors, and research influence · Opportunity Insights & Times Higher Education

Radford University produces inventors at a measurable rate, with 14 patents tied to its graduates.

Inventor Rate

0.16%

Top 82% nationally

Patents Produced

14

Linked to graduates

Inventors From Low-Income

0.25%

Bottom-20% families

Institutional Finances

Data: NCES IPEDS

Federal Grants

$5,555,150

Investment Income

$278,322

Top Programs

The fields Radford 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.

• Health Professions 31% $68,162 early-career
• Business & Marketing 14% $60,427 early-career
• Psychology 6% $34,278 early-career
• Visual & Performing Arts 6% $39,544 early-career
• Criminal Justice 6% $42,120 early-career
• Social Sciences 5% $48,746 early-career
• Computer Science & IT 5% $73,093 early-career
• Biology & Biomedical 4% $34,625 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.