undergradly.
Public Research University

University of
Rhode Island

Public Research University in Kingston, RI. Six-year graduation rate 72%. Median 10-year earnings $69,743.

Verdict Solid outcomes
University of Rhode Island · Campus
Median earnings · 10 yr
$69,743
Median debt at grad
$22,250
Mobility score
1.6
% bottom→top quintile
Graduation rate
72.4%
Federal loan default
0%

Ten-year median earnings of $69,743 are the headline number here, and they are strong ones. The six-year graduation rate of 72% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Graduates carry a median of $22,250 in debt — in line with the national norm.

Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.

Green Flags
  • Debt-to-income ratio 0.32 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
  • 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Red Flags

Admissions

Acceptance rate
72%
Applicants
26,987
Yield rate
15.4%

University of Rhode Island accepts 72% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. With 26,987 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. A 15% yield rate is low: the admitted pool is much larger than the entering class. The score bands below rest on the 27% of enrolled first-years who submitted an SAT score — a self-selected group, and not a cutoff.

Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)

These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.

Test 25th–75th percentile Submitted
SAT Evidence-Based Reading 520–650 820 (27%)
SAT Math 500–630
ACT Composite

IPEDS Admissions · 2024

Apply at University of Rhode Island →

Academics

Full-time retention
84%
Transfer-out rate
18%
Student:faculty
17:1

Six-year completion runs to 72% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. 84% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. Transfer-out runs to 18% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. Retention drops to 48% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic. The student-faculty ratio is 17:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major.

Financial Aid

Average net price
$24,118
Full-time, first-time undergraduates paying the in-state rate who were awarded grant or scholarship aid
% receiving grants
88%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
% receiving federal loans
52%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 13,822 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

Average net price after grant aid is $24,118 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $14,368 at the $0–30k band to $28,460 at $110k+. Grant aid is widespread — 88% of students receive it, averaging $12,851. Federal borrowing reaches 52% of students.

Entering first-year students

A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.

% receiving grants
96%
Average grant
$12,578

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 3,264 students

Net price by family income

The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.

Family income band Average net price
$0–30k $14,368
$30–48k $12,923
$48–75k $17,803
$75–110k $23,394
$110k+ $28,460

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Federal student loans went to 7,211 of these 13,822 students, totalling $44,829,082 — an average of $6,217 each.

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Local housing costs

Typical rents near campus (Washington County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.

Studio
$1,330/mo
1 bedroom
$1,389/mo
2 bedroom (whole unit)
$1,726/mo

HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026

Veterans & GI Bill

GI Bill students
433
Yellow Ribbon
No
Principles of Excellence
Yes

VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)

Compare University of Rhode Island with peer institutions

How we evaluate University of Rhode Island

IPEDS
US Department of Education
College Scorecard
Post-grad earnings
Census PSEO
Earnings by major
Opportunity Insights
Mobility by institution
Read our full methodology →