Graduation Rates
Explore official Rutgers graduation data, trends, and key metrics.
Definitions
Select a term to view its definition.
4-Year Graduation Rate
The percentage of students in the adjusted cohort who earned a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers within four years of entering the university.
6-Year Graduation Rate
The percentage of students in the adjusted cohort who earned a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers within six years of entering the university.
Adjusted Cohort
The original cohort after removing students who meet allowable exclusion criteria under federal reporting guidelines, such as death, qualifying military service, or other approved circumstances.
Bachelor's Degree-Seeking Student
An undergraduate student who, at the time of entry, is seeking a bachelor’s or equivalent degree. Students seeking other types of credentials are not included in the bachelor’s degree-seeking cohort.
Campus
One of four Chancellor Led Units at Rutgers University: Camden, New Brunswick, Newark, or Rutgers Health. For federal reporting, Rutgers Health is combined with New Brunswick.
Cohort
The group of first-time, full-time, bachelor’s degree-seeking students who enter Rutgers during the fall term or the immediately preceding summer. Students who first enter in the spring are not included.
Cohort Year
The calendar year of the fall term in which the cohort enters Rutgers.
First-Time Student
An undergraduate student attending college for the first time after completing high school. College coursework completed while in high school, including dual enrollment, does not affect first-time status. Students who first enroll in college during the summer immediately preceding fall entry are also considered first-time.
Full-Time Student
A student enrolled in the number of credit hours required for full-time status based on their academic level and term. For this dashboard, full-time status is defined as an undergraduate student enrolled in 12 or more credit hours during the entry fall term.
Pell Status
Indicates whether a student received a Federal Pell Grant upon entry into the cohort. Pell Grants are federal grants for undergraduate students with demonstrated financial need.
Residency
The student's residency classification for tuition and/or institutional reporting purposes. Students who are legal residents of New Jersey are classified as In-State; students who are not legal residents of New Jersey are classified as Out-of-State.
FAQs
Select a question to view the answer.
How are graduation rates calculated?
The graduation rate is calculated by dividing the number of students in the adjusted cohort who earned a Rutgers bachelor’s degree within the specified timeframe by the total number of students in the adjusted cohort.
Does a 6-year graduation rate mean that students took six years to graduate?
No. A 6-year graduation rate includes students who earned a bachelor’s degree at any point within six years of entering the cohort. For example, students who graduate in three, four, or five years are all included in the 6-year graduation rate.
What happens if a student transfers, stops out, or leaves Rutgers?
A student who leaves Rutgers and does not subsequently earn a Rutgers bachelor’s degree within the applicable timeframe is not counted as a graduate in the Rutgers graduation rate. A student who transfers and graduates from another institution is therefore not counted as a Rutgers graduate for this measure.
Why might a student who graduated from Rutgers not appear in the graduation rate?
A student must first be part of the defined cohort to be included in the graduation-rate calculation. For example, a transfer student, a student who entered part-time, or a student who first entered in the spring may later earn a Rutgers bachelor’s degree but is not part of this cohort.
Why might a graduation rate be unavailable for a recent cohort?
Graduation rates require sufficient time to observe degree completion. A 4-year graduation rate cannot be calculated until the four-year period has elapsed, and a 6-year graduation rate cannot be calculated until the six-year period has elapsed.
Are Pharmacy students included in the Graduation metrics?
Pharmacy students are excluded from these metrics because these rates are designed for first-time, full-time, bachelor’s-degree-seeking undergraduate cohorts. Pharmacy students pursue a professional PharmD degree through a distinct academic pathway and, therefore, are not included in the standard undergraduate cohorts used to calculate these measures.
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