Brandeis University
Waltham, Massachusetts
Brandeis University is a private nonprofit institution in Waltham, Massachusetts enrolling 3,618 students, according to the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. The acceptance rate is 40.5% with an average SAT of 1,462. Graduates earn a median of $77,231 ten years after enrollment, based on U.S. Treasury tax records linked to federal financial aid data. The average net price after financial aid is $35,736. This profile includes admissions data, graduation rates, program-level earnings, and cost breakdowns to help students compare colleges using official federal data.
What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Brandeis University
Brandeis University operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Waltham, Massachusetts (city: small), with a total reported enrollment of 3,618 students of which 3,942 are undergraduates. Institution-level records in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classify each school by Carnegie category, ownership sector, and urban/rural locale, which is how this profile’s peer group and cost cohort are determined. Brandeis University is categorized as “15” under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.
Selectivity and financial signals give context to what applicants can expect. The reported admission rate is 40.5%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,462 and an ACT midpoint of 33. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $35,736, with published in-state tuition of $68,080 and a Pell grant recipient share of 15.0%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $25,648, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.
Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 86.1%, and the first-year retention rate is 87.0%. Graduates earn a median of $77,231 ten years after enrolling, compared with $52,967 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 104500.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 73.2% of graduates earn above the high-school threshold. Treating these numbers as a single snapshot alongside the cost cohort is the standard approach for evaluating ROI under the College Scorecard methodology.
Quick Facts
Admissions
| Admission Rate | 40.5% |
| SAT Average | 1,462 |
| SAT Math (25th-75th) | 700 – 770 |
| SAT Reading (25th-75th) | 690 – 750 |
| ACT Average | 33 |
| ACT (25th-75th) | 31 – 34 |
Costs & Financial Aid
Tuition & Net Price
| In-State Tuition | $68,080 |
| Out-of-State Tuition | $68,080 |
| Average Net Price | $35,736 |
Net Price by Family Income
| $0 – $30,000 | $13,363 |
| $30,001 – $48,000 | $15,135 |
| $48,001 – $75,000 | $20,536 |
| Over $110,000 | $54,885 |
Student Demographics
Outcomes
Programs & Earnings
| Program | Credential | Completers | Median Earnings | Median Debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer and Information Sciences, General | Master's | 17 | $159,137 | — |
| Computer Science | Bachelor's | 99 | $123,460 | $26,142 |
| Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management | Master's | 70 | $122,038 | — |
| Business/Commerce, General | Bachelor's | 127 | $108,405 | $26,000 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | Master's | 108 | $102,843 | $48,240 |
| Economics | Bachelor's | 125 | $95,872 | $25,295 |
| Computer Science | Master's | 28 | $94,408 | — |
| Economics | Master's | 64 | $87,354 | $28,500 |
| Mathematics | Bachelor's | 21 | $85,681 | $26,559 |
| Public Policy Analysis | Master's | 96 | $79,908 | $41,000 |
| International Business | Master's | 15 | $79,450 | — |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services | Bachelor's | 15 | $78,746 | — |
| Public Policy Analysis | Bachelor's | 111 | $75,580 | $25,000 |
| Political Science and Government | Bachelor's | 61 | $74,018 | $23,333 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research | Bachelor's | 24 | $73,936 | — |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies | Bachelor's | 19 | $73,256 | $24,226 |
| Neurobiology and Neurosciences | Bachelor's | 60 | $68,179 | $26,000 |
| Research and Experimental Psychology | Bachelor's | 114 | $67,838 | $26,787 |
| International/Globalization Studies | Bachelor's | 50 | $66,366 | $25,694 |
| Sociology | Bachelor's | 40 | $65,481 | $27,000 |
| English Language and Literature, General | Bachelor's | 25 | $62,291 | $26,000 |
| History | Bachelor's | 38 | $59,426 | $23,250 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft | Bachelor's | 6 | $58,676 | — |
| Biology, General | Bachelor's | 154 | $58,384 | $25,484 |
| Anthropology | Bachelor's | 22 | $57,423 | $26,000 |
| Community Organization and Advocacy | Master's | 39 | $57,318 | — |
| Area Studies | Bachelor's | 40 | $54,306 | $26,000 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods | Master's | 19 | $51,106 | — |
| Area Studies | Master's | 1 | $47,260 | — |
| Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution | Master's | 15 | $40,467 | — |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies | Bachelor's | 11 | $40,368 | — |
| Education, General | Bachelor's | 17 | $39,009 | — |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other | Bachelor's | 10 | $37,568 | — |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology | Bachelor's | 16 | $37,208 | $27,000 |
| Chemistry | Bachelor's | 20 | $36,774 | $25,484 |
| Fine and Studio Arts | Bachelor's | 14 | $36,141 | — |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts | Bachelor's | 14 | $28,960 | — |
| Philosophy | Bachelor's | 28 | $28,598 | — |
Frequently Asked Questions
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Guides & Resources
Analyze the financial return of a degree
Which fields of study pay off fastest
Schools where graduates earn the most vs. cost
A data-driven framework for picking schools
How College Scorecard measures outcomes
Compare costs, outcomes, and career paths
Related Colleges
Other private nonprofit institutions in Massachusetts
Related Data Sources
Research Waltham, Massachusetts with related datasets
Data Sources
Data as of 2024-25 academic year. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
Primary: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard. Data reflects most recent available year.
Institutional characteristics: IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) institutional characteristics file.
Earnings: Median earnings 6 and 10 years after enrollment, from U.S. Treasury tax records linked to federal student aid data.
Program data: Credential-level earnings from the College Scorecard Field of Study dataset.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
All federal data sources used on this page
- NCES IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) — enrollment, completions, finance, faculty for every U.S. college. nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- College Scorecard — U.S. Dept of Education outcomes data — earnings, debt, completion. collegescorecard.ed.gov
- NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) — K-12 → college transition data. nces.ed.gov/ccd
- NSC StudentTracker — enrollment and completion outcomes by institution. nscresearchcenter.org
- Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections — occupation outlook by education level. bls.gov/emp
- U.S. Census Bureau ACS — educational attainment + degree population. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
Earnings data sourced from IRS records via the U.S. Treasury–Department of Education matching used by the College Scorecard.