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Murray State University
Admissions & graduation
Selectivity, enrollment, and graduation outcomes.
Acceptance rate
85.7%
Most recent year: 2024
Enrolled, first-time
1,562
Most recent year: 2024
17.4% yield
Graduation rate
64.1%
6-year cohort, 2024; 1,205 students
Completion within 8 years, all students
63%
Students who started in 2016-17 (2,391), including part-time and transfer students
First-time, full-time students: 60% (1,526)
Student-to-faculty ratio
17:1
Most recent year: 2024
Test scores
SAT (median): 530 EBRW / 530 Math
ACT composite (median): 23
Most recent year: 2024; students who submitted scores (many schools do not require them)
Test score ranges, fall 2024
SAT middle half: 480–600 reading and writing, 460–570 math (19% of new students submitted)
ACT composite middle half: 19–26 (82% of new students submitted)
25th to 75th percentile of enrolled first-time students who submitted scores; students who did not submit are not counted
Acceptance rate trend
Source: NCES IPEDS (Admissions)
By race and ethnicity
By aid received
From IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) and the Pell Grant / Direct Subsidized Loan graduation-rate component, 2024-25 collection. Rate is completers within 150% of normal program time divided by the adjusted cohort. Groups with fewer than 30 students are not shown. The headline graduation rate above comes from a different IPEDS file with a slightly different cohort definition, so an all-students figure here can differ from it by a point or two. Differences between groups reflect many things besides the school itself, such as who enrolls and how much support students have.
By gender
By race and ethnicity
Online learning
From the IPEDS Fall Enrollment (EF) survey, fall 2024 headcount of all enrolled students. IPEDS reports gender as men and women and race and ethnicity in federal categories; nonresident students are not classified by race. Online learning counts students taking distance-education courses in fall 2024 (IPEDS Fall Enrollment, distance education). These figures describe who enrolls, not how any group fares at the school. The Department of Education has not endorsed MajorPays' presentation.
Over the 2023-24 year, 11,887 different students were enrolled at some point, including 1,682 high school students taking college courses. Source: NCES IPEDS 12-month Enrollment, 2023-24 (every student enrolled at any time during the year, counted once; high school students are counted in the total; provisional data). A count of people enrolled, not a measure of quality.
Total enrollment trend (fall headcount)
Source: NCES IPEDS Fall Enrollment, total headcount of all students each fall (2019 to 2024; the 2024 figure is provisional). A school that merges, adds or closes a campus, or changes which campuses it reports together, can show a sudden jump that is not a change in students.
Graduation rate trend
Source: NCES IPEDS Graduation Rates, the share of each entering class that completed a bachelor’s degree (four-year schools) or any award (two-year schools) within 150% of normal time (6 or 3 years); the entering class is six or three years before the survey year shown; the 2024 figure is provisional; less-than-two-year schools are not included
Degrees awarded trend
Source: NCES IPEDS Completions, degrees awarded each academic year (associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral, first majors; 2023-24 is a provisional release): the number of awards, not of people, and not a measure of quality. A school that merges, adds or closes a campus, or changes which campuses it reports together, can show a sudden jump that is not a change in students.
Students who return for year two
76%
Full-time retention rate
First-generation students
34%
Of students who received federal aid
Part-time undergraduates
9%
Share of undergraduates
Undergraduates age 25 or older
9%
Share of undergraduates
Median family income
$46,064
Students who received federal aid
Loan repayment, 3 years
57%
Borrowers who repaid at least $1 of principal
From the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Creative Commons Attribution), most recent release. Retention is the share of first-time, full-time students who return the next fall. First-generation share and median family income describe students who received federal aid. Repayment is the share of student borrowers who had repaid at least $1 of their loan principal within three years of entering repayment, not the share who paid in full. MajorPays has selected and reorganized these figures; the Department of Education has not endorsed them.
Admission policy
Selective or limited
Has admission requirements
Undergraduate application fee
$40
Academic calendar
Semester
Campus housing
3,302 spaces
Meal plan offered
Athletics
NCAA member
Undergraduates registered with disabilities
9%
Share of undergraduates
From the IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey (2024-25 collection, provisional; housing, meal plan and application fee from the Cost component). Open admission means the school admits students without selective criteria for most programs. Services and opportunities are those the school reported offering. The Department of Education has not endorsed MajorPays’ presentation.
Finished here 51.0%; Finished at another school 10.9%; Still enrolled (here or elsewhere) 7.4%; No completion recorded 29.9%
From the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (student outcomes by years after entry). The group is students who first received federal student aid (a Pell Grant or federal loan) at this school in 2015-16, followed for four years, so it does not cover every student and says nothing about students who started later or earlier; older groups are not shown because the Department reports data-quality problems for students who began before July 2015. Students for whom the school reported no completion record are counted by the Department as not completing, so "No completion recorded" includes missing records as well as students who left; small groups are suppressed, so the parts may not total 100%, and where the shown parts total less than 90% the row is left out. The Department of Education has not endorsed the MajorPays presentation.
Undergraduates
Graduate students
From the IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey (enrollment by age, fall 2024; the age component is collected in full only in odd years, so some schools show fall 2023), U.S. Dept. of Education, NCES; students of unknown age are left out and levels with fewer than 30 students are not shown. Undergraduates under 20 can include high school students taking college courses. The counts describe who enrolls, and the Department of Education has not endorsed the MajorPays presentation.
Bachelor's degrees: 1,561
Master's degrees: 634
Doctoral degrees (research, professional and other): 84
From the IPEDS Completions survey (awards and degrees conferred, academic year 2023-24, provisional release that includes estimates for institutions that did not respond), U.S. Dept. of Education, NCES; first majors only, so a graduate with two majors is counted once. Levels with fewer than 30 degrees, and race and ethnicity groups with fewer than 5 degrees, are not shown. IPEDS reports gender as men and women and race and ethnicity in federal categories; nonresident students are not classified by race. These counts describe who earns degrees here, not how any group fares, and MajorPays does not rank institutions and does not provide advice. The Department of Education has not endorsed the MajorPays presentation.
From the IPEDS Completions survey (degrees conferred July 2023 to June 2024, first majors only, provisional release that includes estimates for institutions that did not respond), U.S. Dept. of Education, NCES, grouped by the 2-digit field families of the Classification of Instructional Programs 2020. A level is shown only when at least 30 degrees were awarded, and fields with fewer than 5 degrees are included only in "All other fields". Degrees awarded are counts of awards, not of people, and say nothing about the quality of a program. MajorPays does not rank institutions or programs and does not provide advice. The Department of Education has not endorsed the MajorPays presentation.
From the IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey, residence of first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates (the most recent collection each school reported; students whose residence was not reported are left out). It describes where new students lived when first admitted. The Department of Education has not endorsed MajorPays’ presentation.
Average pay, full-time instructional staff
$70,683
439 staff, 2024-25 (9-month basis)
From the IPEDS Human Resources survey (salaries of full-time, nonmedical, instructional staff, 2024-25), U.S. Dept. of Education, NCES. Salaries are averages for the group at this institution, converted to a 9-month basis (staff on contracts shorter than 9 months are excluded); they say nothing about any individual and depend on the mix of fields and ranks. The Department of Education has not endorsed the MajorPays presentation.
From the IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (Pell Grant and Direct Subsidized Loan status), U.S. Dept. of Education, NCES: full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates who entered in the cohort year shown, the share who completed a degree or certificate within 150% of normal time as of August 31, 2024 (provisional data). At four-year schools this includes students seeking associate degrees and certificates, so the rates can differ from the bachelor’s-degree graduation rate shown above. Pell Grants go to students from lower-income families; a Direct Subsidized Loan is a need-based federal loan. A group is shown only when it had at least 30 students. The groups differ in many ways besides aid, and a gap here does not by itself show how well a school serves any group. MajorPays does not rank institutions and does not provide advice. The Department of Education has not endorsed the MajorPays presentation.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Education, NCES, IPEDS Graduation Rates (derived rates): the share of full-time, first-time, bachelor’s-degree-seeking students who entered in fall 2018 and had completed a bachelor’s degree at this school within 4, 5 and 6 years (cumulative; provisional data). Students who transfer out or finish elsewhere are not counted as graduates. Shown only when the entering class had at least 30 students. Timing depends on the mix of programs and students, and the figures say nothing on their own about quality. MajorPays does not rank institutions and does not provide advice. The Department of Education has not endorsed the MajorPays presentation.
Total expenses
$205.0 million
2023-24, all purposes
Instruction spending per student
$10,232
7,676 full-time-equivalent students; includes departmental research and medical instruction not budgeted separately
From the IPEDS Finance survey (2023-24; forms F1A, F2 or F3 depending on the accounting standard the institution follows) and IPEDS 12-month enrollment (full-time-equivalent students), U.S. Dept. of Education, NCES. Shares are each function as a share of total expenses. Some institutions report finances for several campuses together (their students are added together here), and some values are estimates for institutions that did not report. Institutions with hospitals, large research programs or auxiliary enterprises spend much of their money outside instruction, and accounting rules differ between public and private institutions, so figures are not directly comparable between institutions. Spending is not a measure of quality. MajorPays does not rank institutions and does not provide advice. The Department of Education has not endorsed the MajorPays presentation.
Research and development spending
$3.6 million
fiscal year 2024, all sources
From the National Science Foundation’s Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey, fiscal year 2024 (research and development spending, including spending on medical school research and funds the institution itself provides), National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. Figures are what an institution reported spending, not research quality or results, and institutions with medical schools or large research centers report much more. Short-form institutions report fewer details, some totals are estimates NSF made for institutions that did not report, and institutions that report several campuses together, or that NSF could not match to a federal identifier, are not shown. MajorPays does not rank institutions and does not provide advice. The National Science Foundation has not endorsed the MajorPays presentation.
Full-time-equivalent staff
1,115
employees on the payroll, fall 2024, including medical school staff; graduate assistants not counted
From the IPEDS Human Resources survey (full-time-equivalent staff by occupational category, fall 2024), U.S. Dept. of Education, NCES. Full-time-equivalent staff count each part-time employee as one third of a full-time one; counts include medical school staff where the institution has one but not graduate assistants. Institutions with hospitals, research centers or athletic programs employ many people outside teaching, and some campuses report together (figures for child campuses are estimates allocated from the parent), so counts are not directly comparable between institutions. MajorPays does not rank institutions and does not provide advice. The Department of Education has not endorsed the MajorPays presentation.
From the IPEDS Human Resources survey, full-time instructional staff by faculty and tenure status (fall 2024; provisional), U.S. Dept. of Education, NCES. Only full-time instructional staff are counted, so part-time instructors (adjuncts) do not appear here and the figures do not show who teaches any particular class. “Not on the tenure track” includes schools with no tenure system and staff on contracts. A larger share of tenured or tenure-track faculty is not a sign of a better or worse school. MajorPays does not rank schools. The Department of Education has not endorsed the MajorPays presentation.
Acceptance rate is admitted ÷ applicants; yield rate is enrolled ÷ admitted. Graduation rate is completers within 150% of normal program time ÷ the adjusted cohort size. From IPEDS Admissions (ADM), Graduation Rates (GR), and Fall Enrollment (EF) survey components. Completion within 8 years is from the IPEDS Outcome Measures (OM) component: the share of degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates who started in 2016-17 and earned any award from this school within eight years, counting part-time and transfer-in students that the standard graduation rate leaves out; the Department of Education has not endorsed MajorPays' presentation.
Outcomes after enrolling
What students earned and how they repaid federal loans, from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard.
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$38,473
Median earnings, 8 years after entry
$41,104
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$44,737
Sample: 2,611 students
Middle half: $30,046–$66,231
Median earnings 10 years after entry, by gender
Earnings differ by gender for many reasons besides the school, such as the fields students choose and the jobs they take. From the College Scorecard; students who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled.
Share earning more than a typical high school graduate
From the U.S. Dept. of Education’s College Scorecard: the share of students who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled who earned more than the Department’s threshold for a typical high school graduate, measured 6, 8 and 10 years after they first enrolled (students who entered about 2013 to 2015 for the 6-year figure and about 2009 to 2011 for the 10-year figure; see the Scorecard data documentation for how the threshold is set). It is a share of students, not a measure of how much they earn, and it depends heavily on who enrolls and where they live. MajorPays does not rank schools. The Department has not endorsed the MajorPays presentation.
Median earnings 10 years after entry, by family income
Federal loan repayment, undergraduate borrowers
Median debt of graduates
$20,500
Federal loans
About $217 a month over 10 years at 4.99%
Undergraduates with a Pell Grant
33%
Undergraduates with a federal loan
35%
Source: U.S. Dept. of Education, College Scorecard (institution-level data, June 2026 release), licensed under Creative Commons Attribution. MajorPays has selected and reorganized these measures; the Department has not endorsed them. Earnings are for students who received federal financial aid and were working and not enrolled 6, 8 and 10 years after first entering the school; family income groups are thirds of students' reported family income. Repayment shows undergraduate federal loan borrowers by status after entering repayment (deferment and forbearance are combined). The monthly amount on the debt card is the Department's calculation of a standard 10-year payment at 4.99% interest on the median federal debt of students who completed; actual payments depend on the repayment plan. A dash means the value is not published, often because too few students were in the group.
Earnings and debt by program
| Program | Degrees awarded in 2020-21 | Median earnings 1 year after | Median earnings 4 years after | Median federal loan debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accounting and Related Services | 90 | $42,322 | $64,269 | $18,750 |
| Agricultural/Animal/Plant/Veterinary Science and Related Fields, Other | 125 | $45,096 | $57,686 | $18,500 |
| Biology, General | 47 | $25,914 | $48,370 | $24,475 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | 22 | $40,804 | $63,679 | $21,061 |
| Business/Commerce, General | 72 | $37,285 | $51,818 | $18,200 |
| Chemistry | 18 | $48,334 | — | $25,000 |
| Civil Engineering Technologies/Technicians | 32 | $58,970 | $87,573 | $22,500 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services | 25 | — | $50,387 | $24,184 |
| Computer Science | 16 | $36,938 | $67,173 | $25,000 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections | 30 | $32,041 | $48,437 | $22,875 |
| Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/Technicians | 16 | $53,085 | $58,862 | $22,612 |
| Electromechanical Technologies/Technicians | 12 | $79,974 | — | $28,500 |
| Engineering Physics | 38 | $58,025 | $86,713 | $19,521 |
| English Language and Literature, General | 31 | $25,543 | $41,383 | $26,000 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services | 59 | $43,320 | $56,263 | $21,500 |
| Fine and Studio Arts | 28 | $21,715 | $38,192 | $24,619 |
| History | 15 | $27,831 | $46,739 | $25,500 |
| Information Science/Studies | — | $43,178 | $66,204 | $24,000 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | 83 | $34,304 | $41,797 | $28,162 |
| Marketing | 17 | $45,042 | $56,780 | $21,997 |
| Mathematics | 13 | — | $51,771 | — |
| Music | 27 | $34,098 | $36,697 | $26,731 |
| Public Health | 19 | $38,753 | $51,848 | $26,000 |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication | 45 | $38,054 | $58,265 | $22,250 |
| Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians | 48 | $66,418 | $84,705 | $25,000 |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication | 8 | $28,041 | $45,127 | — |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 85 | $68,608 | $72,462 | $25,082 |
| Research and Experimental Psychology | 67 | $23,674 | $44,800 | $20,500 |
| Social Work | 55 | $31,692 | $41,165 | $28,000 |
| Sociology | 7 | — | — | $25,000 |
| Special Education and Teaching | 30 | $36,197 | $36,657 | $20,775 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness | 22 | — | $57,764 | $22,500 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods | 92 | $36,871 | $38,132 | $22,324 |
| Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians | — | $33,536 | $40,839 | $24,250 |
| Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management | 32 | $28,751 | $43,844 | $21,500 |
| Program | Degrees awarded in 2020-21 | Median earnings 1 year after | Median earnings 4 years after | Median federal loan debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agricultural/Animal/Plant/Veterinary Science and Related Fields, Other | 78 | $57,089 | $58,618 | — |
| Business/Commerce, General | 117 | $65,188 | $96,691 | — |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services | 23 | $47,646 | $57,136 | — |
| Community Organization and Advocacy | 13 | $43,235 | $51,766 | — |
| Educational Administration and Supervision | 47 | $53,881 | $60,155 | — |
| English Language and Literature, General | 7 | $54,022 | — | — |
| Public Administration | 43 | $53,876 | — | — |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication | 11 | — | $51,638 | — |
| Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians | 16 | $99,473 | $107,129 | — |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions | 0 | $65,290 | — | — |
| Special Education and Teaching | 8 | — | $43,802 | — |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods | 39 | $44,467 | $44,101 | — |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas | 58 | $47,734 | $50,821 | — |
| Program | Degrees awarded in 2020-21 | Median earnings 1 year after | Median earnings 4 years after | Median federal loan debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Educational Administration and Supervision | 30 | — | $73,149 | — |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | — | $185,872 | $189,508 | — |
Source: U.S. Dept. of Education, College Scorecard Field of Study data (June 2026 release; Creative Commons Attribution license; MajorPays selected and reorganized the figures). Earnings are the median for graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school, 1 year after finishing (graduates of 2018-19 and 2019-20, in 2022 dollars) and 4 years after (graduates of 2014-15 and 2015-16, in 2021 dollars); debt is the median federal Stafford and Grad PLUS loan debt of graduates who borrowed, including loans taken at other schools (Parent PLUS and private loans are not included; graduates of 2018-19 and 2019-20). A dash means the Department did not publish the figure, usually because the group was small. The counts of degrees awarded are awards in 2020-21, a different year from the graduates measured for earnings and debt, and are awards, not people. Programs are grouped by the Department’s four-digit program codes, listed alphabetically within each degree level, not ranked. Earnings and debt differ for many reasons besides the program, such as the students’ backgrounds and the local job market, and the earlier cohorts predate recent changes. The Department of Education has not endorsed the MajorPays presentation. MajorPays does not provide advice.
Cost
Tuition, net price, and how it's changed over time.
Tuition & fees
$9,900
Most recent year: 2024
Net price
$10,182
Most recent year: 2023
Cost of attendance, on campus
$25,574
2024-25 published charges: Tuition & fees $9,900 + books $940 + room & board $11,112 + other $3,622
Out-of-state tuition & fees: $19,836
Graduate tuition & fees (full-time): $10,683
Net price by family income is the average price after grants and scholarships for first-time, full-time undergraduates who received federal aid, by family income bracket (College Scorecard, most recent year). Brackets with few students can look out of order; read them as rough guides.
Tuition & fees trend
Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Affordability & Transparency Center (CATC)
Net price trend
Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Affordability & Transparency Center (CATC)
Tuition & fees is the institution's published sticker price; net price is the average price after grants and scholarships for first-time, full-time undergraduates receiving aid (lags tuition by one year in CATC's own reporting).
Cost of attendance adds the school’s published charges for tuition and fees (in-state), books and supplies, room and board, and other expenses for a full-time undergraduate in 2024-25 (provisional data). It is a sticker total, not what a student pays after grants and scholarships. From the NCES IPEDS Cost component (2024-25 data are provisional); the Department of Education has not endorsed MajorPays' presentation.
Financial aid
Grants and loans received by full-time first-year students.
Received any aid
100.0%
Most recent year: 2024
Pell grants
43.0%
of students received one
Average award: $5,993
Federal grants
44.0%
of students received one
Average award: $6,072
Student loans
45.0%
of students took one out
Average amount: $8,392
Share of students receiving any aid
Source: NCES IPEDS (Student Financial Aid)
Cohort is full-time, first-time undergraduates (a typical incoming class), not the whole student body. Pell grants are federal need-based grants for lower-income students; federal grants also includes Pell. Averages are among students who received that type of aid.
165 students received Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits ($7,440 on average, $1.2 million in all); 88 received Department of Defense tuition assistance ($1,819 on average).
Source: U.S. Dept. of Education, NCES, IPEDS Student Financial Aid component, Military Service and Veteran’s Benefits (academic year 2023-24; reported by each school; shown when at least 10 students received the benefit). Recipients can include spouses and dependents, and Yellow Ribbon matching aid is not included. These are counts of students and dollars, not a rating of how a school treats veterans or service members, and they do not say who may enroll. The Department of Education has not endorsed the MajorPays presentation. MajorPays does not provide advice.
Admissions office · How to apply · Financial aid office · Net price calculator · Veterans’ benefits
Web addresses the school itself reported to the U.S. Dept. of Education (IPEDS directory, 2024-25). MajorPays does not control these sites and cannot vouch for them; the addresses may be out of date. Always check the school’s own site for current prices and deadlines. MajorPays does not provide advice.
Finances
Revenue, expenses, and financial indicators.
Core revenue
$199,212,020
Most recent year: 2024
Core expense
$175,853,953
Total operating expense
Instruction spending
$10,232
Per FTE student
Endowment
$16,760
Per FTE student
Equity ratio
44.0%
Equity divided by total assets
Reported as a public institution, GASB accounting standard. Core revenue/expense are total operating figures (not per-student). Equity ratio is the share of total assets financed by equity rather than debt (shown only between -100% and 100%; what is typical varies a lot by sector, and this is not a judgment of the institution). From IPEDS Finance survey component.
Staffing
Faculty salary and staff counts (full-time equivalent).
Total staff
1,115
Full-time equivalent
Instructional staff
474
Full-time equivalent
Average salary is equated to a 9-month contract for full-time instructional staff. FTE (full-time equivalent) staff counts combine full- and part-time staff into a single comparable headcount. From IPEDS Human Resources survey component.