College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Chapman University

CAMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #920 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth places the university #920 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Chapman University is a private nonprofit university in Orange, California, where Business and Visual & Performing Arts are the largest degree families. Return is well above average, while affordability is below the levels seen at many peers — the two sit far apart, and the overall standing is modestly below average.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The model attributes the gap to a remainder it does not explain, which subtracts, and to the factors it measures, which adds, with the remainder larger.

Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study, so the four-year figure captures most earners. The lowest income band pays well below the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it.

Pell recipients complete below the overall rate, and mobility is above average. The admission rate is below the median for comparable schools, and the degree mix leans toward business and the arts.

A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid one, Computer Science, awards far fewer degrees than the largest program.

Chapman University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
65.4%
Six-year completion[2]
81.9%
Four-year earnings[3]
$73,336

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$33,709
Median student debt[4]
$20,500
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$44,954

Chapman University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Chapman University is a private nonprofit university in Orange, California, enrolling 7,478 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the middle of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (37th percentile).

The university admits 65.4% of applicants, a rate somewhat more selective than the 71.2% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Among full-time first-year students, 91.8% return for a second year, well above the peer median of 83.4%.

The six-year graduation rate is 81.9%, also well above the peer median of 68.8%. An estimated 15.4% of the student body arrives as transfers or part-time students.

The four pillars are spread far apart. Return is the strongest (77th percentile), while affordability is the weakest (3rd percentile). Access and mobility sit between them (49th and 60th percentiles).

Chapman University's return pillar is its strongest, placing in the 77th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Mobility follows at the 60th percentile, and access stands at the 49th percentile nationally.

Affordability is the weakest pillar, at the 3rd percentile nationally. Return and mobility sit above the middle of nonprofit four-year institutions, whereas affordability trails the other pillars markedly.

19.4% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, a financial-access measure. For access, Azimuth ranks Chapman University #747 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The six-year completion rate for Pell recipients is 73.9%. That result trails the overall rate for the cohort (81.9%) by 8.0 percentage points.

Azimuth ranks the university #581 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $1,922 less than the model expects for similar students.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Chapman University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#920
California#65
West#132

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 60
Access & reach
National percentile: 49
Affordability
National percentile: 3
Return on investment
National percentile: 77

01 / Chapman University briefing

Chapman University cost & financial aid[6][7]

Chapman University carries a high published price, and aid reduces it substantially for recipients without bringing it near the comparable-school median. The published cost of attendance is $83,146, including $64,984 in tuition and fees and $17,814 for room and board.

For aid recipients, the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $46,555. That represents $36,591 off the published total.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price is $27,371, making the university’s average $19,184 above that benchmark. Azimuth places the university’s affordability pillar in the 3rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The aid reduction is substantial, but the remaining average price is still well above the comparable-school median.

The cost picture at Chapman University is steep, starting with a published cost of attendance of $83,146. Average net price is $33,559 for the low-income family-income band, $33,978 for the lower-middle family-income band, $33,709 for the middle family-income band, $40,011 for the upper-middle family-income band, and $55,066 for the higher-income family-income band; the spread between the lowest and highest bands is $21,507.

Azimuth ranks the university #1,374 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 44% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an average savings of $36,591 against the sticker price.

Across all aid recipients, the is $46,555, which is $19,184 above the peer median of $27,371 at comparable institutions (same type and size). Published tuition and fees are $64,984, and the aid offset does not bring the average price down to the comparable-institution median.

For borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $20,500, $3,699 below the peer median debt of $24,199 at comparable institutions (same type and size). Federal loans are used by 91.0% of federal aid recipients, and that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $233 a month if repaid over ten years.

Parent PLUS borrowers have median borrowing of $44,954.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$33,709

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Chapman University

Federal loan use reaches 91.0% of federal aid recipients at Chapman University, making debt a central part of the cost picture. Borrowers who complete have median federal student loan debt of $20,500.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), median federal debt is $24,199, with the university's median below that level by $3,699. Parent borrowers are a separate population, with median Parent PLUS borrowing of $44,954.

Chapman University pairs relatively strong observed earnings with lower borrowing than comparable institutions, although its model-based expectation measure points the other way. Among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, median earnings are $73,336 four years after completion.

Azimuth places that earnings measure in the 81st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $1,922 less than the model expects for similar students.

Azimuth places earnings beyond expectations in the 48th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings scenarios from the program mix range from $54,413 in the downside scenario to $91,096 in the upside scenario; the typical scenario matches the observed median.

Median federal student loan debt at completion is $20,500, which is below the $24,199 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $3,699. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $233 a month if repaid over ten years.

Higher observed earnings and lower debt align, but are below the model's estimate.

For Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate parent-borrower population, median borrowing is $44,954. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $233 a month if repaid over ten years.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$20,500
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$44,954

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$233/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$571/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Chapman University briefing

Chapman University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Graduates earn a median of $73,336 four years after completion, putting the university above the peer median. Azimuth places its return pillar in the 77th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The earnings figure sits in the 81st percentile nationally. For comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median is $68,250, a difference of $5,086.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is a separate modeled measure. Graduates earn about $1,922 less than the model expects for similar students.

That measure is in the 48th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,404.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $8,326. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $307.

Chapman University graduates have median earnings of $73,336 four years after completion, among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. Azimuth places that median in the 81st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The earnings cohort covers 1,459 completers, so the figure describes a substantial reported group. The program-mix model’s typical earnings scenario aligns with the reported median, with a downside scenario of $54,413 and an upside scenario of $91,096.

An estimated 26.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. Graduates earn about $1,922 less than the model expects for similar students, which describes earnings beyond expectations, the gap between graduate earnings and what the model expects for similar students.

The earnings picture is mixed: the median stands well nationally, while the model comparison is lower.

Median earnings for Chapman University graduates reach $73,336 four years after completion among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. That level is in the 81st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, and it stands $5,086 above the peer median of $68,250 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks the university #334 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $1,922 less than the model expects for similar students.

The gap falls at the 48th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,404.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $8,326. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $307.

The overall bachelor's program mix leans toward Business, Visual & Performing Arts, and Communication & Journalism. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, run from a downside of $54,413 to an upside of $91,096, with a typical scenario of $73,336.

An estimated 26.4% of graduates continue on to graduate study, based on the overall program mix.

Outcomes at the university span from a downside earnings scenario of $54,413 to an upside scenario of $91,096, with $73,336 in the typical scenario, all four years after completion.

At Chapman University, lower borrower debt sits alongside a higher cost after aid, so the financial picture is mixed. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $46,555, above the $27,371 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $1,922 less than the model expects for similar students. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $20,500, below the $24,199 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $233 a month if repaid over ten years. Average net price is $33,559 in the lowest income band, $33,978 in the next-lowest band, $33,709 in the middle band, $40,011 in the next-highest band, and $55,066 in the highest band.

Debt below peers offsets part of the cost concern, but earnings below the model's expectation and a net price above peers pull the other way.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$6,404
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$8,326
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$1,922

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Chapman University briefing

Chapman University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

With an admission rate of 65.4%, Chapman University admits applicants at a rate below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size). This figure describes admissions outcomes for the reported entering class, rather than a prediction for an individual applicant.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
65.4%
25th percentile
1280
Median
1355
75th percentile
1410

CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Chapman University briefing

What are the largest majors at Chapman University?[12]

Program-level earnings at Chapman University vary sharply between technical, business, and arts-oriented fields four years after completion. Computer Science has the highest listed median, $112,780, from 52 degrees awarded.

Accounting follows at $102,147 with 47 degrees awarded, while Business Administration and Management combines $84,378 median earnings with 481 degrees awarded. The contrast is clearest against Film/Video and Photographic Arts, which awarded 211 degrees and had median earnings of $66,494 four years after completion.

The higher-earning fields are smaller in award volume than the large business program, while the film field sits at a more moderate earnings level.

Business accounts for 32.9% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, and published earnings cover 21 fields. That concentration makes the largest fields a useful starting point for understanding the university’s earnings picture.

Among the largest fields, reported median earnings four years after completion are Business Administration and Management with 481 degrees awarded and $84,378; Film/Video and Photographic Arts with 211 degrees awarded and $66,494; Psychology with 138 degrees awarded and $63,617; Public Health with 116 degrees awarded and $72,529; and Business/Corporate Communications with 113 degrees awarded and $76,412. The differences across these large fields make intended major central to the earnings picture.

Chapman University awards bachelor's degrees across 21 programs with published four-year earnings data. The program mix is anchored by Business, which accounts for 32.9% of degrees awarded.

Visual & Performing Arts is the second-largest family at 20.6%, followed by Communication & Journalism at 8.2%. The largest single program is Business Administration and Management, with 481 degrees awarded.

Graduates from that program earn a median of $84,378 four years after completion, a benchmark ratio of 1.24x against the national median for its field. Film/Video and Photographic Arts is the second-largest, with 211 degrees awarded and median earnings of $66,494.

The highest-earning program is a much smaller one. Computer Science graduates earn a median of $112,780, from 52 degrees awarded.

Accounting follows at $102,147, with 47 degrees awarded. The pattern shows a business and communications core that is both large and well-compensated, with the highest earnings concentrated in a smaller technical field.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Business Administration, Management and Operations 481 degrees awarded
$84,378
Film/Video and Photographic Arts 211 degrees awarded
$66,494
Psychology, General 138 degrees awarded
$63,617
Public Health 116 degrees awarded
$72,529
Business/Corporate Communications 113 degrees awarded
$76,412
Communication and Media Studies 104 degrees awarded
$73,461

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Chapman University briefing

How does Chapman University serve students from different backgrounds?

At Chapman University, completion provides a more positive mobility signal than modeled earnings: the six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 81.9%, while Pell recipients complete at 73.9%, below the overall rate by 8.0 percentage points. Azimuth places the mobility pillar in the 60th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $1,922 less than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, sits in the 48th percentile. The figures pair strong completion with lower-than-expected modeled earnings.

Chapman University presents a middle-of-the-pack access profile, with 65.4% of applicants admitted. The university enrolls 7,478 undergraduates; 19.4% receive Pell Grants, and an estimated 15.4% enter as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth places its access pillar in the 49th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The admission, Pell, and transfer figures describe a broad but not especially access-focused entry point.

06 / Chapman University briefing

What colleges are similar to Chapman University?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Chapman University.

Admissions peerPepperdine University62.9% admitted
Comparison with Chapman University
MeasureChapman UniversityPepperdine University
Peer earnings · 4 years$73,336$84,459+$11,123 vs Chapman University
Average annual net price$46,555$58,098+$11,543 vs Chapman University · higher cost
Admission rate65.4%62.9%
Explore Pepperdine University →
Higher-admission alternativePoint Loma Nazarene University83.7% admitted
Comparison with Chapman University
MeasureChapman UniversityPoint Loma Nazarene University
Peer earnings · 4 years$73,336$72,880-$456 vs Chapman University
Average annual net price$46,555$38,729-$7,826 vs Chapman University · lower cost
Admission rate65.4%83.7%
Explore Point Loma Nazarene University →
Nearby alternativePoint Loma Nazarene UniversityNearby option · CA
Comparison with Chapman University
MeasureChapman UniversityPoint Loma Nazarene University
Peer earnings · 4 years$73,336$72,880-$456 vs Chapman University
Average annual net price$46,555$38,729-$7,826 vs Chapman University · lower cost
Admission rate65.4%83.7%
Explore Point Loma Nazarene University →
Higher-earnings alternativeYeshiva University$93,796 earnings
Comparison with Chapman University
MeasureChapman UniversityYeshiva University
Peer earnings · 4 years$73,336$93,796+$20,460 vs Chapman University
Average annual net price$46,555$49,965+$3,410 vs Chapman University · higher cost
Admission rate65.4%55.6%
Lower-cost alternativeCalifornia State University-Fullerton$6,555 average net price
Comparison with Chapman University
MeasureChapman UniversityCalifornia State University-Fullerton
Peer earnings · 4 years$73,336$63,753-$9,583 vs Chapman University
Average annual net price$46,555$6,555-$40,000 vs Chapman University · lower cost
Admission rate65.4%90.5%
Explore California State University-Fullerton →
Similar profileLoyola Marymount UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with Chapman University
MeasureChapman UniversityLoyola Marymount University
Peer earnings · 4 years$73,336$78,039+$4,703 vs Chapman University
Average annual net price$46,555$48,381+$1,826 vs Chapman University · higher cost
Admission rate65.4%45.1%
Explore Loyola Marymount University →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings