College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Florida State University

FLLarge public institution · Overall rank #65 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

A public university where mobility and access lead the profile.

Who it’s a good fit for

Florida State University is a public university in Tallahassee, Florida, with a degree mix led by Business, Social Sciences, and Psychology. Mobility is among the highest we track.

Graduates earn about what predicts for students like them, and the model's measured factors adds to expected earnings while an unexplained remainder subtracts. Return is above average.

Access is among the highest we track and affordability is among the highest we track. Pell recipients complete below the overall rate, and what families in the lowest income band pay after aid sits below the published cost, while the highest band pays below it.

The admission rate is below the median for comparable schools, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study. A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the highest-earning fields are smaller ones.

FSU at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
24.2%
Six-year completion[2]
85.6%
Four-year earnings[3]
$66,924

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$10,496
Median student debt[4]
$18,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$17,000

FSU rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

With 32,212 undergraduates, Florida State University is a public university in Tallahassee, Florida, standing near the top of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (96th percentile). Admission is selective: Florida State University accepts 24.2% of applicants, well below the 78.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

Of students who start full time, 96.0% return for a second year, against a peer median of 83.1%. The six-year graduation rate is 85.6%, compared with 65.0% for peers.

An estimated 29.4% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so many students here began elsewhere. Because the six-year rate tracks only first-time full-time students, it describes a minority of the people who study at the university.

The four sit far apart. Mobility is the strongest and return the weakest, with access and affordability falling between them.

The distance between the strongest and weakest pillars is what stands out in the Azimuth data. That spread gives Florida State University its overall shape among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Florida State University's strongest pillar is mobility, in the 97th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Access follows at the 93rd percentile, and affordability at the 90th percentile.

The return pillar is the weakest, in the 65th percentile, though all four pillars sit above the median for nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks the university #65 overall among 1,467 institutions.

The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores for enrolled students fell between 1,270 and 1,410. For those who submitted ACT scores, the middle 50% ranged from 29 to 32.

23.0% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants. Azimuth ranks Florida State University #99 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The access pillar combines the share of students receiving Pell Grants with the rate at which those students finish. Pell recipients complete at 77.5%, which is 8.1 percentage points below the six-year graduation rate for the entering cohort as a whole.

Azimuth ranks the university #50 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $700 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

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

FSU rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#65

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 97
Access & reach
National percentile: 93
Affordability
National percentile: 90
Return on investment
National percentile: 65

Top-ranked majors

  1. Security Science and Technology#1
  2. Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services#5
  3. Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology#5

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / FSU briefing

FSU cost & financial aid[6][7]

Florida State University publishes a total cost of attendance of $25,720. For in-state students, tuition and fees are $5,656, while out-of-state students pay $18,786.

On-campus room and board adds $13,474 to either tuition figure. After aid, the average net price across all aid recipients is $11,297, a savings of $14,423 against the sticker price.

That average sits below the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $4,337. Aid covers about 56% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

Azimuth ranks the university #139 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Florida State University publishes a cost of attendance of $25,720, yet average net prices—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—run well below that figure. For families earning under $30,000 the is $5,938; for the middle band ($48,001–$75,000) it is $10,496; and for families earning over $110,000 it is $19,239.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $13,301. Azimuth ranks Florida State University #139 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid covers about 56% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an offset of $14,423 against the sticker price. The average net price across all aid recipients is $11,297, which sits below the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $4,337.

In-state tuition and fees are $5,656, while out-of-state students see $18,786; room and board adds $13,474 to the published budget. Graduates who borrow federal loans leave with a median federal student debt of $18,000, which is below the peer median of $20,076 by $2,076.

About 74.6% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $205 a month if repaid over ten years.

Parents who borrow through Parent PLUS carry a separate median of $17,000.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$10,496

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at FSU

Borrowers who complete a degree at Florida State University carry a median federal debt at completion of $18,000. Across the university, 74.6% of federal aid recipients use these federal loans.

The university's median is below the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $2,076. Parent borrowers form a separate population, and their median Parent PLUS debt is $17,000.

Graduates of Florida State University earn about $700 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. That outcome is in the 57th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The median earnings four years after completion stand at $66,924, which places in the 70th percentile nationally. Earnings scenarios derived from the program mix show a typical figure of $66,924, a downside of $51,151, and an upside reaching $90,221.

On the borrowing side, the median federal student debt at completion is $18,000, below the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $2,076. The estimated monthly payment if repaid over ten years is $205.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $17,000. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $205.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$18,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$17,000

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$205/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$216/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 / FSU briefing

FSU career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Florida State University places in the 65th percentile for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $700 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level, a figure in the 57th percentile nationally.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $11,696. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $10,996.

The STEM component adds $1,578 within the measured factors. Four years after completion, median earnings for working, non-enrolled completers reach $66,924, in the 70th percentile.

That median is above the $65,610 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,314.

Florida State University completers show a median of $66,924 four years after completion, drawn from a cohort of 9,273 federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled. That median sits above the $65,610 median of comparable institutions (same type and size) and places the university in the 70th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $700 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. Earnings scenarios that reflect the university's program mix point to a typical outcome of $66,924, a downside scenario of $51,151, and an upside scenario of $90,221.

An estimated 30.9% of the programs' graduates continue to graduate study, a figure derived from the program mix rather than observed enrollment.

Florida State University graduates earn a median of $66,924 four years after completion, in the 70th percentile nationally. The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $65,610, leaving the university $1,314 above.

Azimuth ranks the university #518 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $700 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

That places the gap at the 57th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $11,696.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $10,996. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,578.

Estimated from the program mix, the downside earnings scenario is $51,151 and the upside is $90,221. An estimated 30.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

The downside scenario for Florida State University is $51,151, while the upside scenario reaches $90,221, a range that shows the variation in earnings across the university's program clusters. Among the programs with published earnings, Computer Engineering completers see a median of $114,802 four years after completion, and Management Information Systems and Services completers earn a median of $103,648.

The largest program, Psychology, which awarded 818 degrees, shows a median of $54,728. The second-largest, Finance, awarded 589 degrees and reports a median of $87,089.

Graduates of Florida State University earn about $700 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. That near-parity with the model's benchmark coincides with a debt load that stays below the norm.

The median federal student debt for borrowers who complete a degree is $18,000, compared with $20,076 at comparable institutions (same type and size). If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment on that debt is $205.

The university's average net price of $11,297 runs below the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price drops to $5,938; for those earning over $110,000, it reaches $19,239.

Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, carry a median of $17,000. Azimuth ranks Florida State University #139 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The combination of below-peer debt and below-peer net price means the university's graduates typically enter the workforce without an outsized repayment burden relative to the earnings their degrees support.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$11,696
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$10,996
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$700

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 / FSU briefing

FSU acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Florida State University admits 24.2% of applicants, a figure well below the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
24.2%
Approximate lower endpoint
1270
Reported average
1361
Approximate upper endpoint
1410

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / FSU briefing

What are the largest majors at FSU?[12]

The highest-earning programs at Florida State University are concentrated in technical and quantitative fields, and they are not the largest by enrollment. Computer Engineering leads with median earnings of $114,802 four years after completion, from 34 degrees awarded.

Azimuth ranks it #58 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. Management Information Systems and Services follows at $103,648, with 127 degrees awarded and a national rank of #10.

The largest program, Psychology, awards 818 degrees a year and posts a more moderate median of $54,728, ranked #69 nationally. A handful of smaller programs sit at the top of their fields.

Security Science and Technology is ranked #1 nationally with earnings of $93,841 from 38 degrees awarded. The earnings picture across the university is broad, with the highest payoffs in fields that graduate relatively few students.

Florida State University has 58 nationally ranked bachelor's programs among nonprofit four-year institutions. The strongest is Security Science and Technology, ranked #1 nationally and #1 in Florida, with 38 degrees awarded and median earnings of $93,841 four years after completion.

Human Development and Family Studies follows at #5 nationally (#1 in Florida), with 274 degrees awarded and median earnings of $62,663. Apparel and Textiles holds the #6 spot nationally (#1 in Florida), with 95 degrees awarded and median earnings of $64,807.

Insurance rounds out the top five at #7 nationally (#1 in Florida), with 112 degrees awarded and median earnings of $92,064.

Business accounts for 23.5% of bachelor's degrees awarded at Florida State University, with Social Sciences next at 15.3% and Psychology at 8.6%. The university has 58 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 65 with published four-year earnings data.

The largest single programs are Psychology at 818 degrees awarded, Finance at 589, and Criminal Justice at 556. The highest-ranked program is Security Science and Technology, which awards 38 degrees a year and ranks #1 in Florida within its field.

Its graduates earn a median of $93,841 four years after completion, a benchmark ratio of 1.62x against the national median for its field. Human Development and Family Studies ranks #5 nationally and #1 in Florida within its field, with 274 degrees awarded and median earnings of $62,663.

Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology ranks #5 nationally and #1 in Florida within its field, awarding 23 degrees a year and earning a median of $66,943. The highest-earning program is a much smaller one: Computer Engineering graduates earn $114,802 from 34 degrees awarded.

19.6% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields. Strength is spread across several fields rather than concentrated in one.

The largest degree families are business and the social sciences, while the highest-ranked programs reach into family studies, textiles, and atmospheric sciences. The highest earnings come from Computer Engineering, a program that awards fewer than fifty degrees a year.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Psychology, General 818 degrees awarded
$54,728
Finance and Financial Management Services 589 degrees awarded
$87,089
Criminal Justice and Corrections 556 degrees awarded
$57,417
Marketing 494 degrees awarded
$84,981
Political Science and Government 431 degrees awarded
$68,059
Computer and Information Sciences, General 367 degrees awarded
$93,727

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 / FSU briefing

How does FSU serve students from different backgrounds?

Azimuth places Florida State University in the 97th percentile for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 85.6%, while Pell recipients complete at a rate of 77.5% — below the overall rate by 8.1 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $700 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level, a result that sits in the 57th percentile.

Azimuth places the access pillar of Florida State University in the 93rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The public university admits 24.2% of applicants, a rate far more selective than the peer median of 78.1%.

Pell Grant recipients make up 23.0% of the 32,212 undergraduates, and an estimated 29.4% arrive as transfers or part-time students.

06 / FSU briefing

What colleges are similar to FSU?[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 FSU.

Admissions peerUniversity of Miami18.9% admitted
Comparison with FSU
MeasureFSUUniversity of Miami
Peer earnings · 4 years$66,924$85,019+$18,095 vs FSU
Average annual net price$11,297$37,244+$25,947 vs FSU · higher cost
Admission rate24.2%18.9%
Explore University of Miami →
Higher-admission alternativeThomas University38.3% admitted
Comparison with FSU
MeasureFSUThomas University
Peer earnings · 4 years$66,924$63,556-$3,368 vs FSU
Average annual net price$11,297$18,499+$7,202 vs FSU · higher cost
Admission rate24.2%38.3%
Nearby alternativeValdosta State UniversityNearby option · GA
Comparison with FSU
MeasureFSUValdosta State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$66,924$56,067-$10,857 vs FSU
Average annual net price$11,297$10,945-$352 vs FSU · lower cost
Admission rate24.2%72.3%
Explore Valdosta State University →
Higher-earnings alternativeUniversity of Michigan-Ann Arbor$96,159 earnings
Comparison with FSU
MeasureFSUUniversity of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Peer earnings · 4 years$66,924$96,159+$29,235 vs FSU
Average annual net price$11,297$13,138+$1,841 vs FSU · higher cost
Admission rate24.2%15.6%
Explore University of Michigan-Ann Arbor →
Lower-cost alternativeCUNY Brooklyn College$3,103 average net price
Comparison with FSU
MeasureFSUCUNY Brooklyn College
Peer earnings · 4 years$66,924$62,833-$4,091 vs FSU
Average annual net price$11,297$3,103-$8,194 vs FSU · lower cost
Admission rate24.2%58.4%
Explore CUNY Brooklyn College →
Similar profileThe University of Tennessee-KnoxvilleMatched across several measures
Comparison with FSU
MeasureFSUThe University of Tennessee-Knoxville
Peer earnings · 4 years$66,924$67,631+$707 vs FSU
Average annual net price$11,297$18,976+$7,679 vs FSU · higher cost
Admission rate24.2%41.6%
Explore The University of Tennessee-Knoxville →

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