College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Fordham University

NYLarge private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #507 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Fordham University #507 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Fordham University is a private nonprofit university in the Bronx whose degree mix is led by Business and Social Sciences. Return is among the highest we track, while affordability is below the levels seen at many peers.

Graduates earn about what predicts for students like them, and the typical graduate earns above the median at comparable schools. The model attributes part of the gap to the factors it measures, which add, and part to what it cannot explain, which subtracts.

Affordability is the weakest , and the spread between the lowest and highest income bands is wide. Pell students complete at a rate below the cohort as a whole, while access and mobility are both above average.

The admission rate is above the median for comparable institutions. The largest program is also the highest-earning one, while other large programs are not among the top earners.

A student drawn to the social sciences should know that the biggest departments are not the best-paid.

Fordham University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
59.3%
Six-year completion[2]
81.9%
Four-year earnings[3]
$84,203

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$37,313
Median student debt[4]
$24,300
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$37,095

Fordham University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Fordham University is a private nonprofit university in Bronx, New York, enrolling 10,512 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the middle of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The pillars range widely, with return reaching the top tenth and affordability falling to the bottom tenth. The university admits 59.3% of applicants, a rate well below the 47.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

Of students who start full time, 88.5% return for a second year, against a median of 90.1% for comparable institutions. The six-year graduation rate is 81.9%, which sits above the 80.0% median for comparable institutions.

An estimated 11.6% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes the first-time, full-time cohort and not the full student body. The strongest pillar is return (91st percentile), while affordability is the weakest (3rd percentile).

Access and mobility sit closer together in between (73rd and 74th percentiles). The spread between the top and bottom pillars is wide.

Fordham University's strongest pillar is return on investment, which Azimuth places in the 91st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The access and mobility pillars follow, in the 73rd and 74th percentiles respectively.

Affordability is the weakest pillar, in the 3rd percentile. The university's average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, runs above the median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores fell between 1,320 and 1,480. The middle 50% of submitted ACT scores fell between 30 and 33.

21.4% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants. Azimuth ranks Fordham University #399 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at a rate of 74.8%, which is 7.1 percentage points below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole. Azimuth ranks the university #382 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $725 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

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

Fordham University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#507

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 74
Access & reach
National percentile: 73
Affordability
National percentile: 3
Return on investment
National percentile: 91

01 / Fordham University briefing

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

The published cost of attendance at Fordham University is $82,762, an average across living arrangements. Tuition and fees are $64,915, and room and board are $24,090.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients is $44,338, a savings of $38,424 against the sticker price. That is $8,127 above the $36,211 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks the university #1,368 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. The published price is high, and even after aid the average net price sits above the peer median.

The affordability pillar is the weakest of the four for this school, at the 3rd percentile.

Fordham University publishes a cost of attendance of $82,762, an average across living arrangements. Its tuition and fees are $64,915 and room and board are $24,090.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price—what aid recipients actually pay—varies sharply by family income. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $32,474; for the middle band ($48,001–$75,000) it is $37,313; and for families earning over $110,000 it is $52,228.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $19,754. Azimuth ranks the university #1,368 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid covers about 46% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an offset of $38,424. The average net price across all aid recipients is $44,338, which sits above the peer median of $36,211 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $8,127.

That gap means Fordham's overall net price is higher than the middle value for its peers. Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, the median federal student debt is $24,300, with about 88.5% of federal aid recipients taking federal loans.

That debt is above the peer median of $23,168 by $1,132, close to comparable institutions. If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment is $276.

Parents who borrow through Parent PLUS carry a separate median of $37,095.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$37,313

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Fordham University

Federal borrowing is the norm at Fordham University: 88.5% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, and among those who complete a degree the median federal student debt is $24,300. That median is nearly identical to the $23,168 median at comparable institutions (same type and size), sitting just above by $1,132.

Parent borrowers, a separate population, hold a median Parent PLUS loan of $37,095.

The return pillar at Fordham University is its strongest, anchored by a median earnings figure of $84,203 four years after completion. That figure sits in the 92nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $725 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level, an outcome in the 57th percentile nationally. Earnings scenarios from the university's program mix show a typical earnings level that matches the observed median, alongside a downside scenario of $60,999 and an upside scenario of $119,134.

The median federal student debt at completion is $24,300, which is above the peer median of $23,168 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,132. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $276 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $37,095. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $276.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$24,300
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$37,095

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$276/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$471/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 / Fordham University briefing

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

Fordham University posts a median of $84,203 four years after completion, landing in the 92nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure is $588 above the $83,615 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $725 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. The earnings-beyond-expectations gap sits at the 57th percentile, and Azimuth places the return pillar in the 91st percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $8,372. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $7,647. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $2,242.

Four years after completion, Fordham University graduates earn a median of $84,203, placing the university in the 92nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings cohort includes 2,775 completers.

Graduates earn about $725 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. Earnings scenarios anchored on the university's program mix show a typical outcome that matches the observed median, with a downside scenario of $60,999 and an upside scenario reaching $119,134.

An estimated 31.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The median earnings sit above the peer median of $83,615 for comparable institutions (same type and size), by $588.

Four years after completion, Fordham University graduates earn a median of $84,203, placing the university in the 92nd percentile nationally. That figure is above the peer median of $83,615—the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size)—by $588.

Graduates earn about $725 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level, an outcome in the 57th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $8,372.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $7,647. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $2,242.

Azimuth ranks the university #131 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix range from $60,999 on the downside to $119,134 on the upside.

Finance, the largest program with 229 degrees awarded, records a median of $141,860 four years after completion, or 1.70x the national median for the field. Business Administration and Management follows with 198 degrees awarded and a median of $90,192 (1.32x the national median).

Mathematics and Statistics reaches $117,344 from only 50 degrees awarded. Psychology shows a median of $62,273 from 164 degrees awarded.

The Business family accounts for 27.9% of degrees awarded, while the Social Sciences family accounts for 19.5%.

The earnings scenarios at Fordham University span from a downside of $60,999 to an upside of $119,134, a range that reflects the variation in program-level outcomes four years after completion. The university has 33 programs with published earnings data.

The highest-earning programs illustrate the upper end of that spread: Finance graduates earn a median of $141,860, Mathematics and Statistics graduates earn $117,344, and Accounting graduates earn $117,024.

Graduates of Fordham University earn about $725 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. The return pillar is the strongest of the four, at the 91st percentile.

The cost side is where the picture shifts. The published cost of attendance is $82,762 (an average across living arrangements).

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients is $44,338. That average is above the median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $8,127, and the affordability pillar sits at the 3rd percentile.

Borrowers who finish carry a median of $24,300 in federal student loans, above the peer median of $23,168 by $1,132. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $276 a month if repaid over ten years. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $37,095 in Parent PLUS loans.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$8,372
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$7,647
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$725

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 / Fordham University briefing

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

Fordham University admits 59.3% of applicants, a rate that sits below the median of 47.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
59.3%
Approximate lower endpoint
1320
Reported average
1418
Approximate upper endpoint
1480

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 / Fordham University briefing

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

Fordham University's largest programs span a wide earnings range, from six-figure medians in business fields to more moderate outcomes in the social sciences. Finance is both the biggest and the highest-earning: 229 degrees awarded, with a median of $141,860 four years after completion.

International Business awarded 153 degrees and its completers earn a median of $106,665, while Business Administration and Management awarded 198 degrees and shows a median of $90,192. The social-science programs sit lower on the earnings scale.

Psychology awarded 164 degrees and its completers earn a median of $62,273. Political Science awarded 156 degrees with a median of $74,419.

The spread between these business and social-science programs illustrates the range of four-year earnings among the university's largest fields.

Fordham's largest bachelor's programs concentrate in business and social sciences, and the earnings spread across them is wide. Finance, the biggest, awarded 229 degrees and its completers earn a median of $141,860 four years after completion.

International Business awarded 153 degrees and reports a median of $106,665. Business Administration and Management awarded 198 degrees with a median of $90,192.

Psychology awarded 164 degrees and its completers earn a median of $62,273, while Political Science awarded 156 degrees with a median of $74,419.

Fordham University awards most of its bachelor's degrees in business and the social sciences. The Business family accounts for 27.9% of degrees awarded, followed by Social Sciences at 19.5% and Communication & Journalism at 9.6%.

Across 33 programs with published four-year earnings data, the largest by degrees awarded is Finance at 229 degrees awarded, with Business Administration and Management at 198 and Psychology at 164. The highest-earning program is also the largest: Finance graduates earn a median of $141,860 four years after completion, which is 1.70x the national median for its field.

Mathematics and Statistics is the second-highest-earning, at $117,344 from 50 degrees awarded, and Accounting follows at $117,024 from 93 degrees awarded. International Business, with 153 degrees awarded, reports median earnings of $106,665.

The pattern is one of strength concentrated in business fields, where the largest programs also post the highest earnings. Political Science and Psychology, the other large programs outside of business, show more moderate earnings at $74,419 and $62,273, respectively. Across all fields, 23.6% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Finance and Financial Management Services 229 degrees awarded
$141,860
Business Administration, Management and Operations 198 degrees awarded
$90,192
Psychology, General 164 degrees awarded
$62,273
Political Science and Government 156 degrees awarded
$74,419
International Business 153 degrees awarded
$106,665
Economics 147 degrees awarded
$94,170

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 / Fordham University briefing

How does Fordham University serve students from different backgrounds?

The mobility pillar is in the 74th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 81.9%, while Pell recipients complete at a rate of 74.8% — below the overall rate by 7.1 percentage points.

Four years after completion, graduates earn about $725 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. That result places the earnings beyond expectations measure in the 57th percentile.

Fordham University enrolls 10,512 undergraduates as a private nonprofit university in Bronx, New York. The university admits 59.3% of those who apply.

Azimuth places the university in the 73rd percentile for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. 21.4% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, and an estimated 11.6% of the student body enters as transfers or part-time students.

06 / Fordham University briefing

What colleges are similar to Fordham 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 Fordham University.

Admissions peerYeshiva University55.6% admitted
Comparison with Fordham University
MeasureFordham UniversityYeshiva University
Peer earnings · 4 years$84,203$93,796+$9,593 vs Fordham University
Average annual net price$44,338$49,965+$5,627 vs Fordham University · higher cost
Admission rate59.3%55.6%
Higher-admission alternativeSaint Joseph's University - Philadelphia88.8% admitted
Comparison with Fordham University
MeasureFordham UniversitySaint Joseph's University - Philadelphia
Peer earnings · 4 years$84,203$84,010-$193 vs Fordham University
Average annual net price$44,338$29,689-$14,649 vs Fordham University · lower cost
Admission rate59.3%88.8%
Explore Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia →
Nearby alternativePace UniversityNearby option · NY
Comparison with Fordham University
MeasureFordham UniversityPace University
Peer earnings · 4 years$84,203$80,804-$3,399 vs Fordham University
Average annual net price$44,338$30,892-$13,446 vs Fordham University · lower cost
Admission rate59.3%75.9%
Explore Pace University →
Higher-earnings alternativeSouthern Methodist University$95,051 earnings
Comparison with Fordham University
MeasureFordham UniversitySouthern Methodist University
Peer earnings · 4 years$84,203$95,051+$10,848 vs Fordham University
Average annual net price$44,338$40,892-$3,446 vs Fordham University · lower cost
Admission rate59.3%63.4%
Explore Southern Methodist University →
Lower-cost alternativeCUNY Bernard M Baruch College$3,033 average net price
Comparison with Fordham University
MeasureFordham UniversityCUNY Bernard M Baruch College
Peer earnings · 4 years$84,203$82,748-$1,455 vs Fordham University
Average annual net price$44,338$3,033-$41,305 vs Fordham University · lower cost
Admission rate59.3%47.5%
Explore CUNY Bernard M Baruch College →
Similar profileSt. John's University-New YorkMatched across several measures
Comparison with Fordham University
MeasureFordham UniversitySt. John's University-New York
Peer earnings · 4 years$84,203$77,868-$6,335 vs Fordham University
Average annual net price$44,338$29,999-$14,339 vs Fordham University · lower cost
Admission rate59.3%83.4%
Explore St. John's University-New York →

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