College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Marquette University

WIMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #450 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Marquette University #450 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Marquette University is a private nonprofit university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the degree mix is led by Business, Biological Sciences, and Engineering. Return is among the highest we track.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them, and the typical graduate earns above the median at comparable schools. The model attributes the gap to the factors it measures — field of study, enrollment and the local labor market — which add, while the unexplained remainder subtracts.

Pell recipients complete below the overall rate, and mobility is well above average. Affordability is below the levels seen at many peers, so the price case turns on income.

Families at the bottom of the income scale pay less than the published cost, while those at the top pay closer to it. The admission rate is above the median for comparable institutions, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study.

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

Marquette University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
81.3%
Six-year completion[2]
83.2%
Four-year earnings[3]
$80,228

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$27,378
Median student debt[4]
$23,940
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$45,500

Marquette University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Marquette University is a private nonprofit university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, enrolling 7,660 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the upper middle of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (69th percentile).

The strongest is return, at the 92nd percentile, while affordability is the weakest, at the 10th percentile. The four pillars are spread widely, with mobility and access falling between the two extremes.

The university admits 81.3% of applicants, a rate above the 71.2% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 91.0% return for a second year and 83.2% finish within six years.

Both figures run well above the peer medians of 83.4% and 68.8%. An estimated 4.7% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes the experience of the large majority who begin here.

The shape is a private university in Wisconsin where return is the standout pillar and affordability the weakest, with mobility and access sitting between them. The return pillar sits at the 92nd percentile, while affordability is at the 10th percentile, a wide gap that defines the institution's profile in the ranking.

Azimuth places Marquette University's return pillar in the 92nd percentile, making it the university's strongest dimension among the four pillars. The mobility pillar follows in the 78th percentile, and the access pillar sits in the 34th percentile.

Affordability is the weakest pillar, in the 10th percentile. Azimuth ranks the university #450 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions.

18.4% of undergraduates at Marquette University receive Pell Grants. Azimuth ranks Marquette University #967 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at 76.7%, which is 6.5 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate. Azimuth ranks the university #322 for mobility.

Graduates earn about $8,145 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that coincides with the mobility pillar's position.

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

Marquette University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#450

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 78
Access & reach
National percentile: 34
Affordability
National percentile: 10
Return on investment
National percentile: 92

Top-ranked majors

  1. Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences#2
  2. Biology, General#3
  3. Business/Corporate Communications#3

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 / Marquette University briefing

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

The published cost of attendance at Marquette University is $66,768, an average across living arrangements. Tuition and fees are $51,170 and room and board are $16,490.

Grants and scholarships reduce the sticker price by an average of $35,281 for aid recipients, bringing the average net price to $31,487. That is $4,116 above the $27,371 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks the university #1,266 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. That places the pillar in the 10th percentile.

The published cost of attendance at Marquette University is $66,768 (an average across living arrangements). Azimuth ranks the university #1,266 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $22,269, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $27,378, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $36,813. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $14,544.

The average aid recipient sees $35,281 in aid against the published cost, with tuition and fees set at $51,170. Across all bands, the average net price is $31,487, which is $4,116 above the $27,371 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Borrowers who finish carry a median of $23,940 in federal student loans, $259 below the $24,199 peer median. 89.6% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $45,500 in Parent PLUS loans. If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $272 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$27,378

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Marquette University

At Marquette University, 89.6% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, and the median federal student debt for completers who borrowed is $23,940. That median lands below the $24,199 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $259.

Parent borrowers, a separate population, carry a median Parent PLUS loan of $45,500.

Graduates of Marquette University earn about $8,145 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome in the 79th percentile nationally. Four years after completion, the median earnings reach $80,228, a figure in the 89th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

That amount sits above the $68,250 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $11,978. Earnings scenarios derived from the university's program mix show a typical earnings level of $80,228, with a downside scenario of $57,444 and an upside scenario of $98,063.

For borrowers, the median federal student debt at completion is $23,940, which corresponds to an estimated payment of $272 a month if repaid over ten years. Above-expected earnings and a debt level that sits below the peer median point the same way for graduates.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $45,500. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $272.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$23,940
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$45,500

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$272/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$578/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 / Marquette University briefing

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

Marquette University's return pillar sits in the 92nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, the strongest of its four Azimuth pillars. Graduates earn about $8,145 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 79th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $12,293. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $4,148.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $3,621. Four years after completion, the median earnings for the university's completers reach $80,228, a level in the 89th percentile nationally.

That figure sits above the peer median of $68,250 for comparable institutions (same type and size), a gap of $11,978. Earnings that beat the model and sit well above the peer median point the same way: a strong return picture.

Graduates of Marquette University earn a median of $80,228 four years after completing their degree, measured among the 2,087 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. That figure sits $11,978 above the median of $68,250 for comparable institutions.

The earnings picture is stronger than the raw number alone suggests. Graduates earn about $8,145 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that places the university at the 79th percentile nationally.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix show the range of possibilities: a typical scenario of $80,228, a downside scenario of $57,444, and an upside scenario of $98,063. An estimated 32.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates of Marquette University who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $80,228, placing them at the 89th percentile nationally. That figure is $11,978 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $8,145 more than the model expects for similar students, placing that gap at the 79th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $12,293.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $4,148. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $3,621.

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a downside of $57,444 and an upside of $98,063. Azimuth ranks the university #115 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The earnings picture is shaped by a program mix that leans toward business and health-related fields, where several large programs post earnings above their national benchmarks, though not all do. An estimated 32.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The model attributes most of the earnings advantage to the factors it measures rather than to what it cannot explain, and the STEM component adds to that measured share. The return pillar is the strongest of the university's four, while affordability is the weakest.

Earnings at Marquette University vary widely by field, a pattern captured by the earnings scenarios: a downside of $57,444, a typical scenario of $80,228, and an upside of $98,063 four years after completion. The highest-earning programs sit well above the typical scenario.

Electrical Engineering completers earn a median of $106,686, International Business graduates reach $102,306, and Real Estate completers earn $99,583. These figures draw from 32 programs with published data.

The downside-to-upside range shows earnings differences by field, and the top-earning programs exceed the upside.

Graduates of Marquette University earn about $8,145 more than the model expects for similar students. Borrowers who complete a degree carry a median federal student debt of $23,940, which is below the $24,199 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, that balance corresponds to an estimated payment of $272 a month. Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate pool, hold a median debt of $45,500.

Aid recipients pay an average net price of $31,487—the cost of attendance minus grants and scholarships—which is $4,116 above the median for comparable institutions. The spread between the lowest and highest income bands is $14,544.

That earnings premium coincides with debt below the peer median, yet the net price runs above it, leaving the value picture mixed.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$12,293
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$4,148
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$8,145

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 / Marquette University briefing

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

Marquette University admits 81.3% of applicants, a rate that sits above the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size). Most who apply receive an offer.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
81.3%
25th percentile
1220
Median
1280
75th percentile
1350

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

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Marquette University briefing

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

Marquette University awards 175 degrees in Finance, where completers earn a median of $97,719 four years after completion, and Azimuth ranks the program #39 nationally in its field. Biology, the largest program at 253 degrees awarded, ranks #3 nationally and reaches $88,921.

Psychology provides a moderate-earning contrast at $60,338 on 130 degrees awarded, and the program still ranks #52 nationally. Marketing sits between these levels at $82,233 with 124 degrees awarded and a national rank of #41, a midpoint that shows the earnings range across the university's largest fields.

Marquette University runs 30 nationally ranked bachelor's programs across 32 fields with published earnings. Its highest-ranked field, Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences, holds the #2 national position with 87 degrees awarded and a median of $78,125 four years after completion.

Biology, the largest program by degrees awarded, ranks #3 nationally with 253 degrees awarded and a median of $88,921. Finance awarded 175 degrees, ranks #39 nationally, and reports a median of $97,719.

Psychology ranks #52 nationally with 130 degrees awarded and a median of $60,338. Marketing sits at #41 nationally with 124 degrees awarded and a median of $82,233.

Business accounts for 25.9% of bachelor's degrees awarded at Marquette University, with Biological Sciences next at 14.5% and Engineering at 10.9%. The university has 30 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 32 with published four-year earnings data.

The largest single program is Biology, at 253 degrees awarded, followed by Finance at 175 degrees awarded and Nursing at 164 degrees awarded. The strongest programs are concentrated in a few fields.

Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences is the highest-ranked, with 87 degrees awarded and median earnings of $78,125 four years after completion; Azimuth ranks it #1 in Wisconsin within its field. Biology, the largest program, earns a benchmark ratio of 1.55x against the national median for its field and ranks #1 in Wisconsin.

Electrical Engineering reports the highest four-year earnings at $106,686, from 26 degrees awarded. Business/Corporate Communications ranks #3 nationally within its field, with 41 degrees awarded and earnings of $71,711.

The pattern is one of strength concentrated in a few large programs rather than spread evenly across the curriculum. Biology and Finance are both large and highly ranked, while the highest earnings come from a much smaller engineering program.

31.9% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields. Four-year earnings for fields where many graduates continue to graduate study may understate later trajectories.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Biology, General 253 degrees awarded
$88,921
Finance and Financial Management Services 175 degrees awarded
$97,719
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 164 degrees awarded
$88,069
Psychology, General 130 degrees awarded
$60,338
Marketing 124 degrees awarded
$82,233
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication 100 degrees awarded
$64,978

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 / Marquette University briefing

How does Marquette University serve students from different backgrounds?

Marquette University combines a high six-year graduation rate with earnings that run well ahead of the model, two facts that lift its mobility pillar into the 78th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The first-time full-time cohort graduates at a rate of 83.2%, and Pell recipients complete at 76.7% — below the overall rate by 6.5 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $8,145 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the 79th percentile nationally. Strong completion and above-expected earnings point the same way for this university.

Marquette University admits 81.3% of applicants, a rate that sits above the peer median of 71.2% for comparable private nonprofit universities. The university enrolls 7,660 undergraduates, and 18.4% of them receive Pell Grants, a measure of financial access.

An estimated 4.7% of undergraduates enter as transfers or part-time students. Azimuth places the access pillar in the 34th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, reflecting an enrollment profile that is more selective than the broadest-access schools but still admits the large majority of its applicants.

06 / Marquette University briefing

What colleges are similar to Marquette 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 Marquette University.

Admissions peerLoyola University Chicago81.6% admitted
Comparison with Marquette University
MeasureMarquette UniversityLoyola University Chicago
Peer earnings · 4 years$80,228$73,865-$6,363 vs Marquette University
Average annual net price$31,487$36,079+$4,592 vs Marquette University · higher cost
Admission rate81.3%81.6%
Explore Loyola University Chicago →
Higher-admission alternativeBenedictine University95.2% admitted
Comparison with Marquette University
MeasureMarquette UniversityBenedictine University
Peer earnings · 4 years$80,228$72,460-$7,768 vs Marquette University
Average annual net price$31,487$22,313-$9,174 vs Marquette University · lower cost
Admission rate81.3%95.2%
Explore Benedictine University →
Nearby alternativeUniversity of Wisconsin-MadisonNearby option · WI
Comparison with Marquette University
MeasureMarquette UniversityUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison
Peer earnings · 4 years$80,228$78,974-$1,254 vs Marquette University
Average annual net price$31,487$17,354-$14,133 vs Marquette University · lower cost
Admission rate81.3%45.2%
Explore University of Wisconsin-Madison →
Higher-earnings alternativeUniversity of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis$131,813 earnings
Comparison with Marquette University
MeasureMarquette UniversityUniversity of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis
Peer earnings · 4 years$80,228$131,813+$51,585 vs Marquette University
Average annual net price$31,487$31,817+$330 vs Marquette University · higher cost
Admission rate81.3%89.8%
Explore University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis →
Lower-cost alternativeUniversity of Illinois Chicago$10,974 average net price
Comparison with Marquette University
MeasureMarquette UniversityUniversity of Illinois Chicago
Peer earnings · 4 years$80,228$72,839-$7,389 vs Marquette University
Average annual net price$31,487$10,974-$20,513 vs Marquette University · lower cost
Admission rate81.3%77.4%
Explore University of Illinois Chicago →
Similar profileUniversity of DaytonMatched across several measures
Comparison with Marquette University
MeasureMarquette UniversityUniversity of Dayton
Peer earnings · 4 years$80,228$78,870-$1,358 vs Marquette University
Average annual net price$31,487$29,533-$1,954 vs Marquette University · lower cost
Admission rate81.3%65.5%
Explore University of Dayton →

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 is 150% of the federal poverty guideline for one person, for the year the API serves. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. The parent table is the 10-year payment on the median Parent PLUS as a share of household income above 200% of the guideline for a household of three: under 6% Safe, 6–10% Caution, over 10% High pressure. 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