College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Quinnipiac University

CTMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #845 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Quinnipiac University #845 overall among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Quinnipiac University is a private nonprofit university in Hamden, Connecticut, where Health Professions and Business account for most degrees. Return is among the highest we track, while affordability is below the levels seen at many peers.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The model attributes more of that gain to what it cannot explain than to the factors it measures — field of study, enrollment and the local labor market.

Pell recipients complete at a rate below the overall cohort, and access is modestly below average. The lowest income band pays well under the published cost, so aid covers a substantial share of the sticker price for those families.

The admission rate is close to the median for comparable institutions, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study. A student drawn to the health professions should know that the largest program is not the highest-earning one.

Quinnipiac University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
72.2%
Six-year completion[2]
75.7%
Four-year earnings[3]
$84,363

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$36,507
Median student debt[4]
$26,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$64,334

Quinnipiac University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Quinnipiac University is a private nonprofit university in Hamden, Connecticut, enrolling 6,531 undergraduates. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, it sits near the middle of the field (42nd percentile).

The admission rate at Quinnipiac University is 72.2%, slightly above the 71.2% median for institutions of the same type and size. Among students who start full time, 89.1% come back for a second year and 75.7% finish within six years.

Both sit above the peer medians of 83.4% and 68.8%. An estimated 10.6% of all entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, which means the six-year rate describes the first-time, full-time cohort rather than the full student body.

Return is the strongest , at the 91st percentile, and affordability is the weakest, at the 2nd percentile. Mobility and access fall between them, at the 53rd and 34th percentiles, so the four are spread across a wide range.

Return is the clear bright spot in Quinnipiac University’s profile, but affordability sits at the other end of the picture. Azimuth places return in the 91st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, its strongest pillar.

Mobility is in the 53rd percentile and access in the 34th percentile. Affordability, the weakest pillar, is in the 2nd percentile, so the strong return result comes alongside a very different cost profile.

At Quinnipiac University, the middle 50% of submitted SAT scores fell between 1,150 and 1,320. The ACT middle half spanned 25 to 30.

16.2% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants. Azimuth ranks the university #975 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients finish at 67.5%, 8.2 percentage points below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole. For mobility, Azimuth ranks the university #695 among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $8,438 more than the model expects for similar students.

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

Quinnipiac University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#845

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 53
Access & reach
National percentile: 34
Affordability
National percentile: 2
Return on investment
National percentile: 91

01 / Quinnipiac University briefing

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

Quinnipiac University remains costly after average aid when compared with similar institutions. The published cost of attendance is $72,215, an average across living arrangements.

On-campus costs include $55,480 in tuition and fees and $17,260 for room and board. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $40,675, and average aid reduces the published price by $31,540.

Among comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price, the middle value for that group, is $27,371. Quinnipiac University sits $13,304 above that figure.

Azimuth ranks the university #1,380 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. The published price, , and peer comparison all describe a costly affordability picture.

Quinnipiac University starts with a published cost of attendance of $72,215 (an average across living arrangements), making grant aid central to the price families face. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $33,649 in the low-income family-income band, $35,827 in the lower-middle band, $36,507 in the middle band, $39,096 in the upper-middle band, and $42,891 in the high-income band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $9,242. Azimuth ranks the university #1,380 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 44% of the published cost, an average savings of $31,540. Across all aid recipients, the average net price is $40,675, $13,304 above the peer median of $27,371 at comparable institutions (same type and size).

Published tuition and fees are $55,480, and room and board are listed at $17,260. Aid reduces the sticker price, but the average price after aid remains above the comparable-institution benchmark.

Among federal-loan borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $26,000, and 97.6% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. That median stands $1,801 above the $24,199 peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $295 a month if repaid over ten years. Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $64,334.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$36,507

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Quinnipiac University

Federal borrowing is widespread at Quinnipiac University, where borrowers who complete typically carry $26,000 in federal student loan debt. Among comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median federal debt is $24,199, with Quinnipiac’s median $1,801 above that reference.

Parent PLUS borrowers are a separate parent-borrower population, with median borrowing of $64,334.

Earnings are the central financial strength at Quinnipiac University. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $84,363 four years after completion; Azimuth places that figure in the 92nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $8,438 more 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 80th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Four-year earnings scenarios run from $61,520 in the downside case to $96,951 in the upside case, with $84,363 as the typical scenario. Median federal debt is $26,000, or $1,801 above the $24,199 peer median.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $295 a month if repaid over ten years. Above-expected earnings sit alongside debt that is above the peer reference.

For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing stands at $64,334. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $295 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
$26,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$64,334

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$295/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$817/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 / Quinnipiac University briefing

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

At Quinnipiac University, median earnings are $84,363 four years after completion, in the 92nd percentile. Azimuth places the return pillar in the 91st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $8,438 more 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 80th 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 $3,216. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $5,222.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250; the university's figure is $16,113 above it.

Graduates of Quinnipiac University earn a median of $84,363 four years after completing a degree, a figure that places the university in the 92nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That median is drawn from an earnings cohort of 1,339 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled.

Here, graduates earn about $8,438 more than the model expects for similar students, a result at the 80th percentile. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the university's program mix, show the range of possible outcomes.

The typical earnings scenario is $84,363, with a downside scenario of $61,520 and an upside scenario of $96,951. An estimated 26.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix, so the four-year earnings picture captures most but not all completers.

Graduates of Quinnipiac University earn a median of $84,363 four years after completing a degree, a figure that sits at the 92nd percentile nationally. The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $68,250, which puts the university $16,113 above that benchmark.

Azimuth ranks the university #134 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $8,438 more than the model expects for similar students.

That gap lands at the 80th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $3,216.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $5,222. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $330.

The degree mix leans heavily toward health professions and business, fields where graduates tend to out-earn the national median for their disciplines. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, range from $61,520 on the downside to $96,951 on the upside.

An estimated 26.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Earnings vary across Quinnipiac’s modeled program-mix scenarios, making field choice especially relevant to the range a graduate might see. The downside scenario is $61,520, the typical scenario is $84,363, and the upside scenario is $96,951; these are earnings scenarios, not observed groups.

Among individual fields, median earnings four years after completion are $103,533 in Accounting, $100,141 in Economics, and $98,641 in Nursing. Those field results help explain the spread between the modeled lower and upper scenarios.

Quinnipiac University presents a favorable earnings signal, but its price and borrower debt sit above comparable benchmarks. Its average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $40,675, above the $27,371 peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $13,304.

Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $26,000, above the $24,199 peer median by $1,801. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $295 a month if repaid over ten years.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, offers a separate return measure. Graduates earn about $8,438 more than the model expects for similar students. Above-expected earnings sit beside higher average price and borrower debt.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$3,216
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$5,222
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$8,438

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 / Quinnipiac University briefing

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

Quinnipiac University admitted 72.2% of applicants, a rate slightly above the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size). That rate summarizes admission decisions for the reported entering class and does not predict an individual decision.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
72.2%
Approximate lower endpoint
1150
Reported average
1242
Approximate upper endpoint
1320

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 / Quinnipiac University briefing

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

At Quinnipiac University, the leading program earnings combine high-earning business fields with a comparatively more moderate engineering result four years after completion. Accounting has median earnings of $103,533 and 39 degrees awarded.

Economics posts $100,141 in median earnings, across 18 degrees awarded. Nursing pairs $98,641 in median earnings with 272 degrees awarded, making it a large program among the higher-earning fields shown here.

Mechanical Engineering records $89,732 and 27 degrees awarded. The contrast shows that the earnings picture varies by field, even among programs with relatively strong four-year medians.

Health Professions accounts for 37.1% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, making it the largest program family at Quinnipiac University. Its largest field, Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, awarded 319 degrees and had median earnings of $80,374 four years after completion.

The bachelor's degree mix at Quinnipiac University is anchored by two professional fields. Health Professions accounts for 37.1% of degrees awarded, and Business makes up another 22.6%, with Communication & Journalism a distant third at 9.5%.

The largest single programs are Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences at 319 degrees awarded and Nursing at 272, followed by Finance at 114. Across the university, 25 programs have published four-year earnings data, and 12.0% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields.

The highest-earning program is a smaller one: Accounting graduates earn a median of $103,533 four years after completion, from 39 degrees awarded a year. Economics follows at $100,141, with 18 degrees awarded.

Nursing, the second-largest program on campus, is also the third-highest-earning at $98,641. Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations posts a benchmark ratio of 1.50x against the national median for its field, on 37 degrees awarded.

The pattern is one of concentrated strength in professional fields where earnings track closely with the credential. The two largest programs, Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences and Nursing, both sit above the national median for their fields, and the highest-earning programs are spread across business, health, and a small engineering presence.

The communication and journalism programs, which make up the third-largest family, sit outside the highest-earning group.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other 319 degrees awarded
$80,374
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 272 degrees awarded
$98,641
Finance and Financial Management Services 114 degrees awarded
$86,474
Marketing 100 degrees awarded
$83,258
Business Administration, Management and Operations 78 degrees awarded
$82,357
Biology, General 75 degrees awarded
$70,632

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 / Quinnipiac University briefing

How does Quinnipiac University serve students from different backgrounds?

Quinnipiac University’s mobility profile pairs a modeled earnings measure with different completion rates for the overall and Pell cohorts. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 75.7%, whereas Pell recipients complete within six years at 67.5%, below the overall rate by 8.2 percentage points.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is favorable here: Graduates earn about $8,438 more than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth puts that measure in the 80th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions and places mobility in the 53rd percentile. Above-expected earnings sit alongside lower Pell completion.

At Quinnipiac University, 72.2% of applicants are admitted, and undergraduate enrollment is 6,531 undergraduates. Pell Grants reach 16.2% of undergraduates, while the estimated share of entrants outside the first-time, full-time group is 10.6%.

Azimuth rates the university’s access pillar at the 34th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The admission rate, Pell Grant participation, and transfer estimate show separate parts of the access picture.

06 / Quinnipiac University briefing

What colleges are similar to Quinnipiac 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 Quinnipiac University.

Admissions peerSalve Regina University68.2% admitted
Comparison with Quinnipiac University
MeasureQuinnipiac UniversitySalve Regina University
Peer earnings · 4 years$84,363$70,451-$13,912 vs Quinnipiac University
Average annual net price$40,675$36,967-$3,708 vs Quinnipiac University · lower cost
Admission rate72.2%68.2%
Higher-admission alternativeWagner College88.0% admitted
Comparison with Quinnipiac University
MeasureQuinnipiac UniversityWagner College
Peer earnings · 4 years$84,363$85,313+$950 vs Quinnipiac University
Average annual net price$40,675$28,241-$12,434 vs Quinnipiac University · lower cost
Admission rate72.2%88.0%
Nearby alternativeUniversity of Saint JosephNearby option · CT
Comparison with Quinnipiac University
MeasureQuinnipiac UniversityUniversity of Saint Joseph
Peer earnings · 4 years$84,363$73,035-$11,328 vs Quinnipiac University
Average annual net price$40,675$27,989-$12,686 vs Quinnipiac University · lower cost
Admission rate72.2%78.6%
Higher-earnings alternativeSouthern Methodist University$95,051 earnings
Comparison with Quinnipiac University
MeasureQuinnipiac UniversitySouthern Methodist University
Peer earnings · 4 years$84,363$95,051+$10,688 vs Quinnipiac University
Average annual net price$40,675$40,892+$217 vs Quinnipiac University · higher cost
Admission rate72.2%63.4%
Explore Southern Methodist University →
Lower-cost alternativeCUNY Bernard M Baruch College$3,033 average net price
Comparison with Quinnipiac University
MeasureQuinnipiac UniversityCUNY Bernard M Baruch College
Peer earnings · 4 years$84,363$82,748-$1,615 vs Quinnipiac University
Average annual net price$40,675$3,033-$37,642 vs Quinnipiac University · lower cost
Admission rate72.2%47.5%
Explore CUNY Bernard M Baruch College →
Similar profileUniversity of RochesterMatched across several measures
Comparison with Quinnipiac University
MeasureQuinnipiac UniversityUniversity of Rochester
Peer earnings · 4 years$84,363$87,197+$2,834 vs Quinnipiac University
Average annual net price$40,675$29,278-$11,397 vs Quinnipiac University · lower cost
Admission rate72.2%40.1%
Explore University of Rochester →

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