College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Temple University

PALarge public institution · Overall rank #125 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Temple University #125 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Temple University is a public university in Philadelphia whose degree mix is led by Business, Health Professions, and Communication & Journalism. Mobility is among the highest we track.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds to expected earnings, while the part it attributes to a remainder it cannot explain subtracts from them.

Return is above average. Pell recipients complete at a rate below the overall cohort, and affordability is below the levels seen at many peers.

The spread between what the lowest and highest income bands pay is wide, and what students pay after aid sits above the median at comparable schools. The admission rate is close to the median for comparable schools.

Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study, and the largest programs are not the best-paid ones.

Temple University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
80.4%
Six-year completion[2]
75.0%
Four-year earnings[3]
$67,232

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$26,534
Median student debt[4]
$24,395
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$36,495

Temple University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Temple University is a public university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, enrolling 20,970 undergraduates. Its composite standing is in the top tenth of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (92nd percentile).

The shape is a broad-access public campus where mobility is the strongest and affordability the weakest, with access and return sitting between them. Temple University admits 80.4% of applicants, a rate close to the 78.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

Of students who start full time, 82.6% return for a second year, against a peer median of 83.1%. The six-year graduation rate is 75.0%, which is above the peer median of 65.0%.

An estimated 21.9% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students. The four pillars sit far apart.

Mobility is the strongest of the four (97th percentile), while affordability is the weakest (19th percentile). Access and return fall between them (83rd and 67th percentiles respectively).

Azimuth ranks Temple University's mobility pillar in the 97th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, making it the strongest of the four. Access is also a clear strength, at the 83rd percentile.

Return sits in the middle of the pack at the 67th percentile. Affordability is the weakest pillar, at the 19th percentile.

32.0% of undergraduates at Temple University receive Pell Grants. Azimuth ranks Temple University #251 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at 66.3%, 8.7 percentage points below the rate for the cohort as a whole. Azimuth ranks the university #52 for mobility.

Graduates earn about $803 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

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

Temple University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#125

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 97
Access & reach
National percentile: 83
Affordability
National percentile: 19
Return on investment
National percentile: 67

Top-ranked majors

  1. Legal Professions and Studies, Other#2
  2. Insurance#6
  3. Architectural Sciences and Technology#14

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 / Temple University briefing

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

Temple University publishes a cost of attendance of $40,903, with in-state tuition and fees at $23,011 and room and board at $17,690. Out-of-state students face a higher tuition of $38,958.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price, what aid recipients pay, is $28,198, a savings of $12,705 against the sticker price. That sits above the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $12,564.

Azimuth ranks Temple #1,151 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. For the lowest-income families, the average net price drops to $22,694, and aid covers about 31% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

The gap between the sticker price and what families actually pay is substantial, yet the net price remains above the peer benchmark. A low-income net price that stays above the peer median, combined with a high sticker price, points to an aid model that offsets a significant share of costs.

Still, the average recipient is left with a larger bill than at comparable public universities.

The published cost of attendance at Temple University is $40,903. Azimuth ranks the university #1,151 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $22,694 for families earning under $30,000, $26,534 for those earning $48,001 to $75,000, and $34,947 for those earning over $110,000. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $12,253.

Aid covers about 31% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, saving them $12,705 against the sticker price. In-state tuition and fees are $23,011, and out-of-state students pay $38,958.

The average net price across all aid recipients is $28,198, which is $12,564 above the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size). Borrowers who finish carry a median of $24,395 in federal student loans, $4,319 above the peer median of $20,076.

94.0% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $36,495 in Parent PLUS loans.

If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $277 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$26,534

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Temple University

Borrowing is widespread at Temple University: 94.0% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, and the median federal student debt at completion is $24,395. That median sits above the peer median of $20,076 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $4,319.

For a separate population of parent borrowers, the median Parent PLUS loan is $36,495.

Graduates of Temple University earn about $803 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. That outcome falls at the 52nd percentile.

Four years after completion, the median for federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled is $67,232. That places the earnings figure at the 71st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, show a typical outcome of $67,232. The downside case reaches $48,495 and the upside case reaches $92,313.

Borrowers who complete hold a median of $24,395 in federal student debt. That amount is $4,319 above the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $277 a month.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $36,495. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $277.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$24,395
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$36,495

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$277/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$464/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 / Temple University briefing

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

Temple University's strongest pillar is mobility, not return, and the earnings picture reflects that. Azimuth places the return pillar in the 67th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Four years after completion, completers earn a median of $67,232, at the 71st percentile. That figure sits above the peer median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,622.

Graduates earn about $803 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level, a result in the 52nd percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $8,324.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $9,127. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,607.

The model's split shows the program mix helping while the institution's own effect pulls the other way.

Temple University's strongest pillar is mobility, where it ranks #52 among nonprofit four-year institutions. That strength coexists with a median earnings figure four years after completion of $67,232, which sits above the peer median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

The earnings cohort includes 8,332 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. Graduates earn about $803 less 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 of $67,232, with a downside scenario of $48,495 and an upside scenario reaching $92,313. An estimated 27.3% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The earnings picture is mixed: the median sits just above the peer benchmark, while the model finds graduates earn slightly less than expected for similar students. The wide spread between the downside and upside scenarios reflects the variation across the university's 62 programs with earnings data.

Four years after completion, Temple University graduates earn a median of $67,232, which places the university in the 71st percentile nationally. That figure is above the peer median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,622.

Graduates earn about $803 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level, a result that sits in the 52nd percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $8,324.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $9,127. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,607.

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a downside of $48,495 and an upside of $92,313, with the typical scenario at $67,232. Azimuth ranks Temple University #490 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The largest program, Psychology, awarded 334 degrees and shows median earnings of $50,582 four years after completion, ranking #171 nationally in its field according to Azimuth. Computer and Information Sciences is both large and high-earning, with 319 degrees awarded and a median of $101,670, which ranks #55 nationally according to Azimuth.

Biology stands out for its return: it earns $72,134, or 1.26x the national median for the field, and ranks #34 nationally according to Azimuth. The university's strongest national ranks sit in Legal Professions and Studies (#2 nationally according to Azimuth, 27 degrees awarded).

The earnings scenarios at Temple University span from a downside of $48,495 to an upside of $92,313 four years after completion, a range that reflects the variation in program-level outcomes. The highest-earning programs show the upper end of that spread.

Management Science graduates earn a median of $104,311, Computer and Information Sciences completers reach $101,670, and Biomedical Engineering graduates earn $101,101. The typical earnings scenario of $67,232 sits closer to the middle of the range, reflecting the mix of programs that award the most degrees.

The cost side asks more of a family at Temple University than it does at many comparable institutions. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $28,198.

That is $12,564 above the $15,634 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Borrowers who finish carry a median of $24,395 in federal student loans.

That figure is $4,319 above the peer median of $20,076, and it corresponds to an estimated payment of $277 a month if repaid over ten years. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $36,495 in Parent PLUS loans.

Graduates earn about $803 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. The return is close to what the model predicts, while the net price and debt both run above the peer medians.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$8,324
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$9,127
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$803

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 / Temple University briefing

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

Temple University admits 80.4% of applicants, a rate that sits close to the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). The figure reflects broad access at a large public university in Philadelphia.

Admissions
Admission rate
80.4%
Read the full admissions brief

04 / Temple University briefing

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

The university's program mix spans high-earning technical fields and large-enrollment social sciences, with a wide spread in outcomes. Computer and Information Sciences is the highest-earning large program, with a median of $101,670 four years after completion and an Azimuth national rank of #55 on 319 degrees awarded.

Finance follows at $85,011 and a national rank of #71 (269 degrees awarded). By contrast, Psychology, the largest program with 334 degrees awarded, shows a median of $50,582 and ranks #171 nationally.

Biology sits between these poles: $72,134 and a national rank of #34 on 254 degrees awarded. The contrast between a six-figure technical field and a moderate-earning social science that awards more degrees shapes the university's overall return picture.

The earnings picture at Temple University depends heavily on the program a student chooses, and the university has 50 nationally ranked bachelor's fields to examine. Legal Professions and Studies is the strongest by rank, placed #2 in its field among nonprofit four-year institutions and first in Pennsylvania.

The largest programs show a wide spread. Psychology awards the most degrees at 334 a year, ranks #171 nationally, and its graduates earn a median of $50,582.

The highest-earning program, Management Science, reports a median of $104,311 from 49 degrees a year.

Temple University awards bachelor's degrees across a broad set of fields, with Business the largest family at 22.1% of degrees awarded, followed by Health Professions at 11.2% and Communication & Journalism at 10.7%. The university has 50 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 62 with published four-year earnings data.

The largest single program is Psychology, at 334 degrees awarded, with Computer and Information Sciences close behind at 319 and Finance at 269. The highest-ranked program is Legal Professions and Studies, which awards 27 degrees and reports median earnings of $60,714 four years after completion, ranking #1 in Pennsylvania within its field.

Insurance ranks #6 nationally within its field and #1 in Pennsylvania, awarding 150 degrees. Management Science is the highest-earning program at $104,311, though it is smaller at 49 degrees awarded.

Biology shows a benchmark ratio of 1.26x against the national median for its field, with median earnings of $72,134. The pattern is one of strength spread across business, health, and communication fields, with several programs holding national ranks inside the top two dozen.

Computer and Information Sciences, the second-largest program, earns $101,670 and ranks #55 nationally within its field, while Psychology, the largest, earns $50,582 and ranks #171 nationally within its field. The highest earnings come from a smaller program, Management Science.

Biology, which also sits among the largest programs, has a benchmark ratio of 1.26x against the national median for its field. Across all fields, 19.7% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Psychology, General 334 degrees awarded
$50,582
Computer and Information Sciences, General 319 degrees awarded
$101,670
Finance and Financial Management Services 269 degrees awarded
$85,011
Biology, General 254 degrees awarded
$72,134
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication 249 degrees awarded
$67,840
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General 232 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report

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 / Temple University briefing

How does Temple University serve students from different backgrounds?

Temple University's strongest pillar is mobility, where Azimuth places it in the 97th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 75.0%, while Pell recipients complete at a rate of 66.3%, a figure that sits below the overall rate by 8.7 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $803 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level, a result that sits in the 52nd percentile. A graduation rate above the peer median and earnings near the model's expectation show a school that moves many students to a degree, though the immediate earnings return is not its strongest feature.

Azimuth places the access pillar of Temple University in the 83rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The public university admits 80.4% of applicants and enrolls 20,970 undergraduates.

Pell Grant recipients make up 32.0% of the undergraduate body, and an estimated 21.9% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students.

06 / Temple University briefing

What colleges are similar to Temple 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 Temple University.

Admissions peerChestnut Hill College74.5% admitted
Comparison with Temple University
MeasureTemple UniversityChestnut Hill College
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,232$55,964-$11,268 vs Temple University
Average annual net price$28,198$27,970-$228 vs Temple University · lower cost
Admission rate80.4%74.5%
Higher-admission alternativeKing's College93.1% admitted
Comparison with Temple University
MeasureTemple UniversityKing's College
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,232$67,122-$110 vs Temple University
Average annual net price$28,198$23,093-$5,105 vs Temple University · lower cost
Admission rate80.4%93.1%
Nearby alternativeWest Chester University of PennsylvaniaNearby option · PA
Comparison with Temple University
MeasureTemple UniversityWest Chester University of Pennsylvania
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,232$64,804-$2,428 vs Temple University
Average annual net price$28,198$23,331-$4,867 vs Temple University · lower cost
Admission rate80.4%78.4%
Explore West Chester University of Pennsylvania →
Higher-earnings alternativeSaint Joseph's University - Philadelphia$84,010 earnings
Comparison with Temple University
MeasureTemple UniversitySaint Joseph's University - Philadelphia
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,232$84,010+$16,778 vs Temple University
Average annual net price$28,198$29,689+$1,491 vs Temple University · higher cost
Admission rate80.4%88.8%
Explore Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia →
Lower-cost alternativeCUNY Brooklyn College$3,103 average net price
Comparison with Temple University
MeasureTemple UniversityCUNY Brooklyn College
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,232$62,833-$4,399 vs Temple University
Average annual net price$28,198$3,103-$25,095 vs Temple University · lower cost
Admission rate80.4%58.4%
Explore CUNY Brooklyn College →
Similar profileUniversity at BuffaloMatched across several measures
Comparison with Temple University
MeasureTemple UniversityUniversity at Buffalo
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,232$71,430+$4,198 vs Temple University
Average annual net price$28,198$20,995-$7,203 vs Temple University · lower cost
Admission rate80.4%74.2%
Explore University at Buffalo →

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