College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of Georgia

GALarge public institution · Overall rank #95 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

A public university with strong mobility and nationally ranked business programs.

Who it’s a good fit for

The University of Georgia is a public university in Athens, Georgia, where Business and Biological Sciences account for the largest shares of degrees. Mobility is among the highest we track.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The model attributes an addition to the factors it measures and a subtraction to the remainder it cannot explain.

Raw earnings sit above the peer median, but the adjusted result runs the other way. Pell students complete at a rate below the overall cohort, and the gap is wide.

At the same time, the lowest income band pays an well under the published cost. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is modest for a public university.

The admission rate is below the median for comparable institutions, and the degree mix leans toward business and the sciences. A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid ones are not the largest.

UGA at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
37.7%
Six-year completion[2]
89.7%
Four-year earnings[3]
$74,144

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$13,096
Median student debt[4]
$18,500
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$20,855

UGA rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

University of Georgia is a public university in Athens, Georgia, with 32,137 undergraduates. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, it sits near the top of the ranking (94th percentile).

University of Georgia admits 37.7% of applicants, against a median of 78.1% at comparable institutions (same type and size). First-year retention runs at 94.0%, against a peer median of 83.1% for comparable institutions.

The six-year graduation rate is 89.7%, compared with a median of 65.0% for similar schools. An estimated 25.0% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students.

Because of that intake, the rate applies to the first-time full-time cohort rather than the whole student body. Mobility is the strongest of the four (at the 94th percentile), while return is the weakest (at the 78th percentile).

Access sits at the 86th percentile and affordability at the 84th percentile. The pillars are spread across the ranking, with mobility well ahead of return.

Azimuth ranks the University of Georgia #95 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions. The university's strongest pillar is mobility, in the 94th percentile nationally, reflecting its standing on the mobility pillar.

Access and affordability also land in the top quintile, at the 86th and 84th percentiles respectively. The return pillar, at the 78th percentile, is the weakest of the four.

Graduates earn about $4,769 less than the model expects for similar students, even as the median earnings figure sits above the median of comparable institutions.

The undergraduate body at University of Georgia includes a 16.8% share receiving Pell Grants, the federal program used to gauge financial access. For access, Azimuth ranks the university #205 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients in the first-time full-time cohort complete at 75.1%, a figure that trails the overall six-year graduation rate (89.7%) by 14.6 percentage points. For mobility, Azimuth ranks the university #92 among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $4,769 less than the model expects for similar students.

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

UGA rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#95

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 94
Access & reach
National percentile: 86
Affordability
National percentile: 84
Return on investment
National percentile: 78

Top-ranked majors

  1. Animal Sciences#1
  2. Landscape Architecture#1
  3. Family and Consumer Economics and Related Studies#1

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 / UGA briefing

UGA cost & financial aid[6][7]

University of Georgia publishes a cost of attendance of $27,993. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported in-state tuition of $10,034 and required fees of $1,458 for the 2026-27 academic year, with on-campus food and housing at $12,084.

Out-of-state students face tuition of $30,878. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $13,936.

Aid lowers the average recipient’s cost by $14,057 from the published sticker price. That figure runs $1,698 below the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks the university #232 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The University of Georgia publishes a cost of attendance of $27,993. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $8,085.

For families earning $48,001 to $75,000, the average net price is $13,096. For families earning over $110,000, the average net price is $18,079.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $9,994. Azimuth ranks University of Georgia #232 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid covers about 50% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an average offset of $14,057. The average net price across all aid recipients is $13,936, which is below the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,698.

The median federal student loan debt at completion is $18,500, with 83.4% of federal aid recipients borrowing. That median is below the peer median of $20,076 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,576.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing stands at $20,855. The median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $210 a month if repaid over ten years.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$13,096

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at UGA

Borrowers who finish at University of Georgia hold a median federal student debt of $18,500. That amount sits below the $20,076 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,576.

83.4% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Parents who borrow through PLUS represent a separate population with a median debt of $20,855.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 30% of its 5,594 bachelor's graduates borrowed from any source, with an average cumulative principal of $21,660 per borrower. That group included 29% with federal loans averaging $17,104 and 4% with private loans averaging $35,220.

Graduates of University of Georgia earn about $4,769 less than the model expects for similar students, an outcome in the 37th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The median earnings four years after completion is $74,144, which places in the 82nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios derived from the university's program mix suggest a typical outcome of $74,144, with a downside scenario of $54,898 and an upside scenario of $100,305. Borrowers finish with a median federal debt of $18,500, which is below the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment is $210.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $20,855. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $210.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$18,500
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$20,855

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$210/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$265/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 / UGA briefing

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

Four years after completion, federally aided graduates of University of Georgia who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $74,144, at the 82nd percentile. That is $8,534 above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $4,769 less than the model expects for similar students, placing that gap at the 37th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $13,295.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $18,064. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,623.

Azimuth places the university at the 78th percentile for return among nonprofit four-year institutions.

At University of Georgia, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $74,144 four years after completion. That figure is $8,534 above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth places the university's earnings at the 82nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on an earnings cohort of 5,847 completers. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix show a typical figure of $74,144, with a downside of $54,898 and an upside of $100,305.

An estimated 30.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix. Graduates earn about $4,769 less than the model expects for similar students.

That places the gap at the 37th percentile. The earnings beyond expectations measure the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students.

Four years after completion, University of Georgia graduates earn a median of $74,144, which places the university in the 82nd percentile nationally. That figure is above the median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $8,534.

However, graduates earn about $4,769 less than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the 37th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $13,295.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $18,064. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,623.

Azimuth ranks University of Georgia #326 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios grounded in the university's program mix show a downside of $54,898 and an upside of $100,305.

The university's largest program, Biology, awarded 608 degrees and shows median earnings of $60,366 four years after completion, ranking #97 nationally in its field. Finance and Management Information Systems and Services each combine substantial scale with high earnings: 544 degrees awarded and a median of $97,364, and 358 degrees awarded and a median of $113,184.

Management Information Systems and Services ranks #3 nationally in its field. The highest-return program, International Business, earns a median of $109,345 and ranks #3 nationally, with earnings 1.49x the national median for the field.

At University of Georgia, the median earnings four years after completion sit at $74,144, but the range around that figure is substantial. Earnings scenarios, which reflect the university's program mix, span from a downside of $54,898 to an upside of $100,305.

Program-level data show where the upside is concentrated. Management Information Systems and Services completers earn a median of $113,184, and Finance completers reach $97,364.

The largest program, Biology, awards 608 degrees and its completers earn a median of $60,366. The spread between the downside and upside scenarios shows that earnings vary widely with field of study.

The published cost of attendance at University of Georgia is $27,993. After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients is $13,936, which is $1,698 below the $15,634 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Aid covers about 50% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. Borrowers who finish carry a median of $18,500 in federal student loans, $1,576 below the peer median of $20,076.

If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $210 a month. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $20,855.

The net price spread between the lowest and highest income bands is $9,994. The lowest band, for families earning under $30,000, averages $8,085, while the highest band averages $18,079.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$13,295
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$18,064
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$4,769

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 / UGA briefing

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

The University of Georgia admitted 37.7% of applicants, well below the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 47,464 applicants, 16,257 admitted, and 6,195 enrolled first-year students.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
37.7%
25th percentile
1250
Median
1330
75th percentile
1420

CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / UGA briefing

What are the largest majors at UGA?[12]

The University of Georgia's largest programs span fields with sharply different earnings profiles. Management Information Systems and Services leads with a median of $113,184 four years after completion and an Azimuth national rank of #3 on 358 degrees awarded.

Finance follows at $97,364 and ranks #26 nationally, with 544 degrees awarded. In contrast, Biology and Psychology, the two largest programs by degrees awarded, show more moderate earnings.

Biology reports a median of $60,366 and an Azimuth national rank of #97 on 608 degrees awarded. Psychology reaches $59,446 and ranks #38 nationally, with 581 degrees awarded.

Azimuth ranks 56 bachelor's programs at University of Georgia, and earnings data is available for 58 fields. The university's strongest national placements are in Family and Consumer Economics and Related Studies (#1 nationally, #1 in Georgia, 138 degrees awarded, median earnings $74,107 four years after completion) and Animal Sciences (#1 nationally, #1 in Georgia, 88 degrees awarded, median $61,176).

Among the largest programs, Management Information Systems and Services delivers the highest median earnings at $113,184 and holds a national rank of #3 (#1 in Georgia), with 358 degrees awarded. Finance ranks #26 nationally and #1 in Georgia, awarding 544 degrees and showing a median of $97,364.

Marketing also places in the top #20 nationally (#1 in Georgia) with 375 degrees awarded and median earnings of $85,785.

The University of Georgia awards bachelor's degrees across a wide range of fields, with 58 programs reporting four-year earnings data and 56 earning an Azimuth national rank. The program mix is led by Business, which accounts for 29.1% of degrees awarded, followed by Biological Sciences at 9.9% and Social Sciences at 7.8%.

The largest single programs are Biology with 608 degrees awarded, Psychology with 581, and Finance with 544. The strongest programs span a range of sizes and fields.

Family and Consumer Economics and Related Studies is the highest-ranked program nationally, with 138 degrees awarded and median earnings of $74,107 four years after completion. Animal Sciences also holds a top national rank, with 88 degrees awarded and earnings of $61,176.

Among the largest programs, Management Information Systems and Services is the highest-earning at $113,184, and Azimuth ranks it #3 nationally and #1 in Georgia within its field. International Business stands out for its return, with a benchmark ratio of 1.49x against the national median for its field and earnings of $109,345.

The pattern is one of strength concentrated in business and applied fields, with several programs holding top national and state ranks. The largest programs in biology and psychology post solid earnings, but the highest payoffs come from more specialized business and technology programs, including Management Information Systems and Services and International Business.

Across all fields, 19.8% of degrees awarded are in STEM. A student's outcome here depends heavily on field of study, with a wide spread between the earnings of the largest programs and those of the highest-performing ones.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Biology, General 608 degrees awarded
$60,366
Psychology, General 581 degrees awarded
$59,446
Finance and Financial Management Services 544 degrees awarded
$97,364
Marketing 375 degrees awarded
$85,785
Management Information Systems and Services 358 degrees awarded
$113,184
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication 310 degrees awarded
$74,531

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 / UGA briefing

How does UGA serve students from different backgrounds?

The mobility pillar at University of Georgia ranks in the 94th percentile nationally. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 89.7%, while Pell recipients complete at 75.1% — a figure that sits below the overall rate by 14.6 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $4,769 less than the model expects for similar students, placing the earnings beyond expectations measure in the 37th percentile.

Azimuth places the access pillar of University of Georgia in the 86th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The public university admits 37.7% of applicants, a rate well below the peer median of 78.1%.

Pell Grant recipients make up 16.8% of the undergraduate body, and an estimated 25.0% of its 32,137 undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students.

06 / UGA briefing

What colleges are similar to UGA?[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 UGA.

Admissions peerClemson University38.3% admitted
Comparison with UGA
MeasureUGAClemson University
Peer earnings · 4 years$74,144$75,142+$998 vs UGA
Average annual net price$13,936$22,253+$8,317 vs UGA · higher cost
Admission rate37.7%38.3%
Explore Clemson University →
Higher-admission alternativeKennesaw State University69.2% admitted
Comparison with UGA
MeasureUGAKennesaw State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$74,144$68,306-$5,838 vs UGA
Average annual net price$13,936$15,048+$1,112 vs UGA · higher cost
Admission rate37.7%69.2%
Explore Kennesaw State University →
Nearby alternativeKennesaw State UniversityNearby option · GA
Comparison with UGA
MeasureUGAKennesaw State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$74,144$68,306-$5,838 vs UGA
Average annual net price$13,936$15,048+$1,112 vs UGA · higher cost
Admission rate37.7%69.2%
Explore Kennesaw State University →
Higher-earnings alternativeUniversity of Maryland-College Park$84,365 earnings
Comparison with UGA
MeasureUGAUniversity of Maryland-College Park
Peer earnings · 4 years$74,144$84,365+$10,221 vs UGA
Average annual net price$13,936$15,678+$1,742 vs UGA · higher cost
Admission rate37.7%44.8%
Explore University of Maryland-College Park →
Lower-cost alternativeCUNY Bernard M Baruch College$3,033 average net price
Comparison with UGA
MeasureUGACUNY Bernard M Baruch College
Peer earnings · 4 years$74,144$82,748+$8,604 vs UGA
Average annual net price$13,936$3,033-$10,903 vs UGA · lower cost
Admission rate37.7%47.5%
Explore CUNY Bernard M Baruch College →
Similar profileNorth Carolina State University at RaleighMatched across several measures
Comparison with UGA
MeasureUGANorth Carolina State University at Raleigh
Peer earnings · 4 years$74,144$75,943+$1,799 vs UGA
Average annual net price$13,936$17,303+$3,367 vs UGA · higher cost
Admission rate37.7%41.7%
Explore North Carolina State University at Raleigh →

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