College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of Louisiana at Monroe

LAMedium public institution · Overall rank #464 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks University of Louisiana at Monroe #464 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

University of Louisiana at Monroe is a public university in Monroe, Louisiana, where Health Professions and Business account for the largest shares of degrees. Affordability is well above average.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them, and the typical graduate earns below the median at comparable schools. Return is modestly below average.

The model attributes an addition to the factors it measures and a subtraction to the remainder it cannot explain. Pell recipients complete at a rate below the entering cohort as a whole, while mobility is above average.

The lowest income band pays well under the published cost, and the spread between the lowest and highest bands is modest. The admission rate is near the median for comparable schools.

A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid ones are much smaller.

University of Louisiana at Monroe at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
84.8%
Six-year completion[2]
54.2%
Four-year earnings[3]
$53,715

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$12,647
Median student debt[4]
$21,500
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$10,174

University of Louisiana at Monroe rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

University of Louisiana at Monroe is a public university in Monroe, Louisiana, with 5,022 undergraduates. The composite rank sits in the middle of nonprofit four-year institutions (68th percentile).

Admission is open: the university admits 84.8% of applicants, against a peer median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size). Of full-time first-year students, 72.8% return for a second year, compared with a peer median of 73.7%.

The six-year graduation rate for that cohort is 54.2%, above the peer median of 49.1%. An estimated 25.0% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the first-time full-time graduation rate describes a subset of the student body rather than the whole.

The four spread across the ranking. Affordability (83rd percentile) is the strongest, and return (39th percentile) is the weakest. Mobility and access sit in between (73rd and 64th percentiles).

Affordability is the strongest pillar in the Azimuth profile for University of Louisiana at Monroe, at the 83rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Mobility follows at the 73rd percentile, and access sits at the 64th percentile. Return is the weakest of the four, at the 39th percentile.

34.8% of undergraduates at University of Louisiana at Monroe are Pell recipients. SAT scores for enrolled students who submitted them span 1,160 to 1,360; ACT scores span 18 to 24.

On access, Azimuth ranks the university #522 among nonprofit four-year institutions. Pell recipients finish at 45.3% within six years, which sits 8.9 percentage points below the overall cohort rate (54.2%).

On mobility, Azimuth ranks the university #399 among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $142 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

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

University of Louisiana at Monroe rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#464

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 73
Access & reach
National percentile: 64
Affordability
National percentile: 83
Return on investment
National percentile: 39

Top-ranked majors

  1. Pharmacology and Toxicology#5
  2. Construction Management#6
  3. Insurance#12

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 / University of Louisiana at Monroe briefing

University of Louisiana at Monroe cost & financial aid[6][7]

University of Louisiana at Monroe publishes a cost of attendance of $24,932. In-state tuition and fees are $9,190; out-of-state tuition and fees are $21,290.

On-campus room and board are $10,554. After grants and scholarships, the average aid recipient pays $13,466, a reduction of $11,466 from the sticker price.

Aid covers about 46% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. That average net price sits $602 below the $14,068 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks the university #238 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. That places the affordability pillar in the 83rd percentile.

The published cost of attendance at University of Louisiana at Monroe is $24,932. Azimuth ranks the university #238 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 $11,490, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $12,647, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $18,642. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $7,152.

Aid covers about 46% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. The across all aid recipients is $13,466, which is $602 below the $14,068 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Borrowers who finish carry a median of $21,500 in federal student loans. That is $271 above the $21,229 peer median.

82.1% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $10,174 in Parent PLUS loans.

If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$12,647

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at University of Louisiana at Monroe

The median federal student debt at completion is $21,500. 82.1% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

That median sits $271 above the $21,229 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Parent borrowers are a separate population, with median Parent PLUS borrowing of $10,174.

Four years after completion, graduates of University of Louisiana at Monroe earn a median of $53,715, a figure at the 28th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The median sits $3,586 below the $57,301 level for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $142 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. That places the gap at the 54th percentile.

Estimated earnings scenarios from the program mix run from $41,388 to $99,405, with $53,715 as the typical case. Borrowers who complete leave with a median of $21,500 in federal loans.

That is $271 above the $21,229 median among comparable institutions (same type and size). If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month.

For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $10,174. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 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
$21,500
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$10,174

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$244/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$129/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 / University of Louisiana at Monroe briefing

University of Louisiana at Monroe career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $53,715, in the 28th percentile. That is $3,586 below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 39th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $142 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

That result sits in the 54th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,031.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $6,173. Within the measured factors, the STEM component subtracts $211.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $53,715. That figure is $3,586 below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size), and Azimuth places it in the 28th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The earnings cohort numbers 1,471 completers. Earnings scenarios, estimated from University of Louisiana at Monroe's program mix, range from a downside of $41,388 to an upside of $99,405, with a typical scenario of $53,715.

The gap between the downside and upside is wide. An estimated 30.2% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

That share means the four-year earnings snapshot captures most graduates at a point when they are working, not still in school.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $53,715, at the 28th percentile nationally. That is $3,586 below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks University of Louisiana at Monroe #900 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $142 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

The earnings-beyond-expectations gap sits at the 54th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,031.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $6,173. Within the measured factors, the STEM component subtracts $211.

The program mix is concentrated in health professions and business, with a small STEM footprint. Estimated earnings scenarios from that mix range from $41,388 on the downside to $99,405 on the upside.

An estimated 30.2% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from $41,388 on the downside to $99,405 on the upside, with $53,715 as the typical scenario. These are scenarios, not observed groups of graduates.

At the upper end, Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration graduates earn $134,329 four years after completion, from 68 degrees awarded. Construction Management follows at $98,336, and Nursing at $83,058.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$6,031
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$6,173
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$142

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 / University of Louisiana at Monroe briefing

University of Louisiana at Monroe acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

The University of Louisiana at Monroe admits 84.8% of applicants, a rate that sits close to the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size). A rate near the peer median means the university is not a narrow gate; it is a broad-access public campus that admits most students who apply.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
84.8%
Approximate lower endpoint
1160
Reported average
1116
Approximate upper endpoint
1360

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 / University of Louisiana at Monroe briefing

What are the largest majors at University of Louisiana at Monroe?[12]

The earnings spread across programs at University of Louisiana at Monroe is wide, and the highest-earning fields are not the largest ones. Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration leads at $134,329 four years after completion, from 68 degrees awarded.

Nursing, the second-largest program with 122 degrees awarded, follows at $83,058. Azimuth ranks it #225 nationally within its field.

The largest program, Psychology, awards 169 degrees a year and reports median earnings of $44,255. Azimuth ranks it #267 nationally within its field.

Business Administration and Management is smaller at 74 degrees awarded, with earnings of $52,842. A student's field matters a great deal here.

The gap between the highest-earning program and the largest one is substantial, and only 8.8% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields.

University of Louisiana at Monroe has 16 nationally ranked bachelor's programs, with 22 fields reporting earnings data. The strongest national ranks sit in health and business specialties, led by Pharmacology and Toxicology at #5 in its field.

Health Professions accounts for 29.6% of bachelor's degrees awarded, ahead of Business at 18.0% and Psychology at 15.4%. The largest single program is Psychology, with 169 degrees awarded and median earnings of $44,255 four years after completion.

The best-paid programs are in health sciences. Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration graduates earn $134,329 from 68 degrees a year, and Construction Management follows at $98,336 with a national rank of #6.

Nursing, the second-largest program on campus, reports $83,058 from 122 degrees awarded.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Psychology, General 169 degrees awarded
$44,255
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 122 degrees awarded
$83,058
Business Administration, Management and Operations 74 degrees awarded
$52,842
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration 68 degrees awarded
$134,329
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities 60 degrees awarded
$45,873
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 60 degrees awarded
$50,370

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 / University of Louisiana at Monroe briefing

What colleges are similar to University of Louisiana at Monroe?[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 University of Louisiana at Monroe.

Admissions peerNorthwestern State University of Louisiana92.5% admitted
Comparison with University of Louisiana at Monroe
MeasureUniversity of Louisiana at MonroeNorthwestern State University of Louisiana
Peer earnings · 4 years$53,715$56,762+$3,047 vs University of Louisiana at Monroe
Average annual net price$13,466$13,606+$140 vs University of Louisiana at Monroe · higher cost
Admission rate84.8%92.5%
Explore Northwestern State University of Louisiana →
Higher-admission alternativeTexas Lutheran University95.7% admitted
Comparison with University of Louisiana at Monroe
MeasureUniversity of Louisiana at MonroeTexas Lutheran University
Peer earnings · 4 years$53,715$56,629+$2,914 vs University of Louisiana at Monroe
Average annual net price$13,466$24,654+$11,188 vs University of Louisiana at Monroe · higher cost
Admission rate84.8%95.7%
Nearby alternativeNorthwestern State University of LouisianaNearby option · LA
Comparison with University of Louisiana at Monroe
MeasureUniversity of Louisiana at MonroeNorthwestern State University of Louisiana
Peer earnings · 4 years$53,715$56,762+$3,047 vs University of Louisiana at Monroe
Average annual net price$13,466$13,606+$140 vs University of Louisiana at Monroe · higher cost
Admission rate84.8%92.5%
Explore Northwestern State University of Louisiana →
Higher-earnings alternativeLouisiana Tech University$61,520 earnings
Comparison with University of Louisiana at Monroe
MeasureUniversity of Louisiana at MonroeLouisiana Tech University
Peer earnings · 4 years$53,715$61,520+$7,805 vs University of Louisiana at Monroe
Average annual net price$13,466$11,864-$1,602 vs University of Louisiana at Monroe · lower cost
Admission rate84.8%86.4%
Explore Louisiana Tech University →
Lower-cost alternativeLouisiana State University at Alexandria$7,065 average net price
Comparison with University of Louisiana at Monroe
MeasureUniversity of Louisiana at MonroeLouisiana State University at Alexandria
Peer earnings · 4 years$53,715$51,983-$1,732 vs University of Louisiana at Monroe
Average annual net price$13,466$7,065-$6,401 vs University of Louisiana at Monroe · lower cost
Admission rate84.8%92.1%
Similar profileMcNeese State UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with University of Louisiana at Monroe
MeasureUniversity of Louisiana at MonroeMcNeese State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$53,715$53,563-$152 vs University of Louisiana at Monroe
Average annual net price$13,466$12,493-$973 vs University of Louisiana at Monroe · lower cost
Admission rate84.8%78.3%
Explore McNeese State University →

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