College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of North Texas

TXLarge public institution · Overall rank #41 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

A public university with a mobility rank of #25 nationally.

Who it’s a good fit for

University of North Texas is a public university in Denton, Texas, where the degree mix is led by Business and Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies. Mobility is among the highest we track.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them, and the typical graduate earns below the median at comparable institutions. The model attributes an addition to the factors it measures and a subtraction to what it cannot explain.

Pell recipients complete within a few points of the overall rate, and access is among the highest we track. Families at the bottom of the income scale pay well below the published cost.

Those at the top pay closer to it, so the aid structure tilts toward the students who need it most. The admission rate is below the median for comparable institutions.

Most graduates are estimated to go into the workforce rather than on to further study. A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid ones are much smaller.

UNT at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
72.2%
Six-year completion[2]
60.7%
Four-year earnings[3]
$58,743

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$14,473
Median student debt[4]
$19,250
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$23,211

UNT rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

University of North Texas, a public university in Denton, Texas, enrolls 34,341 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits near the top of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions, in the 97th percentile.

It admits 72.2% of those who apply, against a median of 78.1% for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Once enrolled full time, 76.6% return after the first year, against a peer median of 83.1%.

60.7% complete within six years, against a peer median of 65.0%. That figure covers only the first-time, full-time cohort and therefore captures a minority of the people who actually study here.

An estimated 36.1% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so much of the undergraduate population did not begin at the university. At University of North Texas, the four sit far apart.

Mobility is the strongest, at the 98th percentile, and access is also high, at the 93rd percentile. Return is the weakest of the four, at the 49th percentile, while affordability sits between them at the 76th percentile.

Azimuth ranks the University of North Texas #41 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions. The strongest pillar is mobility, at the 98th percentile, and the weakest is return, at the 49th percentile. Access sits at the 93rd percentile and affordability at the 76th percentile.

38.0% of undergraduates at University of North Texas receive Pell Grants, a measure of financial access at this public university in Denton, Texas. Azimuth ranks University of North Texas #106 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The access pillar draws on the Pell share and on how well those students finish: Pell recipients complete at 56.5%, which is 4.2 percentage points below the overall rate (60.7%). Mobility is the strongest of the university's four pillars, and Azimuth ranks it #25 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Four years after completion, completers earn about $1,825 less than the model expects for similar students.

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

UNT rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#41
Texas#9
South#14

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 98
Access & reach
National percentile: 93
Affordability
National percentile: 76
Return on investment
National percentile: 49

Top-ranked majors

  1. Music#3
  2. Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management#5
  3. Homeland Security#5

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 / UNT briefing

UNT cost & financial aid[6][7]

The University of North Texas lists a published cost of attendance of $26,243. In-state students face tuition and fees of $11,309, while out-of-state students pay $21,149; room and board runs $11,194.

For aid recipients, the average net price drops to $15,649, a reduction of $10,594 from the sticker total. That is above the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $15.

Azimuth places the university's affordability pillar at #336 among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 40% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

Families in the lowest income band see an average net price of $12,311, and the spread between the lowest and highest bands reaches $10,632.

The University of North Texas publishes a cost of attendance of $26,243, with in-state tuition and fees of $11,309 and room and board at $11,194. After grants and scholarships, the average net price—what aid recipients actually pay—is $12,311 for families earning under $30,000, $14,473 for families in the $48,001–$75,000 band, and $22,943 for families earning over $110,000.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $10,632, a difference of averages across income groups. Azimuth ranks the university #336 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid covers about 40% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an offset of roughly $10,594 against the sticker price. The average net price across all aid recipients is $15,649, which sits above the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $15.

Out-of-state students face tuition and fees of $21,149. Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, the median federal student debt is $19,250.

That median is below the peer median of $20,076 for comparable institutions by $826, and about 83.2% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $219 a month.

Parents who borrow through the federal Parent PLUS program carry a separate median of $23,211.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$14,473

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at UNT

Federal borrowing is common at University of North Texas, where 83.2% of federal aid recipients use federal loans. For completers who borrowed, the median federal student debt at completion is $19,250.

That median is below the $20,076 median observed at comparable institutions (same type and size), a gap of $826. Parent borrowers make up a separate population, and their median Parent PLUS loan is $23,211.

The median earnings for University of North Texas graduates four years after completion is $58,743, which places the university in the 46th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $1,825 less than the model expects for similar students, an outcome that sits in the 48th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios drawn from the university's program mix point to a typical earnings figure of $58,743, a downside scenario of $46,968, and an upside scenario of $82,802. Borrowers who finish a degree carry a median federal debt of $19,250, which is below the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, that debt yields an estimated monthly payment of $219.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $23,211. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $219.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$19,250
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$23,211

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$219/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$295/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 / UNT briefing

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

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, the earnings-beyond-expectations figure for University of North Texas is in the 48th percentile. Completers earn about $1,825 less than the model expects for similar students.

The model attributes $6,829 to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market), a share that adds to expected earnings. It attributes $8,654 to a remainder it does not explain, which subtracts.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,289. For return, the university is in the 49th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The median for completers who are working and not enrolled is $58,743 four years after completion, a level in the 46th percentile. That median lands below the peer median of $65,610 by $6,867 among comparable institutions (same type and size).

Four years after completion, the median earnings of University of North Texas graduates stand at $58,743, a figure that places the university in the 46th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The cohort of 8,314 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn about $1,825 less than the model expects for similar students.

The university's median earnings run below the $65,610 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $6,867. Earnings scenarios, which reflect the institution's program mix, show a typical outcome of $58,743, with a downside scenario of $46,968 and an upside scenario of $82,802.

An estimated 28.6% of programs' graduates continue to graduate study, a share derived from the program mix rather than observed enrollment.

Four years after completion, graduates of University of North Texas earn a median of $58,743, which places the university in the 46th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $65,610, leaving the university below by $6,867.

Graduates earn about $1,825 less than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the 48th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,829.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $8,654. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,289.

Azimuth ranks University of North Texas #742 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a downside of $46,968 and an upside of $82,802.

The largest program, Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, awarded 627 degrees and shows median earnings of $58,004, ranking #21 nationally in its field. Computer and Information Sciences is the highest-earning large program, with 384 degrees awarded and a median of $104,024 four years after completion, earning an Azimuth national rank of #43.

The university's strongest nationally ranked program is Music, which ranks #3 in its field and earns 1.30x the national median for the field. Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management also stands out, ranking #5 nationally with 45 degrees awarded.

The downside scenario for earnings is $46,968, while the upside scenario reaches $82,802, reflecting the range of outcomes across the university's program mix. The highest-earning programs are concentrated in engineering and computing fields.

Computer Engineering graduates earn a median of $109,151 four years after completion, while Computer and Information Sciences graduates earn $104,024. Among the largest programs, Computer and Information Sciences shows the strongest earnings at $104,024, ranking #43 nationally.

Psychology, the second-largest program by degrees awarded, reports median earnings of $46,917.

Graduates of University of North Texas earn about $1,825 less than the model expects for similar students. The median federal student debt for borrowers who complete a degree is $19,250, which is below the median of $20,076 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment on that debt is $219. The university's average net price of $15,649 sits above the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions.

For families earning under $30,000, the average net price drops to $12,311, and the spread between the lowest and highest income bands is $10,632. Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, carry a median of $23,211.

The university's mobility pillar ranks in the 98th percentile nationally. Its access pillar reaches the 93rd percentile.

This profile shows broad opportunity alongside debt levels that stay below the peer benchmark.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$6,829
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$8,654
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$1,825

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 / UNT briefing

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

The University of North Texas admits 72.2% of applicants, a figure that sits below the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
72.2%
25th percentile
960
Median
1080
75th percentile
1210

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

Read the full admissions brief

04 / UNT briefing

What are the largest majors at UNT?[12]

The University of North Texas publishes four-year earnings for 58 bachelor's fields, and Azimuth ranks 57 of them nationally. The highest-ranked program is Music, which holds an Azimuth national rank of #3 and the top spot #1 in Texas.

Its completers earn a median of $55,705 four years after graduating, with 227 degrees awarded. Among the largest programs, Computer and Information Sciences shows the strongest earnings at $104,024 and an Azimuth national rank of #43, alongside 384 degrees awarded.

By contrast, Psychology—the second-largest field with 530 degrees awarded—reports a median of $46,917 and ranks #210 nationally. The largest program, Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, awards 627 degrees and reaches $58,004, placing #21 in its field.

The university has 57 ranked bachelor's programs. The largest by degrees awarded is Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, with 627 degrees awarded and a national rank of #21, where graduates earn a median of $58,004 four years after completion.

The highest-ranked program is Music, ranked #3 nationally, with 227 degrees awarded and median earnings of $55,705.

Degree awards at University of North Texas are spread across 57 ranked fields, with four-year earnings published for 58 of them. Business makes up 18.4% of degrees awarded, with Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies at 8.7% and Communication & Journalism at 8.2%.

By volume, Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies leads at 627 degrees awarded, Psychology follows at 530, and Liberal Arts and General Studies adds 459. Music graduates earn $55,705 four years after completion, with a benchmark ratio of 1.30x against the national median for its field.

The program awards 227 degrees a year and ranks #1 in Texas within its field. Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management ranks #5 nationally and #1 in Texas within its field, with 45 degrees awarded.

The highest-earning program is Computer Engineering, at $109,151 from 30 degrees awarded. Computer and Information Sciences follows at $104,024 and ranks #43 nationally and #6 in Texas within its field.

Strength is concentrated in a narrow set of fields rather than spread across the catalog. The top-ranked programs include Music, Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management, and Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations, while the highest earnings sit in Computer Engineering and Computer and Information Sciences.

17.8% of degrees are in STEM fields, and four-year earnings for fields where graduate study is common may understate later trajectories.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other 627 degrees awarded
$58,004
Psychology, General 530 degrees awarded
$46,917
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities 459 degrees awarded
$55,562
Computer and Information Sciences, General 384 degrees awarded
$104,024
Biology, General 362 degrees awarded
$56,561
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 318 degrees awarded
$54,578

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 / UNT briefing

How does UNT serve students from different backgrounds?

Azimuth assigns the university a mobility rank of #25 among nonprofit four-year institutions. That standing falls within the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Among the first-time full-time cohort, the six-year graduation rate reaches 60.7%; Pell recipients finish at 56.5%, a level below the overall rate by 4.2 percentage points. Graduates earn about $1,825 less than the model expects for similar students, a result that lands in the 48th percentile.

Azimuth places the access pillar of University of North Texas in the 93rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The public university admits 72.2% of applicants and enrolls 34,341 undergraduates.

Pell Grant recipients make up 38.0% of the undergraduate body, and an estimated 36.1% arrive as transfers or part-time students.

06 / UNT briefing

What colleges are similar to UNT?[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 UNT.

Admissions peerSoutheastern Oklahoma State University76.4% admitted
Comparison with UNT
MeasureUNTSoutheastern Oklahoma State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,743$56,329-$2,414 vs UNT
Average annual net price$15,649$8,039-$7,610 vs UNT · lower cost
Admission rate72.2%76.4%
Explore Southeastern Oklahoma State University →
Higher-admission alternativeDallas Baptist University88.8% admitted
Comparison with UNT
MeasureUNTDallas Baptist University
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,743$59,308+$565 vs UNT
Average annual net price$15,649$28,516+$12,867 vs UNT · higher cost
Admission rate72.2%88.8%
Nearby alternativeTarleton State UniversityNearby option · TX
Comparison with UNT
MeasureUNTTarleton State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,743$57,758-$985 vs UNT
Average annual net price$15,649$20,783+$5,134 vs UNT · higher cost
Admission rate72.2%89.6%
Explore Tarleton State University →
Higher-earnings alternativeThe University of Texas at Arlington$79,176 earnings
Comparison with UNT
MeasureUNTThe University of Texas at Arlington
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,743$79,176+$20,433 vs UNT
Average annual net price$15,649$13,951-$1,698 vs UNT · lower cost
Admission rate72.2%79.9%
Explore The University of Texas at Arlington →
Lower-cost alternativeSoutheastern Oklahoma State University$8,039 average net price
Comparison with UNT
MeasureUNTSoutheastern Oklahoma State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,743$56,329-$2,414 vs UNT
Average annual net price$15,649$8,039-$7,610 vs UNT · lower cost
Admission rate72.2%76.4%
Explore Southeastern Oklahoma State University →
Similar profileTexas State UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with UNT
MeasureUNTTexas State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,743$58,786+$43 vs UNT
Average annual net price$15,649$16,805+$1,156 vs UNT · higher cost
Admission rate72.2%89.3%
Explore Texas 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