College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of Oregon

ORLarge public institution · Overall rank #384 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Mobility leads University of Oregon’s Azimuth composite profile.

Who it’s a good fit for

University of Oregon is a public university in Eugene, Oregon, where the degree mix is led by Social Sciences, Business, and Communication & Journalism. Mobility is well above average.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them, and the typical graduate earns below the median at comparable schools. The model attributes the factors it measures to adding to expected earnings, while the remainder it cannot explain subtracts from them.

Pell students complete at a rate below the overall cohort, and affordability is modestly below average. The spread between what the lowest and highest income bands pay is wide, so the price case turns on income.

The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools, and most graduates are estimated to go into jobs rather than on to further study. A student drawn to the social sciences should go in knowing that the largest departments are not the best-paid ones.

Oregon at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
88.3%
Six-year completion[2]
71.7%
Four-year earnings[3]
$62,174

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$18,364
Median student debt[4]
$20,139
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$44,405

Oregon rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

University of Oregon is a public university in Eugene, Oregon, enrolling 20,497 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the upper third of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The university admits 88.3% of applicants, a rate above the 78.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 86.4% return for a second year and 71.7% finish within six years.

Both figures run ahead of the peer medians of 83.1% and 65.0%. An estimated 15.0% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students.

The shape is a broad-access public campus where mobility is the strongest and affordability the weakest, with return and access sitting between them. The four pillars are spread apart, with the strongest and weakest separated by a wide margin.

At University of Oregon, mobility is the clearest strength, while affordability is the weakest area, making the cost side worth closer attention. Azimuth places mobility at the 89th percentile and access at the 61st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Return sits at the 53rd percentile, while affordability sits at the 42nd percentile in that same national comparison.

21.3% of undergraduates at University of Oregon receive Pell Grants, a measure of financial access. Those students complete at a rate of 64.9%, which is 6.8 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate.

Azimuth ranks the university #570 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks University of Oregon #156 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $1,106 less than the model expects for similar students.

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

Oregon rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#384

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 89
Access & reach
National percentile: 61
Affordability
National percentile: 42
Return on investment
National percentile: 53

Top-ranked majors

  1. Education, General#7
  2. Human Services, General#8
  3. Public Administration#8

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 / Oregon briefing

Oregon cost & financial aid[6][7]

Aid lowers the published price at University of Oregon, but the average cost for recipients remains above that at comparable institutions. In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported in-state tuition of $13,404 and required fees of $2,733 for the 2025-26 academic year.

It reported out-of-state tuition of $41,865 and on-campus food and housing of $16,611 as sticker charges. The published cost of attendance is $34,793, and the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $22,182, with average aid savings of $12,611.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $15,634; the university is $6,548 above it. Azimuth places the affordability pillar in the 42nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The above-peer net price and affordability standing point toward a less favorable cost picture.

At University of Oregon, the published cost of attendance is $34,793, with aid recipients facing different average net prices by family-income band. The is $15,909 in the lowest family-income band, $15,760 in the next-lowest band, $18,364 in the middle band, $24,704 in the upper-middle band, and $31,021 in the highest band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $15,112. Azimuth ranks the university #825 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 36% of the published cost and offsets $12,611 from the sticker price. Across first-time, full-time aid recipients, the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $22,182.

The peer median net price, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $15,634, and the university’s average is $6,548 above it. Aid reduces the published cost, though the average price remains above the peer median.

Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, median federal student debt is $20,139, and 85.1% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. The peer median debt for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $20,076, placing the university $63 above that figure.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $229 a month if repaid over ten years. Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $44,405.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$18,364

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Oregon

Federal borrowing is widespread at University of Oregon, and completion debt sits just below the peer reference. 85.1% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

At completion, borrowers’ median federal student loan debt is $20,139. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $20,076, leaving the university $63 above that figure.

For Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate parent-borrower population, median debt is $44,405. In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported 40% of graduates borrowed from any source, including 38% with federal loans and 6% with private loans.

Average cumulative borrowing was $28,197 per borrower; average federal borrowing was $19,031 and average private borrowing was $61,065.

The investment picture at University of Oregon is shaped by earnings that sit near the national midpoint and borrowing that is close to the peer norm. Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $62,174, a figure in the 57th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

That is $3,436 below the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $1,106 less than the model expects for similar students, an outcome in the 51st percentile.

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, stretch from $48,761 in a downside case to $82,448 in an upside case. Borrowers who finish carry a median of $20,139 in federal student loans, $63 above the $20,076 median for comparable institutions.

If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $229 a month.

Among parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $44,405. For student borrowers, median federal debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $229 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
$20,139
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$44,405

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$229/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$564/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 / Oregon briefing

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

At University of Oregon, return measures point in different directions. Azimuth puts the return pillar in the 53rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $1,106 less than the model expects for similar students. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is in the 51st percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $8,345. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $9,451.

Four years after completion, the median earnings of federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled are $62,174. Azimuth places that measure in the 57th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $65,610, leaving the university $3,436 below it. Model expectations and comparable-peer earnings both sit below their reference points.

University of Oregon graduates who are working and not enrolled four years after completing a degree earn a median of $62,174. That figure reflects a cohort of 4,371 federally aided completers.

That median is at the 57th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $65,610.

University of Oregon sits $3,436 below that figure. Graduates earn about $1,106 less than the model expects for similar students.

That result sits at the 51st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from $48,761 on the downside to $82,448 on the upside, with a typical outcome of $62,174.

An estimated 34.3% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

At University of Oregon, mobility is the strongest Azimuth pillar, but return figures are below two reference points. Among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, median earnings are $62,174 four years after completion, in the 57th percentile.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $65,610, leaving the university's figure $3,436 below that marker. Graduates earn about $1,106 less than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is in the 51st percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $8,345.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $9,451. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $608.

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix place the downside at $48,761 and the upside at $82,448 four years after completion. Azimuth places the return pillar in the 53rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Both reference measures point below their respective benchmarks. Azimuth ranks it #42 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

Its earnings are 1.27x of the national median for its field. Computer and Information Sciences awarded 80 degrees and has median earnings of $100,540; Azimuth ranks it #74 nationally in its field.

Earnings differ markedly across modeled program scenarios at University of Oregon. The downside earnings scenario is $48,761, the typical scenario is $62,174, and the upside scenario is $82,448.

These are earnings scenarios based on program mix, not observed groups. Among higher-earning fields, median earnings four years after completion are $100,540 in Computer and Information Sciences, $85,438 in Accounting, and $83,543 in Business/Commerce. Those field-level figures give the scenario range a concrete shape.

Borrowing runs slightly below the peer figure, though the average net price is higher than at comparable institutions. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $22,182.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $15,634, and University of Oregon is above it by $6,548. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $20,139.

The peer median is $20,076, and the debt figure is above it by $63. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $229 a month if repaid over ten years.

Graduates earn about $1,106 less than the model expects for similar students. Lower debt offers one favorable comparison, but the higher net price and lower-than-expected earnings make the return picture mixed.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$8,345
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$9,451
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$1,106

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 / Oregon briefing

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

University of Oregon admits a larger share of applicants than its comparable-institution median. Its admission rate is 88.3%, above the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported 39,952 first-year applicants and 35,287 admitted applicants.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
88.3%
25th percentile
1130
Median
1250
75th percentile
1360

CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Oregon briefing

What are the largest majors at Oregon?[12]

At University of Oregon, four-year earnings differ across fields, with technical and business programs at the higher end and a large psychology program at a more moderate level. Computer and Information Sciences had median earnings of $100,540 four years after completion, 80 degrees awarded, and an Azimuth rank of #74 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

Accounting posted $85,438 with 95 degrees awarded; Azimuth ranks it #82 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. Business/Commerce combined $83,543 in median earnings with 535 degrees awarded and an Azimuth national field rank of #9 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

By comparison, Psychology recorded $50,810 and 374 degrees awarded, ranking #151 nationally by Azimuth among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. The higher and more moderate figures show that earnings vary materially with field.

University of Oregon has 34 ranked bachelor’s fields, with several highly placed programs alongside very different earnings figures. Human Services ranks #8, with 91 degrees awarded and $53,559 in median earnings four years after completion.

Business/Commerce ranks #9, with 535 degrees awarded and $83,543 in median earnings four years after completion. These fields pair strong national placements with earnings that vary by program.

The University of Oregon awards degrees across a broad set of fields, with Social Sciences leading at 18.9% of bachelor's degrees, followed by Business at 14.4% and Communication & Journalism at 14.2%. The university has 34 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 39 with published four-year earnings data.

The largest single program is Business/Commerce, at 535 degrees awarded, followed by Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication at 470 and Psychology at 374. The strongest programs include Education, with 69 degrees awarded and median earnings of $54,434 four years after completion; it ranks #1 in Oregon within its field.

Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication, the second-largest program on campus, ranks #9 nationally and #1 in Oregon, with median earnings of $73,410. The highest-earning program is a smaller one: Computer and Information Sciences reports median earnings of $100,540 four years after completion, from 80 degrees awarded a year.

Design and Applied Arts carries a benchmark ratio of 1.27x against the national median for its field, with earnings of $65,573. The pattern shows a university whose largest programs are also among its strongest, with business and communication degrees that rank well and pay above the national median for their fields.

The best-ranked programs are smaller and pay less, which is consistent with fields where graduate study often follows the bachelor's degree. 13.7% of degrees awarded are in STEM, so the earnings picture is shaped more by the business and communication programs than by technical fields.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Business/Commerce, General 535 degrees awarded
$83,543
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication 470 degrees awarded
$73,410
Psychology, General 374 degrees awarded
$50,810
Social Sciences, General 236 degrees awarded
$57,532
Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences 197 degrees awarded
$56,681
Political Science and Government 194 degrees awarded
$62,408

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 / Oregon briefing

How does Oregon serve students from different backgrounds?

Completion gives University of Oregon its clearest mobility strength: the six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 71.7%. Pell recipients complete within six years at 64.9%, below the overall rate by 6.8 percentage points.

Azimuth places the mobility pillar in the 89th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, add a less favorable measure.

Graduates earn about $1,106 less than the model expects for similar students. That measure falls in the 51st percentile nationally, so high completion and below-expected earnings point in different directions.

Access at University of Oregon reaches beyond first-time applicants, with 20,497 undergraduates and an admission rate of 88.3%. Pell Grant recipients make up 21.3% of undergraduates, while the estimated share of entrants outside the first-time, full-time group is 15.0%.

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, the access pillar stands in the 61st percentile. The enrollment, Pell participation, and transfer estimate describe several routes into this public university.

06 / Oregon briefing

What colleges are similar to Oregon?[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 Oregon.

Admissions peerGeorge Fox University93.5% admitted
Comparison with Oregon
MeasureOregonGeorge Fox University
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,174$69,145+$6,971 vs Oregon
Average annual net price$22,182$31,679+$9,497 vs Oregon · higher cost
Admission rate88.3%93.5%
Higher-admission alternativeMetropolitan State University of Denver98.8% admitted
Comparison with Oregon
MeasureOregonMetropolitan State University of Denver
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,174$60,186-$1,988 vs Oregon
Average annual net price$22,182$15,327-$6,855 vs Oregon · lower cost
Admission rate88.3%98.8%
Explore Metropolitan State University of Denver →
Nearby alternativeLewis & Clark CollegeNearby option · OR
Comparison with Oregon
MeasureOregonLewis & Clark College
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,174$57,262-$4,912 vs Oregon
Average annual net price$22,182$36,013+$13,831 vs Oregon · higher cost
Admission rate88.3%78.5%
Higher-earnings alternativeCal Poly Maritime Academy$108,757 earnings
Comparison with Oregon
MeasureOregonCal Poly Maritime Academy
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,174$108,757+$46,583 vs Oregon
Average annual net price$22,182$20,555-$1,627 vs Oregon · lower cost
Admission rate88.3%95.0%
Explore Cal Poly Maritime Academy →
Lower-cost alternativeWestern Oregon University$17,237 average net price
Comparison with Oregon
MeasureOregonWestern Oregon University
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,174$54,346-$7,828 vs Oregon
Average annual net price$22,182$17,237-$4,945 vs Oregon · lower cost
Admission rate88.3%98.1%
Similar profileBoise State UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with Oregon
MeasureOregonBoise State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,174$64,791+$2,617 vs Oregon
Average annual net price$22,182$21,610-$572 vs Oregon · lower cost
Admission rate88.3%87.2%
Explore Boise 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