College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Winston-Salem State University

NCMedium public institution · Overall rank #223 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Winston-Salem State University #223 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Winston-Salem State University is a public university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where the degree mix is led by the health professions. The fit is clearest for a student drawn to that field and expecting to work after the degree.

Most graduates are estimated to go into jobs rather than on to further study. Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them.

The model attributes that to the factors it measures — field of study, enrollment and the local labor market — which add, while what it cannot explain subtracts. Return is modestly below average, so the earnings advantage is real but not the headline.

Access is among the highest we track, and Pell students complete at a rate above the overall cohort. The lowest income band pays well below the published cost, and the highest income band also pays below the published cost.

Affordability is above average. The admission rate is below the median for comparable institutions.

A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid ones are much smaller. Nursing and a handful of clinical and computing fields lead the earnings list, while the largest programs are more numerous.

Winston-Salem State University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
78.3%
Six-year completion[2]
46.7%
Four-year earnings[3]
$56,396

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$14,681
Median student debt[4]
$25,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$12,030

Winston-Salem State University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Winston-Salem State University enrolls 4,170 undergraduates as a public university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It lands in the upper fifth of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (at the 85th percentile).

The admission rate is 78.3%, which sits below the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 77.2% continue into their second year, a rate that sits above the peer median of 73.7%.

The six-year graduation rate is 46.7%, just below the peer median of 49.1%. An estimated 29.4% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the graduation rate describes only the first-time, full-time cohort and leaves out much of the student body.

The four sit far apart. Access is the strongest, at the 94th percentile, and mobility is also high at the 84th percentile.

Return is the weakest of the four, at the 45th percentile, with affordability sitting between them at the 74th percentile.

Azimuth ranks Winston-Salem State University across four pillars among nonprofit four-year institutions. Access is the strongest, in the 94th percentile, and mobility follows at the 84th percentile.

Affordability sits at the 74th percentile. Return is the weakest of the four, at the 45th percentile, so the profile leans toward access and mobility rather than earnings.

Winston-Salem State University enrolls a student body where 64.9% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants. Enrolled students who submitted SAT scores showed a middle 50% between 830 and 1,020.

Those who submitted ACT scores showed a middle 50% between 15 and 20. Azimuth ranks the university #93 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell Grant recipients finish within six years at 54.8%, a figure that exceeds the overall cohort rate (46.7%) by 8.1 percentage points. Azimuth ranks Winston-Salem State University #239 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $5,367 more than the model expects for similar students.

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

Winston-Salem State University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#223

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 84
Access & reach
National percentile: 94
Affordability
National percentile: 74
Return on investment
National percentile: 45

Top-ranked majors

  1. Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions#30
  2. Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions#32
  3. Health and Medical Administrative Services#78

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 / Winston-Salem State University briefing

Winston-Salem State University cost & financial aid[6][7]

The average net price is the billed cost minus grants and scholarships for a typical aid recipient. At Winston-Salem State University, that figure is $13,479, which is $589 below the $14,068 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Aid covers about 42% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. The full published cost of attendance is $23,147.

In-state tuition and fees are $6,126, and room and board is $11,484. Students from outside the state pay $16,782 in tuition and fees.

On average, financial aid reduces the sticker price by $9,668. Azimuth ranks the university #368 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. That places the affordability pillar in the 74th percentile.

The published cost of attendance is $23,147. Azimuth ranks Winston-Salem State University #368 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For families earning under $30,000, it averages $11,463; for those earning $48,001 to $75,000, it averages $14,681; and for those earning over $110,000, it averages $21,405. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $9,942.

Aid covers about 42% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. The average net price across all aid recipients is $13,479, which is $589 below the $14,068 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Borrowers who finish carry a median of $25,000 in federal student loans. That is $3,771 above the $21,229 peer median.

91.1% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $12,030 in Parent PLUS loans.

If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$14,681

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Winston-Salem State University

Most undergraduates at Winston-Salem State University borrow: 91.1% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Among federal-loan borrowers who finish, the median federal student loan debt is $25,000.

That median is $3,771 above the $21,229 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Parents who borrow through the Parent PLUS program hold a separate median of $12,030.

Winston-Salem State University graduates who are working and not enrolled four years after completion earn a median of $56,396. That places the median in the 37th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

It is also $905 below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $5,367 more than the model expects for similar students.

The earnings beyond expectations are at the 72nd percentile. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from $40,361 on the downside to $85,595 on the upside, with $56,396 as the typical scenario.

Borrowers who finish carry a median of $25,000 in federal loans, $3,771 above the peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size). If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month.

For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $12,030. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 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
$25,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$12,030

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$284/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$153/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 / Winston-Salem State University briefing

Winston-Salem State University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

The spread between the downside and upside earnings scenarios is wide at Winston-Salem State University, running from $40,361 to $85,595. These are scenarios estimated from the program mix, not observed groups of graduates.

Computer Science sits at the high end, with median earnings of $94,298 four years after completion from 17 degrees awarded a year. Nursing, the largest program, reports $84,952 from 213 degrees awarded. Accounting graduates earn $70,941 from 14 degrees awarded.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates of Winston-Salem State University who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $56,396 (based on 1,310 completers). That is $905 below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size), and Azimuth places the university in the 37th percentile for earnings among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The typical earnings scenario matches the observed median at $56,396. The downside earnings scenario is $40,361 and the upside reaches $85,595, a wide spread across scenarios.

An estimated 28.2% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Graduates of Winston-Salem State University earn about $5,367 more than the model expects for similar students, placing the gap at the 72nd percentile. Borrowers who finish leave with a median of $25,000 in federal student loans, $3,771 above the $21,229 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $12,030 in Parent PLUS loans.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$5,580
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$213
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$5,367

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 / Winston-Salem State University briefing

Winston-Salem State University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Winston-Salem State University admits 78.3% of applicants, a rate that sits below the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
78.3%
Approximate lower endpoint
830
Reported average
945
Approximate upper endpoint
1020

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 / Winston-Salem State University briefing

What are the largest majors at Winston-Salem State University?[12]

Nursing is the largest program at Winston-Salem State University, with 213 degrees awarded and median earnings of $84,952 four years after completion. Azimuth ranks it #163 nationally within its field.

Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions holds the strongest national rank, at #30 within its field, with 53 degrees awarded and median earnings of $70,450 four years after completion. At the more moderate end, Kinesiology and Physical Education has 79 degrees awarded and median earnings of $43,313, while Business Administration and Management has 60 degrees awarded and median earnings of $43,292.

Azimuth ranks Kinesiology and Physical Education #208 nationally and Business Administration and Management #350 nationally within their fields.

Health Professions accounts for 43.0% of bachelor's degrees awarded, and the university has 13 nationally ranked programs. Nursing is the largest, with 213 degrees awarded and median earnings of $84,952 four years after completion.

Azimuth ranks it #163 nationally and #4 in North Carolina. The highest-earning program is Computer Science, at $94,298, though it awarded only 17 degrees.

Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions holds the best national rank at #30, with 53 degrees awarded and median earnings of $70,450.

Winston-Salem State University awards bachelor's degrees across 13 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 17 with published four-year earnings data. The program mix is anchored by Health Professions, which accounts for 43.0% of degrees awarded, followed by Parks, Recreation & Fitness at 8.6% and Business at 8.0%.

The largest single programs are Nursing at 213 degrees awarded, Health and Medical Administrative Services at 81, and Kinesiology and Physical Education at 79. The highest-ranked program is Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions, which awards 53 degrees a year and ranks #1 in North Carolina within its field.

Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions graduates earn a median of $42,179 four years after completion, and the program ranks #32 nationally and #4 in North Carolina within its field. The highest-earning program is a much smaller one: Computer Science graduates earn a median of $94,298 four years out, from 17 degrees awarded a year.

Nursing, the largest program, also earns $84,952 and ranks #163 nationally and #4 in North Carolina within its field. The pattern is concentrated: the health professions family dominates the degree mix, and the strongest ranks sit inside it while the highest earnings are in computer science. 13.4% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 213 degrees awarded
$84,952
Health and Medical Administrative Services 81 degrees awarded
$45,182
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 79 degrees awarded
$43,313
Biology, General 68 degrees awarded
$47,527
Business Administration, Management and Operations 60 degrees awarded
$43,292
Psychology, General 53 degrees awarded
$40,797

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 / Winston-Salem State University briefing

What colleges are similar to Winston-Salem State University?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Winston-Salem State University.

Admissions peerFayetteville State University82.2% admitted
Comparison with Winston-Salem State University
MeasureWinston-Salem State UniversityFayetteville State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$56,396$51,687-$4,709 vs Winston-Salem State University
Average annual net price$13,479$7,892-$5,587 vs Winston-Salem State University · lower cost
Admission rate78.3%82.2%
Explore Fayetteville State University →
Higher-admission alternativeRadford University89.5% admitted
Comparison with Winston-Salem State University
MeasureWinston-Salem State UniversityRadford University
Peer earnings · 4 years$56,396$57,832+$1,436 vs Winston-Salem State University
Average annual net price$13,479$14,578+$1,099 vs Winston-Salem State University · higher cost
Admission rate78.3%89.5%
Explore Radford University →
Nearby alternativeGardner-Webb UniversityNearby option · NC
Comparison with Winston-Salem State University
MeasureWinston-Salem State UniversityGardner-Webb University
Peer earnings · 4 years$56,396$60,516+$4,120 vs Winston-Salem State University
Average annual net price$13,479$17,674+$4,195 vs Winston-Salem State University · higher cost
Admission rate78.3%77.2%
Higher-earnings alternativeSoutheastern Baptist Theological Seminary$69,450 earnings
Comparison with Winston-Salem State University
MeasureWinston-Salem State UniversitySoutheastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Peer earnings · 4 years$56,396$69,450+$13,054 vs Winston-Salem State University
Average annual net price$13,479$13,090-$389 vs Winston-Salem State University · lower cost
Admission rate78.3%74.6%
Lower-cost alternativeNorth Carolina A & T State University$10,846 average net price
Comparison with Winston-Salem State University
MeasureWinston-Salem State UniversityNorth Carolina A & T State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$56,396$56,996+$600 vs Winston-Salem State University
Average annual net price$13,479$10,846-$2,633 vs Winston-Salem State University · lower cost
Admission rate78.3%49.9%
Explore North Carolina A & T State University →
Similar profileUniversity of South Carolina-UpstateMatched across several measures
Comparison with Winston-Salem State University
MeasureWinston-Salem State UniversityUniversity of South Carolina-Upstate
Peer earnings · 4 years$56,396$55,994-$402 vs Winston-Salem State University
Average annual net price$13,479$13,557+$78 vs Winston-Salem State University · higher cost
Admission rate78.3%67.3%
Explore University of South Carolina-Upstate →

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