by our College Data Analytics TeamCarnegie Mellon University is a private not-for-profit institution in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania enrolling 7,304 undergraduates. It accepts 12% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 94%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #20 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 1%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Carnegie Mellon University ranks #20 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 1%.
College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.
Carnegie Mellon University was awarded 773 badges in the 2027 rankings.
Carnegie Mellon; CMU is ranked #20 out of 5,159 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 1% of all schools in the nation!
Carnegie Mellon; CMU is also ranked #2 on the Best Colleges in Pennsylvania list.
See all of the rankings for Carnegie Mellon University.
With an acceptance rate of 12%, Carnegie Mellon; CMU is one of the most selective schools in the country. Good grades and high test scores alone may not be enough to get you into the school, so do your best to submit a stellar application.
About 53% of students accepted to Carnegie Mellon; CMU submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 730 and 770. Math scores were between 770 and 800.
Carnegie Mellon; CMU received ACT scores from 22% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 34 and 35.
Learn more about Carnegie Mellon University admissions.
At Carnegie Mellon; CMU, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 5 to 1. That’s much better than the national average of 15 to 1. This indicates that many classes will probably be small, and students will have ample opportunities to work closely with their professors and classmates.
When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at Carnegie Mellon University is 92%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
Carnegie Mellon University has a freshmen retention rate of 98%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at Carnegie Mellon; CMU for first-time, full-time students is 94%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Carnegie Mellon University.
In the current academic year, there are 7,304 undergraduates at Carnegie Mellon; CMU.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Carnegie Mellon University.
The typical net cost at Carnegie Mellon; CMU is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $9,097 | $6,994 | $14,468 | $24,865 | $51,480 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Carnegie Mellon; CMU, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At Carnegie Mellon; CMU, approximately 34% of students took out student loans averaging $4,785 a year. That adds up to $19,140 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 0.9%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for Carnegie Mellon University.
Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from Carnegie Mellon University with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $114,862 in their early years. This is good news for future Carnegie Mellon University graduates since it is 133% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at Carnegie Mellon University make the most money.
Carnegie Mellon University is an private not-for-profit institution located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life. Get more details about the location of Carnegie Mellon University.
Contact details for Carnegie Mellon University are given below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890 |
| Phone: | 4122682000 |
| Website: | www.cmu.edu/ |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnegie_Mellon_University |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/carnegiemellonu |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/carnegiemellon |
During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 22 majors graduated from Carnegie Mellon University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 6,600 | NA |
| Computer Information Systems | 1,123 | $109,615 |
| Electrical Engineering | 663 | $112,327 |
| Computer Science | 424 | $161,723 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 355 | $78,883 |
| Management Sciences & Methods | 307 | NA |
| Computer Engineering | 285 | NA |
| Business Administration & Management | 214 | $78,783 |
| Information Technology | 210 | $91,653 |
| Statistics | 207 | $89,449 |
2,331 students took at least one online class at Carnegie Mellon University.
Online courses are a great option for busy, working students as well as for those who have scheduling conflicts and want to study on their own time. As time goes by, expect to see more and more online learning options become available.
Learn more about online learning at Carnegie Mellon University.
Curious how schools stack up against Carnegie Mellon; CMU? Pit them head to head with College Combat, our free interactive tool that lets you compare colleges on the features that matter most to you.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
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