by our College Data Analytics TeamCentral Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is a private not-for-profit institution in Fayette, Missouri enrolling 1,040 undergraduates. It accepts 57% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 51%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #1,599 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 31%), 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.
Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences ranks #1,599 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 31%.
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.
According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, CMU - CLAS is ranked #1,599 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality.
Within the state, CMU - CLAS holds the #36 spot on the Best Colleges in Missouri ranking.
See all of the rankings for Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
The acceptance rate at Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is a competitive 57%, so make sure you take your application seriously when putting it together. Even leaving out a minor detail could be a reason to move you to the rejection pile.
About 2% of students accepted to CMU - CLAS submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 440 and 490. Math scores were between 520 and 555.
CMU - CLAS received ACT scores from 41% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 17 and 23.
Learn more about Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences admissions.
At CMU - CLAS, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 12 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.
Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.
The full-time faculty percentage at Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is 100%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate is a sign of how many full-time students like a college or university well enough to come back for their sophomore year. At Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences this rate is 62%, which is a bit lower than the national average of 68%.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at CMU - CLAS for first-time, full-time students is 51%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
In the current academic year, there are 1,040 undergraduates at CMU - CLAS.
The typical net cost at CMU - CLAS 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 + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $20,260 | $18,894 | $20,680 | $23,883 | $27,411 |
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 CMU - CLAS, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At CMU - CLAS, approximately 61% of students took out student loans averaging $6,473 a year. That adds up to $25,892 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 7.1%. Although this is lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, you’ll still want to keep this in mind when taking out student loans. Get more details about paying for Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Central Methodist U-C of Liberal Arts and Sciences make about $48,991 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is right on par with the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. Also, graduates in your major field may make more.
Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is a private not-for-profit institution situated in Fayette, Missouri. Students who love country life may enjoy the rural location of CMU - CLAS. Get more details about the location of Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Contact information for Central Methodist U-C of Liberal Arts and Sciences are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 411 Central Methodist Square, Fayette, MO 65248-1198 |
| Phone: | 6602483391 |
| Website: | www.centralmethodist.edu/ |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Methodist_University |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/centralmethodist |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/cmuniv |
During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 18 majors graduated from Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. 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 | 296 | NA |
| Nursing | 50 | $60,385 |
| Business & Commerce | 34 | $41,019 |
| General Biology | 19 | NA |
| Computer Science | 17 | NA |
| Other Interdisciplinary Studies | 17 | NA |
| Ecology & Systematics Biology | 15 | NA |
| General Psychology | 13 | $29,793 |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 12 | $27,483 |
| Health & Physical Education | 12 | NA |
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.
Want to see how other colleges compare to CMU - CLAS? Compare them side by side using College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.
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.
References