by our College Data Analytics TeamChapman University is a private not-for-profit institution in Orange, California enrolling 7,478 undergraduates. It accepts 65% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 82%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #82 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 2%), 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.
Chapman University ranks #82 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 2%.
College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.
Chapman University was awarded 538 badges in the 2027 rankings.
According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, Chapman is ranked #82 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 5% of all schools in the nation.
Chapman is also ranked #17 on the Best Colleges in California list.
See all of the rankings for Chapman University.
The acceptance rate at Chapman University is a competitive 65%, 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 14% of students accepted to Chapman submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 630 and 720. Math scores were between 630 and 720.
Chapman received ACT scores from 5% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 28 and 31.
Learn more about Chapman University admissions.
The student to faculty ratio at Chapman is an impressive 12 to 1. That’s quite good when you compare it to the national average of 15 to 1. This is a good sign that students at the school will have more opportunities for one-on-one interactions with their professors.
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 Chapman University is 100%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate of 92% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like Chapman University enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That’s certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At Chapman the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 82%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Chapman University.
The current enrollment includes 7,478 undergraduates at Chapman.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Chapman University.
The typical net cost at Chapman 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 + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $33,559 | $33,978 | $33,709 | $40,011 | $55,066 |
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 Chapman, 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 Chapman, approximately 60% of students took out student loans averaging $6,669 a year. That adds up to $26,676 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 2.5%. 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 Chapman University.
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Chapman University make about $70,070 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. That’s great news for Chapman University students since it is 42% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at Chapman University make the most money.
Chapman University is an private not-for-profit institution found in Orange, California. Orange is a great location for students who prefer city over country life. Get more details about the location of Chapman University.
Contact details for Chapman University can be found below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | One University Dr., Orange, CA 92866 |
| Phone: | 7149976815 |
| Website: | www.chapman.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapman_University |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/ChapmanUniversity |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/chapmanu |
In the most recent reporting year, students from 23 majors graduated from Chapman 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 | 2,833 | NA |
| Business Administration & Management | 432 | $48,524 |
| Film, Video & Photographic Arts | 240 | $30,848 |
| General Psychology | 187 | $23,026 |
| Law | 130 | $64,468 |
| Communication & Media Studies | 106 | $33,002 |
| Drama & Theater Arts | 104 | $25,162 |
| Computer Science | 99 | $58,871 |
| Corporate Communications | 93 | $44,813 |
| Health Sciences & Services | 83 | NA |
44 students took at least one online class at Chapman University.
Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.
Learn more about online learning at Chapman University.
Interested in comparing Chapman? Match them up using College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.
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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