by our College Data Analytics TeamHow many The Graduate Center first-year students return for their second year, and how many go on to graduate? Retention and graduation rates help you understand how students progress at The Graduate Center. First year retention shows who comes back, and graduation rates show who finishes and how long it takes.
Unfortunately, we don’t have access to data on the retention rate for CUNY Graduate School and University Center.
Of the 477 students in the class of 2023, how many completed their degree on time?
Four years after beginning their degree, 46% of those students had graduated. By 2025, six years after starting their degree, 53% of the students had graduated and after eight years 55% of this class completed their degree.
Any student who completes their bachelor's degree within six years is considered to have graduated on time, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. This makes the offical The Graduate Center graduation rate 53%.
| Completion Within | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 412 | 46% |
| Six Years | 477 | 53% |
| Eight Years | 10 | 2% |
| Did Not Complete | 405 | 45% |
The non-completers rate is anyone who is not still enrolled at the institution after eight years. Both transfer students and drop-outs could be included in this group.
Approximately 405 students or 45% of the cohort did not complete their degree within eight years.
What happened to the 405 students who did not complete their degree?
0 are still enrolled.
293 transferred to another institution.
The Graduate Center lost contact with the remaining 97 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 0 | 0.0% |
| Transferred | 293 | 72.3% |
| Dropped Out | 97 | 24.0% |
Traditional first-time, full-time students under 25 tend to graduate in four years far more often than other students. Some schools serve mostly traditional students while others serve more 'non-traditional' students — part-timers or those returning after time away — who commonly take longer to finish.
Traditional Students:
First-time, full-time students under the age of 25.
Non-Traditional Students:
Any student that is not first-time, full-time, and under the age of 25.
Comparing the graduation rates of the specific cohorts below can be more revealing than the overall graduation rates.
At this time we lack data for this cohort at CUNY Graduate School and University Center.
We don’t have data for this cohort at CUNY Graduate School and University Center.
Returning / full-time students at CUNY Graduate School and University Center represent 22.53% of the students in the class of 2023.
After six years, the The Graduate Center graduation rate was 67%, and by the eight year mark, 67% of the cohort had completed their degree.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for this group is 53.83% after six years, and 55.07% after eight years.
| Completions | The Graduate Center | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 0% | 49.57% |
| Six Years | 67% | 53.83% |
| Eight Years | 67% | 55.07% |
66 non first-time / part-time students or 33% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
1 are still enrolled.
52 transferred to another institution.
The Graduate Center lost contact with the remaining 13 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 1 | 1.52% |
| Transferred | 52 | 78.79% |
| Dropped Out | 13 | 19.70% |
Returning / part-time students at CUNY Graduate School and University Center represent 77.47% of the students in the class of 2023.
After six years, the The Graduate Center graduation rate was 50%, and by the eight year mark, 51% of the cohort had completed their degree.
Nationwide, the average graduation rate for this group is 30.46% after four years, 36.03% after six years, and 37.80% after eight years.
| Completions | The Graduate Center | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Four Years | 42% | 30.46% |
| Six Years | 50% | 36.03% |
| Eight Years | 51% | 37.80% |
339 non first-time / part-time students or 49% did not complete their degree within eight years.
Of those who did not finish:
14 are still enrolled.
241 transferred to another institution.
The Graduate Center lost contact with the remaining 84 who we assumed dropped out.
| Non-Completions | Undergraduates | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Still Enrolled | 14 | 4.13% |
| Transferred | 241 | 71.09% |
| Dropped Out | 84 | 24.78% |
