by our College Data Analytics TeamDelaware State University is a public institution in Dover, Delaware enrolling 4,398 undergraduates. It accepts 47% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 39%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #2,251 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 44%), 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.
Delaware State University ranks #2,251 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 44%.
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.
Delaware State University was awarded 18 badges in the 2027 rankings.
Del State is ranked #2,251 out of 5,159 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges list.
Del State is also ranked #5 on the Best Colleges in Delaware list.
See all of the rankings for Delaware State University.
Delaware State University has an acceptance rate of 47%, which means the school is serious about who it admits. Take your time in putting together a strong application that highlights why you are a good fit for Del State.
About 26% of students accepted to Del State submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 420 and 520. Math scores were between 380 and 500.
Del State received ACT scores from 2% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 20 and 24.
Learn more about Delaware State University admissions.
With a student to faculty ratio of 17 to 1, Delaware State University is about average in this regard as the nationwide rate is 15 to 1. While this does not translate directly to class size, it’s a good indicator of how much time professors will have to spend with their students on a one-on-one basis.
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 Delaware State University is 54%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate tells us what percentage of first-year, full-time students choose to continue on to their sophomore year at a particular school. The rate at Delaware State University is 70%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 68%.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at Del State for first-time, full-time students is 39%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Delaware State University.
The current enrollment includes 4,398 undergraduates at Del State.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Delaware State University.
The average net price of Del State 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 + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $11,135 | $12,452 | $15,701 | $17,633 | $17,326 |
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 Del State, 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 Del State, approximately 52% of students took out student loans averaging $6,434 a year. That adds up to $25,736 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 10.1%. This is about the same as the national default rate of 10.1%. Get more details about paying for Delaware State University.
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Delaware State University make about $49,307 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is in the same neighborhood of the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. However, certain majors may produce higher-paying graduates.
See which majors at Delaware State University make the most money.
Delaware State University is an public institution located in Dover, Delaware. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life. Get more details about the location of Delaware State University.
Get in touch with Delaware State University are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 1200 N. Dupont Highway, Dover, DE 19901 |
| Phone: | 3028576060 |
| Website: | www.desu.edu |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/DESUedu |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/DelStateUniv |
In the most recent reporting year, students from 25 majors graduated from Delaware State 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 | 839 | NA |
| Social Work | 105 | $42,221 |
| Business Administration & Management | 66 | $38,316 |
| General Biology | 60 | $28,314 |
| Liberal Arts General Studies | 60 | $26,640 |
| General Psychology | 59 | $30,670 |
| Health & Physical Education | 58 | $28,713 |
| Public Health | 47 | NA |
| Educational Administration | 38 | $77,024 |
| Criminology | 28 | $32,693 |
3,572 students took at least one online class at Delaware State 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 Delaware State University.
Interested in comparing Del State? Compare them side by side 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.
References