by our College Data Analytics TeamFind out more about how James Madison University ranks, how diverse it is, what majors it offers, and other essential facts below.
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.
James Madison University was awarded 395 badges in the 2026 rankings.
College Factual ranked JMU as #49 out of 3,449 colleges and universities in the country on its 2026 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation.
JMU also holds the #3 spot on the Best Colleges in Virginia ranking.
James Madison University has an acceptance rate of 72%, which makes it somewhat selective. Make sure it’s not the only school you apply to, even if it’s your school of choice. Whether you get in or not will largely depend on how you compare to other applicants.
About 14% of students accepted to JMU submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 600 and 680. Math scores were between 570 and 660.
JMU received ACT scores from 3% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 24 and 29.
The student to faculty ratio at James Madison University is about average at 17 to 1. This ratio is often used to gauge how many students might be in an average class and how much time professors will have to spend with their students on an individual level. The national average for this metric is 15 to 1.
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 James Madison University is 80%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
James Madison University has a freshmen retention rate of 90%. 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.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At JMU the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 81%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at James Madison University.
The current enrollment includes 20,497 undergraduates at JMU.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at James Madison University.
The average net price of JMU is $16,772. 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.### Net Price by Income Group for JMU
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10,582 | $12,172 | $17,150 | $23,171 | $28,869 |
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 JMU, 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 JMU, approximately 29% of students took out student loans averaging $5,924 a year. That adds up to $23,696 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 2.0%. 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 James Madison University.
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from James Madison University make about $69,954 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is good news for future James Madison University graduates since it is 42% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at James Madison University make the most money.
James Madison University is an public institution located in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life. Get more details about the location of James Madison University.
Get in touch with James Madison University are given below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 800 South Main Street, Harrisonburg, VA 22807 |
| Phone: | 5405686211 |
| Website: | www.jmu.edu/ |
| Facebook: | www.jmu.edu/jmuweb/facebook |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/JMU |
In the latest year of available data, students from 24 majors graduated from James Madison 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 | 5,616 | NA |
| Communication & Media Studies | 455 | $39,604 |
| Mental & Social Health Services | 451 | $30,000 |
| Health & Physical Education | 341 | $34,340 |
| General Psychology | 318 | $28,370 |
| Nursing | 317 | $68,265 |
| Business Administration & Management | 234 | $68,042 |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 213 | NA |
| General Biology | 187 | $27,637 |
| Marketing | 168 | $49,719 |
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.
6,736 students took at least one online class at James Madison University.
Learn more about online learning at James Madison University.
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