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Lesley University: Rankings, Admissions, Cost & Majors

8 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
97% Acceptance Rate

Lesley University is a private not-for-profit institution in Cambridge, Massachusetts enrolling 1,122 undergraduates. It accepts 97% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 58%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #945 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 18%), 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.

How Is Lesley University Ranked?

Lesley University ranks #945 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 18%.

#945 Best Colleges in Nation
#52 Best Colleges in MA
Lesley University ranking badge

2027 Rankings

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.

Lesley University was awarded 8 badges in the 2027 rankings.

Overall Quality

College Factual ranked Lesley as #945 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 20% of all schools in the nation.

Lesley is also ranked #52 on the Best Colleges in Massachusetts list.

See all of the rankings for Lesley University.

Is It Hard to Get Into Lesley University?

97% Acceptance Rate
97% Of Accepted Are Women

Acceptance Rate

With an acceptance rate of 97%, Lesley University is easier to get into than many other schools. But that doesn’t mean you can slack off on your application. Make sure to treat this school like any other when submitting requested materials and documents.

Learn more about Lesley University admissions.

What Is the Student-to-Faculty Ratio at Lesley University?

10 to 1 Student to Faculty
27% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

At Lesley, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 10 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.

Percent of Full-Time Faculty

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 Lesley University is 27%. This is lower than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  27 out of 100
0
100

What Are the Graduation and Retention Rates at Lesley University?

72% Freshmen Retention
58% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshmen Retention Rate

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 Lesley University is 72%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 68%.

Freshmen Retention Rate  72 out of 100
0
100

Graduation Rate

Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At Lesley the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 58%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  58 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Lesley University.

How Diverse Is Lesley University?

1,122 Undergraduate Students
37.9% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
71.5% Percent Women

In the current academic year, there are 1,122 undergraduates at Lesley.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Lesley University.

How Much Does Lesley University Cost?

$17,140 Net Price
54% Take Out Loans
$26,872 Total Student Loans

The typical net cost at Lesley 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.

Net Price by Income Group for Lesley

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$24,799 $24,044 $29,030 $33,201 $35,152

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 Lesley, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Loan Debt

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 Lesley, approximately 54% of students took out student loans averaging $6,718 a year. That adds up to $26,872 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 3.6%. 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 Lesley University.

How Much Do Lesley University Graduates Earn?

$51,173 Avg Salary of Grads
Average Earnings Boost

Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Lesley University make around $51,173 per year during the early years of their employment. 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. Average Salary for Lesley University Graduates

See which majors at Lesley University make the most money.

Where Is Lesley University Located?

Massachusetts State
1,122 Undergraduate Students
Midsize City Campus Setting

Lesley University is an private not-for-profit institution located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The location of the school is great for students who enjoy the amenities of city life. Get more details about the location of Lesley University.

Location of Lesley University

Get in touch with Lesley University can be found below.

Contact Details
Address: 29 Everett St, Cambridge, MA 02138-2790
Phone: 6178689600
Website: www.lesley.edu
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesley_University
Facebook: www.facebook.com/LesleyUniversity
Twitter: twitter.com/lesley_u

What Majors Does Lesley University Offer?

17 Majors With Completions
1,656 Undergraduate Degrees

In the latest year of available data, students from 17 majors graduated from Lesley 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 828 NA
Mental & Social Health Services 208 $42,051
Teacher Education Grade Specific 94 $38,433
Teacher Education Subject Specific 51 $51,742
Special Education 48 $54,822
Design & Applied Arts 48 $30,949
Liberal Arts General Studies 44 $36,847
General Psychology 42 $33,544
Fine & Studio Arts 29 $34,966
Writing Studies 27 $45,226

Learn more about the majors offered at Lesley University along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Does Lesley Offer Online Classes?

48% Take At Least One Class Online
13% Take All Classes Online

544 students took at least one online class at Lesley 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 Lesley University.

Curious how schools stack up against Lesley? Compare them side by side using College Combat, our free interactive tool that lets you compare colleges on the features that matter most to you.

Notes and References

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

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