by our College Data Analytics TeamPhilander Smith University is a private not-for-profit institution in Little Rock, Arkansas enrolling 751 undergraduates. It has an on-time graduation rate of 30%, near the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #2,787 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 54%), 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.
Philander Smith University ranks #2,787 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 54%.
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.
According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, PSU is ranked #2,787 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality.
PSU is also ranked #42 on the Best Colleges in Arkansas list.
See all of the rankings for Philander Smith University.
Learn more about Philander Smith University admissions.
At PSU, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 11 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.
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 Philander Smith University is 100%. 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 Philander Smith University is 66%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 68%.
When it comes to finishing their studies on time, those seeking a bachelor’s degree from PSU have a four-year graduation rate of 30%. This is comparable to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Philander Smith University.
In the current academic year, there are 751 undergraduates at PSU.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Philander Smith University.
The overall average net price of PSU 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 + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $13,393 | $14,606 | $16,686 | $12,847 | $15,800 |
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 PSU, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
It’s not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At PSU, approximately 58% of students took out student loans averaging $7,312 a year. That adds up to $29,248 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 14.1%. This is higher than the national default rate of 10.1% so you should proceed with caution when taking out student loans. Get more details about paying for Philander Smith University.
Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Philander Smith University make around $38,427 per year during the early years of their employment. This is about 22% less than the average pay for college graduates overall. However, graduates with your major may make more.
See which majors at Philander Smith University make the most money.
Philander Smith University is an private not-for-profit institution located in Little Rock, Arkansas. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life. Get more details about the location of Philander Smith University.
Contact information for Philander Smith University are given below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 900 W. Daisy Bates Drive, Little Rock, AR 72202-3799 |
| Phone: | 5013759845 |
| Website: | www.philander.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philander_Smith_College |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/pages/Philander-Smith-College/143862818997419 |
| Twitter: | www.twitter.com/PhilanderSmith |
In the latest year of available data, students from 13 majors graduated from Philander Smith 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 | 91 | NA |
| Business Administration & Management | 33 | $23,231 |
| General Biology | 11 | NA |
| General Psychology | 8 | NA |
| Criminal Justice & Corrections | 8 | NA |
| Social Work | 7 | NA |
| Health & Physical Education | 6 | NA |
| Computer Science | 4 | NA |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 3 | NA |
| Liberal Arts General Studies | 3 | NA |
524 students took at least one online class at Philander Smith University.
Online learning options are becoming more and more popular at American colleges and universities. Online classes are great for students who have busy schedules or for those who just want to study on their own time.
Learn more about online learning at Philander Smith University.
Want to see how other colleges compare to PSU? 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.
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
More about our data sources and methodologies.