Roger Williams University is a private not-for-profit institution in Bristol, Rhode Island enrolling 3,946 undergraduates. It accepts 88% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 69%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #411 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 8%), 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.
Roger Williams University ranks #411 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 8%.
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.
Roger Williams University was awarded 71 badges in the 2027 rankings.
RWU is ranked #411 out of 5,159 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation.
Within the state, RWU holds the #5 spot on the Best Colleges in Rhode Island ranking.
See all of the rankings for Roger Williams University.
Roger Williams University has an acceptance rate of 88%, so it is easier to gain admission to this school than some others. Still, the admissions staff will examine your application closely to make sure you’re a good fit for RWU.
About 19% of students accepted to RWU submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 580 and 660. Math scores were between 560 and 650.
RWU received ACT scores from 2% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 24 and 29.
Learn more about Roger Williams University admissions.
At RWU, 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.
In addition to the student to faculty ratio, some people look at what percentage of faculty members are full-time as a sign of how much time professors will be able to spend with their students. This is because part-time teachers may not be on campus as much as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at Roger Williams University is 42%. This is lower than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate of 81% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like Roger Williams University enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That’s certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at RWU for first-time, full-time students is 69%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Roger Williams University.
In the current academic year, there are 3,946 undergraduates at RWU.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Roger Williams University.
The average net price of RWU 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 + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $29,778 | $30,087 | $33,623 | $37,318 | $40,792 |
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 RWU, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At RWU, approximately 56% of students took out student loans averaging $6,450 a year. That adds up to $25,800 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 2.6%. 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 Roger Williams University.
Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from Roger Williams University with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $70,266 in their early years. That’s great news for Roger Williams University students since it is 43% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at Roger Williams University make the most money.
Roger Williams University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Bristol, Rhode Island. RWU is located in a safe and convenient suburb. Get more details about the location of Roger Williams University.
Contact information for Roger Williams University are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | One Old Ferry Road, Bristol, RI 02809-2921 |
| Phone: | 4012531040 |
| Website: | www.rwu.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Williams_University |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/rogerwilliamsuniversity |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/myrwu |
In the latest year of available data, students from 25 majors graduated from Roger Williams 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 | 1,186 | NA |
| Criminal Justice & Corrections | 110 | $41,548 |
| Other Legal Professions | 106 | NA |
| Architectural Sciences | 101 | NA |
| Business Administration & Management | 80 | $47,654 |
| General Psychology | 68 | $31,679 |
| Construction Management | 60 | $67,169 |
| General Engineering | 57 | NA |
| Finance & Financial Management | 54 | $53,141 |
| Marketing | 53 | $40,968 |
766 students took at least one online class at Roger Williams 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 Roger Williams University.
Interested in comparing RWU? Pit them head to head with College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.
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