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Southeast Missouri State University Complete Information Guide

242 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
74% Acceptance Rate

Find out more about how Southeast Missouri State University ranks, how diverse it is, what majors it offers, and other essential facts below.

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* Rankings

How Well Is Southeast Missouri State University Ranked?

#1,114 Best Colleges in Nation
#26 Best Colleges in MO
Southeast Missouri State University ranking badge

2026 College Rankings

In its yearly rankings, College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities to determine which ones are the best in a variety of categories, such as overall value, quality, diversity, which schools are the best for each major, and much more.

Southeast Missouri State University was awarded 242 badges in the 2026 rankings.

Overall Ranking

Southeast Missouri State University is ranked #1,114 out of 3,449 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2026 Best Colleges list.

Within the state, Southeast Missouri State University holds the #26 spot on the Best Colleges in Missouri ranking.

See all of the rankings for Southeast Missouri State University.

What Are the Admission Requirements for Southeast Missouri State University?

74% Acceptance Rate
81% Of Accepted Are Women
1% Submit SAT Scores

Getting Accepted

The acceptance rate at Southeast Missouri State University is 74%. That’s higher than the rate at many schools, but still low enough to be considered somewhat selective. If you want to get in, you’ll need good grades and to be able to show that Southeast Missouri State University is a good fit for you.

SAT and ACT Scores

Southeast Missouri State University received ACT scores from 5% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 15 and 20.

ACT Composite Scores for Southeast Missouri State University  ( 15 to 20 )
1
36

Learn more about Southeast Missouri State University admissions.

Teaching Staff at Southeast Missouri State University

20 to 1 Student to Faculty
67% Full Time Teachers

Class Sizes

The student to faculty ratio at Southeast Missouri State University is 20 to 1, which is high when compared to the national average of 15 to 1. This may indicate that some of your classes will be larger in size than they would be at other schools. However, upper level classes will probably be smaller.

Percent of Full-Time Faculty

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 Southeast Missouri State University is 67%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  67 out of 100
0
100

Student Success Metrics for Southeast Missouri State University

76% Freshmen Retention
56% On-Time Graduation Rate

First-Year Student Retention

Southeast Missouri State University has a freshmen retention rate of 76%. 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.

Freshmen Retention Rate  76 out of 100
0
100

Graduation Rate

Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At Southeast Missouri State University the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 56%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  56 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Southeast Missouri State University.

Undergraduate Diversity at Southeast Missouri State University

6,588 Undergraduate Students
14.9% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
59.9% Percent Women

In the current academic year, there are 6,588 undergraduates at Southeast Missouri State University.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Southeast Missouri State University.

What Does Southeast Missouri State University Cost?

$16,772 Net Price
33% Take Out Loans
$25,508 Total Student Loans

The typical net cost at Southeast Missouri State University 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 Southeast Missouri State University

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$11,453 $11,371 $13,576 $18,253 $19,562

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 Southeast Missouri State University, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student 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 Southeast Missouri State University, approximately 33% of students took out student loans averaging $6,377 a year. That adds up to $25,508 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 9.7%. This is about the same as the national default rate of 10.1%. Get more details about paying for Southeast Missouri State University.

Post-Graduation Earnings for Southeast Missouri State U

$44,030 Avg Salary of Grads
Low Earnings Boost

The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Southeast Missouri State University make about $44,030 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is about 11% less than the average pay for college graduates overall. However, graduates with your major may make more.

See which majors at Southeast Missouri State University make the most money.

Location of Southeast Missouri State University

Missouri State
6,588 Undergraduate Students
Small City Campus Setting

Southeast Missouri State University is an public institution found in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life. Get more details about the location of Southeast Missouri State University.

Location of Southeast Missouri State University

Contact details for Southeast Missouri State University are listed below.

Contact Details
Address: One University Plaza, MS2025, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701
Phone: 5736512000
Website: www.semo.edu
Facebook: www.semo.edu/facebook
Twitter: twitter.com/semissouristate

Southeast Missouri State University Academic Programs

27 Majors With Completions
4,950 Undergraduate Degrees

In the latest year of available data, students from 27 majors graduated from Southeast Missouri 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 2,475 NA
Computer Information Systems 379 $50,908
Business Administration & Management 197 $41,323
Liberal Arts General Studies 117 $31,454
General Biology 107 $25,035
Teacher Education Grade Specific 98 $31,575
General Psychology 98 $28,965
Criminal Justice & Corrections 97 $31,942
Teacher Education Subject Specific 80 $29,430
Nursing 74 $59,369

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

Distance Learning at Southeast Missouri State University

71% Take At Least One Class Online
19% Take All Classes Online

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.

4,689 students took at least one online class at Southeast Missouri State University.

Learn more about online learning at Southeast Missouri State University.

Similar InstitutionsInterested in comparing Southeast Missouri State University? Match them up using College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.

Data Sources 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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