Baylor University

Waco, TX · Private nonprofit · 14,785 undergrads (medium, city) · website ↗

Baptist
Test-optional
No application fee

What you'll actually pay

Average net price per year — tuition, fees, room & board minus grant and scholarship aid — for in-state students by household income.

Household income	Avg net price / year
Under $30,000	$22,024
$30,000 – $48,000	$21,530
$48,000 – $75,000	$33,902
$75,000 – $110,000	$38,852
Over $110,000	$47,895
All incomes (average)	$41,104

Sticker tuition and fees: $58,100 in-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use Baylor University's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator ↗

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, on campus	$16,638
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$14,924
Books and supplies	$1,530
Other expenses, on campus	$3,946
Other expenses, off campus	$4,686

Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (3,286 of them) in 2022–23; 98% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.

Type of aid	Students awarded	Average amount
Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own	97%	$20,409
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	9%	$5,000
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	97%	$19,350
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	39%	$5,315

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.

Admissions & outcomes

Acceptance rate: 51%
Average SAT: 1329
Median ACT: 29
Students with Pell grants: 13%
Graduation rate (6yr): 80%
Freshman retention: 91%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $65,793
Median debt at graduation: $23,000
International undergrads: 477 (3.1%)

For comparison, the median across all 1,596 four-year colleges on this site: graduation rate 56%, earnings ten years after entering $54,869, debt at graduation $23,250.

Admission policy, test scores and teaching

SAT/ACT policy: Test-optional
Application fee: None
Students per faculty member: 15 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 67%
Open admission: No

Middle 50% of test scores, fall 2024

25th to 75th percentile of enrolled first-year students who submitted scores. A quarter scored below the first figure and a quarter above the second. Section ranges can't be added together into a total-score range.

SAT Reading and Writing: 610–700
SAT Math: 590–700
ACT composite: 27–32

What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023

How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.

High school GPA	Required
High school class rank	Considered if submitted
High school record	Required
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Considered if submitted
Recommendations	Considered if submitted
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Considered if submitted
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Required
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	Not considered
Work experience	Considered if submitted
Personal statement or essay	Required
Legacy status	Considered if submitted

First-time applicants: 39,735
Admitted: 20,262
Enrolled: 3,317

Counts of first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, including early decision and early action. The acceptance rate higher up this page comes from a different College Scorecard release, so it may not match these counts.

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.

Most popular fields of study

Share of bachelor's degrees awarded.

Business24%

Health & Nursing20%

Biology & Life Sciences10%

Communications & Media8%

Social Sciences7%

Psychology4%

Visual & Performing Arts4%

Kinesiology & Sports Science3%

Engineering3%

Education2%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Bachelor's degrees (55)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	330	$78,845	$89,510national $88,910	$18,125
Accounting and Related Services	239	$75,366	$102,011national $76,194	$15,869
Finance and Financial Management Services	238	$77,600	$102,812national $83,343	$19,500
Marketing	228	$63,435	$78,398national $69,303	$19,500
Communication and Media Studies	218	$49,439	$58,915national $56,359	$20,375
Biology, General	218	$36,256	$57,155national $57,214	$20,362
Health/Medical Preparatory Programs	216	$36,488	$68,460national $61,911	$18,725
Business Administration, Management and Operations	198	$66,981	$85,961national $68,257	$19,500
Psychology, General	157	$42,775	$65,090national $50,706	$20,500
Management Information Systems and Services	150	$77,795	$96,148national $83,290	$19,535
Political Science and Government	129	$43,363	$61,578national $63,293	$20,500
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations	125	$61,927	$86,363national $61,027	$16,320
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	112	$36,523	$51,273national $54,562	$21,500
Business/Commerce, General	95	$75,807	$124,434national $68,407	$12,000
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	89	$44,065	$63,909national $58,928	$20,500
Neurobiology and Neurosciences	81	$37,432	$53,927national $62,451	$23,465
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology	65	$39,881	$49,661national $65,466	$21,500
Journalism	63	$49,805	$63,622national $56,278	$19,374
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	60	$49,121	$56,476national $47,382	$20,000
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	60	$54,373	$57,434national $51,389	$17,500
Mechanical Engineering	56	$78,636	$92,990national $92,135	$16,250
Health Professions Education, Ethics, and Humanities	54	—	—national $87,441	$19,625
History	50	$36,701	$57,006national $50,680	$19,500
Natural Resources Conservation and Research	47	$44,286	$59,701national $55,012	$16,125
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services	44	—	$46,979national $48,568	$19,325
International Relations and National Security Studies	39	$40,056	$67,484national $66,596	$20,000
Music	39	$23,360	$40,017national $42,892	$19,250
Public Health	38	$57,091	—national $58,808	$21,587
Electrical and Computer Engineering	37	—	—	$22,000
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other	37	$22,907	$44,995national $55,693	$10,000
Sociology	37	$37,066	$57,822national $52,657	$22,500
Design and Applied Arts	34	$51,727	$63,522national $51,490	$22,500
General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations	34	$85,374	$125,167national $75,399	$21,375
Fine and Studio Arts	33	$38,807	$50,253national $41,367	$18,375
International Business	33	—	$71,071national $73,201	$20,000
Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, General	31	$37,190	$51,727national $50,532	$23,750
Religion/Religious Studies	30	$34,012	$50,002national $41,390	$19,400
English Language and Literature, General	28	$37,471	$54,367national $48,590	$20,500
Film/Video and Photographic Arts	28	$39,080	—national $43,765	$23,500
Anthropology	27	$30,611	$50,699national $46,676	$23,000
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft	27	$33,376	$45,706national $39,775	$21,500
Computer Science	26	$98,124	$128,411national $107,009	$19,500
Social Work	22	—	$58,293national $51,790	$23,375
Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations	22	$52,622	$67,066national $59,631	—
Mathematics	20	$72,280	$89,618national $69,562	$20,663
Philosophy	20	—	—national $54,455	$20,000
Air Transportation	20	$56,261	—national $85,825	—
Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services	18	—	$45,554national $54,945	—
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies	18	$31,640	—national $48,471	—
Engineering, General	17	—	$84,689national $89,359	—
Chemistry	16	—	$65,293national $65,120	—
Human Resources Management and Services	16	$65,648	$89,102national $68,069	—
Radio, Television, and Digital Communication	2	$42,273	$46,043national $50,497	—
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	—	$89,829	$100,110national $100,647	—
Business/Managerial Economics	—	$61,664	$84,808national $77,981	$18,500

Master's degrees (15)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	218	$66,161	$65,075national $67,030	$77,582
Business Administration, Management and Operations	201	$118,299	$130,178national $103,485	$56,250
Social Work	157	$56,448	$61,272national $65,123	$62,721
Accounting and Related Services	107	$74,779	$109,055national $95,833	$20,500
Behavioral Sciences	76	—	—national $65,111	$88,000
Theological and Ministerial Studies	49	$49,433	$58,391national $61,300	$33,887
Educational Administration and Supervision	38	—	$59,087national $71,685	$35,382
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology	36	$64,272	$65,057national $65,184	$26,981
Health and Medical Administrative Services	33	$103,006	—national $89,981	—
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	22	$54,141	$62,389national $62,033	—
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	19	—	$53,274national $63,707	—
Music	19	$26,267	$46,515national $48,285	—
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	11	$41,203	—national $127,347	—
Public Health	1	$58,281	—national $82,751	$99,194
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	—	—	—national $71,416	$130,917

Doctoral degrees (4)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Curriculum and Instruction	126	$91,353	—national $83,031	$93,326
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	8	$76,977	—national $82,893	$130,245
Law	—	$96,639	$121,715national $105,518	$119,916
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	—	$134,126	—national $138,131	$96,357

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 110 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: 1320 S. 7th Street, Waco, TX 76798
Phone: (254) 710-1011
Institutional accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS Fall Enrolment for international student counts. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Verify current costs and requirements with the school.

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