Roger Williams University

Bristol, RI · Private nonprofit · 3,946 undergrads (small, suburb) · website ↗

Test-optional
$55 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	$29,778
$30,000 – $48,000	$30,087
$48,000 – $75,000	$33,623
$75,000 – $110,000	$37,318
Over $110,000	$40,792
All incomes (average)	$37,999

Sticker tuition and fees: $44,418 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 Roger Williams 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	$17,656
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$15,460
Books and supplies	$900
Other expenses, on campus	$4,540
Other expenses, off campus	$2,968

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

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (1,057 of them) in 2022–23; 99% 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	99%	$22,491
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	19%	$5,046
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	99%	$21,350
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	71%	$5,237

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: 88%
Average SAT: 1223
Median ACT: —
Students with Pell grants: 16%
Graduation rate (6yr): 69%
Freshman retention: 81%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $70,266
Median debt at graduation: $26,940
International undergrads: 45 (1.1%)

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: $55
Students per faculty member: 10 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 42%
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: 580–660
SAT Math: 560–650
ACT composite: 24–29

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	Required
Recommendations	Required
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Considered if submitted
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Required
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	Considered if submitted
Work experience	Considered if submitted
Personal statement or essay	Required
Legacy status	Not considered

First-time applicants: 8,238
Admitted: 7,231
Enrolled: 1,022

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%

Criminal Justice11%

Biology & Life Sciences7%

Psychology7%

Engineering6%

Architecture5%

Education5%

Social Sciences5%

Communications & Media3%

Visual & Performing Arts3%

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 (28)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Criminal Justice and Corrections	94	$52,981	$70,747national $55,378	$26,000
Architectural Sciences and Technology	81	—	—national $70,074	$23,250
Psychology, General	62	$40,572	$57,212national $50,706	$25,500
Marketing	52	$46,289	$71,989national $69,303	$26,000
Construction Management	49	$77,613	$93,340national $95,124	$27,000
Engineering, General	45	—	—national $89,359	$27,000
Business Administration, Management and Operations	44	$51,694	$76,219national $68,257	$26,441
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	39	$42,189	$52,114national $47,382	$26,000
Finance and Financial Management Services	38	$66,562	$94,919national $83,343	$27,000
Legal Professions and Studies, Other	32	$43,777	$66,230national $57,149	$27,000
Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology	31	$32,186	$51,857national $48,842	$27,000
Biology, General	24	$43,229	$71,652national $57,214	$26,856
Security Science and Technology	22	$47,393	—national $57,805	$24,875
Political Science and Government	20	$49,594	$63,405national $63,293	$24,159
Computer Science	18	$82,314	—national $107,009	$26,500
Communication and Media Studies	16	$44,081	$70,575national $56,359	$26,730
Design and Applied Arts	16	$40,444	—national $51,490	$27,000
Legal Support Services	11	$55,603	$56,566national $53,266	—
Public Health	11	$47,399	—national $58,808	$20,350
Accounting and Related Services	10	$72,515	$98,701national $76,194	$24,271
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	9	$48,133	—national $51,389	—
International Business	8	—	$67,621national $73,201	—
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication	6	$47,537	—national $63,560	—
Sociology and Anthropology	5	$44,223	—national $46,959	—
Civil Engineering	1	—	$90,146national $86,517	—
Architecture	—	$55,092	$65,092national $66,914	$26,967
Graphic Communications	0	$41,370	$61,887national $43,283	—
Mechanical Engineering	—	$75,225	$94,385national $92,135	—

Associate degrees (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Legal Support Services	13	$47,841	$51,534national $44,669	—

Master's degrees (7)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Architectural Sciences and Technology	38	$61,695	—national $77,466	$66,007
Business Administration, Management and Operations	30	$64,601	$82,320national $103,485	$37,504
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology	26	$63,262	$60,458national $65,184	$77,819
Criminal Justice and Corrections	22	$54,329	$75,846national $66,714	$39,148
Special Education and Teaching	9	$52,693	—national $64,397	—
Public Administration	9	$74,854	—national $81,408	—
Architecture	—	$62,409	$75,242national $74,139	—

First professional degrees (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Law	—	$63,199	$90,866national $107,773	$120,892

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 75 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed. These figures are calculated for all 2 campuses that share this college's federal student-aid ID, so a branch campus shows its institution's figures.

Contact and accreditation

Address: One Old Ferry Road, Bristol, RI 02809-2921
Phone: (401) 253-1040
Institutional accreditor: New England Commission on Higher Education

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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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