Sam Houston State University

Huntsville, TX · Public · 17,743 undergrads (large, town) · website ↗

29% Hispanic undergrads
Test-optional
$50 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	$12,474
$30,000 – $48,000	$13,389
$48,000 – $75,000	$15,540
$75,000 – $110,000	$21,366
Over $110,000	$24,101
All incomes (average)	$16,404

Sticker tuition and fees: $9,228 in-state, $19,068 out-of-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 Sam Houston State 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	$11,984
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$11,984
Books and supplies	$1,380
Other expenses, on campus	$3,866
Other expenses, off campus	$3,866

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

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (3,221 of them) in 2022–23; 84% 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	65%	$9,941
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	44%	$5,475
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	7%	$6,103
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	51%	$5,485

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: 90%
Average SAT: 1041
Median ACT: 21
Students with Pell grants: 41%
Graduation rate (6yr): 55%
Freshman retention: 73%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $54,211
Median debt at graduation: $21,983
International undergrads: 137 (0.8%)

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: $50
Students per faculty member: 19 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 79%
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: 480–570
SAT Math: 450–550
ACT composite: 17–24

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

First-time applicants: 17,582
Admitted: 15,014
Enrolled: 3,601

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.

Criminal Justice20%

Business18%

Health & Nursing10%

Education8%

Psychology8%

Communications & Media5%

Agriculture5%

Visual & Performing Arts5%

Biology & Life Sciences3%

Kinesiology & Sports Science3%

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 (53)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Criminal Justice and Corrections	804	$39,808	$51,748national $55,378	$19,500
Psychology, General	348	$35,436	$47,659national $50,706	$21,125
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	322	$52,686	—national $47,382	$21,750
Business/Commerce, General	252	$51,241	$63,837national $68,407	$22,603
Communication and Media Studies	194	$39,363	$50,125national $56,359	$21,500
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	149	$37,530	$57,341national $54,562	$22,375
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	147	$82,571	$91,697national $88,910	$22,250
Biology, General	145	$37,695	$53,165national $57,214	$24,092
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General	123	$35,742	$49,134national $61,296	$23,905
Finance and Financial Management Services	106	$56,982	$72,388national $83,343	$22,500
Animal Sciences	103	$36,599	$49,636national $49,634	$20,073
Accounting and Related Services	99	$54,122	$72,059national $76,194	$20,750
History	90	$47,548	$50,084national $50,680	$21,500
Health and Medical Administrative Services	77	$42,282	$55,155national $58,716	$22,702
Business Administration, Management and Operations	74	$57,417	$61,464national $68,257	$18,250
Marketing	70	$45,475	$55,522national $69,303	$20,125
Construction Engineering Technology/Technician	69	$73,947	$93,904national $93,843	$20,000
Music	56	$58,677	$58,743national $42,892	$24,246
Chemistry	52	$44,957	$57,410national $65,120	$26,814
Graphic Communications	51	$24,737	$42,579national $43,283	$23,875
English Language and Literature, General	51	$40,416	$48,761national $48,590	$26,500
Public Health	48	$41,535	$50,970national $58,808	$23,500
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft	47	$34,554	$36,389national $39,775	$22,752
Political Science and Government	45	$29,541	$55,894national $63,293	$20,389
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	41	$42,828	$54,082national $53,072	$23,000
Computer Engineering Technologies/Technicians	39	$63,768	—national $83,742	$24,125
Agricultural Business and Management	38	$53,219	$62,302national $66,647	—
Computer and Information Sciences, General	38	$63,335	$96,727national $92,374	$20,750
Homeland Security	30	$34,517	—national $70,193	$22,477
Dance	30	$29,727	$48,568national $39,980	$21,500
Human Resources Management and Services	29	$47,186	$57,689national $68,069	$24,384
Fine and Studio Arts	27	$42,085	$39,565national $41,367	$27,451
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other	25	$49,724	$56,225national $55,693	$17,118
Sociology	25	$43,602	$42,152national $52,657	$25,000
Design and Applied Arts	25	$45,200	$57,019national $51,490	$21,500
Agricultural Mechanization	21	$59,342	$67,729national $71,278	—
Mathematics	21	$54,928	$61,617national $69,562	$31,250
Management Information Systems and Services	21	$57,966	$73,734national $83,290	$25,000
Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management	20	—	—national $85,063	$25,000
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations	19	—	$52,901national $61,027	—
Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services	18	—	$50,512national $54,945	—
Geography and Cartography	17	$36,811	$56,151national $57,853	$24,509
Agriculture, General	16	$52,933	$60,598national $53,676	$20,125
Natural Resources Conservation and Research	16	—	—national $55,012	$19,093
International Business	16	$41,636	$61,186national $73,201	$20,625
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	15	$30,666	$31,854national $55,792	$22,625
Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations	12	—	$47,823national $59,631	—
Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/Technicians	9	—	—national $71,753	$20,154
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	8	—	$55,647national $55,000	—
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences	7	—	$55,954national $60,190	—
Business/Managerial Economics	4	$50,380	$67,464national $77,981	—
Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General	—	$44,882	$49,840national $48,460	—
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	0	—	$54,816national $70,786	—

Master's degrees (22)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business Administration, Management and Operations	128	$93,734	$99,143national $103,485	$34,750
Criminal Justice and Corrections	115	$58,530	$62,489national $66,714	$37,526
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology	107	$52,932	$57,746national $65,184	$41,000
Educational Administration and Supervision	68	$61,140	$65,804national $71,685	$32,560
Curriculum and Instruction	63	$59,933	$62,520national $63,399	$26,979
Library Science and Administration	45	$61,147	$64,781national $56,301	$35,556
Special Education and Teaching	37	$66,006	$70,757national $64,397	$34,619
Homeland Security	28	$57,462	$82,876national $96,660	$39,320
Student Counseling and Personnel Services	22	—	$62,489national $60,111	$51,171
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	22	$52,863	$59,708national $62,033	$23,400
Political Science and Government	19	—	—national $78,850	$34,431
History	19	$54,705	$54,943national $55,360	$35,443
Public Administration	18	$86,633	—national $81,408	—
Music	17	$67,549	$68,888national $48,285	—
Educational/Instructional Media Design	14	$64,012	—national $70,644	—
Accounting and Related Services	14	$70,688	$88,132national $95,833	—
Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management	13	—	$136,772national $121,855	—
Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language	12	$62,010	$52,024national $65,767	—
Agriculture, General	10	$50,745	—national $61,941	—
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	9	$63,602	$65,953national $63,707	—
English Language and Literature, General	5	$62,500	—national $55,512	—
Education, Other	—	$48,733	—national $65,348	—

First professional degrees (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Medicine	69	—	—national $112,460	$207,472

Doctoral degrees (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Educational Administration and Supervision	22	$96,028	$89,213national $100,573	—

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 82 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: 1806 Ave J, Huntsville, TX 77340
Phone: (936) 294-1111
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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