William Paterson University of New Jersey

Wayne, NJ · Public · 6,614 undergrads (medium, suburb) · website ↗

34% 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	$16,171
$30,000 – $48,000	$18,287
$48,000 – $75,000	$18,505
$75,000 – $110,000	$22,862
Over $110,000	$24,917
All incomes (average)	$18,745

Sticker tuition and fees: $15,704 in-state, $25,344 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 William Paterson University of New Jersey'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	$14,090
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$12,260
Books and supplies	$1,632
Other expenses, on campus	$3,192
Other expenses, off campus	$5,084

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

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (801 of them) in 2022–23; 91% 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	83%	$13,984
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	56%	$5,445
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	65%	$7,416
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	46%	$5,267

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: —
Median ACT: —
Students with Pell grants: 47%
Graduation rate (6yr): 44%
Freshman retention: 74%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $57,780
Median debt at graduation: $22,334
International undergrads: 143 (2.2%)

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: 18 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 98%
Open admission: No

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	Not considered
High school record	Required
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Required
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	Considered if submitted
Legacy status	Considered if submitted

First-time applicants: 7,754
Admitted: 7,174
Enrolled: 883

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.

Health & Nursing24%

Business24%

Psychology9%

Criminal Justice6%

Biology & Life Sciences4%

Communications & Media4%

Computer Science4%

Social Sciences4%

Visual & Performing Arts3%

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 (31)

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	425	$100,216	$101,328national $88,910	$12,780
Psychology, General	190	$40,321	$48,985national $50,706	$19,750
Criminal Justice and Corrections	156	$40,304	$58,108national $55,378	$20,199
Communication and Media Studies	114	$37,756	$53,589national $56,359	$25,000
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General	86	$42,249	$46,711national $61,296	$20,000
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	85	$45,236	$54,607national $53,072	$17,750
Sociology	77	$40,202	$53,253national $52,657	$23,196
Biology, General	76	$41,442	$71,026national $57,214	$18,565
Computer and Information Sciences, General	71	$55,703	$76,282national $92,374	$18,213
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	65	$38,200	$55,592national $54,562	$22,019
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	59	$57,730	—national $47,382	$20,500
Accounting and Related Services	55	$54,755	$71,745national $76,194	$18,293
Music	54	$29,407	$39,553national $42,892	$18,500
Marketing	54	$46,144	$61,156national $69,303	$17,878
English Language and Literature, General	48	$37,346	$42,632national $48,590	$24,192
Finance and Financial Management Services	46	$53,654	$70,356national $83,343	$18,600
Fine and Studio Arts	42	$29,262	$44,298national $41,367	$23,000
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other	26	—	—national $55,693	$16,221
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies	21	$39,623	—national $51,710	$18,009
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	21	—	$63,108national $58,928	$21,500
History	21	$46,676	—national $50,680	$19,934
Political Science and Government	20	$35,038	$48,101national $63,293	$22,861
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	19	$63,391	$63,203national $51,389	$22,651
Non-Professional Legal Studies	19	$37,512	—national $61,959	$21,000
Economics	18	$57,866	$70,705national $82,686	$17,354
Health/Medical Preparatory Programs	16	—	—national $61,911	$19,000
Mathematics	11	$47,577	$71,340national $69,562	—
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions	11	$43,780	$51,502national $52,119	$22,500
International Business	9	—	$49,470national $73,201	—
General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations	3	$62,669	—national $75,399	—
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	2	$49,389	$66,745national $86,176	$19,875

Master's degrees (9)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business Administration, Management and Operations	292	$80,549	—national $103,485	$27,934
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	226	$118,161	$137,010national $120,193	$36,651
Educational Administration and Supervision	94	$71,809	$75,411national $71,685	$25,750
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	62	$64,261	$74,359national $59,916	$20,500
Special Education and Teaching	43	$67,193	$71,699national $64,397	$20,500
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	35	$63,349	$72,447national $67,030	$41,000
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology	30	$52,191	$56,584national $65,184	$41,000
Student Counseling and Personnel Services	23	$60,584	$74,275national $60,111	$50,000
Public Health	22	—	—national $82,751	$31,388

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 151 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: 300 Pompton Rd, Wayne, NJ 07470
Phone: (973) 720-2000
Institutional accreditor: Middle States 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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