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Carnegie Mellon University

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Carnegie Mellon University Overview

Carnegie Mellon University is a private not-for-profit institution situated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The location of the school is great for students who enjoy the amenities of city life.

What Is Carnegie Mellon University Known For?

1,831 Undergraduate Awards
$57,606 Avg Cost After Aid
17% Acceptance Rate
  • Students who want to work more closely with their professors have an easier time at Carnegie Mellon since the student to facuty ratio is 5 to 1.
  • The 1% student loan default rate at Carnegie Mellon is better than the national rate of 10.1%. That's a good sign that you may be able to pay off student loans easier than your peers at other schools can.
  • Although it may not be available for every major, the doctor's degree is the highest award a student can attain at Carnegie Mellon.
  • For the 2017-2018 academic year, 92% of the faculty were full-time.
  • Students who graduate from Carnegie Mellon with a bachelor's degree make about $83,600 a year. That's 105% more than those who graduate from other schools.
  • On average, it takes about 4.2 years for students from Carnegie Mellon to earn a bachelor's degree. This is excellent when compared to the average of 4.4 years.

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Carnegie Mellon University Rankings

We have ranked Carnegie Mellon as #21 out of 2,587 colleges and universities in the country in our 2022 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 1% of all schools in the nation! Carnegie Mellon also holds the #2 spot on the Best Colleges in Pennsylvania ranking.

Our rankings are based on an outcomes-based approach rather than subjective ones used by other media outlets. As such, we utilize data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard, among other sources. Visit our rankings and methodology section to learn more.

Carnegie Mellon has also been awarded the following overall awards by our latest rankings.

Rank Ranking Name Share
#16 Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#18 Best Master’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#23 Best Doctor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It

Program Level Awards

These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at Carnegie Mellon.

Rank Ranking Name Share
#2 Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#3 Best Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#8 Best Engineering Master’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#9 Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#10 Best Business, Management & Marketing Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#10 Best Psychology Master’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#12 Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#17 Best Computer & Information Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#17 Best Mathematics & Statistics Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#26 Best Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It

Awards From Around the Web

The following table lists some notable awards Carnegie Mellon has earned from around the web.

Rank Ranking Name Source
#5 Best Physical Sciences Schools College Factual
#6 Best Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies Schools College Factual
#13 Best Public Administration & Social Service Schools College Factual
#14 Best Business Schools Business Degree Central
#15 Best Business, Management & Marketing Schools College Factual
#18 Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools College Factual

Where Is Carnegie Mellon University?

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Contact details for Carnegie Mellon are given below.

Contact Details
Address: 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890
Phone: 412-268-2000
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/carnegiemellonu
Twitter: http://twitter.com/carnegiemellon

How Do I Get Into Carnegie Mellon?

You can apply to Carnegie Mellon online at: admission.enrollment.cmu.edu/pages/apply-now

Admission Requirements for Carnegie Mellon

Submission Required?
High School GPA required
High School Rank considered but not required
High School Transcript required
College Prep Program required
Recommendations required
SAT or ACT Scores considered but not required
TOEFL required

How Hard Is It To Get Into Carnegie Mellon?

17% Acceptance Rate
53% Of Accepted Are Women
76% Submit SAT Scores
The acceptance rate at Carnegie Mellon is 17%, which means the school is highly selective when deciding who will be admitted and who won't. Even if you have great grades and test scores, that may not be enough. So be sure to look for ways to make your application memorable.

Approximately 47% of accepted students are men and 53% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 13%, and the acceptance rate for women is 23%.

Average Test Scores

About 76% of students accepted to Carnegie Mellon submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 700 and 760. Math scores were between 760 and 800.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for Carnegie Mellon University  ( 700 to 760 )
200
800

SAT Math Scores for Carnegie Mellon University  ( 760 to 800 )
200
800
Carnegie Mellon received ACT scores from 35% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT English scores ranged between 33 and 36. Math scores were between 33 and 35. Composite scores were between 33 and 35.

ACT English Scores for Carnegie Mellon University  ( 33 to 36 )
1
36
ACT Math Scores for Carnegie Mellon University  ( 33 to 35 )
1
36
ACT Composite Scores for Carnegie Mellon University  ( 33 to 35 )
1
36

Can I Afford Carnegie Mellon University?

$57,606 Net Price
41% Take Out Loans
0.6% Loan Default Rate
The overall average net price of Carnegie Mellon is $57,606. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group.

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.

Student Loan 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 Carnegie Mellon, approximately 41% of students took out student loans averaging $6,601 a year. That adds up to $26,404 over four years for those students.

The student loan default rate at Carnegie Mellon is 0.6%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.

Carnegie Mellon University Undergraduate Student Diversity

6,341 Full-Time Undergraduates
50% Women
52% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
There are 6,622 undergraduate students at Carnegie Mellon, with 6,341 being full-time and 281 being part-time.

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There are also 6,897 graduate students at the school.

Gender Diversity

Of the 6,341 full-time undergraduates at Carnegie Mellon, 50% are male and 50% are female.

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Racial-Ethnic Diversity

The racial-ethnic breakdown of Carnegie Mellon University students is as follows.

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 2,201
Black or African American 250
Hispanic or Latino 587
White 1,568
International Students 1,038
Other Races/Ethnicities 697

Geographic Diversity

Pennsylvania students aren't the only ones who study at Carnegie Mellon University. At this time, 45 states are represented by the student population at the school.

Over 102 countries are represented at Carnegie Mellon. The most popular countries sending students to the school are China, India, and South Korea.

Online Learning at Carnegie Mellon University

15 Took All Classes Online
431 Took At Least One Class Online
-23.8% Avg Growth Over 4 Years
In 2019-2020, 431 students took at least one online class at the school.

The following chart shows how the online learning population at Carnegie Mellon has changed over the last few years.

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This school is the 6th most popular in Pennsylvania for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2019-2020.

Online Affordability Rankings of Carnegie Mellon

The following table shows how Carnegie Mellon is ranked for affordability for both in-state and out-of-state students among colleges and universities that are not mostly online.

Major Tuition for In-State Students Tuition for Out-of-State Students
General Architecture #13 #13
Architecture & Related Services #22 #22
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods #56 #56
Computer Engineering #73 #73

Online Growth Rankings of Carnegie Mellon

The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at Carnegie Mellon University was -23.8%. This is the #2,069 largest growth rate of all schools that are only partially online. This refers to all students at Carnegie Mellon regardless of major.

When we speak of partially online, we are referring to schools whose online population is less than 50% of its total student body. Mostly online refers to those with online populations greater than or equal to 50%.

Carnegie Mellon University Undergraduate Concentrations

The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.

Major Bachelor’s Graduate Certificate Master’s Doctor’s TOTAL
Computer Information Systems 62 0 674 45 781
Electrical Engineering 140 0 402 43 585
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods 3 0 398 5 406
Computer Science 237 0 81 23 341
Mechanical Engineering 130 0 158 17 305
Statistics 169 0 41 13 223
Information Technology 0 0 155 0 155
Chemical Engineering 40 0 67 21 128
Public Policy 14 0 111 3 128
Systems Theory 127 0 0 0 127
Computer Engineering 0 0 117 4 121
Business Administration & Management 116 0 0 0 116
Robotics Engineering 16 0 85 15 116
Civil Engineering 25 0 72 4 101
Biomedical Engineering 42 0 45 10 97
Materials Sciences 34 0 46 16 96
Computer Systems Networking 0 0 83 0 83
Music 19 36 24 0 79
Physics 40 0 20 15 75
Computer Software & Applications 1 0 71 0 72
Design & Applied Arts 37 0 28 3 68
Architectural Sciences & Technology 37 0 25 5 67
Economics 54 0 3 9 66
Drama & Theater Arts 42 0 24 0 66
Engineering-Related Fields 0 0 59 1 60
Computational Science 0 0 60 0 60
Arts & Media Management 1 0 58 0 59
Health & Medical Administrative Services 0 0 49 0 49
Chemistry 25 0 9 15 49
General Engineering 26 0 5 15 46
Writing Studies 29 0 13 3 45
Biomathematics & Bioinformatics 8 0 34 1 43
Other Engineering 2 0 36 1 39
Mathematics 26 0 9 4 39
Other Statistics 38 0 0 0 38
General Biology 29 0 2 6 37
Fine & Studio Arts 31 0 6 0 37
Engineering Science 0 0 36 0 36
General Engineering Technology 0 0 33 0 33
History 21 0 7 4 32
Applied Mathematics 28 0 1 3 32
General Psychology 24 0 2 4 30
Neurobiology & Neurosciences 23 0 0 5 28
Philosophy 15 0 8 3 26
Public Administration 0 0 23 0 23
International Relations & National Security 17 0 4 0 21
Human Computer Interaction 0 0 18 0 18
Liberal Arts General Studies 17 0 0 0 17
Cognitive Science 17 0 0 0 17
General Architecture 11 0 0 2 13
Biopsychology 13 0 0 0 13
Sustainability Science 0 0 13 0 13
Drafting & Design Engineering Technology 0 0 11 0 11
English Literature (Other) 0 0 7 1 8
Linguistics & Comparative Literature 7 0 0 0 7
East Asian Languages 6 0 0 0 6
Romance Languages 6 0 0 0 6
International Studies 6 0 0 0 6
Construction Engineering 0 0 5 0 5
General English Literature 5 0 0 0 5
Foreign Language, Literature & Linguistics (Other) 0 0 3 2 5
Environmental Engineering 0 0 4 0 4
Manufacturing Engineering 0 0 4 0 4
Science, Technology & Society 4 0 0 0 4
Engineering Mechanics 0 0 1 2 3
Operations Research 0 0 1 2 3
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology 2 0 0 0 2
Management Information Systems 0 0 2 0 2
Germanic Languages 2 0 0 0 2
Behavioral Science 0 0 0 2 2
Astronomy & Astrophysics 2 0 0 0 2
General Visual & Performing Arts 0 0 2 0 2
Area Studies 1 0 0 0 1
Slavic, Baltic & Albanian Languages 1 0 0 0 1
Natural Resources Conservation 1 0 0 0 1
Other Physical Science 1 0 0 0 1
Other Social Sciences 0 0 1 0 1
Other Visual Art 1 0 0 0 1
Environmental Design 0 0 0 0 0
Architecture (Other) 0 0 0 0 0
Urban & Regional Planning 0 0 0 0 0
Biological & Biomedical Sciences (Other) 0 0 0 0 0
Accounting 0 0 0 0 0
Business/Managerial Economics 0 0 0 0 0
Entrepreneurial Studies 0 0 0 0 0
Finance & Financial Management 0 0 0 0 0
Human Resource Management 0 0 0 0 0
International Business 0 0 0 0 0
Marketing 0 0 0 0 0
Telecommunications Management 0 0 0 0 0
Journalism 0 0 0 0 0
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 0 0 0 0 0
Computer Programming 0 0 0 0 0
Other Computer & Information Sciences 0 0 0 0 0
Multilingual Education 0 0 0 0 0
Electronics Engineering Technology 0 0 0 0 0
Nanotechnology 0 0 0 0 0
Engineering Physics 0 0 0 0 0
Ethnic Studies 0 0 0 0 0
Classical Languages & Literature 0 0 0 0 0
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies 0 0 0 0 0
Natural Resource Management 0 0 0 0 0
General Physical Sciences 0 0 0 0 0
Other Psychology 0 0 0 0 0
Political Science & Government 0 0 0 0 0
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 0 0 0 0 0
TOTAL 1,831 36 3,256 327 5,450

References

*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.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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