Christopher Newport University Overview

Christopher Newport University is a public institution located in Newport News, Virginia. Newport News is a great location for students who prefer city over country life.

What Is Christopher Newport University Known For?

• The 1% student loan default rate at CNU 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.
• The master's degree is the highest award offered at CNU.
• For the 2019-2020 academic year, 62% of the faculty were full-time.
• Students who graduate from CNU with a bachelor's degree make about $55,027 a year. That's 35% more than those who graduate from other schools.
• On average, it takes about 4.1 years for students from CNU to earn a bachelor's degree. This is excellent when compared to the average of 4.4 years.

Christopher Newport University Rankings

CNU landed the #242 spot in our 2023 ranking of best colleges. We analyzed 2,018 colleges and universities across the nation to determine this ranking. This puts it in the top 15% of all schools in the nation. CNU also holds the #9 spot on the Best Colleges in Virginia 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.

Program Level Awards

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

Rank	Ranking Name	Share
#7	Best Value Physics Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#11	Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#15	Best Value Neurobiology & Neurosciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#23	Best Finance & Financial Management Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#28	Best Chemistry Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#57	Best Sociology Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#83	Best Value Political Science & Government Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#89	Best Business, Management & Marketing Master’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#90	Best Communication & Media Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It
#135	Best Business Administration & Management Bachelor’s Degree Schools	Tweet It - Post It

Awards From Around the Web

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

Rank	Ranking Name	Source
#70	Best Social Sciences Colleges for Veterans	College Factual
#73	Best Communication & Journalism Colleges for Veterans	College Factual
#78	Best Biological & Biomedical Sciences Colleges for Veterans	College Factual
#89	Best Business Master’s Degree Schools	Business Degree Central
#113	Best Psychology Colleges for Veterans	College Factual
#151	Best Business, Management & Marketing Colleges for Veterans	College Factual

Where Is Christopher Newport University?

Contact details for CNU are given below.

	Contact Details
Address:	1 Avenue Of The Arts, Newport News, VA 23606-3072
Phone:	757-594-7000
Website:	cnu.edu/
Facebook:	https://www.facebook.com/christophernewportuniversity
Twitter:	https://twitter.com/CNUcaptains

How Do I Get Into CNU?

You can apply to CNU online at: cnu.edu/admission/freshman/howtoapply/

Admission Requirements for CNU

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

How Hard Is It To Get Into CNU?

With an acceptance rate of 76%, CNU may not be as selective as some schools, but you should not take admittance for granted. Be sure to submit the best application you can.

Approximately 42% of accepted students are men and 58% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 73%, and the acceptance rate for women is 79%.

Can I Afford Christopher Newport University?

The overall average net price of CNU is $36,895. 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

While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At CNU, approximately 49% of students took out student loans averaging $9,325 a year. That adds up to $37,300 over four years for those students.

The student loan default rate at CNU is 0.9%. 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.

Christopher Newport University Undergraduate Student Diversity

There are 4,758 undergraduate students at CNU, with 4,653 being full-time and 105 being part-time.

There are also 110 graduate students at the school.

Gender Diversity

Of the 4,653 full-time undergraduates at CNU, 45% are male and 55% are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

The racial-ethnic breakdown of Christopher Newport University students is as follows.

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	187
Black or African American	302
Hispanic or Latino	304
White	3,529
International Students	9
Other Races/Ethnicities	322

Geographic Diversity

Virginia students aren't the only ones who study at Christopher Newport University. At this time, 20 states are represented by the student population at the school.

Over 10 countries are represented at CNU. The most popular countries sending students to the school are China, United Kingdom, and Finland.

Online Learning at Christopher Newport University

In 2019-2020, 4,632 students took at least one online class at the school.

Christopher Newport University Undergraduate Concentrations

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

Major	Bachelor’s	Master’s	TOTAL
General Psychology	163	0	163
General Biology	153	0	153
Business Administration & Management	152	0	152
Communication & Media Studies	107	0	107
Political Science & Government	87	0	87
Computer Science	71	0	71
Sociology	60	0	60
Teacher Education Grade Specific	0	49	49
History	49	0	49
General Visual & Performing Arts	46	0	46
General English Literature	45	0	45
Neurobiology & Neurosciences	41	0	41
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies	40	0	40
Information Science	31	0	31
Chemistry	27	0	27
Social Work	22	0	22
Linguistics & Comparative Literature	20	0	20
Economics	19	0	19
Finance & Financial Management	0	18	18
Computer Engineering	18	0	18
Mathematics	15	0	15
Philosophy	15	0	15
Electrical Engineering	12	0	12
Physics	0	10	10
Natural Resources Conservation	0	8	8
Music	7	0	7
TOTAL	1,200	85	1,285

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.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics
• Image Credit: By Tony Alter under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.