West Virginia University (WVU) vs Marshall University

West Virginia University (WVU) and Marshall University (MU) stand as two prominent institutions of higher learning in the heart of West Virginia, each offering unique educational experiences. WVU, located in Morgantown, boasts a larger student body and a wider range of academic programs, including highly ranked engineering, business, and health sciences programs. MU, situated in Huntington, prides itself on its strong emphasis on undergraduate education, with popular majors in nursing, education, and business administration. While both universities share a commitment to academic excellence, they differ in acceptance rates, student demographics, and graduation outcomes. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Marshall University	West Virginia University
Overview
Location	Huntington, West Virginia	Morgantown, West Virginia
Campus setting	City: Small	City: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	71.0%	81.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	97.8%	89.8%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $40	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $60
SAT range	930 - 1150	1030 - 1230
ACT range	19 - 25	21 - 27
Students submitting SAT score	56.0%	57.0%
Students submitting ACT score	70.0%	38.0%
Total number of applicants	5,602	17,074
Total number of admissions given out	5,479	15,336
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,596	4,313
Yield rate	29.1%	28.1%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $22,993 Out of state: $34,047	In state: $21,756 Out of state: $38,100
Average net price	$8,730	$13,422
Tuition	In state: $7,190 Out of state: $18,244	In state: $8,976 Out of state: $25,320
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,724 Meal plan: $4,330	Room/dormitory: $6,184 Meal plan: $5,504
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	91.0% Average amount $10,973	89.0% Average amount $10,867
Students receiving federal student loan	46.0% Average amount $5,033	52.0% Average amount $5,294
Students taking out private loans	4.0% Average amount $10,103	15.0% Average amount $16,332

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	8,008 Men 41.4% Women 58.6%	19,599 Men 47.9% Women 52.1%
Graduate students	3,015 Men 34.4% Women 65.6%	5,875 Men 44.4% Women 55.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Very Low
Out-of-state students	21.6%	55.3%
International students	1.6%	5.3%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	2,339	6,956
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	West Virginia Ohio District of Columbia Virginia	West Virginia Pennsylvania Virginia Maryland Ohio

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Education Business Liberal Arts Biological and Biomedical Sciences	Health Professions Business Engineering Education Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	17:1	18:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	52.2%	63.9%
Dropout rate	18.9%	11.3%
Transferred out	26.2%	22.5%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $178,140 Year 2: $185,138 Year 3: $194,626 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $110,434 Year 2: $121,632 Year 3: $123,370 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $93,290 Year 2: $87,183 Year 3: $92,283 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $71,586 Year 2: $73,635 Year 3: $78,893 Engineering, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $52,929 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $63,850 Medicine (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $55,233 Year 2: $57,087 Year 3: $63,436 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $42,991 Year 2: $55,512 Year 3: $59,064 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,473 Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $57,835 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $54,506 Year 2: $58,823 Year 3: $57,647 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $52,675 Year 2: $52,107 Year 3: $57,619	Dentistry (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $112,323 Year 2: $125,015 Year 3: $143,709 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $103,140 Year 2: $118,155 Year 3: $119,358 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $93,573 Year 2: $94,763 Year 3: $96,536 Business/Commerce, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $77,732 Year 2: $81,997 Year 3: $91,425 Human Resources Management and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $71,711 Year 2: $81,333 Year 3: $82,001 Petroleum Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,468 Year 2: $61,303 Year 3: $79,782 Industrial Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,292 Year 2: $68,047 Year 3: $77,798 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,506 Year 2: $62,012 Year 3: $77,273 Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,040 Year 2: $65,238 Year 3: $76,205 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $54,477 Year 2: $66,069 Year 3: $76,022

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