Southern Oregon University
Ashland, OR
Southern Oregon University is a public university in Ashland, Oregon, a suburb of a midsize city, with 2,751 undergraduates. The arts and education are its signature fields: together they make up 24% of its bachelor's degrees, about three times their share across the colleges we cover. 43% of students finish within six years, and former students who are working earn a median of $49,175 ten years after starting.
Southern Oregon University admitted 2,946 of 3,564 applicants for the fall 2023 entering class (82.7%).
- Acceptance rate
- 82.7%
- Fall 2023 class
- In-state tuition
- $12,762
- $31,887 out of state
- Paid after aid
- $16,732
- Average, students with aid
Every figure on this page is published by the college or a federal survey, compiled by GoodGoblin, and carries the source it came from. They describe the fall 2023 entering class, a read on the school, not a prediction about any one applicant.
What Southern Oregon University is known for
Measured by the 630 bachelor's degrees it awarded in 2022–23, and what its graduates went on to earn.
The arts
13.5%
of its bachelor's degrees: about three times the 4.9% share across the colleges we cover.
Education
10.8%
of its bachelor's degrees: about three times the 3.9% share across the colleges we cover.
- Psychology7612.1% of degrees$48,217−5% vs $50,706 nationally
- Business Administration, Management and Operations7011.1% of degrees$65,171−5% vs $68,257 nationally
- Education457.1% of degreesToo few graduates to publish
- Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft426.7% of degrees$38,487About the $39,775 national median
- Criminal Justice and Corrections416.5% of degrees$59,008+7% vs $55,378 nationally
- Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness325.1% of degrees$57,299+5% vs $54,562 nationally
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), field-of-study data. Degrees are bachelor's degrees awarded in 2022–23. Earnings are the median for 2017–18 and 2018–19 graduates, in 2024 dollars, working and not enrolled, four years after graduating. Shares across the colleges we cover count every bachelor's degree at the colleges with a page here.
The place
Where it is, how big it is, and how students live.
Setting
Suburb of a midsize city
Ashland, OR
Undergraduates
2,751
Fall 2024
Type
Public
Master's university, larger programs
Living on campus
A quarter to half
of undergraduates live on campus
Students per faculty member
23 to 1
Fall 2024
International students
1%
of undergraduates, fall 2024
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), including the Carnegie Classification and the federal locale code it publishes.
What stands out at Southern Oregon University
Two things Southern Oregon University published, ranked by how much each could change what you actually do, not by how impressive it looks. Every one describes a class that has already enrolled.
Southern Oregon University reports that test scores are not considered at all.
That is the school’s own answer on the form it fills in every year. A score you send is not read as part of the decision here.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Families paid $16,732 on average after aid.
Averaged across students who received federal aid: the price after grants and scholarships, not the sticker price.
Source: the College Scorecard
Every figure, in full
The same measured fields on every one of these pages. Nothing is filled in where the school published nothing.
Acceptance rate
82.7%
2,946 admitted of 3,564 applicants
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Where do you actually stand at Southern Oregon University?
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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What Southern Oregon University costs
The published price first, then what students who received aid actually paid, by family income.
In-state tuition and fees for 2024–25 were $12,762 ($31,887 out of state), and the full in-state cost of attendance, with housing, food and books, was $27,636. After grants and scholarships, students who received financial aid paid $16,732 a year on average.
In-state tuition and fees
$12,762
2024–25 school year
Out-of-state tuition and fees
$31,887
2024–25 school year
Full cost, in state
$27,636
Tuition, fees, housing, food and books
Paid after aid
$16,732
Average, students who received aid
What students paid, by family income
Each bar is that figure as a share of the $27,636 full cost.
- Under $30k$11,830Typical public university: $10,013
- $30k–$48k$12,466Typical public university: $10,847
- $48k–$75k$15,813Typical public university: $13,703
- $75k–$110k$22,415Typical public university: $17,979
- Over $110k$24,181Typical public university: $22,475
Source: the federal College Scorecard. Tuition and cost of attendance are for the 2024–25 school year; colleges usually raise them each year. What students paid is the average net price for first-year students who received federal financial aid. Typical public university: the median across the 338 public universities on GoodGoblin, for in-state students, compiled by GoodGoblin from the same federal data.
Where it leads
Who finishes, who stays, and what they earn and owe afterwards.
Finish within six years
43%
Our colleges' median: 63%
Return for a second year
68%
Our colleges' median: 79%
Earnings after 10 years
$49,175
Our colleges' median: $57,440
Median debt at graduation
$20,332
Our colleges' median: $23,725
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education). Six-year completion describes students who started in fall 2018; second-year return describes students who started in fall 2023; earnings describe students who started in 2009–10 and 2010–11, measured in 2020 and 2021, in 2022 dollars; debt describes federal loans of students who graduated in fiscal years 2020 and 2021. Medians are across the 1,034 colleges with a page here.
What Southern Oregon University says it weighs
The school's own words, from the form it fills in every year. Ranked as it ranks them.
- Course rigorrequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- GPArequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Not considered
- Essay
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Test scores
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Recommendations
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Class rank
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Legacy
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Published deadlines
Each date is read from the college's own materials and re-checked on a schedule.
- Regular DecisionFebruary 1, 2027
Verified July 17, 2026
More colleges on the record
Each of these pages carries the same measured figures and sources.
Other colleges in Oregon
Closest acceptance rates in the same state.
- University of Oregon85.1%
- Willamette University79.1%
- Oregon State University78.9%
- Linfield University87.9%
Colleges with a similar acceptance rate
Closest acceptance rates anywhere in the country.
The GoodGoblin College Data Report: five findings counted across 1,034 colleges ›
Build the list this school belongs on.
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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