A private research university in Bethlehem, PA, admitting 25.93% of applicants with $105,584 median earnings at ten years and nationally ranked engineering programs.
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Lehigh University is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, founded in 1865. It enrolls 5,898 undergraduates and 1,781 graduate students across the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science, the College of Business, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the College of Health. Engineering, business, social sciences, computer science, and biological sciences account for the largest shares of bachelor's degrees.
Lehigh holds accreditation through the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). Lehigh is test-optional; submitting SAT or ACT scores is not required. Lehigh's location in the Lehigh Valley places students within 60 miles of Philadelphia and 90 miles of New York City, providing access to both cities' professional markets while living in a smaller city environment.
Official website: lehigh.edu
UCD scores every college on four pillars: Outcomes, Value, Affordability, and Selectivity. Within peer group A (four-year selective institutions), Lehigh scores 75.99 overall, rated Good. Selectivity scores 93.32, reflecting a competitive 25.93% admit rate. Outcomes (93.59) reflects an 87.91% six-year graduation rate and an outstanding 94.29% rate of graduates earning above the high school median at ten years. Value scores 56.47, driven by ten-year earnings of $105,584 relative to an average net price of $36,931. Affordability scores 10.01. All scores use verified federal data only.
Lehigh admits 25.93% of applicants. Lehigh is test-optional; submitting SAT or ACT scores is not required. Students who submit scores are competitive with peer selective engineering and business universities. Lehigh uses the Common App with required supplemental essays. The Early Decision deadline is November 1 (binding); the Regular Decision deadline is January 1.
Applicants apply to a specific college; the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and the College of Business are the most competitive tracks. Lehigh's Integrated Business and Engineering (IBE) honors program is one of the most distinctive joint programs in the country, admitting a small cohort of students who pursue both a business and engineering degree simultaneously.
Acceptance rate over the last five admission cycles. The trend tells you whether Lehigh University is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.
Lehigh charges $64,980 in tuition plus room and board, bringing the estimated total cost of attendance to approximately $80,000 before aid. The average net price after all grants and scholarships is $36,931. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $16,917. For families earning between $30,001 and $48,000, the net price averages $17,140. For families earning between $75,001 and $110,000, the net price averages $22,184. For families earning above $110,000, it averages $48,751. Lehigh's federal loan rate of 36.57% and median debt of $21,960 are above average for this peer group, reflecting loan-inclusive aid packages.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Application fee: $75 (one-time, due at submission)
Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.
Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.
Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.
Lehigh completes the large majority of the students it enrolls. The six-year graduation rate is 87.91% for full-time, first-time bachelor's-seeking students. The four-year rate is 82.98%, and first-year retention stands at 93.21%. The federal loan rate of 36.57% and median debt of $21,960 reflect that Lehigh's aid includes loans for a significant portion of students.
Lehigh graduates earn among the highest of any private university at this selectivity level in the country. Median earnings are $88,810 six years after first enrolling and $105,584 at ten years. At the ten-year mark, 94.29% of former students earn more than a typical high school graduate. The ten-year earnings of $105,584 rank among the highest in this peer group, driven by Lehigh's heavy concentration in engineering, computer science, and business, and its proximity to major financial and technology employers in Philadelphia and New York.
P.C. Rossin College of Engineering graduates are recruited by manufacturers, energy companies, and technology firms; College of Business graduates go predominantly into finance, consulting, and accounting, with strong New York and Philadelphia placement. The Integrated Business and Engineering (IBE) program produces graduates with unusual dual competency who command above-average starting salaries.
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.
Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Earnings of grads from the bottom-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the middle-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the top-third of family incomes at entry.
Share of completer-cohort borrowers paying down at least $1 of principal at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year mark. Climbing rates show graduates settling into careers and managing debt; flat or declining rates are a warning.
Lehigh enrolls 5,898 undergraduates on its hillside campus in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley, a metropolitan area of approximately 850,000 that includes Allentown and Easton. White students account for 59.66% of undergraduates; Asian 10.77%, Hispanic 11.05%, and Black 4.97%. Seventeen percent of undergraduates receive Pell grants, and 16.88% are first-generation college students. The Lehigh Valley is accessible to both Philadelphia (approximately 60 miles) and New York City (approximately 90 miles), allowing students to intern and recruit in both markets.
Bethlehem was historically a steel city (the former Bethlehem Steel plant, once the second-largest steel producer in the US, has been redeveloped as the Sands Casino and ArtsQuest cultural campus). Lehigh competes in the Patriot League, and the Lehigh-Lafayette football rivalry is the most-played game in college football history.
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
Where students live, learn, and connect at Lehigh University. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
Lehigh University offers an extensive catalog of programs: 131 distinct programs across 22 majors. Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings. Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.
Lehigh operates at a 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio. 84.75% of instruction is delivered by full-time faculty. Instructional spending per full-time equivalent student is $24,840 per year. The endowment stands at $2.51 billion, well-sized for a university of Lehigh's enrollment. The P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science covers chemical, civil, computer, electrical, industrial, materials science, and mechanical engineering, all holding ABET accreditation. The College of Business holds AACSB accreditation. Lehigh's Integrated Business and Engineering (IBE) program is a nationally recognized dual-degree program.
577 instructional faculty across 4 ranks. The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.
| Rank | Faculty Count | Share | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Professors | 208 | 36% | $172,894 |
| Associate Professors | 169 | 29% | $121,949 |
| Assistant Professors | 148 | 26% | $107,135 |
| Instructors | 52 | 9% | $109,827 |
Lehigh's defining strengths are its 75.99 Good UCD score, ten-year earnings of $105,584 (among the highest in this peer group), a 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio, strong Outcomes score (93.59), and proximity to both Philadelphia and New York employment markets. UCD 75.99 Good.
The trade-offs: the average net price of $36,931 is high; the federal loan rate of 36.57% is above the peer average; the campus is in Bethlehem (a smaller city); and the student body demographic profile (59.66% white) is less diverse than many peer institutions. Best fit for students targeting engineering, computer science, or business who want strong career outcomes and proximity to the Philadelphia-New York corridor, and who can afford the net price or qualify for meaningful aid.
The questions below address what students and families most commonly search about Lehigh: what the IBE program is, how close the campus is to New York and Philadelphia, what graduates earn, and how the school compares to similar engineering-focused universities.
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