A public R1 land-grant flagship in Tucson, AZ, admitting 86.14% of applicants with distinctive strengths in optical sciences, astronomy, and Sonoran Desert research in a university city of 550,000.
Tucson, Arizona
The University of Arizona is a public R1 land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, founded in 1885 as the first university in the Arizona Territory. It enrolls approximately 42,537 undergraduates and 11,517 graduate students across twenty colleges and schools, including the Eller College of Management, the College of Engineering, the James E. Rogers College of Law, the College of Optical Sciences, the College of Medicine, and the College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences.
Business, social sciences, engineering, health sciences, and biological sciences account for the largest shares of bachelor's degrees. The University of Arizona is accredited through the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). The University of Arizona is test-optional; submitting SAT or ACT scores is not required. The University of Arizona is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) and a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU). The College of Optical Sciences is the only freestanding optical sciences college in the United States and is the top-ranked program in its field globally.
Official website: arizona.edu
UCD scores every college on four pillars: Outcomes, Value, Affordability, and Selectivity. Within peer group A (four-year selective institutions), the University of Arizona scores 76.04 overall, rated Good. Outcomes (73.60) reflects a 67.52% six-year graduation rate and 84.82% first-year retention, both below the peer average for a selective public flagship. Value scores 76.99, driven by ten-year earnings of $59,979 relative to an average net price of $16,674. Affordability scores 48.98. All scores use verified federal data only.
The University of Arizona admits 86.14% of applicants, making it among the more accessible Pac-12 and R1 research universities. The University of Arizona is test-optional; submitting SAT or ACT scores is not required. The University of Arizona uses its own application portal.
The priority deadline for merit scholarship and housing consideration is December 1; students may apply after this deadline on a rolling basis. Admission to specific programs, including the Eller College of Management and the College of Engineering, may require separate applications or competitive GPA thresholds. Arizona residents who complete the Arizona Transfer Articulation Guarantee may have alternative pathways into the university.
Acceptance rate over the last five admission cycles. The trend tells you whether University of Arizona is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.
The University of Arizona charges $13,926 in in-state tuition and $42,278 in out-of-state tuition, plus $16,746 in room and board, bringing the estimated in-state total cost of attendance to approximately $36,900 before aid. The average net price after all grants and scholarships is $16,674. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $13,353. For families earning between $30,001 and $48,000, the net price averages $14,984. For families earning between $75,001 and $110,000, the net price averages $19,777. The endowment stands at approximately $1.3 billion. The federal loan rate of 25.52% and median debt of $19,620 are in the moderate range for a public flagship.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Application fee: $50 (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.
The University of Arizona completes a majority of students it enrolls, though completion rates are below the average for selective public flagships. The six-year graduation rate is 67.52% for full-time, first-time bachelor's-seeking students, below the peer average. First-year retention stands at 84.82%, also below the peer average. The federal loan rate of 25.52% and median debt of $19,620 are in the moderate range. The below-average completion metrics partly reflect the university's accessibility mission and the higher share of first-generation (31.41%) students it enrolls relative to peer flagships.
University of Arizona graduates enter careers in mining, engineering, business, law, healthcare, and the sciences across Arizona and the Southwest. Median earnings are $47,665 six years after first enrolling and $59,979 at ten years. At the ten-year mark, 83.54% of former students earn more than a typical high school graduate. Tucson's economy is anchored by defense and aerospace (Raytheon Technologies, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base), healthcare (Banner University Medical Center, UA Health), and the university itself.
Phoenix, approximately 115 miles north, provides the state's largest employment market in technology, finance, real estate, and corporate headquarters, and is accessible to University of Arizona graduates. The Optical Sciences program creates a unique employment pipeline for physics and engineering graduates into precision optics, space telescope, and photonics industries.
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.
The University of Arizona enrolls approximately 42,537 undergraduates on its main campus in Tucson, Arizona, a city of approximately 550,000 in the Sonoran Desert, approximately 60 miles north of the US-Mexico border at Nogales. Hispanic students account for 28.15% of undergraduates; White students 45.94%, Asian 4.73%, and Black 4.39%. Approximately 25.70% of undergraduates receive Pell grants, and 31.41% are first-generation college students.
The University of Arizona is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Tucson has a distinctive Southwestern culture shaped by its proximity to Mexico, a rich Native American history, and the Sonoran Desert landscape. Wildcats athletics compete in the Big 12 Conference; the Arizona-ASU rivalry (the Duel in the Desert) is one of the Southwest's defining college sports contests.
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
Where students live, learn, and connect at University of Arizona. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
University of Arizona offers an extensive catalog of programs: 316 distinct programs across 30 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.
The University of Arizona operates at a student-to-faculty ratio consistent with large public research universities. 76.58% of instruction is delivered by full-time faculty. Instructional spending per full-time equivalent student is $15,271 per year. The endowment stands at approximately $1.3 billion. The College of Optical Sciences is the world's leading academic program in optics, photonics, and imaging, with direct connections to the space telescope and precision instrument industries.
The UA's Biosphere 2 facility, a unique research infrastructure in Oracle, Arizona (north of Tucson), is a closed ecological research system used for environmental and sustainability science. The University of Arizona Space Institute supports research related to NASA missions, including the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission, which the UA led.
2,245 instructional faculty across 5 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 | 787 | 35% | $150,457 |
| Associate Professors | 606 | 27% | $104,320 |
| Assistant Professors | 532 | 24% | $89,662 |
| Instructors | 71 | 3% | $51,478 |
| Lecturers | 249 | 11% | $69,184 |
The University of Arizona's defining strengths are its UCD 76.04 Good score, test-optional admissions, accessible admit rate (86.14%), the world's top optical sciences program, unique Sonoran Desert research environment (Biosphere 2, astronomical observatories), HSI designation, and AAU membership indicating research standing. UCD 76.04 Good.
The considerations: the 67.52% six-year graduation rate and 84.82% first-year retention are below peer averages; out-of-state tuition at $42,278 substantially changes the value calculation; the net price of $16,674 is moderate rather than exceptional; and Tucson's local job market is smaller than Phoenix, requiring some graduates to relocate for the broadest career access. Best fit for Arizona residents who want an accessible R1 flagship with distinctive programs in optical sciences, space research, law, and business, or those drawn to Tucson's distinctive Southwest cultural environment.
The questions below address what students and families most commonly search about University of Arizona: what the optical sciences program is, how UArizona compares to ASU, what Tucson's environment is like, and how costs compare between the two Arizona flagships.
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