Wayne State University

Basic Information

Type Public
Geographical Reach Regional
Population 3,500,000

Weather

Comfortable Days 110 (71%)
Sunshine Hours 2,435 (28%)
Days Without Precipitation 231 (19%)

Honors College

Name Irving D. Reid Honors College
Students 1,500 (11%)

Demographics

Total Undergraduates 13,313
Men / Women 41% / 59%
From State 95%
From Region 1%
Athletes 394 (3.1%)

Racial/Ethnic

White 52%
Black 17%
Asian 15%
Hispanic 8%
Mixed 4%
International 3%
Native American 0%

Schools & Majors

⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
Wayne State University 3,686 41% 61% 14% 12% 6% 2% $71,110 47 -0.31 72 93% 5.7%
Biomedical Engineering 27 — 41% 85% 4% 4% 0% 7% $91,337 26 -0.63 91 100% — — — —
Chemical Engineering 12 — 42% 67% 17% 17% 0% 0% $96,222 16 -0.95 93 93% — — — —
Civil Engineering 36 — 61% 86% 6% 0% 8% 0% $81,251 3 -1.58 84 93% — — — —
Electrical Engineering 74 — 78% 72% 12% 1% 4% 7% $111,577 46 -0.26 98 97% — — — —
General Engineering 4 — 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 100% $96,378 50 -0.16 93 — — — — —
Industrial Engineering 14 — 71% 50% 36% 7% 7% 0% $99,546 17 -0.91 95 100% — — — —
Mechanical Engineering 56 — 89% 68% 7% 7% 11% 4% $105,273 81 +0.76 96 98% — — — —
Computer Science 176 — 81% 45% 38% 5% 3% 8% $109,181 35 -0.46 97 97% — — — —
Computer/Computer Systems Technology/Technician 8 — 75% 12% 50% 25% 0% 12% $90,401 35 -0.38 90 — — — — —
Information Technology 54 — 81% 41% 54% 4% 2% 0% $94,261 45 -0.19 92 — — — — —
Applied Chemistry 19 — 53% 74% 11% 0% 5% 0% $70,321 47 -0.12 71 97% — — — —
Astronomy 6 — 67% 83% 0% 0% 17% 0% $77,335 28 -0.45 80 — — — — —
Chemistry 26 — 58% 77% 19% 0% 4% 0% $70,321 47 -0.12 71 97% — — — —
Financial Mathematics 4 — 50% 50% 50% 0% 0% 0% $78,253 10 -0.96 81 — — — — —
Geosciences 7 — 71% 86% 0% 0% 14% 0% $65,132 57 +0.01 62 88% — — — —
Mathematical Statistics and Probability 6 — 33% 67% 17% 0% 0% 17% $77,987 9 -0.97 81 — — — — —
Mathematics 12 — 50% 67% 17% 17% 0% 0% $83,331 58 -0.08 85 100% — — — —
Physical Sciences 7 — 43% 71% 29% 0% 0% 0% $78,108 33 -0.39 81 — — — — —
Physics 13 — 69% 77% 8% 0% 8% 8% $78,534 35 -0.36 81 — — — — —
Biology 102 — 41% 63% 22% 1% 4% 3% $62,023 25 -0.51 54 94% — — — —
Neuroscience 82 — 41% 71% 12% 2% 2% 5% $49,181 6 -1.56 21 — — — — —
Dietetics — — — — — — — — $61,015 34 -0.28 52 — — — — —
Environmental Science 26 — 27% 73% 12% 8% 0% 0% $64,256 80 +0.70 60 95% — — — —
Foods, Nutrition, and Wellness Studies 42 — 31% 76% 12% 5% 2% 2% $66,577 60 +0.25 64 86% — — — —
Behavioral Aspects of Health 6 — 33% 17% 17% 50% 0% 0% $58,222 19 -0.70 44 95% — — — —
Communication Sciences and Disorders 33 +1 3% 82% 6% 6% 0% 0% $62,951 58 +0.11 57 92% — — — —
Exercise Science and Kinesiology 97 — 41% 64% 11% 11% 10% 0% $54,512 21 -0.85 34 93% — — — —
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences 91 — 29% 67% 12% 1% 1% 18% $97,264 97 +1.97 94 97% — — — —
Medical Laboratory Science 12 — 0% 50% 0% 17% 0% 8% $71,031 22 -0.60 72 94% — — — —
Medical Radiologic Technology/Science - Radiation Therapist 22 — 9% 77% 9% 5% 9% 0% $64,628 7 -1.25 60 88% — — — —
Nursing 171 — 18% 58% 15% 15% 7% 2% $84,401 17 -0.78 86 95% — — — —
Public Health 211 — 20% 52% 26% 10% 7% 0% $58,222 24 -0.64 44 95% — — — —
Accounting 108 +10 48% 60% 20% 9% 8% 1% $74,676 24 -0.80 77 93% — — — —
Apparel and Textile Marketing Management 80 +1 24% 54% 16% 16% 8% 2% $44,073 0 -2.61 11 96% — — — —
Economics 1 — 100% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $68,128 6 -1.12 67 88% — — — —
Economics 18 +1 50% 50% 28% 17% 0% 6% $68,128 6 -1.12 67 88% — — — —
Finance 149 +16 74% 74% 11% 7% 5% 1% $80,943 23 -0.63 83 92% — — — —
Funeral Direction/Service 37 — 22% 84% 0% 8% 3% 0% $76,082 61 -0.08 79 100% 3.6% — — —
Labor and Industrial Relations 11 — 36% 55% 0% 45% 0% 0% $60,323 10 -1.13 50 94% — — — —
Logistics 142 +45 59% 68% 16% 6% 4% 1% $116,848 93 +1.40 98 93% — — — —
Management Information Systems and Statistics 100 +50 63% 41% 39% 8% 6% 2% $96,336 62 +0.22 93 92% 4.6% — — —
Marketing 142 +24 42% 63% 9% 14% 11% 1% $69,599 26 -0.62 70 90% — — — —
Organizational Behavior Studies 161 +23 35% 57% 11% 18% 7% 1% $60,323 10 -1.13 50 94% — — — —
Sports Management 34 — 76% 53% 3% 24% 9% 6% $54,512 25 -0.71 34 93% — — — —
African-American Studies 4 — 0% 25% 0% 75% 0% 0% $55,236 42 -0.32 36 — — — — —
Classical Languages 2 +1 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $58,026 54 -0.00 44 — — — — —
East Asian Studies 4 +2 50% 75% 0% 0% 25% 0% $54,958 42 -0.34 36 — — — — —
English 42 +1 24% 57% 14% 19% 5% 0% $48,508 33 -0.48 19 90% — — — —
Ethnic Studies 2 +1 0% 0% 0% 50% 50% 0% $55,864 45 -0.27 38 — — — — —
Foreign Languages 13 +4 31% 85% 0% 0% 15% 0% $60,536 61 +0.22 50 86% — — — —
Foreign Languages 13 +1 38% 46% 23% 15% 8% 0% $46,249 11 -1.05 14 — — — — —
German 2 — 100% 50% 0% 0% 0% 0% $57,961 53 -0.01 44 — — — — —
History 25 +3 60% 80% 0% 4% 0% 0% $50,169 24 -0.66 23 73% — — — —
Linguistics 3 +1 33% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $60,536 61 +0.22 50 86% — — — —
Near Eastern and Semitic Languages 1 — 100% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $58,293 54 +0.02 45 — — — — —
Philosophy 14 +6 50% 79% 0% 14% 0% 0% $55,290 36 -0.46 37 — — — — —
Slavic Languages 1 +2 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $58,062 54 +0.00 44 — — — — —
Anthropology 20 — 30% 70% 5% 0% 10% 0% $54,994 49 -0.17 36 96% — — — —
Journalism 16 — 44% 38% 0% 38% 12% 0% $59,574 39 -0.31 48 92% — — — —
Political Science 92 +3 41% 61% 4% 21% 4% 1% $65,981 34 -0.46 63 89% — — — —
Psychology 325 +3 17% 57% 12% 18% 7% 1% $56,867 63 +0.27 41 92% — — — —
Public Administration 6 — 33% 83% 0% 0% 0% 0% $64,804 31 -0.55 61 92% — — — —
Public Relations 13 — 15% 46% 0% 54% 0% 0% $56,866 7 -1.35 41 90% — — — —
Radio and Television 21 — 43% 33% 5% 38% 14% 0% $44,232 3 -1.65 11 90% — — — —
Social Work 106 — 13% 50% 3% 27% 15% 1% $56,297 70 +0.36 39 90% 7.4% — — —
Sociology 32 — 28% 59% 3% 25% 3% 3% $54,355 47 -0.23 34 94% — — — —
Speech Communication and Rhetoric 22 +3 45% 36% 5% 27% 23% 0% $61,618 53 -0.02 53 97% — — — —
Educational Technology 3 — 0% 33% 0% 33% 0% 0% $72,258 98 +2.02 74 93% — — — —
Elementary Education 59 — 0% 73% 12% 10% 3% 0% $53,125 61 +0.12 31 94% — — — —
General Education 6 — 67% 83% 0% 0% 0% 0% $62,794 86 +0.91 56 99% — — — —
Health Teacher Education 14 — 71% 64% 7% 7% 7% 0% $60,350 65 +0.32 50 97% — — — —
Physical Education Teaching and Coaching 1 — 100% 0% 0% 100% 0% 0% $60,350 65 +0.32 50 97% — — — —
Secondary Education and Teaching 53 — 45% 75% 8% 8% 8% 0% $53,125 40 -0.23 31 94% — — — —
Special Education 8 — 12% 88% 0% 0% 0% 0% $62,785 85 +1.04 56 100% — — — —
Art History 5 — 0% 40% 20% 20% 0% 0% $45,419 31 -0.50 13 89% — — — —
Art/Art Studies 40 — 22% 60% 2% 20% 15% 0% $45,419 43 -0.15 13 89% — — — —
Dance 13 — 8% 62% 0% 0% 23% 8% $34,132 7 -1.20 3 96% — — — —
Film Production 21 — 48% 38% 5% 38% 19% 0% $41,877 11 -1.05 8 96% — — — —
Film Studies 1 — 100% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $37,515 5 -1.68 4 — — — — —
Music 45 — 64% 67% 0% 16% 4% 0% $45,789 45 -0.10 14 92% — — — —
Theater 16 — 31% 62% 6% 19% 12% 0% $43,286 50 +0.03 10 93% — — — —
Urban Studies/Affairs 12 +2 50% 67% 0% 8% 17% 0% $68,189 48 +0.01 67 94% — — — —
Construction Engineering Technology/Technician 16 — 81% 75% 0% 12% 12% 0% $82,680 6 -1.58 85 100% — — — —
Criminal Justice 106 — 23% 51% 8% 25% 10% 0% $59,406 50 -0.07 47 95% — — — —
Electrical Engineering Technology 9 — 78% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $96,721 89 +0.66 93 96% — — — —
Electromechanical/Electromechanical Engineering Technology/Technician 3 — 100% 33% 0% 67% 0% 0% $93,072 65 +0.36 91 — — — — —
Legal Studies 22 — 27% 73% 0% 5% 14% 5% $59,834 54 -0.01 49 — — — — —
Mechanical/Mechanical Engineering Technology/Technician 9 — 100% 78% 0% 0% 0% 11% $94,944 73 +0.52 92 100% — — — —
Welding Engineering Technology/Technician 6 — 50% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $93,921 68 +0.43 92 — — — — —

Financial

In-State Tuition & Fees $16,080
Out-of-State Tuition & Fees $34,214
Est. In-State Cost $20,801
Est. Out-of-State Cost $44,259
ROI Percentile 72th

Retention & Graduation

Full-Time Retention 83%
4-Year Graduation Rate 36%
6-Year Graduation Rate 58%
Transfer-Out Rate 21%

Earnings by Major Category

Each major category's degree-weighted estimated median 5-year earnings at this college, expressed as a z-score against the national degree-weighted distribution for that category. 0 is the national average. The shaded band between +1.28 and −1.28 marks the central 80% of the national distribution (10th–90th percentile).

Academics

⇅ % Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn
Business & Economics 26.7% 983 50% 61% 15% 12% 7% 1% $77,415 47 -0.51 80 93% 4.3%
Social Sciences 17.7% 653 23% 55% 8% 22% 8% 1% $57,771 48 +0.02 43 92% 7.4%
Health Sciences 17.4% 643 23% 60% 17% 11% 6% 3% $70,851 23 -0.32 72 95% —
Computer Science 6.5% 238 81% 43% 42% 5% 3% 6% $105,165 40 -0.40 96 97% —
Engineering 6.0% 223 72% 72% 10% 4% 6% 6% $100,793 46 -0.34 95 97% —
Life & Natural Sciences 5.0% 184 41% 66% 17% 2% 3% 4% $56,300 9 -0.98 39 94% —
Professional 4.6% 171 38% 61% 5% 19% 9% 1% $67,275 50 -0.11 66 96% —
Arts 4.2% 153 40% 59% 3% 18% 12% 1% $45,594 21 -0.34 13 92% —
Education 3.9% 144 28% 73% 8% 9% 5% 0% $55,216 64 +0.14 36 95% —
Humanities 3.4% 126 37% 67% 7% 13% 6% 0% $51,875 30 -0.45 27 84% —
Physical Sciences & Math 2.7% 100 56% 74% 15% 2% 5% 2% $74,330 38 -0.26 77 97% —
Agriculture & Food Science 1.8% 68 29% 75% 12% 6% 1% 1% $65,690 74 +0.42 63 90% —

Research R1

⇅ Research $ Rank Federal Industry $ PhDs Rank PhD students Postdocs
Health Sciences $162M #51 51% $3.2M 13 #120 100 38
Life & Natural Sciences $35.4M #97 70% $0.3M 21 #100 204 54
Physical Sciences & Math $25.2M #113 59% $0.6M 34 #85 204 28
Humanities & Social Sciences $21.8M #98 42% $0.8M 52 #99 204 1
Engineering $17.2M #157 51% $0.3M 35 #96 155 6
Computer Science $3.8M #153 73% $0.0M 6 #124 62 —
Education $2.5M #159 33% $0 25 #167 — —
Business & Economics $1.2M #194 47% $0 6 #168 24 —
Agriculture & Food Science $0 #318 — $0 2 #102 — —
Total $269M #100 54% $5.4M 194 #114 953 127

Expenditure and funding source: NSF HERD, FY2024. Degrees: IPEDS completions, 2023–24. Students and postdocs: NSF Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates, fall 2024, which covers science, engineering and selected health fields only. An em dash means the source does not report the figure, which is not the same as zero.

Sports NCAA D2

⇅ Athletes ▼ Revenue Expenses Net
Football 118 $2.5M $2.5M $0
Baseball 36 $761K $761K $0
Swimming & Diving 28 $623K $623K $0
Cross Country 22 $304K $304K $0
Fencing 16 $271K $271K $0
Basketball 15 $1.0M $1.0M $0
Golf 14 $337K $337K $0
Tennis 9 $475K $475K $0
Total 258 $6.3M $6.3M $0
⇅ Athletes ▼ Revenue Expenses Net
Track & Field (combined) 98 $694K $694K $0
Swimming & Diving 22 $531K $531K $0
Softball 20 $576K $576K $0
Volleyball 17 $566K $566K $0
Basketball 15 $808K $808K $0
Fencing 9 $312K $312K $0
Tennis 8 $463K $463K $0
Golf 6 $376K $376K $0
Total 136 $4.3M $4.3M $0
⇅ Athletes ▼ Revenue Expenses Net
Football 118 $2.5M $2.5M $0
Track & Field (combined) 98 $694K $694K $0
Swimming & Diving 50 $1.2M $1.2M $0
Baseball 36 $761K $761K $0
Basketball 30 $1.8M $1.8M $0
Fencing 25 $583K $583K $0
Cross Country 22 $304K $304K $0
Golf 20 $714K $714K $0
Softball 20 $576K $576K $0
Tennis 17 $939K $939K $0
Volleyball 17 $566K $566K $0
Total 394 $16.1M $16.1M $0

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Equity in Athletics Data Analysis. Each team's revenue and expenses are what the college attributes to it. The Total view's totals row is the department's grand total, which also includes money not attributed to any team; the Male and Female totals rows only add up their teams.

Admissions

Uses Common App Yes
Acceptance Rate 84%
Yield (non-ED) 21%
Regular Decision Jan 1

Acceptance Rates

In-State Out-of-State International
Regular Decision 85% 77% 61%

Standardized Tests

Test Policy optional
Submitted Test Scores 39%
SAT Range 1060 – 1290
SAT Math Range 510 – 640
SAT RW Range 550 – 650