Student Achievement
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) requires that institutions publish student achievement information. In SACSCOC’s Policy on Institutional Obligations for Public Disclosure, student achievement information may include “reliable information in retention, graduation, course completion, licensure examinations, and job placement rates and other measures of student success appropriate to institutional mission.” Vanderbilt University uses many metrics of student achievement to evaluate the success of its educational programs.
Undergraduate Retention and Graduation Rate
As a measure of undergraduate program success, the University tracks undergraduate retention and graduation rates. Historical retention and graduation rate data can be found in the university Student Factbook, which also provides additional student assessment data.
Degree Completion
Divinity School
- Most Master of Divinity students finished their degree program within three or four academic years. In 2021, 83% of M.Div. graduates completed their degree within four academic years.
- Most Master of Theological Studies students finished their degree program within two or three academic years. In 2021, 87% of 29 M.T.S. graduates completed their degree within two academic years.
School of Engineering
- 88% of the 2020-2021 graduates who sought employment had jobs by graduation. Additional information about students and graduates can be found here.
Law School
- The American Bar Association requires accredited law schools to make disclosures for several data points, including attrition. This information may be found here.
Owen Graduate School of Management
- 97% % of 2021 MBA graduates received a full-time job offer within 3 months of graduation. Additional employment details may be found here.
- 100% of 2021 MSF graduates received a full-time job offer within 6 months of graduation. Additional employment details may be found here.
- 100% of MAcc graduates received a fulltime job offer within 3 months of graduation. Additional employment details may be found here.
School of Medicine
- 99% is the MD degree graduation rate, calculated October 2019, over the prior five years of graduates.
- The Office of Biomedical Research Education & Training (BRET), in the School of Medicine, used internet searches of publicly available information to determine the employment outcomes of our biomedical PhD graduates who earned their degree between 2007 and 2018. This information may be found here.
- 5.7 years is the time to degree completion for students who participate in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences program. Additional facts on this program may be found here.
School of Nursing
- The Master of Science in Nursing program had a 95% graduation rate in 2019.
- The Doctor of Nursing Practice Program had an 82% graduation rate in 2019.
Peabody College Graduate School of Education
- Graduation rates reported include all one-year and two-year professional and licensure programs at Peabody, along with the three-year on-campus Ed.D. In 2019-2020, among Peabody two-year or fewer professional and licensure programs, 93% of students graduated in two years or less. In the Peabody three-year Ed.D. program, 100% of students graduated in three years.
- The 2020-2021 employment rate is 97% employed successfully by September 30, 2020. The knowledge rate is 95%. The term “knowledge rate” defines the percent of graduates for whom we have reasonable and verifiable information concerning their post-graduation career activities, in compliance with the National Association of Colleges and Employers standards.
Psychological Sciences
- The Clinical Science Program in Psychological Sciences provides various facts regarding outcomes for enrolled students The information may be found here.
Licensing and Certification Examinations
Vanderbilt University evaluates student success on state and national licensing examinations.
- 95.15% is the 2021 law school weighted average first time pass rate.
- 92.5% is the 2021 first time passage rate for the Tennessee Bar Exam.
- Passage rates for other jurisdictions can be found by viewing the bar passage rate reports here.
Owen Graduate School of Management
- The CPA pass rate is 92% for the MAcc class of 2021.
- U.S. Medical Licensure Examination (USMLE) pass rates for each section of the USMLE have ranged between 95-100% over the last four years (2016-2020).
- 95% is the unofficial 2021 first time pass rate for the National Council on Licensure Exam (NCLEX-RN).
- Other School of Nursing licensing and certification examination rates may be found here.
Peabody College of Education and Human Development
- The 2019-2020 data on licensing and certification examinations include an edTPA pass rate of 98.26% for July 2019-August 2020.
- The 2019-2020 data on licensing and certification examinations include a Praxis Subject Assessments pass rate of 97.39%.
- 81.5% is the clinical psychologists professional licensure rate. Additional information may be found here.