Graduation and Retention Rates
The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications, or ACEJMC, requires its accredited programs to publish retention and graduation data on their websites and to update the information annually.
The following information has been compiled by the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications’ Office of Undergraduate Affairs and Enrollment Management.
Undergraduate Retention Rate 2022-2023
One-year retention of students who became a College of Journalism and Communications major in 2022 (n=286): 1-year: 90.2%
Undergraduate Graduation Rate for 2017 cohort
Graduation rates for a major (as opposed to a university) are assessed in two ways. One method is to calculate the graduation rate as the percentage of students entering a college in their first year at the institution. The second is to assess the graduation rates of students who have declared a major in the college by their third year (when most students have finally settled on a major course of study).
For a college, a graduation rate is not a measure of whether a student receives a degree. It is a measure of whether a student receives a degree in that particular college. Many of the students at UF who enter our College as freshmen and don’t receive a College of Journalism and Communications degree do in fact graduate. Because they have changed majors, their degrees are awarded by other UF colleges.
With these things in mind, the College of Journalism and Communications graduation rates are as follows: Graduation rates for students from the College of Journalism and Communications or any college that remained or declared a major in the CJC in their third year:
4-year: 85.9% (n=367), 6-year 95.8% (n=402).
In-Residence Master’s Graduation and Retention Rates
Based on in-residence master’s enrollment of 29 in our fall 2022 master’s cohort, the one-year retention rate was 100% (29/29, with 26 active in fall 2023 and three graduated in summer 2023).
The two-year graduation rate for students who began in fall 2022 is 75.9% (22/29, three graduated summer 2023, five graduated in fall 2023, eight graduated in spring 2024, and six expected to graduate in summer 2024).
Online Master’s Graduation and Retention Rates
Based on online master’s degree enrollment of 101 in our spring 2022 master’s cohort, the one-year retention rate was 91.1% (92/101), with one graduated in fall 2022, and 91 active in spring 2023.
The two-year graduation rate for online master’s students who began in spring 2022 is 49.5% (50/101), with one graduated in fall 2022, seven in spring 2023, 13 in summer 2023, 18 in fall 2023, 11 in spring 2024, and 32 active in summer 2024.*
*Many students in the online program are part-time and have a seven-year window to complete the program. At the time of reporting (summer 2024), 32 students from the spring 2022 master’s cohort continue to progress towards graduation and, if they all graduate, the overall graduation rate for the spring 2022 cohort will be 81.2% (82/101).