University of Denver

Admissions at the University of Denver are relatively accessible, though the school experiences challenges in drawing admitted applicants to enroll. In the 2027 US News ranking, the university stood at 121, continuing a downward trajectory from its rank of 87 in 2018. For 2025, the undergraduate admit rate was 77.8%, which was higher than 70% of thirty peer private universities with similar rankings. In contrast, the university's yield rate was just 9.1%, placing it higher than only 13% of peer schools. This low yield indicates that fewer than one in ten admitted students choose to enroll. For prospective applicants, these figures suggest that qualified candidates face favorable odds of acceptance, but the institution serves largely alongside other competing options for college-bound seniors.

Applicants targeting the University of Denver face moderately competitive testing benchmarks, though test submission has declined markedly in recent years. In 2025, the median SAT score among enrolled students was 1320, placing the institution higher than 57% of twenty-eight peer private universities. Test ranges for the middle half of enrolled students spanned from the mid-600s to low 700s on the SAT, while composite ACT scores generally fell between the upper twenties and low thirties. For high school academic records, admitted cohorts routinely demonstrate above-average grades, with many students maintaining grade point averages at or above 3.5. Furthermore, unofficial applicant cases collected by Forward Pathway show an admitted student profile with a median unweighted high school GPA of 3.7 and a median SAT score of 1275. Prospective applicants can consider these unofficial figures alongside official score midpoints to evaluate their readiness and position their academic profiles effectively.

Academic offerings at the University of Denver show diverse undergraduate interests alongside nationally recognized graduate divisions. In 2025, undergraduate degrees were not overly concentrated in a single discipline, as the top three majors accounted for 26.2% of all bachelor's graduates. General psychology led with 170 graduates, followed by general finance and marketing management. However, the university's highest-ranked specialties reside at the graduate level rather than among its largest undergraduate fields. In the 2026 US News graduate rankings, the law school's trial advocacy program ranked 9th and its legal clinical training program ranked 11th, while social work held the 12th position nationally in 2024. For students focused on career earnings, technical and business disciplines provide the highest initial returns. According to 2023 earnings data, computer science graduates earned a median of $89,817 one year after graduation, while accounting graduates earned $78,335. These figures demonstrate that while undergraduate class sizes favor liberal arts and commerce, specialized graduate tracks and analytical fields deliver prominent academic and financial rewards.

The student body at the University of Denver spans traditional undergraduate cohorts and an extensive graduate school community. White students represent the largest racial group across all divisions, followed by Hispanic and Latino students. Asian students constitute a smaller proportion of campus, accounting for 53 incoming first-year students, or 4% of the freshman class, alongside several hundred enrolled at the graduate level. International students also maintain a selective footprint that differs substantially by academic level. While undergraduate international presence remains small, global representation expands considerably in advanced degree tracks, where the university enrolled 522 international graduate students, representing 8.4% of all graduate scholars. Across both cohorts, female students maintain majority representation, comprising well over half of undergraduates and roughly two-thirds of graduate students. This composition creates a campus anchored predominantly by domestic students at the bachelor's level, paired with a more globally and professionally diversified graduate community.

Undergraduate student life at the University of Denver centers primarily on traditional college-aged cohorts, whereas the graduate division serves early-career adults. In 2025, undergraduates aged 20 to 21 made up 41.6% of the undergraduate population, while those aged 18 to 19 accounted for 34.2%. Because these two groups represent the vast majority of undergraduates, daily campus activities and student housing naturally align with the rhythm of young adults progressing straight from high school. In contrast, graduate enrollment peaks among students aged 25 to 29, who comprise 34.2% of advanced degree seekers. This creates two distinct student communities: a full-time, residential undergraduate atmosphere alongside a career-oriented graduate segment balancing coursework with professional obligations.

International enrollment at the University of Denver has contracted over the past decade, with international scholars representing a modest portion of total enrollment. By 2025, the undergraduate international proportion fell to 2.7%, which was higher than 33% of thirty peer private universities. International representation is stronger at the post-baccalaureate level, where graduate international students accounted for 8.4% of total graduate enrollment in 2025, though this also represents a decline from earlier levels. Among graduating classes, international degree earners are heavily concentrated in technology and analytics rather than broad undergraduate majors. In 2025, international students made up only a small fraction of bachelor's degree recipients in popular fields like finance, but they represented 58.6% of master's graduates in medical informatics and over forty percent in information technology. For international applicants, these trends show that while campus life at the bachelor's level is largely domestic, advanced graduate degree programs in specialized technical fields offer substantial international peers and targeted academic communities.

Applicants evaluating the University of Denver can also explore several other higher education options across the Denver metropolitan area and the wider Colorado Front Range. Located 8.1 kilometers away, University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus is a public research university ranked 236 among national universities in the 2027 US News rankings. Also within the city, Regis University is a private institution located 8.4 kilometers away and ranked 276. For students looking toward engineering and applied sciences, Colorado School of Mines is situated 14.7 kilometers away in Golden and ranked 80th among national universities. Slightly farther north, University of Colorado Boulder sits 28.1 kilometers away, ranking 109th. These neighboring campuses offer alternative public and private university settings within convenient driving distance.

Campus safety at the University of Denver is primarily characterized by student conduct disciplinary referrals rather than serious violent crime. In 2025, Forward Pathway's weighted crime rate per 1,000 students stood at 13, reflecting steady safety conditions over recent years. Disciplinary citations for substance policies represent the vast majority of reported incidents on campus. Over the three-year period from 2023 to 2025, the university logged 796 liquor law disciplinary violations, alongside several hundred drug-related infractions. In terms of property crimes during that same 2023 to 2025 period, motor vehicle theft was the most frequent offense with 132 incidents, followed by lesser numbers of burglaries. Violent offenses such as stalking and rape remained infrequent relative to the institution's overall student population. Families evaluating safety can observe that campus security concerns center primarily on student conduct oversight and vehicle security within an urban setting.