Admit rate has ranged 45%–59% over the last 5 years — notably volatile. Source: IPEDS via Urban Institute.
Acceptance & SAT from Common Data Set / IPEDS; net price, earnings & graduation from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. Figures lag ~1–2 years — verify with the school.
The University of Dallas is a small, fiercely intellectual Catholic university where students debate Aristotle over coffee, stage Shakespeare in the courtyard, and spend semesters abroad in Rome. With a rigorous Core Curriculum that anchors every major, UD cultivates a tight-knit community of independent thinkers who graduate with uncommon clarity of purpose—and above-average earning power.
Admission requirements
Test-optional — scores considered if submitted
Required
High school transcript
Grade point average
Letters of recommendation
College-prep program
TOEFL (non-native English)
Considered (not required)
Class rank
Test scores (SAT/ACT)
Source: IPEDS Admissions survey (2022) via Urban Institute. Covers formal factors only — it does not reflect essays, extracurriculars, or other holistic criteria.
More details
Undergrad enrollment
1,403
In-state tuition
$53,930
Out-of-state tuition
$53,930
Acceptance Rate
53%
Graduation Rate
73%
Student-Faculty Ratio
11:1
Campus Safety Satisfaction
97%
Median Early-Career Salary
$61,870
Rome Semester Participation
~80% of undergrads
Outcomes & value
Outcomes & value
Median earnings (10 yr)
$58,285
Value (earnings ÷ net price)
2.6×
Median debt at graduation
$23,117
Graduation rate
73%
First-year retention
77%
Reducing loan balance (3 yr)
75%
Pell (lower-income) share
48%
First-generation share
16%
Endowment / student
$71,699
Financial health
2.2 / 3.0Meets the federal financial-responsibility standard
U.S. Dept. of Education Financial Responsibility Composite Score (FY2022-23). Scale −1.0 to 3.0; ≥1.5 meets the standard. Reported for private nonprofit & for-profit institutions only — public universities are state-backed and not scored, so this is a stability signal, not a ranking.
Top-earning majors
Median earnings by field of study (highest credential), ~2 years after completion.
Business Administration, Management and Operations$48,432
Economics$47,260
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods$35,060
History$33,281
Theological and Ministerial Studies$28,598
Psychology, General$26,896
Campus & location
Campus safety
On-campus violent crimes (2024)
0
Per 1,000 students
0.00
On-campus criminal offenses classed as violent (murder/non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, aggravated assault) for the most recent reported year. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education Campus Safety and Security (Clery Act). Counts reflect what’s reported to the school, and urban campuses often report more partly due to non-student incidents nearby — read alongside campus size and setting, not as a standalone safety verdict.
Climate
Pleasant days / yr
88
Summer high
94°F
Winter low
40°F
Annual rain
53.8"
Annual snow
1.6"
Natural-hazard risk
Very High
Pleasant days counts days per year with a mean temperature of 55–75°F, a high at or below 90°F, a low at or above 45°F, and little precipitation — a transparent comfort measure, not a weighting we invented. Computed from Open-Meteo ERA5 daily history (2019–2023). Natural-hazard risk is the county’s composite rating from the FEMA National Risk Index.
Deep dive — research, future-scholar output & economic mobility▾
Research output
Institutional h-index
132
Scholarly works
4,162
Institutional research volume and impact from OpenAlex. The h-index reflects large research universities and will be low for teaching-focused liberal-arts colleges — not a measure of undergraduate quality.
Share of this school’s graduates who go on to earn research doctorates (2010–20), by national rank and per-capita yield (NSF institutional-yield ratio). A signal of a research-oriented student culture — not a causal promise, since it partly reflects who enrolls. Only top producers appear. Source: NSF NCSES, Baccalaureate Origins of U.S. Research Doctorate Recipients.
Economic mobility
Mobility rate
1.3%
Bottom → top quintile
29%
Quick answers
What is the acceptance rate at University of Dallas?
University of Dallas's acceptance rate is approximately 53% (Irving, TX), based on the most recent figures we compiled from public and primary sources.
What SAT score do you need for University of Dallas?
Admitted students at University of Dallas typically score 1120–1370 on the SAT (the middle-50% range). Scores outside this band are still admitted, especially with strong applications.
How much does University of Dallas cost?
At University of Dallas, the average net price (after aid) is about $22,610 per year. Actual cost varies with financial aid and residency.
How many undergraduates attend University of Dallas?
University of Dallas enrolls approximately 1,403 undergraduate students.
Where is University of Dallas located?
University of Dallas is located in Irving, TX.
Admissions
UD maintains a 53% acceptance rate, making it selective but not cutthroat—the kind of school that values intellectual curiosity over perfect scores. Middle 50% SAT scores range from 1140–1350, while ACT scores cluster between 23–29. The university is test-optional, accepting the Common Application, and emphasizes a Holistic admissionsA review that weighs the whole applicant — grades, essays, activities, and context — rather than relying on test scores and GPA alone. that weighs essays and recommendations alongside grades. Notably, 98% of admitted students receive some form of merit aid, with scholarships ranging from $1,000 to full tuition.
Earnings = median of students working ~10 years after entry; debt = median of graduates. Value divides 10-yr earnings by one year’s net price — read it as earnings per dollar of annual cost, not a full lifetime ROI; it favors lower-cost schools. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. Figures lag ~2 years and reflect all students, not your intended major.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (field-of-study earnings). Figures cover graduates who received federal aid and lag ~2 years; not all programs report data.
From bottom quintile
5%
Mobility rate = the share of students who both start in the bottom household-income quintile and reach the top quintile; bottom → top is that chance conditional on starting at the bottom. Source: Opportunity Insights Mobility Report Cards (Chetty, Friedman, Saez, Turner & Yagan). Reflects 1980–82 birth cohorts, so it’s directional, not current.
Every undergraduate at UD wrestles with the mandatory Core Curriculum, a Great Books program covering Homer to Nietzsche, alongside theology, math, and lab science. This forms the spine of UD’s 27 majors, where philosophy, theology, and classics punch above their weight (6% of majors each). Small seminars dominate—the student-faculty ratio is 11:1—and debates spill into the coffee shop. Graduate programs include business and ministry, but the crown jewel is the Rome Semester, where sophiors study the Eternal City’s art and history firsthand. As one student video puts it: 'We don’t just read Dante—we walk the streets he walked.'
UD’s Catholic identity is vibrant but not suffocating: 97% of students report feeling safe on campus, and the 50+ clubs range from swing dancing to Thomistic philosophy. Traditions bind the community, like Groundhog Day (a midnight reading of Piers Plowman) and Shakespeare on the Mall (student-performed Bard under the Texas stars). The Office of Student Life fosters 'ordered liberty'—think theology-on-tap discussions and service trips. As one YouTube video notes, freedom here means 'not license, but liberty oriented toward the good.'
UD graduates out-earn peers at similar colleges, with a median salary of $61,870 (vs. national $60,377). The 73% graduation rate is solid for a small school, and 81% of recent grad respondents landed promotions mid-degree. Alumni skew toward education, ministry, and business, with economics majors reporting $60,044 median earnings 5 years out. Notably, the Rome Semester’s immersive humanities training seems to translate into workplace agility—one alum calls it 'a boot camp for learning how to learn.'
At $29,520 net price, UD isn’t cheap, but 98% of students receive aid, with average packages hitting $33,180. Scholarships range from $1,000 to full tuition, and the university emphasizes affordability through work-study and loans. For context, the aid package often cuts the $46,000 sticker price by half—making UD competitive with Texas publics for middle-income families.
UD is a unicorn: a conservative Catholic school that prizes Socratic debate over dogma, where students quote Virgil at parties and land Wall Street jobs. Its Rome Semester is transformative, its Core Curriculum is relentless, and its community is tight-knit without being insular. As the Princeton Review notes, this is a place for 'independent thinkers who want to wrestle with big ideas—then go change the world.'
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