Academics
Majors and faculty
The most popular major is Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse (22% of graduates). 18 students for every faculty member, more than at 83% of colleges. 98% of faculty are full-time. Spends $13,191 a year on instruction per student.
Most popular majors
1,971 bachelor's degrees, 2024–25 graduates
The top 5 programs account for 50% of graduates; 53 programs in 23 fields awarded at least one.
- Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse 51.380122% 426Graduates in this field earn $101,328 4 years out
- Psychology, General 42.010111% 209Graduates in this field earn $48,985 4 years out
- Criminal Justice/Safety Studies 43.01047.2% 142Graduates in this field earn $58,108 4 years out
- Business Administration and Management, General 52.02015.9% 117
- Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General 51.00004.6% 90Graduates in this field earn $46,711 4 years out
Fastest-growing field: Health professions, 10% → 29% of graduates since 2014–15 (571 graduates in 2024–25).
Source:IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2014–15 to 2024–25About the data(built 2026-10-12; CPI retrieved 2026-10-12)
Bachelor's degrees awarded July through June, by federal program name (), which can differ from what the college calls a major. A double major counts once, under the ; its other field is a . Earnings are College Scorecard's median for graduates of the program's broader field (), 4 years after completion; see Top-earning majors below.
Top-earning majors here
By earnings 4 years after completion
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$101,328 4 yrs out
1 year after completion: $92,257
4 years after completion$101,328National median: $88,910Above typical4 years out, Pell: $84,628 · Non-Pell: $88,125(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)
Median federal debt: $21,793 · 694 graduates, two most recent years combined
Computer and Information Sciences, General$76,282 4 yrs out
1 year after completion: $42,552
4 years after completion$76,282National median: $92,374Below typical4 years out, Pell: $76,732 · Non-Pell: Too few graduates to report(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)
Median federal debt: $25,500 · 146 graduates, two most recent years combined
Accounting and Related Services$71,745 4 yrs out
1 year after completion: $45,589
4 years after completion$71,745National median: $76,194Below typical4 years out, Pell: $61,135 · Non-Pell: $60,221(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)
Median federal debt: $22,000 · 109 graduates, two most recent years combined
Mathematics$71,340 4 yrs out
1 year after completion: $42,187
4 years after completion$71,340National median: $69,562About typical4 years out, Pell: $62,325 · Non-Pell: Too few graduates to report(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)
Median federal debt: $24,020 · 18 graduates, two most recent years combined
Biology, General$71,026 4 yrs out
1 year after completion: $42,492
4 years after completion$71,026National median: $57,214Above typical4 years out, Pell: $54,518 · Non-Pell: Too few graduates to report(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)
Median federal debt: $23,329 · 113 graduates, two most recent years combined
Bachelor's programs only, among graduates who received federal financial aid and were working (not enrolled in school) in the measurement year.
The college also reports 14.2 to 1 in its Common Data Set (7,273 students, 511 faculty).
Not the average class size: faculty also teach graduate students and do research, and large lectures can sit alongside small seminars.
Class sizes
54%
of classes have fewer than 20 students; 0% have 50 or more
| Students | sections | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 2–9 | 323 | 18% |
| 10–19 | 623 | 36% |
| 20–29 | 646 | 37% |
| 30–39 | 133 | 8% |
| 40–49 | 19 | 1% |
| 50–99 | 4 | 0% |
| 100+ | 1 | 0% |
This counts class sections, not students: a lecture of 300 is one section, so a student is more likely to sit in a large class than the share of sections suggests. Labs and discussion sections are counted separately and left out here.
Programs & curriculum
- Accelerated program
- Cross-registration
- Distance learning
- Double major
- Dual enrollment
- English as a Second Language
- Domestic exchange program
- Honors program
- Independent study
- Internships
- Liberal arts/career combination
- Teacher certification
- Study abroad
- Undergraduate research
Requires coursework in arts, computer literacy, English composition, a foreign language, history, humanities, math, philosophy, a natural science, and social science.
$120,869
9-month equated, all ranks combined. Pay tracks local cost of living as much as a college's generosity.
Spending and endowment
Fiscal 2023–24. Compared only against other public colleges: public and private colleges report finances on different accounting forms that aren't comparable. Many public universities' endowments sit mostly in a separate foundation this survey doesn't count, so this likely understates what's actually available.
Sources:IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2024–25 graduates;College Scorecard Field of Study data, most recent release;IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey (part D), Fall 2024;IPEDS Salaries survey (SAL, instructional staff, all ranks), Fall 2024;College Scorecard, Fall 2024;IPEDS Finance survey, derived per-student figures, 2023–24;William Paterson University of New Jersey Common Data Set 2021–22, Fall 2021;William Paterson University of New Jersey Common Data Set 2021–22, 2021–22;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey (athletics, programs, services, religious affiliation), 2025–26About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)