Quad
State University of New York at CortlandCortland, NY · Public

Academics

Majors and faculty

The most popular major is Physical Education Teaching and Coaching (14% of graduates). 15 students for every faculty member, more than at 66% of colleges. 58% of faculty are full-time. Spends $11,144 a year on instruction per student.

Most popular majors

1,503 bachelor's degrees, 2024–25 graduates

The top 5 programs account for 50% of graduates; 59 programs in 17 fields awarded at least one.

  1. Physical Education Teaching and Coaching 13.131414% 203
    Graduates in this field earn $63,201 4 years out
  2. Elementary Education and Teaching 13.120211% 166
    Graduates in this field earn $62,275 4 years out
  3. Business/Managerial Economics 52.06018.8% 132
    Graduates in this field earn $66,644 4 years out
  4. Exercise Science and Kinesiology 31.05058.7% 131
    Graduates in this field earn $56,466 4 years out
  5. Sport and Fitness Administration/Management 31.05047.6% 114
    Graduates in this field earn $56,466 4 years out

Fastest-growing field: Education, 28% → 35% of graduates since 2014–15 (520 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

  1. Special Education and Teaching$74,079 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: Too few graduates to report

    4 years after completion$74,079
    National median: $50,499Above typical

    4 years out, Pell: Too few graduates to report · Non-Pell: $62,609(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: Too few graduates to report · 180 graduates, two most recent years combined

  2. Business/Managerial Economics$66,644 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $40,517

    4 years after completion$66,644
    National median: $77,981Below typical

    4 years out, Pell: $61,673 · Non-Pell: $62,947(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $21,470 · 182 graduates, two most recent years combined

  3. Communication and Media Studies$63,431 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $34,683

    4 years after completion$63,431
    National median: $56,359Above typical

    4 years out, Pell: $47,175 · Non-Pell: $47,316(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $21,500 · 153 graduates, two most recent years combined

  4. Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas$63,201 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $42,132

    4 years after completion$63,201
    National median: $51,389Above typical

    4 years out, Pell: $50,330 · Non-Pell: $55,096(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $21,485 · 485 graduates, two most recent years combined

  5. Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other$62,524 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $39,217

    4 years after completion$62,524
    National median: $68,245Below typical

    4 years out, Pell: $49,282 · Non-Pell: $54,174(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $25,000

Bachelor's programs only, among graduates who received federal financial aid and were working (not enrolled in school) in the measurement year.

Students per faculty member vs. every college15 to 1
15 to 1
← Fewer students per facultymore students per faculty member than 66% of 1,892More students per faculty →

The college also reports 16 to 1 in its Common Data Set (6,394 students, 400 faculty).

Not the average class size: faculty also teach graduate students and do research, and large lectures can sit alongside small seminars.

Class sizes

28%

of classes have fewer than 20 students; 5% have 50 or more

Under 20 students 20 or moreStudents per class section
Undergraduate class sections by number of students
StudentssectionsShare
2–9565%
10–1926423%
20–2948243%
30–3920918%
40–49646%
50–99515%
100+40%

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.

Full-time faculty58%
National median: 67%Below typical
Average faculty salary

$68,037

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.

Instruction spending per student$11,144
$11,144
← Lessmore than 56% of 557More →
Endowment per student$9,007
$9,007
← Lessmore than 37% of 537More →

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;State University of New York at Cortland Common Data Set 2025–26, Fall 2025;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey (athletics, programs, services, religious affiliation), 2025–26About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)