Quad
Lawrence UniversityAppleton, WI · Private nonprofit

Academics

Majors and faculty

The most popular major is Music Performance, General (11% of graduates). 7 students for every faculty member, fewer than at 92% of colleges. 84% of faculty are full-time. Spends $22,280 a year on instruction per student.

Most popular majors

387 bachelor's degrees, 2024–25 graduates

The top 5 programs account for 40% of graduates; 40 programs in 16 fields awarded at least one.

  1. Music Performance, General 50.090311% 42
    Graduates in this field earn $43,385 4 years out
  2. Psychology, General 42.01019.6% 37
    Graduates in this field earn $45,971 4 years out
  3. Business/Commerce, General 52.01016.7% 26
  4. Biology/Biological Sciences, General 26.01016.5% 25
    Graduates in this field earn $38,092 4 years out
  5. English Language and Literature, General 23.01016.5% 25
    Graduates in this field earn $47,954 4 years out

Fastest-growing field: Business, 0.0% → 6.7% of graduates since 2014–15 (26 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. Economics$71,338 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: Too few graduates to report

    4 years after completion$71,338
    National median: $82,686Below typical

    Median federal debt: Too few graduates to report · 49 graduates, two most recent years combined

  2. Political Science and Government$50,021 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: Too few graduates to report

    4 years after completion$50,021
    National median: $63,293Below typical

    4 years out, Pell: Too few graduates to report · Non-Pell: $39,215(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: Too few graduates to report · 52 graduates, two most recent years combined

  3. English Language and Literature, General$47,954 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: Too few graduates to report

    4 years after completion$47,954
    National median: $48,590About typical

    4 years out, Pell: Too few graduates to report · Non-Pell: $36,907(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: Too few graduates to report · 37 graduates, two most recent years combined

  4. Psychology, General$45,971 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: Too few graduates to report

    4 years after completion$45,971
    National median: $50,706Below typical

    4 years out, Pell: $33,917 · Non-Pell: $33,934(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $15,000 · 73 graduates, two most recent years combined

  5. Fine and Studio Arts$44,313 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: Too few graduates to report

    4 years after completion$44,313
    National median: $41,367Above typical

    4 years out, Pell: Too few graduates to report · Non-Pell: $22,922(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: Too few graduates to report · 38 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.

Students per faculty member vs. every college7 to 1
7 to 1
← Fewer students per facultyfewer students per faculty member than 92% of 1,892More students per faculty →

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

Class sizes

79%

of classes have fewer than 20 students; 1% have 50 or more

Under 20 students 20 or moreStudents per class section
Undergraduate class sections by number of students
StudentssectionsShare
2–912535%
10–1915744%
20–294813%
30–39216%
40–4910%
50–9941%
100+00%

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

  • Double major
  • Independent study
  • Internships
  • Student-designed major
  • Teacher certification
  • Study abroad
  • Undergraduate research

Requires coursework in arts, a foreign language, humanities, intensive writing, a natural science, and social science.

Full-time faculty84%
National median: 67%Above typical
Average faculty salary

$79,064

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 private nonprofit colleges: public and private colleges report finances on different accounting forms that aren't comparable.

Instruction spending per student$22,280
$22,280
← Lessmore than 88% of 1,199More →
Endowment per student$309,969
$309,969
← Lessmore than 92% of 1,065More →

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;Lawrence University Common Data Set 2024–25, Fall 2025;Lawrence University Common Data Set 2024–25, 2024–25;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey (athletics, programs, services, religious affiliation), 2025–26About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)