Graduation and Retention Rates
The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications, or ACEJMC, requires its accredited programs to publish retention and graduation data on their websites and to update the information annually.
The following information has been compiled by the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications’ Office of Undergraduate Affairs and Enrollment Management.
Undergraduate Retention Rate 2024-2025
One-year retention of students who became a College of Journalism and Communications major in 2024 (n=282): 1-year retention: 97.16%.
Source: IPEDS, Enrollment, full-time and part-time, UF Main and UFO students
Undergraduate Graduation Rate for 2019 cohort
Graduation rates for a major (as opposed to a university) are assessed in two ways. One method is to calculate the graduation rate as the percentage of students entering a college in their first year at the institution. The second is to assess the graduation rates of students who have declared a major in the college by their third year (when most students have finally settled on a major course of study).
For a college, a graduation rate is not a measure of whether a student receives a degree. It is a measure of whether a student receives a degree in that particular college. Many of the students at UF who enter our College as freshmen and don’t receive a College of Journalism and Communications degree do in fact graduate. Because they have changed majors, their degrees are awarded by other UF colleges.
With these things in mind, the College of Journalism and Communications graduation rates are as follows: Graduation rates for students from the College of Journalism and Communications or any college that remained or declared a major in the CJC in their third year:
(n =440): 4-year: 88.6%, 6-year: 95.9%
Source: IPEDS, FTIC, full-time and part-time, UF Main and UFO students
In-Residence Master’s Graduation and Retention Rates
Based on an in-residence master’s cohort of 33 in Fall 2024, the one-year retention/persistence rate was 100%. By Fall 2025, seven students had graduated and the remaining 26 students were still actively enrolled.
The two-year graduation rate for the cohort was 93.94% (31/33), with seven students graduating Summer 2025, eight in Fall 2025, 12 in Spring 2026, and four in Summer 2026. The remaining two students continued in the program beyond two years, one of whom is a part-time student.
Online Master’s Graduation and Retention Rates
Based on online master’s degree enrollment of 90 in our Spring 2024 master’s cohort, the one-year retention rate was 95% (81/86), with six graduated in Fall 2024, and 75 active in Spring 2025.
The two-year graduation rate for online master’s students who began in Spring 2024 is 55% (47/86), with six graduated in Fall 2024, 13 in Spring 2025, 8 in Summer 2025, 8 in Fall 2025, 12 in Spring 2026, and 28 active in Summer 2026.*
*Many students in the online program are part-time and have a seven-year window to complete the program. At the time of reporting (Summer 2026), 28 students from the Spring 2024 master’s cohort continue to progress towards graduation and, if they all graduate, the overall graduation rate for the Spring 2024 cohort will be 87% (75/86).