+13%
In-state tuition
In-state tuition at James Madison University rose 13% between 2021 and 2024 ($12.6k → $14.2k).
Virginia · Public · Predominantly bachelor's
JMU
Harrisonburg, Virginia. 20,497 undergraduate students. 94 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
Earnings, completion, debt, and enrollment anomalies at JMU
Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.
-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at James Madison University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (0.8% → 0.0%).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
JMU earnings, debt, and completion vs. the Virginia median
Each tile compares this institution to the Virginia median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$69,954+22% · 6→10y
Virginia median $44,813$57,438
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry80.9%-2% · '97→'24
Virginia median 50.7%$17,272+88% · '97→'20
At program completion20,497+79% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS90.1%+1% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time76.3%+11% · '01→'24
latest cohort$13,576+256% · '00→'24
out-of-state $30,790SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How JMU earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry
Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS
What loans cost relative to earnings at JMU
Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.
Institution-wide
3.3%Median federal debt $17,272 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $69,954 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
JMU enrollment, completion, and debt over time
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
Undergraduate enrollment.
150%-time completion rate.
Median federal student debt at exit.
+26%
JMU · completion · 100% rose
52.1% → 65.6%
+79%
JMU · undergrad enrollment rose
11,644 → 20,888
+256%
JMU · in-state tuition rose
$4,000 → $14,250
+221%
JMU · out-of-state tuition rose
$9,850 → $31,604
+88%
JMU · median debt rose
$10,692 → $20,093
-100%
JMU · cohort default rate fell
2.6% → 0.0%
+78%
JMU · pell share rose
9.6% → 17.1%
+25%
JMU · earnings_median_10yr rose
$56,000 → $69,954
+28%
JMU · earnings_median_6yr rose
$44,700 → $57,438
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
JMU programs ranked by 5-year earnings
Each row is one (CIP × credential) program reported by the institution in College Scorecard's Field-of-Study data. Cohort floor is 30 students; below this, federal data is suppressed.
Business Administration, Management and Operations$144,716Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions$133,378Finance and Financial Management Services$113,644Information Science/Studies$111,126Computer and Information Sciences, General$109,603Accounting and Related Services$106,689Systems Science and Theory$101,452International Business$96,946Economics$96,390Physics$93,914Accounting and Related Services$88,619Engineering, General$88,212Marketing$85,936Public Administration$82,861Mathematics$82,836Business Administration, Management and Operations$82,511Science, Technology and Society$80,699Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$79,692Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods$79,084Health and Medical Administrative Services$74,897Communication Disorders Sciences and Services$74,354Public Administration$69,552Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies$68,972Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions$68,668
Showing top 24 of 52 ranked programs.
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
52 JMU programs with earnings, grouped by field
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
COMPUTER & INFORMATION SCIENCES · CIP 11
EDUCATION · CIP 13
ENGINEERING · CIP 14
FOREIGN LANGUAGES · CIP 16
FAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES · CIP 19
LEGAL PROFESSIONS · CIP 22
ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE · CIP 23
LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24
BIOLOGICAL & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES · CIP 26
MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS · CIP 27
MULTI/INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES · CIP 30
PARKS, RECREATION & FITNESS · CIP 31
PHYSICAL SCIENCES · CIP 40
PSYCHOLOGY · CIP 42
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & SOCIAL SERVICES · CIP 44
SOCIAL SCIENCES · CIP 45
VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS · CIP 50
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions$67,436Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$79,692Communication Disorders Sciences and Services$64,730Health and Medical Administrative Services$74,897Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions$133,378Communication Disorders Sciences and Services$74,354Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions$68,668
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
Business Administration, Management and Operations$82,511Marketing$85,936Hospitality Administration/Management$65,319Finance and Financial Management Services$113,644Accounting and Related Services$88,619Accounting and Related Services$106,689Business Administration, Management and Operations$144,716International Business$96,946
HISTORY · CIP 54
COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM · CIP 09
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at JMU
Pick a program. Cost from Scorecard net price by family income; earnings from Treasury 5-year-post-completion median, projected forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve. The selection-bias toggle applies the Dale-Krueger shrinkage. Outcomes illustration, not a forecast — see methodology.
Shrinks the earnings premium toward the matched-applicant mean. STEM <15%, business ~40%, arts & education ~60%.
NET PRESENT VALUE
$449,629
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 9
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $17,150
- HS-only baseline · VA
- $39,800
- Years to complete
- 4
- CIP family
- 51
Outcomes illustration · not a forecast. Projects observed Scorecard earnings forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve under your assumptions. See methodology for the math.
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Institutions similar to JMU in Virginia
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“JMU graduates earn $X” — not “JMU makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending JMU caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.