Women Have a Higher Graduation Rate Than Men at All 50 Flagship State Universities

The latest data on college graduation rates shows that women graduate at a higher rate than men at all 50 flagship state universities. Using four-year average graduation rates for students who entered college from 2001 to 2004 and graduated within six years from the same institution, we find that women have at least a two percentage point advantage at all 50 flagship state universities. The graduation rate for women is two percentage points higher than the rate for men at the University of Alaska, Indiana University, the University of Iowa, the University of Michigan, the University of Oregon, and the University of Washington.

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At the other end of the spectrum, the graduation rate for women is 11 percentage points higher than than the rate for men at the University of New Mexico. There is a 10 percentage point gap between women and men at the University of Nevada. Women graduate at a rate nine percentage points higher than men at the University of Wyoming and West Virginia University.

The figures also show that among all the 50 flagship state universities, the highest graduation rate for women is at the University of Virginia. At UVA, 94 percent of all women students graduate within six years. At the the University of California at Berkeley, 92 percent of women graduate within six years. At the University of Michigan, 90 percent of entering women students graduate within six years.

The lowest graduation rate for women is at the University of Alaska where only 24 percent of entering women students earn a degree within six years. The only other two flagship state universities that have a graduation rate for women below 50 percent are the University of Montana and the University of New Mexico.