Student Achievement

An excited student in graduation regalia smiles at the camera
An excited student in graduation regalia smiles at the camera

Measuring Undergraduate Student Achievement
Rhodes offers two undergraduate degree programs: the Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor of Science. Given the expectations stated in the Rhodes Vision, and the long tradition of quality liberal arts education at Rhodes, the college continually evaluates student achievement using a range of measurements, including the following:

  • Academic profile of our incoming class
  • Graduation rate
  • Senior exit survey from the most recent graduating class about their future plans
  • Survey data from our alumni about employment/graduate school attendance
  • Acceptance rates into post-baccalaureate degree programs

Measuring Graduate Student Achievement
Rhodes offers one graduate degree program: the Master of Science in Accounting. Student achievement is demonstrated by the high pass rates on the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam compared to the national average and by the excellent job placement rates of the graduates.

By the Numbers – Undergraduate and Graduate Student Achievement
Average academic profile for the entering class over the past five years:

  • Average ACT: 28.6
  • Average SAT: 1271
  • Average High School GPA: 3.80

Rhodes’ average graduation rate over the past five years is 76 percent.

Ninety-eight percent of 2016 graduates are employed, attend graduate/professional school, or volunteer full time.

Of those members of the classes of 2016 applying to graduate/professional schools, 86.8% reported that they were accepted by their first-choice school. The overall acceptance rates for different programs (M.D., M.B.A., J.D. and others) far exceed the national average.

All 12 of the 2013-14 Master of Science in Accounting graduates secured employment within three months of graduation, continuing the 100 percent placement record of the program since its inception. Additionally, since 2009, 100 percent of the students entering the program have graduated. (Since the commencement of the program 22 years ago, 356 of 357 students who entered the program graduated.) The first-time pass rate on the CPA exam for Rhodes Master of Science in Accounting graduates is 70.8 percent, which is nearly 10 points higher than the national average.

Rhodes is in the top 10 percent of all U.S. baccalaureate colleges for the percentage of our students who earn Ph.D.s in the sciences. We are among the top five in the Southeast.

Rhodes is ranked 15th in the nation for the number of physics majors who have gone on to receive a Ph.D. degree in physics or astronomy.

Rhodes is in the top six percent in the nation as the undergraduate source of psychology Ph.D.’s.

Since 2000, Rhodes students have won:

  • 45 Fulbright Scholarships
  • 14 Goldwater Scholarships
  • 12  Watson Fellowships
  • 6 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships
  • 5 Truman Scholarships
  • 2 Luce Scholarships
  • 7 National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowships
  • 1 Rhodes Scholarship

Some examples of the schools (and degree programs) that accepted members of the Rhodes Class of 2016

  • Boston University 
  • Brown University
  • Columbia Theology Seminary
  • Cornell University
  • Duke University
  • George Washington University School
  • Georgetown University
  • Harvard Law School
  • New York University School of Law
  • Royal College of Art
  • SMU Cox School of Business
  • Tulane University Law School
  • Union Theological Seminary
  • University of Florida College of Marine Science
  • University of New South Wales
  • University of TN Health Science Center
  • Vanderbilt University
  • Washington and Lee University School of Law
  • Yale Divinity School

A sampling of corporations, companies & organizations that hired members of the Classes of 2016

  • Alcorp Marketing Inc.
  • Americorps
  • Apex Clearing Corporation
  • Baptist Memorial Hospital
  • Blue Cross Blue Shield of TN
  • CBRE
  • Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
  • Coldwell Banker
  • Decision Science
  • Entergy Services, Inc
  • FedEx
  • Hewlett-Packard
  • International Paper
  • KMPG
  • Leadership Memphis
  • Louisiana Civil Justice Center
  • Memphis Grizzlies
  • Memphis Rise Academy
  • Mid-South Food Bank
  • Planned Parenthood
  • Teach for America
  • Raymond James Financial
  • Smithsonian Institution
  • St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
  • The Crop Trust
  • U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
  • U.S. House of Representatives
  • Vanderbilt University
  • Walmart US eCommerce