Per ACEJMC accreditation, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Iowa "gathers, maintains and analyzes enrollment, retention and graduation data and posts them annually in a prominent, easy-to-find place on its website" (Standard 1: Mission, Governance and Administration).

First Year Undergraduate Retention Rates for students entering Iowa with Journalism and Mass Communication declared as primary program
 

Retained JMC

Retained at Iowa

Not Retained

Cohort

1st Year Retention Rate

Cohort Year

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

Fall 2015

61

67.8%

19

21.1%

10

11.1%

90

88.9%

Fall 2016

59

59.0%

26

26.0%

15

15.0%

100

85.0%

Fall 2017

49

62.0%

20

25.3%

10

12.7%

79

87.3%

Fall 2018

37

53.6%

24

34.8%

8

11.6%

69

88.4%

Fall 2019

46

59.0%

26

33.3%

6

7.7%

78

92.3%

Fall 2020

44

68.8%

14

21.9%

6

9.4%

64

90.6%

Fall 2021

37

69.8%

11

20.8%

5

9.4%

53

90.6%

Fall 2022

43

65.2%

19

28.8%

4

6.1%

66

93.9%

Fall 2023

40

64.5%

14

22.6%

8

12.9%

62

87.1%

Fall 2024

48

71.6%

12

17.9%

7

10.4%

67

89.6%

TOTAL

464

63.7%

185

25.4%

79

10.9%

728

89.1%

Four year Graduation Rates for Students Entering Iowa with Journalism and Mass Communication declared as primary program
 

Graduated with JMC degree in 4 years

Graduated from Iowa with another degree within 4 years

Did not graduate with a degree within 4 years

Cohort

4-year Grad Rate

Cohort Year

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

Fall 2015

41

45.6%

22

24.4%

27

30.0%

90

70.0%

Fall 2016

35

35.0%

25

25.0%

40

40.0%

100

60.0%

Fall 2017

31

39.2%

17

21.5%

31

39.2%

79

60.8%

Fall 2018

32

46.4%

21

30.4%

16

23.2%

69

76.8%

Fall 2019

33

42.3%

19

24.4%

26

33.3%

78

66.7%

Fall 2020

37

57.8%

10

15.6%

17

26.6%

64

73.4%

Fall 2021

25

47.2%

10

18.9%

18

34.0%

53

66.0%

TOTAL

234

43.9%

124

23.3%

175

32.8%

533

67.2%

Six Year Graduation Rates for Students Entering Iowa with Journalism and Mass Communication declared as primary program
 

Graduated with JMC degree within 6 years

Graduated from Iowa with another degree within 6 years

Did not graduate with a degree within 6 years

Cohort

6-year Grad Rate

Cohort Year

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

Fall 2015

48

53.3%

26

28.9%

16

17.8%

90

88.2%

Fall 2016

39

39.0%

31

31.0%

30

30.0%

100

70.0%

Fall 2017

35

44.3%

24

30.4%

20

25.3%

79

74.7%

Fall 2018

35

50.7%

23

33.3%

11

15.9%

69

84.1%

Fall 2019

35

44.9%

27

34.6%

16

20.5%

78

79.5%

TOTAL

192

46.2%

131

31.5%

93

22.4%

416

77.6%

This report uses standard Iowa BOR (Board of Regents) definitions for calculating 1st-year retention and graduation rates. Specifically: The entering cohort is limited to Fall, undergraduate, new first-time first-year students who have 12+ enrolled hours or are listed as full-time, who are considered eligible for BOR reporting. 

This report includes only students who have declared Journalism and Mass Communication as their primary plan of study.

Updated 09/15/2025