Public · Cleveland, OH
Cleveland State University
Get to know the college, from admissions and cost to life on campus.
Overview
Cleveland State University is a public research university built into downtown Cleveland, close enough to the Cleveland Clinic, NASA Glenn, and Parker Hannifin that internships turn into part of the coursework. It started in 1964 as a commuter college carved out of Fenn College, and that shows: most students live off campus, and the ones in the dorms build their own sense of community rather than find one waiting for them.
About Cleveland State University
- Type
- Public Research University
- Setting
- Urban
- Undergraduates
- 8,969
Admissions
- Early Decision/Early Action
- No
- Accepts Common App
- —
Cost
Tuition and aid
- Full cost of attendance
- $27,436per year
- In-state tuition
- $12,988
- Out-of-state tuition
- $18,510
- Average family income
- $49,675
- Students with a school grant
- 76%
- Average school grant
- $6,016
- Average federal debt
- $22,000at graduation
- Need-blind
- —
- Meets full need
- —
- Merit scholarships
- Yes
- CSS Profile
- —
- International aid
- —
Academics
- Majors offered
- 71
- Freshmen who return
- 70%
- Notable
- $32Min annual research expenditures, top 20% of NSF-ranked institutions
Students
Campus life
- Setting
- Urban
- Location
- Cleveland, OH
- Live on campus
- —
- Student organizations
- —
- Varsity sports
- —
CSU started in 1964 as a commuter college carved out of downtown Cleveland's Fenn College, and that identity has never fully left: most students live off campus, so the ones in the dorms have to build community rather than find it waiting for them. Aggregate student reviews describe the trade fairly, praising the internships and city access that come with a downtown campus while flagging thinner weekend social life and aging facilities. Dorm life carries its own real risks, too: when a heating outage hit The Langston in November 2025, one resident told CSU's student paper, The Cauldron, it was "beyond cold in our apartment, snowing outside overnight before the school even made a comment."
Summarized by Spike from what students write: The Cauldron, Student Reviews.
Outcomes
- Earnings 6 years in
- $48,382
- Graduate within 6 years
- 50%
- Average federal debt
- $22,000
- Graduates go into
- Cleveland Clinic, NASA Glenn Research Center, Parker Hannifin
Reviews
Been to Cleveland State University, or visited? Yours would be the first.
Spike Rankings 2027
Where Cleveland State University ranks.
Ranked on federal data about graduation, earnings and cost. How Spike ranks colleges
Common questions
Questions about Cleveland State University
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