LA JOLLA, Calif. – The NCAA has released its latest report on graduation rates for student-athletes, and once again, the UC San Diego athletics program stands out as the top-performing public institution in the nation.
 
For the past decade, according to data provided by the NCAA, UC San Diego scholarship student-athletes have graduated at the highest rate among all public universities across the NCAA's three divisions.
 
The latest report reveals that UC San Diego's four-year graduation rate, based on the cohort entering in 2017-18, reached an impressive 93 percent. This marks a three percent increase over the previous year and is the highest average since the UC San Diego began awarding athletic scholarships in 1999-00.
 
The 2017-18 cohort, in particular, graduated at a rate of 95 percent, ranking as the third-highest in the university's history since tracking began over a decade ago. Notably, three of the last four graduating classes of Triton scholar-athletes have posted graduation rates of 95 percent or higher.
 
"We are incredibly proud of our scholar-athletes' continued academic success," said Earl W. Edwards, UC San Diego's Director of Athletics. "This achievement is a testament to the dedication of our athletes, coaches, and staff, and underscores our ongoing commitment to excellence—both in the classroom and in competition, as well as in all aspects of their college experience."
 
In the latest report, UC San Diego is recognized as the top public institution in the nation for Federal Graduation Rate across all NCAA divisions and has the second-highest rate among all Division I institutions – trailing by one percentage point behind leaders Stanford and Northwestern.
 
The Tritons began their transition to full Division I status in July 2020 and are currently in their first season of postseason eligibility following a four-year reclassification period.  UC San Diego graduation rate information is listed in the searchable Division II NCAA database since the 2017-18 cohort began while the Tritons competed at that level.
 
The student-athlete Federal Graduation Rate is the proportion of first-year, full-time scholarship athletes who entered an institution on athletics aid and graduated from that institution within six years. The federal rate does not account for students who transfer from their original institution and graduate elsewhere; they are considered non-graduates at both the college they left and the one from which they eventually graduate.

In addition to the Federal Graduation Rate reporting, NCAA Division I calculates a separate graduation metric - Graduation Success Rate (GSR). Like the Federal Graduate Rate, the GSR measures the percentage of scholar-athletes who graduate from an institution within six years of initial collegiate enrollment.  However, unlike the Federal Rate, the GSR excludes those scholar-athletes who leave the institution with NCAA eligibility remaining and who would have been academically eligible had they remained at UC San Diego.  The GSR also includes scholar-athletes who transferred to UC San Diego and received athletics aid during their first year of enrollment.  

Although UC San Diego previously competed at the Division II level, where a slightly different graduation metric was used, its current four-class average Graduation Success Rate (GSR) is 95 percent. This marks the highest GSR since 2010-11 and is the highest among the 11 programs in The Big West.

Division I student-athletes continue to graduate at high rates, according to the latest Graduation Success Rate announced today. The overall single-year GSR held steady at 91%, which continues to be the highest rate recorded. 
 
"The increases and record highs in graduation success rates over the last two decades demonstrate the unique talents, abilities and tenacity of college athletes to achieve academic excellence, while performing at the highly competitive level of Division I athletics," said Robert Davies, president emeritus of Central Michigan and chair of the Division I Committee on Academics. "The Committee on Academics applauds student-athletes for their remarkable achievements and celebrates college educators and campus leaders for their commitment to advancing student-athlete academic success."
 
According to the NCAA, since the implementation of Division I academic reforms initiated over two decades ago — including modifications of initial-eligibility requirements and progress-toward-degree standards, as well as application of the Academic Performance Program — long-term graduation rate increases have been observed overall and across sport and demographic subgroups. 
 
Since 2002, overall student-athlete GSR has increased from 74% to 91%, with notable increases in diverse student-athlete populations.  While student-athlete graduation success rates remain at their highest level, deeper analysis and data forecasting indicate that the additional flexibility in rules governing competition after transfer could impact graduation rates in the future. 
 
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide approximately 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 93 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.