Drake University has been on the approved list of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools since 1913. Since reorganization of the Association in 2000, Drake University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Drake was granted continuing accreditation in 2018.
The school is accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Fewer than 30 percent of the nation’s approximately 420 undergraduate journalism and mass communication programs have achieved this status.
Information about ACEJMC accreditation can be found at the ACEJMC website.
ACEJMC invites all students and other persons to report incidents in which they can present evidence that a unit has violated accreditation standards. Such reports should be addressed to: ACEJMC, 201 Bishop Hall, P.O. Box 1848, University, MS 38677-1848.
Accountability
ACEJMC requires its accredited programs to report to the public retention and graduation rates, as well as other relevant information about student achievement. This information must be updated by August 15 each year. Below is the most recent student achievement information available for the Drake SJMC.
Retention rates of entering first-year students
Retention rates of entering first-year students
Entering Class
Drake Overall
SJMC
2024–2025
83%
81.8%
Six-year undergraduate completion rates
Six-year undergraduate completion rates
Entering Class
Drake Overall
SJMC
2019
75.10%
78.72%
Six-year graduate* completion rates
Six-year graduate* completion rates
Entering Class
SJMC
2022-2023
100%
*While many of our working professionals in the Master of Arts in Communication program finish within two years, some choose to finish in six years for personal or professional reasons.
Fall semester 2025 SJMC enrollment
Fall semester 2025 SJMC enrollment
Level
Status
Students with SJMC Primary Degree
All SJMC Majors and Minors*
Undergraduate
Full-Time
195
254
Part-Time
6
7
Total
201
261
Graduate
Full-Time
9
N/A
Part-Time
35
N/A
Total
44
N/A
*Most SJMC undergraduate students pursue a second or even third major or degree in another academic unit, such as the College of Arts and Sciences or the Zimpleman College of Business. This table shows the number of students whose first major is in SJMC, and also students whose second or third major is in SJMC or who have an SJMC minor (that is, all the students that SJMC serves).