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CORVALLIS, Ore. – Overall fall term 2017 enrollment at Oregon State University grew 1.9 percent from last year, while enrollment at OSU’s main campus in Corvallis continued to be stable.

Oregon State’s overall fall enrollment is 31,904 – up 601 students from 2016 – making OSU the largest university in the state of Oregon for the fourth consecutive year.

Oregon State’s fall enrollment includes:

• 24,760 students at the university’s main campus in Corvallis, an increase from fall 2016 of 89 students or 0.4 percent;
• 6,087 students in Ecampus, OSU’s nationally ranked online degree program, an increase of 405 students or 7.1 percent over last year; and
• 1,204 students at OSU-Cascades in Bend, an increase of 82 students or 7.3 percent more than a year ago.

“We have served as Oregon’s statewide university for 149 years and this legacy of service to our state remains our priority,” said OSU President Ed Ray. “This year, 73 percent of our degree-seeking undergraduates on our Corvallis campus are Oregon residents.

“As part of our mission, OSU provides Oregonians access to an excellent education. That will continue with this incoming class of high-achieving students.”

Oregon State continues to attract top students. This fall, 371 students entered the university’s Honors College, compared with 358 in 2016. The average unweighted GPA of the new students entering the Honors College is 3.92.

 As well, of OSU’s new students:

• Eleven are National Merit award winners, up from five last year.
• 142 of Oregon State’s new undergraduates were ranked number one in their high school graduating class.
• 35 are Presidential Scholars.

This fall, OSU has enrolled 7,660 students of color – Asian, African-American, Hispanic, Native American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander or students who identify as being of two or more races. This is an increase of 456 students or 6.3 percent over a year ago. In total, 24.8 percent of the Oregon State Corvallis and Ecampus enrollment identify themselves as a student of color, compared with 2,975 students and 15.1 percent of the OSU student body a decade ago.

Twenty-three percent – or 5,939 OSU undergraduates in Corvallis and studying within Ecampus – are first-generation students, an increase of nearly 1.4 percent over a year ago. At OSU-Cascades, first-generation students make up 32 percent of the enrollment.

“Oregon State is achieving excellence through inclusivity,” Ray said. “Twenty-nine percent of this year’s entering Honors College students come from diverse backgrounds. I also am pleased with the continued growth of our diversity and first-generation students in Oregon State’s overall enrollment. And that 3.4 percent of Oregon State’s overall enrollment – 1,048 students – are veterans of U.S. military service.”

“These students are near-and-dear to my heart,” said Ray, who was the first in his family to graduate from college. “OSU is expanding its efforts to increase its enrollment of people of diversity, students from low-income families and first-generation students. And through our student success initiative, OSU is providing access to an excellent higher education for all Oregonians and assisting all students on through graduation.”

OSU also continues to expand its global reach as an internationally recognized public research university. This fall, international student enrollment increased by 27 students to 3,556 students or 11.5 percent of Oregon State’s overall enrollment. International students from 110 countries attend Oregon State this fall. A decade ago, OSU enrolled 928 international students – or 4.7 percent of its overall enrollment.

Oregon State’s commitment to graduate studies and engagement in research is evident with this year’s total of 5,058 graduate students in Corvallis campus enrollment, compared with 5,027 graduate students in 2016. Graduate and professional students in OSU’s colleges of pharmacy and veterinary medicine also increased by 31 students this fall.  

Steve Clark, OSU’s vice president for University Relations and Marketing, said Oregon State intentionally manages its enrollment to achieve the university’s land grant mission; operate in a financially sustainable manner; and be a good neighbor in Corvallis, Bend and Newport.

“We continue to observe our commitment to slow the growth of our Corvallis campus and not grow above 28,000 students by 2025,” Clark said. “We continue to manage enrollment intentionally. The past four years, enrollment growth has been below 1 percent. That trend would indicate OSU’s Corvallis campus may not reach 28,000 students until sometime in the early 2030s.

“In Bend, we are working with the city and community members to plan the expansion of our new OSU-Cascades campus,” Clark said. “All the while, we will serve higher education needs where students live and work by enrolling more distance online students through Ecampus.”

At OSU-Cascades, 92.4 percent of the enrollment is composed of Oregonians, including 198 students who are of color – 16.4 percent of total enrollment – and 306 who are first-generation students. OSU-Cascades’ enrollment includes 955 undergraduate and 249 graduate students. New freshmen enrollment at the new campus is 81, a 37.3 percent increase from 2016.

More students are studying engineering than any other discipline. The College of Engineering has a total of 8,932 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled this fall. The next largest programs are the College of Liberal Arts, 4,182 students; the College of Business, 3,731; the College of Science, 3,533; the College of Public Health and Human Sciences, 2,841; and the College of Agricultural Sciences, 2,539.

Enrollment in other colleges and programs includes: College of Forestry, 1,118, University Exploratory Studies, 945; Graduate School, 763; College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, 803; College of Pharmacy, 390; College of Education, 295; and College of Veterinary Medicine, 243. 

Oregon State’s Honors College enrolls 4.7 percent of all undergraduates with a total of 1,187 students – a 12.3 percent increase over 2016.

The most popular undergraduate majors at OSU are computer science, followed by business administration, mechanical engineering, biology and kinesiology.