The University of Iowa reported a slight increase in total enrollment on Thursday morning after four years of declining enrollment.

The increase of 111 students since the fall of 2021 brought the total enrollment to 31,317 students, comprised of: 

• 21,973 undergraduate students
• 6,156 graduate students
• 1,886 professional students 
• 1,302 postgraduate scholars

About 45 percent of the UI’s students identify as male while about 55 identify as female.

According to the report, the incoming first-year class is the third-largest in school history with 5,178 students. The class also has the highest high school grade-point average in school history at 3.82. 

Chart by Ryan Hansen/The Daily Iowan

In the report, UI President Barbara Wilson states the class of 2026 will bring new viewpoints and experiences to the university.

“We are so excited to welcome these newest Hawkeyes, a large and accomplished class full of energy and new perspectives,” Wilson said in the release. “We’ll make sure they have the extraordinary opportunities they deserve as we continue to make progress on our university priorities: student, faculty, and staff success; transformational research and discovery; diversity, equity, and inclusion; holistic well-being for our campus stakeholders; and public engagement and impact. I can’t wait to make this year another great one for the University of Iowa.”

About 21 percent, 1,063 students, of the class of 2026 are first-generation students. 20 percent, 1,061 students, identify as African American, American Indian, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, Asian, Latinx/a/o, or two or more ethnicities, according to the report.

Sarah Hansen, vice president for student life, stated in the release that the “Hawkeye spirit is as vibrant as ever in the newest student cohort.”

“I can already tell that the Class of 2026 is going to be an exceptionally engaged class and that they will quickly make their mark on campus,” she said in the release. “They participated in On Iowa! programming in record numbers and are demonstrating their commitment to being a part of the Hawkeye community already. We are so happy they chose us—the UI sense of community is second to none, and we are all here to help them succeed within and beyond the classroom.”

About 54 percent, 2,777 students, of the class are Iowa residents while about 1 percent, 55 students, are international students. The class represents 92 of Iowa’s 99 counties, 45 U.S. states and territories including Washington, D.C., and bases for the U.S. Armed Forces, and 40 countries.

Brent Gage, associate vice president for enrollment management, stated the use of campus visits helped in getting more students to join the UI’s fall class.

“We know when prospective students see our campus in person, meet our faculty and staff, and experience our downtown, Iowa jumps to the top of their list of schools,” he said in the release. “This incoming class is a testament to our university’s collective effort to safely host campus visit programs despite the pandemic.”

A previous version of this story indicated a sixth straight year of declining total enrollment because of a mathematical error that excluded post-graduate scholars from our calculated totals. The DI regrets this error.