On average, public doctoral institutions had at least twice the enrollment of any other type of institution. The largest enrollment among all types of colleges was that of the for-profit University of Phoenix-Arizona, but for-profit institutions had the smallest average enrollment among all categories shown, at just over 1,100 students.
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Public doctoral institutions
1. | Texas A&M U. at College Station | 63,813 |
2. | U. of Central Florida | 62,953 |
3. | Ohio State U. | 58,663 |
4. | Arizona State U. | 51,984 |
5. | U. of Texas at Austin | 50,950 |
6. | U. of Minnesota-Twin Cities | 50,678 |
7. | U. of Florida | 50,645 |
8. | Michigan State U. | 50,538 |
9. | Florida International U. | 49,782 |
10. | Rutgers U. at New Brunswick | 49,428 |
| Average for 192 institutions | 24,432 |
Private nonprofit doctoral institutions
1. | Liberty U. | 80,494 |
2. | New York U. | 50,027 |
3. | U. of Southern California | 43,401 |
4. | Brigham Young U. | 33,469 |
5. | Boston U. | 32,158 |
6. | Harvard U. | 29,652 |
7. | Columbia U. | 28,086 |
8. | George Washington U. | 26,212 |
9. | Drexel U. | 25,595 |
10. | U. of Pennsylvania | 24,876 |
| Average for 118 institutions | 11,719 |
Public master’s institutions
1. | U. of Maryland University College | 50,248 |
2. | California State U. at Northridge | 41,548 |
3. | California State U. at Long Beach | 37,446 |
4. | Utah Valley U. | 33,211 |
5. | San Jose State U. | 32,773 |
6. | California State U. at Sacramento | 30,284 |
7. | California State U. at Los Angeles | 27,680 |
8. | Weber State U. | 25,955 |
9. | Grand Valley State U. | 25,325 |
10. | California State Polytechnic U. at Pomona | 23,717 |
| Average for 268 institutions | 9,137 |
Private nonprofit master’s institutions
1. | Western Governors U. | 70,504 |
2. | Southern New Hampshire U. | 61,285 |
3. | Excelsior College | 43,123 |
4. | National U. | 17,488 |
5. | Keiser U. at Ft. Lauderdale | 16,579 |
6. | Saint Leo U. | 15,800 |
7. | Webster U. | 15,256 |
8. | Columbia College (Mo.) | 14,759 |
9. | Indiana Wesleyan U. | 14,730 |
10. | Touro College (N.Y.) | 13,033 |
| Average for 404 institutions | 3,830 |
Private nonprofit baccalaureate institutions
1. | Brigham Young U.-Idaho | 43,803 |
2. | High Point U. | 4,573 |
3. | Ohio Christian U. | 4,290 |
4. | U. of Richmond | 4,181 |
5. | Calvin College | 3,990 |
6. | Bethune-Cookman U. | 3,831 |
7. | Cedarville U. | 3,654 |
8. | Bucknell U. | 3,625 |
9. | Lewis & Clark College | 3,526 |
10. | Trine U. | 3,395 |
| Average for 407 institutions | 1,499 |
Public associate and baccalaureate/associate institutions
1. | Ivy Tech Community College-Central Indiana | 81,668 |
2. | Lone Star College system | 70,724 |
3. | Miami Dade College | 62,332 |
4. | Houston Community College | 56,522 |
5. | Northern Virginia Community College | 52,078 |
6. | Tarrant County College District | 51,688 |
7. | Valencia College | 44,050 |
8. | Broward College | 43,078 |
9. | Austin Community College | 41,574 |
10. | East Los Angeles College | 37,188 |
| Average for 987 institutions | 7,085 |
2-year and 4-year for-profit institutions
1. | U. of Phoenix-Arizona | 165,743 |
2. | Grand Canyon U. | 69,444 |
3. | Walden U. | 52,799 |
4. | American Public U. system | 52,361 |
5. | Kaplan U. at Davenport (Iowa) | 45,355 |
6. | Ashford U. | 42,452 |
7. | Capella U. | 34,365 |
8. | Chamberlain College of Nursing at Addison (Ill.) | 23,250 |
9. | Colorado Technical U. Online | 22,757 |
10. | DeVry U. of Illinois | 22,273 |
| Average for 1,211 institutions | 1,105 |
* Includes full-time, part-time, graduate, and undergraduate students
Note: The categories shown are based on the 2015 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Institutions may fall into different categories than they did in a similar table in the previous year’s Almanac, which used 2010 Carnegie Classifications. The list includes only degree-granting institutions in the United States that are eligible to receive Title IV federal student aid. The category of public associate and baccalaureate/associate institutions includes those that grant primarily associate degrees but also offer bachelor’s degrees, as well as special-focus two-year institutions. The category of private nonprofit baccalaureate institutions excludes baccalaureate/associate institutions. Public baccalaureate institutions, and private nonprofit associate and baccalaureate/associate institutions are not represented in the table. Colleges vary in reporting enrollments of all units together or separately.
Source: Chronicle analysis of U.S. Department of Education data