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Colleges With the Largest Enrollments, Fall 2015

Almanac 2017 August 13, 2017

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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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.


Return to the Almanac home page, or go to the Profession, Students, Finance, or States section. To purchase a copy of the Almanac in print or as a downloadable interactive PDF, visit the Chronicle Store.


Public doctoral institutions

RankInstitution Total number of students*
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

RankInstitution Total number of students*
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

RankInstitution Total number of students*
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

RankInstitution Total number of students*
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

RankInstitution Total number of students*
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

RankInstitution Total number of students*
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

RankInstitution Total number of students*
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

A version of this article appeared in the August 18, 2017, issue.
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We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
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