Baylor University Announces Fall Enrollment, Including Overall Enrollment Milestone, Rising Diversity, Graduation Rates

Media Contact: Lori Fogleman, Baylor University Media and Public Relations, 254-709-5959
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WACO, Texas (Sept. 13, 2021) – Baylor University announced its official fall enrollment today, including an overall enrollment that topped 20,000 for the first time amid rising diversity and graduation rates.

According to official 12th class day statistics from Baylor’s Office of Institutional Research and Testing, Baylor enrolled 20,626 students this fall. The University’s overall student body also is the most diverse ever, with minority enrollment increasing to 38.4% and out-of-state enrollment up to 41.2%.

Baylor’s graduation rates also continue on an upward trajectory. Preliminary data shows Baylor’s four-year graduation rate among the fall 2017 cohort rose nearly two points to 69.6%, while the six-year graduation rate for the fall 2015 cohort improved more than two points to 81.6%.

The fall 2021 freshman class of 4,271 students maintained its highest academic quality and also is the University’s most diverse freshman classes with minority enrollment at 37.6% and out-of-state freshman enrollment rising to nearly 45%.

Undergraduate enrollment was reported at 15,191 students, although Baylor’s strategic enrollment plans are focused on keeping this number steady. The retention rate among all Baylor undergraduates from fall 2020 to fall 2021 came in at 88.3%.

Enrollment in Baylor's expanding graduate and professional programs, including online programs, increased 11% to 5,435 students.

“The tremendous interest in a Baylor University education continues to grow nationally, especially as students and their families seek a mid-size university like Baylor that has the unique combination of a distinctively Christian mission, strong academics and Power 5 athletics,” said President Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D. “Our incoming class is the most academically qualified class and one of the most diverse we have ever had, and we continue to attract graduate and professional students at record levels. This is a testament to Baylor’s national reputation for an outstanding undergraduate education and our research aspirations as the preeminent Christian research university with a significant voice that matters in higher education and in our world today.”

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 90 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.