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List of the largest United States colleges and universities by enrollment

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The ten largest colleges and universities by enrollment in the United States.
– Private
– Public

This is a list of the largest United States colleges and universities by enrollment for colleges and universities in the United States.

What this list includes:

  • Colleges and universities within the United States
  • University systems if the system is run under a single administration
  • Enrollment is the sum of the headcount of undergraduate and graduate students
  • Enrollment is counted by the Integrated Post-secondary Education System within the United States Department of Education.
  • Enrollment is the 12-month unduplicated headcount, indicating the number of unique students who attended the university during the year.

What this list does not include:

  • Any indication of how many of the enrolled students are full or part-time (e.g., some universities may have a high enrollment, but have most students enrolled in only a single class)
  • Any indication of how many students are online-only.

For other lists that measure university enrollment, see the see also section below.

Rankings

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The United States Department of Education's Integrated Post-secondary Education Data System contains information on all 6,125 officially recognized institutions of higher education in the United States. The following is a list of the ten largest institutions of higher education by Fall 2020 enrollment, meaning it is the number of unique individuals who were enrolled in at least one class on the 21st day of the Fall 2020 semester. Whether a system of individual campuses is counted as one or multiple institutions depends on how that institution is accredited and chartered. All data can be verified on the IPEDS system website.[1] Since the Covid Pandemic, college enrollment has seen a decline.[2]

2020

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U.S. Department of Education Fall 2020 Enrollment[3]
Rank Name Classification Location Enrollment
1 Western Governors University Private Online 147,866
2 Southern New Hampshire University Private, Non-profit New Hampshire 134,345
3 Grand Canyon University Private, For-profit Arizona 103,427
4 Liberty University Private Virginia 96,709
5 The Pennsylvania State University Public Pennsylvania 89,816
6 University of Phoenix-Arizona Private, For-profit Arizona 89,763
7 Arizona State University Campus Immersion Public research university Arizona 74,795
8 Dallas College Public community college Texas 74,781
9 University of Central Florida Public Florida 71,881
10 Texas A&M University-College Station Public Texas 77,491 (as of 2023)

2013

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U.S. Department of Education Fall 2013 Enrollment[4]
Rank College Classification Location Enrollment
1 State University of New York System Public New York 606,232
2 California State University Public California 477,466[5]
3 University of Phoenix Private, For-profit Arizona 442,033
4 University of California Public California 226,449[6]
5 University of North Carolina System Public North Carolina 222,322
6 Ivy Tech Community College Public Indiana 175,313
7 Ashford University Private, For-profit Iowa 169,843
8 American Public University System Private, For-profit West Virginia 110,644
9 Liberty University Private Virginia 110,000
10 Miami Dade College Public Florida 100,855
11 Lone Star College System Public Texas 98,313
12 The Pennsylvania State University Public Pennsylvania 94,441
13 Houston Community College System Public Texas 93,625
14 Arizona State University Public Arizona 81,789
15 Kaplan University Private, For-profit Iowa 77,566
16 Northern Virginia Community College Public Virginia 76,552
17 Walden University Private, For-profit Minnesota 75,895
18 Tarrant County College District Public Texas 75,547
19 Wake Technical Community College Public North Carolina 74,000[7]
20 Grand Canyon University Private[Note 1] Arizona 71,712
21 Austin Community College District Public Texas 70,452
22 University of Central Florida Public Florida 69,086
23 Ohio State University Public Ohio 64,930
24 University of Maryland Public Maryland 64,737
25 University of Minnesota Public Minnesota 63,929
26 Broward College Public Florida 62,796
27 Florida International University Public Florida 60,592
28 Valencia College Public Florida 60,469
29 University of Florida Public Florida 56,683
30 East Los Angeles College Public California 56,395
31 College of Southern Nevada Public Nevada 56,364
32 Rio Salado College Public Arizona 56,031
33 Capella University Private, For-profit Minnesota 56,009
34 Portland Community College Public Oregon 55,558
  1. ^ As of July 1, 2018, Grand Canyon University has transitioned from for-profit to nonprofit.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ IPEDS Datacenter United States Department of Education.
  2. ^ Belkin, Douglas (20 October 2022). "College Enrollment Declines Again Though Online Schools, HBCUs See Increases". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  3. ^ IPEDS Datacenter
  4. ^ IPEDS Datacenter
  5. ^ "Enrollment | CSU".
  6. ^ "University of California | 1: Undergraduate Admissions and Enrollment".
  7. ^ "About Wake Tech". 21 December 2021.
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