The National Student Clearinghouse announced its Fall 2023 enrollment numbers last October, and total undergraduate enrollment (bachelor’s and below) is up by 2.1 percent year-over-year. This is the first time since the start of the pandemic that undergraduate enrollment has grown, with bachelor’s enrollment increasing by 0.9 percent. A handful of programs grew in new student enrollment, from Analytics programs to Human Resources.
We updated Gray DI’s Program Enrollment Dashboard with the Fall 2023 data from the National Student Clearinghouse and used it to find fast-growing programs. This analysis focuses on new student enrollment (not total enrollment) to identify programs with the most new enrollment and fastest year-over-year growth.
Most Popular Bachelor’s Programs in the US
In Fall 2023, Business was once again the most popular bachelor’s program, with over 100,000 new students enrolled – 40,000 more than the next-largest program. Biology edged out Registered Nursing for second place; both enrolled over 50,000 new students. However, many of the programs with the highest new student enrollment did not grow year-over-year. Business and Biology fell by hundreds of students, and Psychology enrolled 3,356 fewer new students in Fall 2023 than the previous year.
Source: Gray DI’s Program Enrollment Dashboard with data from National Student Clearinghouse
*Excludes programs ending in 99, “Other,” and Liberal Arts.
Fastest-Growing Bachelor’s Programs
Only a few of the bachelor’s programs with the highest new student enrollment grew. The fastest-growing sector was Human Resources Management, which added 1,530 new students. Cyber Security added over 1,300 new enrolls and grew at the bachelor’s and master’s levels. Mechanical Engineering and Nursing programs grew by over 1,200 new students compared to Fall 2022.
Source: Gray’s Program Enrollment Dashboard with data from National Student Clearinghouse
*Excludes programs ending in 99, “Other,” and Liberal Arts.
Case Study: Bachelor’s Enrollment in Indiana
Enrollment trends can differ vastly by location. For example, the fastest-growing bachelor’s programs in Indiana overlap very little with those at the national level. From Fall 2022 to Fall 2023, Business Administration tied for fastest-growing with Elementary Education, a program that didn’t even approach the top 20 nationally. Creative sectors, such as Fine Arts, Music, and Drama, also grew at a far higher rate in Indiana. This shows that market-specific data can be crucial in understanding student demand, and the right program decisions can vary greatly from one institution to the next.
Source: Gray’s Program Enrollment Dashboard with data from National Student Clearinghouse *Excludes programs ending in 99, “Other,” and Liberal Arts.
