College of Engineering sets enrollment record for Fall 2024

Students sitting on the grass at convocation 2024

College sees 19th consecutive year of enrollment growth

Total enrollment for the College of Engineering has gone up for the 19th consecutive year for the Fall 2024 semester. The college has 6,398 students enrolled this year, an all-time high.

The college’s undergraduate enrollment topped 5,000 students for the first time this year, coming in at 5,050 students. Our incoming class includes 921 new students this year. Our undergraduates account for 22.45% of UIC’s total undergraduates this semester.

Other highlights from this semester’s enrollment include:

  • Total PhD enrollment surpassed 600 to a record high of 614 students.  Our PhD students represent 24.9% of UIC’s total PhD students.
  • Total master’s enrollment reached 684 students, up 6.5% from last year.
  • The first-year student COE retention rate for the fall 2023 cohort was 83.8%.

UIC’s total student enrollment this fall is 33,906, the second-largest figure in the university’s history and a 1.1% increase over 2023. UIC welcomed the 2024 first-year student cohort of 4,419 people, its second-largest incoming class ever.

According to the university’s recently released 10-day census, enrollment increased among undergraduates, new transfer students, Black or African American students, and online students.

UIC’s undergraduate enrollment rose from 22,107 (2023) to 22,495 (2024), an increase of 1.8%. The number of new transfer students increased by 4.4% to 2,130, which marks the eighth consecutive year more than 2,000 new transfer students entered UIC.

The number of Black or African American students grew 8.9% among new transfer students, 4.9% among undergraduates, 8.5% among graduates, and 5.4% across the entire campus.

UIC’s ongoing efforts to cultivate and support students’ success and sense of belonging are reflected in the continuing undergraduate headcount, which increased by 3.2% or 471 students, from 14,902 (2023) to 15,373 (2024).