UTRGV’s preliminary numbers reveal 29,238 students are enrolled, and the new freshman class of about 4,600 will be the largest yet.
“Although the numbers are extremely preliminary, we’re really excited about the students that we have coming on campus,” said Maggie Hinojosa, UTRGV’s vice president for Strategic Enrollment. “We know that behind every single one of those numbers is an actual person, and we are impacting, not just the lives of our students, but of their families as well.”
The preliminary total includes all undergraduate students, students in the School of Medicine and graduate students.
Last year, the final student enrollment number after census day, the last day to drop courses, was 27,809. Preliminary numbers peaked at the beginning of the Fall 2017 semester with 28,667. This year’s preliminary enrollment numbers have increased by an estimated 600 students. All new enrollment numbers will remain preliminary until census day, Sept. 12.
Students are enrolled in 12.5 credit hours on average. Majors in the College of Health Affairs are the most popular among the freshman class. The college will change its name to the College of Health Professions on Sept. 1.
UTRGV has 25,671 undergraduate students. The School of Medicine has 155 students enrolled as first-, second-, and third-year students.
The Graduate College has also experienced an increase, with 3,412 students enrolled.
“Last year we had 3,072 students enrolled,” said Parwinder Grewal, the interim dean of the Graduate College.
Grewal said the increase was mostly in students pursuing a master’s degree.
“We are close to a 10 percent increase in our enrollment,” he said. “The university’s goal is to increase graduate enrollment and also increase graduate programs that are offered.”
The university has added a new master’s program in civil engineering and political science. Additionally, a doctoral degree in clinical psychology is now available.
Grewal said new programs will be added in the future and especially ones in health affairs.
“The Graduate College has really reorganized its structure,” he said, “and the structure is designed to provide better service to the students and to the faculty. … So, we have a new unit that we are calling GradCentral.”
Grewal said GradCentral is similar to U-Center. GradCenter will answer questions about the Graduate College from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday at (883) 887-4842. Students can also call from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday or email gradcollege@utrgv.edu.
The Graduate College will also offer Presidential Graduate Research Assistantships funded by $1 million approved by UTRGV President Guy Bailey. The award will be for full-time students who will conduct research.
“That will provide a very competitive, very nice, two-year assistantships to the new master’s students,” Grewal said. “The idea is to recruit outstanding students to UTRGV.”
Students have been applying for almost two months. About 50 students will be accepted.
The Graduate College offers 53 master’s programs and five doctoral programs. Two of the most popular graduate programs are the master’s in educational leadership and the doctorate in curriculum and instruction.
“Our goal is to, maybe, double the enrollment to around 6,000 students eventually. … We will continue to enroll students into the spring semester and then to the summer semester as well,” Grewal said.
He said another key change the Graduate College has made is implementing a rolling admissions system.
“For most programs, we do not have a deadline,” Grewal said. “So, graduate students can apply any time, and they can be admitted to the nearest possible semester.”
For more information about applying to graduate school, visit https://www.utrgv.edu/graduate/for-future-students/how-to-apply/index.htm#item1.
