The University System of Georgia is enrolling and graduating more students than ever.
It conferred more than 82,000 degrees in fiscal year 2025, which ended in June. That’s a 7.9% increase over the previous year, making it the largest year-over-year jump in the last decade and an all-time high number of graduates for the system’s 26 public universities.
“Our focus on student success delivers real value — not just for the state, but for every student whose degree opens doors to opportunity and long-term prosperity,” USG Chancellor Sonny Perdue said in a Tuesday news release.
Official enrollment data will not be available until next month. But based on preliminary data released at Tuesday’s Board of Regents meeting, the USG is on pace to record another all-time high. The unofficial figure estimates more than 380,000 students enrolled, a 4.6% increase since last year when the USG reported a record-high of 364,725 students.
While Angela Bell, the University System of Georgia’s Vice Chancellor for Research & Policy Analysis, did not break the numbers down by individual school during Tuesday’s meeting, she said all USG institutions are experiencing increases.
The largest increase, officials said, a 7.2% jump, was among its “comprehensive universities,” a category comprised of Georgia Southern University, Kennesaw State University, Valdosta State University and the University of West Georgia. Its research universities — Augusta University, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Georgia — remain the highest enrolled sector.
Georgia Tech, which last year enrolled a record 53,350 students to surpass Georgia State and become the highest enrolled university in Georgia, released its enrollment data Tuesday.
It hit an all-time high yet again, with more than 56,700 students enrolled. Nearly 4,100 of them are freshmen, also a record for the Midtown school. School leaders have focused on growing enrollment in part through online graduate programs.
When the USG’s enrollment numbers are finalized, Bell expects the system to record an all-time high in fall freshman enrollment. (The Georgia system had about 80,000 freshman students last year.) That achievement comes despite higher education experts anticipating a “demographic cliff,” where declining birth rates could mean fewer young people attending college.
The largest increase in degrees conferred was among graduate students.
Since last year, the number of graduate and professional degrees awarded rose by 15.2%. Undergraduate degrees rose by 4.3% over that same period, with the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded hitting an all-time high. The number of master’s degrees awarded has risen 40% since 2021.
That same year, the number of undergraduate certificates awarded stood at roughly 1,700. Since then, it has increased to nearly 2,500, “reflecting rising interest in shorter-term credentials, both as stand-alone awards or as add-ons to degrees,” Bell said.
The USG has attempted to increase degrees conferred in its “key employment sectors,” hoping to address talent needs in certain high-demand industries.
It’s made the most headway with the education sector; it conferred 2,400 more degrees in that field than it did last year, and has increased 49% since 2021. It’s made more modest progress in the other sectors over the past five years, including health care, data science, finance technology and entertainment.
“USG is producing a record number of graduates ready to fill high-demand, high-skill jobs that power Georgia’s economy,” Perdue said.
Growth areas
These are some of the areas where the University System of Georgia has attempted to confer more degrees over the past five years.
| Key Employment Sector | FY 2021 degrees conferred | FY 2025 degrees conferred |
|---|---|---|
| Education | 7,064 | 10,518 |
| Health | 7,820 | 7,999 |
| Entertainment | 1,692 | 1,980 |
| Data Science | 131 | 594 |
| Financial Technology | 7 | 98 |
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