The student population at Lesley University is 2,557 (1,229 undergraduate and 1,328 graduate students) . The number of students has decreased by 2,510 (49.54%) over the past decade.
The average student population over the last 11 years is 4,132 where 2,557 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.
Total enrollment fluctuated between 2016 and 2025, with 1 year-over-year increase and 8 decreases. It peaked at 5,067 students in 2016 and was lowest at 2,557 in 2025. Overall, enrollment dropped from 5,067 to 2,557 students, a net loss of 2,510 (49.5%).
The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Lesley University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Undergraduate | Graduate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 5,067 | 1,982 | 470 | 1,512 | 3,085 | 444 | 2,641 |
| 2016-17 | 4,865 -202 | 1,968 -14 | 454 -16 | 1,514 2 | 2,897 -188 | 392 -52 | 2,505 -136 |
| 2017-18 | 4,732 -133 | 2,096 128 | 476 22 | 1,620 106 | 2,636 -261 | 359 -33 | 2,277 -228 |
| 2018-19 | 4,838 106 | 2,208 112 | 465 -11 | 1,743 123 | 2,630 -6 | 373 14 | 2,257 -20 |
| 2019-20 | 4,510 -328 | 2,128 -80 | 489 24 | 1,639 -104 | 2,382 -248 | 335 -38 | 2,047 -210 |
| 2020-21 | 4,200 -310 | 1,861 -267 | 407 -82 | 1,454 -185 | 2,339 -43 | 306 -29 | 2,033 -14 |
| 2021-22 | 4,010 -190 | 1,757 -104 | 411 4 | 1,346 -108 | 2,253 -86 | 307 1 | 1,946 -87 |
| 2022-23 | 3,406 -604 | 1,554 -203 | 404 -7 | 1,150 -196 | 1,852 -401 | 265 -42 | 1,587 -359 |
| 2023-24 | 3,134 -272 | 1,342 -212 | 379 -25 | 963 -187 | 1,792 -60 | 268 3 | 1,524 -63 |
| 2024-25 | 2,557 -577 | 1,229 -113 | 370 -9 | 859 -104 | 1,328 -464 | 225 -43 | 1,103 -421 |
| Average | 4,132 | 1,813 | 433 | 1,380 | 2,319 | 327 | 1,992 |
The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 1,813 where 1,229 students are attending the Undergraduate school for the academic year 2024-2025. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Undergraduate enrollment by attending status and gender at Lesley University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 1,982 | 1,476 | 352 | 1,124 | 506 | 118 | 388 |
| 2016-17 | 1,968 | 1,541 | 360 | 1,181 | 427 | 94 | 333 |
| 2017-18 | 2,096 | 1,645 | 356 | 1,289 | 451 | 120 | 331 |
| 2018-19 | 2,208 | 1,700 | 350 | 1,350 | 508 | 115 | 393 |
| 2019-20 | 2,128 | 1,599 | 366 | 1,233 | 529 | 123 | 406 |
| 2020-21 | 1,861 | 1,394 | 304 | 1,090 | 467 | 103 | 364 |
| 2021-22 | 1,757 | 1,322 | 317 | 1,005 | 435 | 94 | 341 |
| 2022-23 | 1,554 | 956 | 244 | 712 | 598 | 160 | 438 |
| 2023-24 | 1,342 | 893 | 258 | 635 | 449 | 121 | 328 |
| 2024-25 | 1,229 | 791 | 252 | 539 | 438 | 118 | 320 |
| Average | 1,813 | 1,813 | 316 | 1,016 | 1,813 | 117 | 364 |
The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 2,319 where 1,328 students are attending the Graduate school for the academic year 2024-2025. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Graduate enrollment by attending status and gender at Lesley University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 3,085 | 850 | 100 | 750 | 2,235 | 344 | 1,891 |
| 2016-17 | 2,897 | 742 | 90 | 652 | 2,155 | 302 | 1,853 |
| 2017-18 | 2,636 | 701 | 59 | 642 | 1,935 | 300 | 1,635 |
| 2018-19 | 2,630 | 669 | 91 | 578 | 1,961 | 282 | 1,679 |
| 2019-20 | 2,382 | 631 | 90 | 541 | 1,751 | 245 | 1,506 |
| 2020-21 | 2,339 | 675 | 87 | 588 | 1,664 | 219 | 1,445 |
| 2021-22 | 2,253 | 617 | 87 | 530 | 1,636 | 220 | 1,416 |
| 2022-23 | 1,852 | 551 | 94 | 457 | 1,301 | 171 | 1,130 |
| 2023-24 | 1,792 | 287 | 49 | 238 | 1,505 | 219 | 1,286 |
| 2024-25 | 1,328 | 313 | 60 | 253 | 1,015 | 165 | 850 |
| Average | 2,319 | 2,319 | 81 | 523 | 2,319 | 247 | 1,469 |
The percentage of white students is 54.75%. The percentage was 64.69% 10 years ago and Lesley still has a high percentage of white students. 5.48% of enrolled students is Asian and 7.63% is black students. Hispanic students comprise 13.02% of the student body.
Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 64.69% to 54.75%. Asian enrollment grew from 3.26% to 5.48%. Black student enrollment increased from 6.26% to 7.63%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 6.37% to 13.02%.
The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.6736 which indicates that moderately diverse. This increased from 0.5718 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.
The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Lesley University over the past 11 years (2015-2025).
| Year | American Indian or Native American | Asian | Black | Hispanic | Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | White | Two or More Races |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 17 | 165 | 317 | 323 | 6 | 3,278 | 130 |
| 2016-17 | 11 | 131 | 291 | 361 | 7 | 3,120 | 147 |
| 2017-18 | 12 | 148 | 291 | 402 | 6 | 2,968 | 144 |
| 2018-19 | 9 | 166 | 281 | 456 | 6 | 2,899 | 135 |
| 2019-20 | 12 | 167 | 297 | 462 | 9 | 2,542 | 115 |
| 2020-21 | 10 | 176 | 314 | 486 | 5 | 2,589 | 121 |
| 2021-22 | 14 | 160 | 249 | 454 | 1 | 2,522 | 117 |
| 2022-23 | 15 | 166 | 274 | 410 | 2 | 2,011 | 103 |
| 2023-24 | 12 | 161 | 201 | 376 | 1 | 1,893 | 84 |
| 2024-25 | 9 | 140 | 195 | 333 | 1 | 1,400 | 76 |
| Average | 12 | 158 | 271 | 406 | 4 | 2,522 | 117 |
496 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 19% of total students. The number of online students has increased 21.27% since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Lesley University from 2015 to 2025.
| Year | Total Enrollment | Online Completely | Enrolled in Some Online Courses | Not Enrolled in Online Courses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 5,067 | 409 | 434 | 4,224 |
| 2016-17 | 4,865 | 490 | 468 | 3,907 |
| 2017-18 | 4,732 | 530 | 442 | 3,760 |
| 2018-19 | 4,838 | 510 | 461 | 3,867 |
| 2019-20 | 4,510 | 470 | 452 | 3,588 |
| 2020-21 | 4,200 | 4,200 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021-22 | 4,010 | 779 | 305 | 2,926 |
| 2022-23 | 3,406 | 575 | 260 | 2,571 |
| 2023-24 | 3,134 | 615 | 712 | 1,807 |
| 2024-25 | 2,557 | 496 | 626 | 1,435 |
| Average | 4,132 | 907 | 416 | 2,809 |
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