The student population at Rhode Island College is 6,155 (5,154 undergraduate and 1,001 graduate students) . The number of students has decreased by 2,357 (27.69%) over the past decade.
The average student population over the last 11 years is 7,153 where 6,155 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 8,512 students in 2016 and was lowest at 5,767 in 2024. Overall, enrollment dropped from 8,512 to 6,155 students, a net loss of 2,357 (27.7%).
The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Rhode Island College since 2015.
| Year | Total | Undergraduate | Graduate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 8,512 | 7,446 | 2,405 | 5,041 | 1,066 | 235 | 831 |
| 2016-17 | 8,446 -66 | 7,398 -48 | 2,355 -50 | 5,043 2 | 1,048 -18 | 208 -27 | 840 9 |
| 2017-18 | 8,171 -275 | 7,077 -321 | 2,251 -104 | 4,826 -217 | 1,094 46 | 229 21 | 865 25 |
| 2018-19 | 7,766 -405 | 6,684 -393 | 2,080 -171 | 4,604 -222 | 1,082 -12 | 229 | 853 -12 |
| 2019-20 | 7,523 -243 | 6,432 -252 | 1,981 -99 | 4,451 -153 | 1,091 9 | 242 13 | 849 -4 |
| 2020-21 | 7,072 -451 | 5,998 -434 | 1,824 -157 | 4,174 -277 | 1,074 -17 | 211 -31 | 863 14 |
| 2021-22 | 6,331 -741 | 5,252 -746 | 1,627 -197 | 3,625 -549 | 1,079 5 | 229 18 | 850 -13 |
| 2022-23 | 5,787 -544 | 4,719 -533 | 1,461 -166 | 3,258 -367 | 1,068 -11 | 222 -7 | 846 -4 |
| 2023-24 | 5,767 -20 | 4,785 66 | 1,479 18 | 3,306 48 | 982 -86 | 187 -35 | 795 -51 |
| 2024-25 | 6,155 388 | 5,154 369 | 1,655 176 | 3,499 193 | 1,001 19 | 183 -4 | 818 23 |
| Average | 7,153 | 6,095 | 1,912 | 4,183 | 1,059 | 218 | 841 |
The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 6,095 where 5,154 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 Rhode Island College since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 7,446 | 5,581 | 1,817 | 3,764 | 1,865 | 588 | 1,277 |
| 2016-17 | 7,398 | 5,598 | 1,795 | 3,803 | 1,800 | 560 | 1,240 |
| 2017-18 | 7,077 | 5,461 | 1,724 | 3,737 | 1,616 | 527 | 1,089 |
| 2018-19 | 6,684 | 5,104 | 1,557 | 3,547 | 1,580 | 523 | 1,057 |
| 2019-20 | 6,432 | 4,942 | 1,505 | 3,437 | 1,490 | 476 | 1,014 |
| 2020-21 | 5,998 | 4,611 | 1,359 | 3,252 | 1,387 | 465 | 922 |
| 2021-22 | 5,252 | 4,058 | 1,279 | 2,779 | 1,194 | 348 | 846 |
| 2022-23 | 4,719 | 3,701 | 1,159 | 2,542 | 1,018 | 302 | 716 |
| 2023-24 | 4,785 | 4,010 | 1,252 | 2,758 | 775 | 227 | 548 |
| 2024-25 | 5,154 | 4,342 | 1,401 | 2,941 | 812 | 254 | 558 |
| Average | 6,095 | 6,095 | 1,485 | 3,256 | 6,095 | 427 | 927 |
The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 1,059 where 1,001 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 Rhode Island College since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 1,066 | 195 | 40 | 155 | 871 | 195 | 676 |
| 2016-17 | 1,048 | 178 | 44 | 134 | 870 | 164 | 706 |
| 2017-18 | 1,094 | 204 | 37 | 167 | 890 | 192 | 698 |
| 2018-19 | 1,082 | 260 | 50 | 210 | 822 | 179 | 643 |
| 2019-20 | 1,091 | 228 | 53 | 175 | 863 | 189 | 674 |
| 2020-21 | 1,074 | 206 | 39 | 167 | 868 | 172 | 696 |
| 2021-22 | 1,079 | 258 | 60 | 198 | 821 | 169 | 652 |
| 2022-23 | 1,068 | 280 | 58 | 222 | 788 | 164 | 624 |
| 2023-24 | 982 | 297 | 50 | 247 | 685 | 137 | 548 |
| 2024-25 | 1,001 | 315 | 61 | 254 | 686 | 122 | 564 |
| Average | 1,059 | 1,059 | 49 | 193 | 1,059 | 168 | 648 |
The percentage of white students is 49.96% and the percentage of black students is 10.89% at Rhode Island College. 3.20% of enrolled students is Asian. Hispanic students comprise 26.84% of the student body.
Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 63.53% to 49.96%. Asian enrollment grew from 3.03% to 3.20%. Black student enrollment increased from 7.98% to 10.89%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 14.93% to 26.84%.
The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.6647 which indicates that moderately diverse. This increased from 0.5665 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.
The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Rhode Island College 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 | 38 | 258 | 679 | 1,271 | 7 | 5,408 | 134 |
| 2016-17 | 33 | 242 | 709 | 1,360 | 8 | 5,298 | 147 |
| 2017-18 | 40 | 247 | 726 | 1,496 | 7 | 4,914 | 152 |
| 2018-19 | 31 | 225 | 761 | 1,531 | 6 | 4,500 | 172 |
| 2019-20 | 34 | 228 | 770 | 1,611 | 6 | 4,257 | 165 |
| 2020-21 | 29 | 197 | 692 | 1,652 | 3 | 3,857 | 152 |
| 2021-22 | 26 | 201 | 630 | 1,463 | 2 | 3,475 | 122 |
| 2022-23 | 32 | 189 | 594 | 1,401 | 3 | 3,068 | 102 |
| 2023-24 | 35 | 190 | 629 | 1,467 | 4 | 2,901 | 106 |
| 2024-25 | 26 | 197 | 670 | 1,652 | 6 | 3,075 | 171 |
| Average | 32 | 217 | 686 | 1,490 | 5 | 4,075 | 142 |
170 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 3% of total students. The number of online students has increased 2,328.57% since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Rhode Island College from 2015 to 2025.
| Year | Total Enrollment | Online Completely | Enrolled in Some Online Courses | Not Enrolled in Online Courses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 8,512 | 7 | 197 | 8,308 |
| 2016-17 | 8,446 | 10 | 222 | 8,214 |
| 2017-18 | 8,171 | 20 | 336 | 7,815 |
| 2018-19 | 7,766 | 17 | 253 | 7,496 |
| 2019-20 | 7,523 | 19 | 277 | 7,227 |
| 2020-21 | 7,072 | 6,526 | 504 | 42 |
| 2021-22 | 6,331 | 689 | 3,583 | 2,059 |
| 2022-23 | 5,787 | 241 | 2,124 | 3,422 |
| 2023-24 | 5,767 | 181 | 1,085 | 4,501 |
| 2024-25 | 6,155 | 170 | 1,012 | 4,973 |
| Average | 7,153 | 788 | 959 | 5,406 |
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