Enrollment Trends at BU

5,579

Total Enrollment

2,662

Men

2,917

Women

The student population at Boston University is 37,737 (18,805 undergraduate and 18,932 graduate students) . The number of students has increased by 5,579 over the past decade.

The percentage of undergraduate students at BU is 49.83% which is increased by 873 over last 10 years. The graduate student population increased by 4,706 and it has been increasing.

The female to male ratio is 1.36 to 1 which means that female students enrolled more than male students.

5,423 students enrolled in online degree program exclusively and the number of online students has increased by 127.86% since 2015.

Student Population Changes

The average student population over the last 11 years is 34,648 where 37,737 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.

49.83% of total students is undergraduate students and 50.17% students is graduate students. The number of undergraduate students has increased by 873 and the graduate enrollment has increased by 4,706 over past 10 years.

The female to male ratio is 1.36 to 1 and it means that there are more female students enrolled in BU than male students.

The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Boston University since 2015.

YearTotalUndergraduateGraduate
TotalMenWomenTotalMenWomen
2015-1632,15817,9327,12010,81214,2266,1818,045
2016-1732,695
537
17,944
12
7,061
-59
10,883
71
14,751
525
6,409
228
8,342
297
2017-1833,355
660
18,080
136
7,217
156
10,863
-20
15,275
524
6,615
206
8,660
318
2018-1934,657
1,302
18,515
435
7,444
227
11,071
208
16,142
867
6,862
247
9,280
620
2019-2033,720
-937
17,983
-532
7,419
-25
10,564
-507
15,737
-405
6,653
-209
9,084
-196
2020-2132,718
-1,002
16,872
-1,111
7,022
-397
9,850
-714
15,846
109
6,662
9
9,184
100
2021-2236,104
3,386
18,229
1,357
7,719
697
10,510
660
17,875
2,029
7,600
938
10,275
1,091
2022-2336,714
610
18,459
230
7,742
23
10,717
207
18,255
380
7,904
304
10,351
76
2023-2436,624
-90
18,656
197
7,810
68
10,846
129
17,968
-287
7,797
-107
10,171
-180
2024-2537,737
1,113
18,805
149
7,841
31
10,964
118
18,932
964
8,122
325
10,810
639
Average34,64818,1487,44010,70816,5017,0819,420
Boston University Enrollment Trends Chart

Undergraduate Enrollment Changes

The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 18,148 where 18,805 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 Boston University since 2015.

YearTotalFull-timePart-time
TotalMenWomenTotalMenWomen
2015-1617,93216,5856,47410,1111,347646701
2016-1717,94416,6286,43010,1981,316631685
2017-1818,08016,8406,60210,2381,240615625
2018-1918,51517,3966,92810,4681,119516603
2019-2017,98316,9786,93310,0451,005486519
2020-2116,87216,0266,6479,379846375471
2021-2218,22917,4607,33110,129769388381
2022-2318,45917,7347,38110,353725361364
2023-2418,65617,8997,46210,437757348409
2024-2518,80518,2857,62310,662520218302
Average18,14818,1486,98110,20218,148458506
Boston University Undergraduate Enrollment Trends Chart

Graduate Enrollment Changes

The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 16,501 where 18,932 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 Boston University since 2015.

YearTotalFull-timePart-time
TotalMenWomenTotalMenWomen
2015-1614,2269,4144,1065,3084,8122,0752,737
2016-1714,7519,7124,2435,4695,0392,1662,873
2017-1815,27510,1464,3935,7535,1292,2222,907
2018-1916,14210,8914,6676,2245,2512,1953,056
2019-2015,73710,5764,5556,0215,1612,0983,063
2020-2115,84610,2464,3665,8805,6002,2963,304
2021-2217,87511,5874,9496,6386,2882,6513,637
2022-2318,25511,5174,9056,6126,7382,9993,739
2023-2417,96811,2054,7726,4336,7633,0253,738
2024-2518,93210,9744,6316,3437,9583,4914,467
Average16,50116,5014,5596,06816,5012,5223,352
Boston University Graduate Enrollment Trends Chart

Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity Changes

The percentage of white students is 33.19% and the percentage of black students is 5.11% at Boston University. 15.93% of enrolled students is Asian. Hispanic students comprise 9.48% of the student body.

Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 43.76% to 33.19%. Asian enrollment grew from 10.84% to 15.93%. Black student enrollment increased from 4.05% to 5.11%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 8.35% to 9.48%.

The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.8516 which indicates that highly diverse. This increased from 0.7874 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.

The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Boston University over the past 11 years (2015-2025).

YearAmerican Indian or Native AmericanAsianBlackHispanicNative Hawaiian or Other Pacific IslanderWhiteTwo or More Races
2015-16293,4871,3032,6863314,072882
2016-17323,6831,3412,8123713,757898
2017-18293,8761,3642,9633413,478954
2018-19224,2531,4353,0873613,4861,023
2019-20224,4121,3323,0312212,8121,078
2020-21124,7101,3783,1061912,4901,109
2021-22155,2821,5003,2532713,2791,249
2022-23195,4181,6383,2982712,6541,260
2023-24185,5431,7983,4332212,2551,246
2024-25186,0131,9293,5792112,5241,351
Average224,6681,5023,1252813,0811,105
Boston University Enrollment by Race Trends Chart

Distance Learning (Online Courses) Enrollment Changes

5,423 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 14% of total students. The number of online students has increased 127.86% since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Boston University from 2015 to 2025.

YearTotal EnrollmentOnline CompletelyEnrolled in Some Online CoursesNot Enrolled in Online Courses
2015-1632,1582,38028329,495
2016-1732,6952,65833629,701
2017-1833,3552,63938730,329
2018-1934,6572,53493031,193
2019-2033,7202,30989630,515
2020-2132,7182,8491,13828,731
2021-2236,1044,0321,41030,662
2022-2336,7144,0441,21331,457
2023-2436,6244,0871,14531,392
2024-2537,7375,4231,35430,960
Average34,6483,29690930,444

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