The University of Idaho’s total fall 2025 enrollment was reported to be 12,383 students, up by 0.8% compared to fall 2024, and had the second largest freshman class in the school’s history at 1,980 students. UI released enrollment numbers in an Oct. 17 press release.
Undergraduate enrollment is up 3% to 7,978 students, from 7,747 in 2024, leading to UI’s largest undergraduate population. First-to-second year retention increased to 77.3% in 2025 from 75.6% in 2024.
“I think that we are in a very competitive environment where enrollment is critical to our university,” said Dean Kahler, the vice provost for strategic enrollment management, in an email interview with The Argonaut.
The Washington Post reported U.S. colleges or universities were closing at a rate of one per week in 2024 due to declines in enrollment. So far, 25 colleges have closed or merged in 2025.
Nationwide, college enrollment peaked in 2010 and has been declining since. UI’s highest enrollment was 12,416 students in 2012.
“We are bucking a national trend and navigating some very challenging enrollment times. Many other university administrators across the nation would love to be enjoying the success we have realized,” Kahler said.
International enrollment declined from 820 students in 2024 to 709 students in 2025. The Trump administration halted all visa interviews on May 27 for 46 weeks and required a more in-depth review to be performed on current international students.
According to Kahler, UI has employed recruitment strategies aimed at enrolling local high school students.
Idaho resident undergraduate student enrollment increased by 5% from 2024 and Western Undergraduate Exchange enrollment increased by 6%. The WUE program provides a tuition discount to students outside Idaho to all states and regions in the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.
“We remain committed to recruiting outstanding Idaho students, and our growing retention rates show that our support systems are working,” UI President Scott Green wrote in a letter on Oct. 24, 2025.
Total enrollment numbers include dual-credit high school students enrolled in college courses, which number 1,989 students. When excluded, enrollment is up 2.6% with 10,849 students, both undergraduate and graduate.
Total graduate student enrollment is 2,021, up 0.5% from 2,010 students in fall 2024. Of that, 1,382 students are enrolled in master’s degree programs.
Notably, the College of Law grew by 9.8% with 502 students, up from 457 in 2024, which includes the largest first-year class for the law school.
Joshua Reisenfeld can be reached at [email protected].