First-year student enrollment at Oregon State University – Cascades has increased for the ninth consecutive year, with a 2023 fall class of 225 students representing the largest in OSU-Cascades’ history and a 10.3% increase over the previous year.
The total number of students enrolled at OSU-Cascades this fall increased 3.3% over the previous year. The Bend campus now enrolls 1,313 students, including 1,058 undergraduates and 255 graduate students.
“This enrollment growth, and particularly the strong increase in first-year students, demonstrates that OSU-Cascades delivers the academic and career preparation experience that students and families are looking for," said Sherm Bloomer, chancellor and dean of OSU-Cascades. “The growth gives us confidence as we work to achieve the goal of enrolling 2,200 students at OSU-Cascades by 2030.”
Oregon State University’s fall 2023 enrollment has reached a record for the 27th consecutive year, topping 36,000, with growth spread across its Corvallis and Bend campuses and its online education unit.
With 36,636 students enrolled, up 1,397 students, or 4% over last year, Oregon State is the largest university in the state for the 10th consecutive year. More information about Oregon State’s overall fall enrollment is available at beav.es/qGd.
OSU-Cascades fall enrollment also reflects:
- 42% of OSU-Cascades students are from Central Oregon and 77.1% are from Oregon.
- Students from out-of-state increased 16.5% over a year ago. In addition, students from three other countries are enrolled.
- There are 282 students of color at OSU-Cascades making up 21.5% of the student body. Over the past five years, enrollment among students of color has increased 4.5%.
- Of 443 transfer students at OSU-Cascades, 64% are from Central Oregon, with 48% transferring from Central Oregon Community College.
- Enrollment in the OSU Honors College nearly doubled from 16 to 29 OSU-Cascades students. The honors program offers students personal advising as well as research and involvement opportunities as they work toward an honors bachelor’s degree in their academic major.
- 75 students receiving veterans’ benefits are enrolled at OSU-Cascades.
- The youngest enrolled student at OSU-Cascades is 17, and the oldest is 75. The average age of an undergraduate student is 23. The average age of a graduate student is 30.
In addition, of the class of first-year students entering OSU-Cascades from high school:
- 72% are from Oregon and 25.8% are students of color.
- 23% are first-generation college students.
- 76.4%, live in the on-campus residence hall.
The report also showed that 12% of first-year students came to OSU-Cascades with enough college credit to enter at the sophomore or junior level, while 57% earned some college credits while in high school. The average high school GPA of the new freshman class remains steady at 3.59, with 41% of first-year students having a high school GPA of 3.75 or higher.
The fall enrollment increase was noted across degree programs at OSU-Cascades:
- The largest undergraduate degree programs at OSU-Cascades are business administration with 134 students and computer science with 102 students.
- Several programs grew sharply: psychology (32.9%); art, media and technology (26.5%); and kinesiology (20.3%).
- The outdoor products program, launched in 2020, grew to 72 students.
- A degree program in biochemistry and molecular biology launched this fall with 19 students enrolled.
- OSU-Cascades’ Doctor of Physical Therapy program, which launched in 2021, is now at capacity with 126 students enrolled, representing three class cohorts.
- The graduate counseling degree program has 61 students.
- Twenty students are enrolled in the Master of Arts in Teaching program.
- The low-residency Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program has 18 students.
More information about OSU-Cascades fall enrollment is available at osucascades.edu/about/fall-enrollment.
About OSU-Cascades: Oregon State University’s campus in Bend brings higher education to Central Oregon, the fastest growing region in the state. Surrounded by mountains, forest and high desert, OSU-Cascades is a highly innovative campus of a top-tier land grant research university, offering small classes that accelerate faculty-student mentoring and experiential learning. Degree programs meet industry and economic needs in areas such as innovation and entrepreneurship, natural ecosystems, health and wellness, and arts and sciences, and prepare students for tomorrow’s challenges. OSU-Cascades is expanding to serve 3,000 to 5,000 students, building a 128-acre campus with net-zero goals.