Calvin University in high demand, setting multiple enrollment records
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.—Calvin University is set to welcome 1,150 new students for the 2023-2024 academic year, representing more than a 15% increase over last year’s incoming class. The university’s total enrollment is projected to exceed 3,300.
While the volume of students coming to Calvin has increased dramatically year-on-year, the diversity of learners choosing Calvin has also set university records.
In demand in-state and abroad
The number and percentage of first-generation, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), and international students joining Calvin for fall 2023 are all records for the institution since it changed its name from “college” to “university” in 2019.
“It’s clear that there’s a growing interest in a Calvin education,” said Lauren Jensen, vice president for enrollment strategy. “What’s even clearer is that that interest is coming from around the corner and across the globe, from students and families who are familiar with Calvin and from those who are being introduced to this formative education for the very first time.”
Calvin received applications for fall 2023 from students in more than 90 countries—an institutional record. Students beginning their time at Calvin this fall hail from 36 countries and 39 U.S. states. In total, the current student body at Calvin represents 55 countries and 48 U.S. states.
The university also saw an uptick of students from the state of Michigan, with about 60-percent of the incoming class hailing from one of dozens of cities throughout the state.
Creating more pathways to Calvin
In addition to welcoming residential undergraduate students, Calvin’s incoming class also includes students at the Handlon Campus through the Calvin Prison Initiative program, transfer students and online learners, students in the university’s Life and Career Studies program, and a growing graduate student and certificate-seeking population. In fact, the university’s graduate-level programming has quadrupled over the past five years, now offering 11 graduate programs either in-person or online and a number of certificate programs.
“Over the past few years, we’ve surveyed the market for new learners and have introduced several new graduate-level and certificate programs that are both in-demand and come out of our mission,” said Kevin den Dulk, associate provost of Calvin University. “While we continue to assess new ways to open up more doors, these new pathways we’ve created recently are allowing more learners of all ages and from all over the world to experience a formative education that is rooted in a compelling mission.”
Residential students move onto campus in late August. On Friday, August 25, 2023 at 1:45 p.m. the community will gather in Van Noord Arena for Opening Convocation, the official kickoff to the academic year. Fall semester classes begin on Monday, August 28.
About Calvin University
Founded in 1876, Calvin University is a top-ranked, liberal arts institution that equips its 3,300 students from 48 U.S. states, 55 countries, and five Canadian provinces to think deeply, to act justly, and to live wholeheartedly as Christ’s agents of renewal in the world. Calvin offers 100+ majors and programs, including a growing portfolio of graduate-level offerings. Calvin students engage in intensive internships, community-based service learning, and significant research that results in publishing and presenting alongside world-class faculty. The university’s 400-acre campus is in the vibrant city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Discover more at www.calvin.edu.