This fall, 4,908 new freshmen at the University of North Texas are learning what finding the perfect fit feels like, making it clear that UNT remains a top choice for serious students seeking a Tier One education in a welcoming and diverse environment. 

UNT’s class of 2021 is the largest in the university’s history with 2.8 percent growth over last year, and is part of a student body totaling 38,121*. Importantly, this class of new freshman includes many of the nation’s brightest students.

The new freshman class includes 26 new National Merit Finalists, who join 29 returning finalists, bringing the total number of National Merit Finalists who choose to study at UNT to 55. In addition, the SAT score jumped 6 points to 1165 and the number of high school students from the Top 10 percent who chose UNT rose by 6.3 percent.

“With 68 degree programs in the nation’s top 100 and a welcoming campus located in one of the nation’s best college towns, UNT offers the best educational experience in Texas which is why more of the brightest students are choosing UNT,” said Vice President for Enrollment Shannon Goodman.

Named a Tier One research university by the Carnegie Classification, UNT also saw a 5.7 percent growth in doctoral students pursuing the highest level of education in the university’s 38 doctoral degree programs.

Perhaps most importantly though, UNT delivers on its promise to students and continues to be a top producer of high-quality graduates in Texas. This past year, UNT awarded 9,132 degrees (up 4.9 percent) to graduates who are well prepared to help drive the global economy with critical creative, entrepreneurial and workforce skills.

This year, the university is offering a cadre of innovative degree programs focused on helping industry meet the needs of the future. Those degrees are:

• B.S. in Consumer Experience Management (spring 2018 at the New College in Frisco)
• M.S. in Data Science
• M.S. in Digital Communication Analytics
• M.S. in Advanced Data Analytics

          “These degree offerings, mindfully planned to address the needs of premiere businesses moving to the North Texas region and coupled with recent corporate partnerships such as with the Dallas Cowboys and NetDragon, show that UNT is the partner for progress to the North Texas region and beyond,” Goodman said.

            “Our partnership with UNT is a perfect match of values and supports the important innovation happening in both organizations,” said Eric Sudol, vice president of corporate partnership sales and service for the Dallas Cowboys. “As educational leaders, they provide us access to the forefront of thinking as well as connect us with some of the best-trained critical thinkers and business leaders of tomorrow.”

          And UNT’s commitment to offering classes that matter in convenient locations also is making a difference for non-traditional students. Enrollment at UNT’s courses offered through its off-site locations in Dallas, Gainesville, Frisco and McKinney also grew this fall.

UNT’s enrollment by the numbers breaks down as follows:

• 53 percent women
• 47 percent men
• 5,433 African American, a 2.1 percent increase over last year
• 570 American Indian, a 2.7 percent decrease over last year
• 2,732 Asian/Pacific Islander, a 4.4 percent increase over last year
• 8,805 Hispanic, a 4.8 percent increase over last year.

*Until the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board verifies enrollment numbers and makes them official later in the fall, all enrollment statistics are unofficial, 12th class day numbers.