Georgia State University just posted its largest enrollment ever, with 54,320 students enrolled across its Atlanta Campus and Perimeter College this fall. The number beats the school's previous all-time high, set in fall 2020, by roughly 600 students, and it comes alongside the university's highest graduate enrollment in at least two decades.
The university released the figures from its official census taken Oct. 7, according to Georgia State University, which also reported the milestone to WSB-TV. Overall enrollment climbed 1.24 percent over last fall, with growth showing up on both sides of the university's two-campus structure.
Atlanta Campus and Perimeter College Both Grow
More than 35,200 students are now enrolled on Georgia State's Atlanta Campus, a 1.22 percent increase over last fall, per the same census data. Perimeter College, the university's two-year division, enrolled more than 19,000 students — up 4.46 percent from the previous fall and its highest enrollment since consolidating with Georgia State back in 2016.
First-year enrollment jumped even more sharply. The Atlanta Campus welcomed 4,433 new first-year students, a 7.89 percent increase, while Perimeter College brought in 3,142 new first-year students, up 5.68 percent. The Atlanta Campus also welcomed 1,148 students who transitioned from Perimeter College into downtown bachelor's degree programs, a pathway that grew 13.33 percent over the previous fall.
Graduate Programs Reach a Two-Decade High
Graduate enrollment reached 8,426 degree-seeking students in fall 2026 — the university's highest level in at least two decades, and up from the 8,102 graduate students Georgia State reported for fall 2025, according to the Office of the Provost. University officials attribute the growth broadly to a focus on student outcomes, broadened access, streamlined admissions and support for degree completion.
Nicolle Parsons-Pollard, Georgia State's provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, said the school's academic programs, student support and overall experience are drawing new students to campus. Allison Calhoun-Brown, the university's senior vice president for student success, said the enrollment growth bucks national higher-education trends and reflects collaborative efforts across the institution. M. Brian Blake serves as Georgia State's president.
How the Growth Compares
Georgia State's trajectory tracks with broader gains across Georgia's public university system. The University System of Georgia reported a record 382,142 students systemwide in fall 2025, up 4.8 percent from the year before, per the University System of Georgia. Georgia Tech enrolled 56,715 students that same fall, a 6.3 percent jump, while the University of Georgia reached 43,888 students, up 1.7 percent, according to the University of Georgia.
Nationally, the picture is more modest. U.S. postsecondary enrollment topped 19.4 million in fall 2025, a 1.0 percent increase driven mostly by undergraduate gains, while graduate enrollment nationally slipped 0.3 percent, per the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Georgia State's graduate growth stands out against that national dip, even as the university's own enrollment has climbed steadily — from 50,500 students in fall 2023 to 52,400 in fall 2024, a 3.8 percent jump the university reported at the time, and now to this fall's record total.
