St. Cloud State University remains the second largest university in Minnesota State, according to the institution’s Fall 2025 Factbook published on Oct. 14.
The annual report highlights enrollment and student demographic data after the 30th day of classes, and the 2025 numbers showcased strong enrollment in domestic, transfer and veteran students.
SCSU’s enrollment for Fall 2025 is 9,646 students, including 7,805 undergraduate and 1,841 graduate students. Students attend from 48 states and 88 countries, and approximately 40 percent are first-generation students.
This fall there was an increase from 2024 for total student veterans and new entering transfer students, with 341 veterans and 632 new entering transfers. SCSU was honored earlier this year by Colleges of Distinction for veteran support and Phi Theta Kappa for being a transfer-friendly institution.
Undergraduate headcount for freshman and sophomores from Minnesota was also up, including an 11 percent increase for in-state sophomores.
“Our local market continues to be the foundation of our student population,” said Dr. Jason Woods, SCSU Vice President for Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Affairs. “Our top feeder high schools continue to be St. Cloud Tech and Apollo, followed by other local schools like Monticello, Annandale, Rocori and Sartell.”
While SCSU’s enrollment for new-entering and returning domestic students remained steady, new-entering undergraduate international enrollment dropped from 197 students in 2024 to 57 students in 2025. International enrollment at the graduate level was also down, with SCSU seeing a 14 percent drop in international enrollment overall.
The other main effect on this year’s 30th day enrollment numbers came from the Huskies in the High School program, which is a program where SCSU partners with high schools to allow students to earn college credit in their high school classrooms.
“It is important to remember that the 30-day enrollment report is a snapshot in time,” Woods said. “We will continue to see over 350 students register from our Huskies in the High School program through December. We do not control the timing of these registrations, but they will help us reach our 10,000-student headcount from recent years.”
Bachelor’s degrees in nursing, psychology, computer science, biomedical sciences and information systems remained the top enrolled undergraduate programs for the third consecutive year.
Master’s degrees in business administration, engineering management and information assurance and a doctorate in higher education and student affairs are the highest enrolled graduate programs, followed by a graduate certificate in management and leadership.
“Having a stable enrollment base is a vital step toward fiscal sustainability, but we must also focus on other revenue generating spaces as well,” Woods added. “Like many institutions, financial stability is our number one priority. We have a 5-year plan that we continue to work through. I am very excited about our future and our continued ability to be an economic driver for central Minnesota.”
SCSU publishes a university factbook each fall to give a detailed snapshot of the enrollment and student population. Visit SCSU’s Analytics and Institutional Research website for more 2025 data and past reports.
