Alcorn State University’s preliminary fall 2025 enrollment is at 2,900 students, a slight decrease from last year’s total of 2,995.

The 3.2% decline comes as the university continues to refine its recruitment strategies while celebrating gains in several areas.

“We began making key investments and enhancements in Spring 2025 to our enrollment management systems,” said Dr. Tracy M. Cook, president of Alcorn State University. “Our team is encouraged by the growing interest in our graduate and dual enrollment programs at Alcorn. We will continue to focus on building capacity, operational efficiency, customer service, and enhanced student services across the institution to ensure we meet students where they are and provide the support they need to succeed.”

The university’s housing capacity was reduced this fall due to ongoing renovations, which resulted in over 270 beds being offline. This project limited on campus accommodations.

Housing availability on campus is critical given the university’s rural location in southwest Mississippi.

“While we are disappointed by the recent decline in enrollment, our Enrollment Management Team is working diligently to expand Alcorn’s presence in new areas across the United States and abroad,” said Dr. Edward Rice, vice president of student affairs and enrollment management. “As we look ahead to the upcoming freshman class, our focus will be strategic and centered on student support and success as well as enhancing our onboarding process to better support incoming students.”

Graduate programs saw the most improved growth, with 22 new students enrolling, resulting in a 21.6% increase over fall 2024.

Dual enrollment numbers also increased, adding 28 students for a 16.6% improvement over last year’s reported number.

The university welcomed back five more readmitted students than last year, a 4.8% increase, and saw modest growth in transfer students, up three from the previous fall.

Alcorn’s largest out of state student groups are from Louisiana, Texas, Georgia, Tennessee and Florida, among other states.

International students are from India, Nigeria, Australia, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Biology remains the most popular major on campus, followed by business administration, general studies, agricultural science and psychology.

The university maintains a 16 to 1 student-faculty ratio, allowing for personalized instruction and mentorship at the university.

Fall enrollment figures remain preliminary pending final data verification and review.