TXST’s efforts to make higher education accessible to all are reflected in the number of freshmen: 3,750 of enrolled freshmen qualified for and received merit scholarships, 653 more than in 2023, and 46.6% are eligible for a Pell Grant, an increase of 217 to 3,817.

The number of transfer students choosing TXST continued to remain robust, with this year’s 2,829 students up 146 from last year. Of those transfer students, 916 enrolled on merit scholarships, an increase of 139 from 2023.

These new students enter a supportive environment at TXST that prepares them for success—the university set records this semester for both its freshman retention rate of 80.2% and its transfer student retention rate of 85.8%. The retention rate is a measure of the number of freshman students who return to the university the following year and is an important indicator of student success.

TXST continues to invest in expanding its graduate programs as part of the Run to R1 The initiative is attracting highly qualified students. Two new doctoral programs began accepting students this fall, and five more are either approved or awaiting approval and are scheduled to start in fall 2025. As a result, the university set a record by welcoming 136 new doctoral students—a 22.5% increase over 2023—and 1,199 new master’s students, a 12.5% ​​increase over the previous year.

Other notable milestones include:

• The total number of first-year students – including freshmen, transfer students and doctoral students – reached a new record of 12,328, an increase of 4.6% or 546 students from fall 2023. This is the fourth consecutive year that the number of first-year students has exceeded 11,000.
• The number of international students enrolled reached a new record, surpassing 1,500 for the first time in TXST’s history. This fall’s enrollment of 1,525 is an impressive 61%, or 581 students, more than the fall 2023 enrollment.
• The number of credit hours earned in the fall semester exceeded the 500,000 mark for the first time, setting a new record of 513,638.

The College of Science and Engineering, the largest college in the state of Texas, experienced continued growth, reporting 8,942 students enrolled. The College of Liberal Arts has the second largest enrollment with 5,850 students, followed by the College of Fine Arts and Communication with 5,232 and the McCoy College of Business with 5,221.

Visit the Registration website for Fall 2024 to find out detailed stories about our record semester.