LARAMIE (WNE) — Driven by significant increases in students from outside the state, the University of Wyoming has recorded a 4.7% increase in its freshman class, while also seeing a 6% increase in new transfer students.

At the same time, preliminary numbers indicate that UW has set a record for the number of degrees granted in the past academic year, with an unofficial total of 3,135 students earning diplomas and certificates in 2025-26.

The fall 2026 semester enrollment numbers, presented to the UW Board of Trustees on Thursday, represent an acceleration from the 0.7% increase in first-time students recorded in fall 2025 and reverse a 6.5% decline in new transfer students last fall. On the 15th day of the new semester, the total of new first-time students reached 1,512 — up from 1,444 last year — while the number of new transfer students jumped to 818 from 772.

The 15-day census is used to calculate UW’s official reported enrollment figures because it falls after the class drop/add deadlines and after the first tuition and fee payment is due.

“These increases show a growing awareness regionally, nationally and internationally of the incredible value and opportunities available at Wyoming’s university,” UW President Shane Reeves said in a news release. “We’re so excited to welcome our new Cowgirls and Cowboys, even as we have sent off what looks to be the largest number of graduates in the university’s history over the past year.”

The new first-time class includes 620 students from outside Wyoming, a 19.9% increase from last year’s 517. That more than offset a 3.8% dip in the number of first-time students from Wyoming, from 927 last year — the second-largest class of Wyoming freshmen in the past 17 years — to 892 this fall.

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