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Trevor Colbourn Hall is the hub for graduate students, holding many of their resources. It serves students across disciplines, reflecting the university’s broader growth in enrollment, research activity, and national recognition of its graduate programs.<\/p>\n
Leah Judah<\/p>\n
Graduate enrollment at UCF has returned to pre-pandemic levels and is once again climbing, signaling a broader upward trajectory across programs that have gained national attention for research output, workforce alignment and student demand.<\/p>\n
According to UCF Analytics<\/a>, total graduate enrollment \u2014 including master\u2019s and doctoral students \u2014 grew from 8,066 in fall 2016 to 9,555 in fall 2025, marking nearly a 19% increase over the past decade. The data shows steady growth through 2019, a pandemic-era dip beginning in 2020, and a gradual recovery that has returned enrollment to its highest recorded level in the dataset.<\/p>\n Fall 2019 marked a peak of 9,553 students before enrollment dropped to 9,250 in 2020 and continued declining to 8,657 in 2022, according to university analytics. Since then, numbers have steadily rebounded, reaching 9,095 in 2024 and surpassing previous highs in 2025.<\/p>\n That long-term trajectory reflects what Interim Dean of the College of Graduate Studies Dr. John Weishampel described as a reinforcing academic ecosystem built on faculty strength and student quality.<\/p>\n \u201cThe better faculty you get, the better students you get, the better students you have, the more productive the faculty,” Weishampel said. “So, you generate this feedback that allows your program to improve over time.\u201d<\/p>\n He described graduate success at UCF as a self-sustaining cycle. \u201cSuccess breeds success,” he said.<\/p>\n While enrollment dipped during the pandemic years, Weishampel noted the pattern was consistent with national behavior, as students reassessed academic and career paths during widespread uncertainty.<\/p>\n At the state level, trends have been uneven.<\/p>\n Data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center<\/a>\u00a0shows that graduate enrollment at Florida\u2019s public four-year institutions has increased 12.6% since 2020, indicating a broader post-pandemic recovery. However, more recent figures show a slight slowdown, with Florida experiencing a 1.6% decrease in graduate enrollment from 2024 to 2025, suggesting that growth is not uniform across years or institutions.<\/p>\n Nationally, public four-year institutions saw a 4.6% increase in graduate enrollment from fall 2019 to fall 2020, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, highlighting the early pandemic-era surge in graduate education.<\/p>\n One factor shaping UCF\u2019s resilience during this period is its long-standing approach to blended learning. According to a Deloitte analysis<\/a> of post-pandemic higher education trends, institutions that had already integrated hybrid learning models were better positioned to adapt to major disruptions.<\/p>\n The report notes a hybrid approach \u201cwill allow institutions to become more resilient during future disruptions, whether pandemics or natural disasters; help institutional leaders better manage costs and pedagogical demands; and, ultimately, become more student-centered.\u201d<\/p>\n While many universities rapidly shifted online during COVID-19, UCF had already been operating with blended learning structures for more than two decades, allowing for a smoother transition and recovery compared to many peer institutions.<\/p>\n That institutional adaptability is now reflected in program-level performance and national rankings.<\/p>\n One of the most visible examples is the Doctor of Nursing Practice program, which rose 34 spots in national rankings to No. 37 in 2026, according to U.S. News & World Report<\/a>.<\/p>\n In a joint statement provided via email, Norma E. Conner, executive associate dean of the College of Nursing, and Jessica Simmons, assistant dean of students, said the program\u2019s rise reflects sustained investment in faculty expertise, research, and clinical training.<\/p>\n \u201cUCF has increased the number of high-quality full-time nursing faculty experts, has increased nursing research funding and continues to gain national exposure and recognition among our peers,\u201d they wrote in their emailed statement.<\/p>\n The statement also highlighted hands-on training as a defining feature of the program.<\/p>\n \u201cStudents gain valuable hands-on learning with innovative technologies in UCF\u2019s STIM Center and in healthcare settings across Central Florida alongside expert preceptors.\u201d<\/p>\n They attributed the program\u2019s recent ranking increase to continued institutional investment.<\/p>\n \u201cThis year\u2019s results are reflective of UCF\u2019s continued investment in academic rigor, faculty expertise, and hands-on clinical training and interprofessional collaboration to address the nation\u2019s growing need for nurse practitioners.\u201d<\/p>\n