Student enrollment at The University of Texas at Dallas has grown more than 9 percent since fall 2013, with new students making up nearly a third of the student body, according to Census Day figures.

Fall 2014 Enrollment numbers

This fall’s UT Dallas freshman class posted an average SAT score of 1256 — among the highest for Texas public universities.

The fall enrollment tally of 23,095 includes 7,165 new students. The growth in numbers was seen across all categories of new students, including 2,520 new freshmen, 1,941 undergraduate transfers and 2,704 new graduate students.

“This continued growth in new students is all the more remarkable given that many higher education institutions across the U.S. are concerned about maintaining their enrollment numbers,” President David E. Daniel said. “It shows that UT Dallas is well on its way toward becoming a Tier One research university.”

Despite such dramatic growth, UT Dallas has continued to maintain its standard of academic excellence.

The freshman class, which has posted an average SAT score of 1256 — among the highest for Texas public universities — also brings the largest number of National Merit Scholars (100) in the University’s history, topping the 88 who arrived on campus in 2013. These new scholars join continuing National Merit winners on campus for a total of 285, up from 203 last year.

Other Figures For Fall 2014

  • 62 percent of students are undergraduates; 38 percent are graduate students.
     
  • 57 percent of students are male; 43 percent are female.
     
  • 76 percent of students attend full time; 24 percent attend part time.
     
  • The oldest student enrolled is 84; the youngest is 16.

The University’s strategic plan calls for the student body to grow to between 25,000 and 30,000 by 2020. The current growth rate indicates UT Dallas may reach that goal sooner.

Census figures show that the student population has grown 59 percent since 2005.

Daniel credited the enrollment growth to UT Dallas’ emphasis on academic excellence and majors that are in high demand.

The top freshman majors this year include such STEM fields as biology, computer science, and arts and technology, mechanical engineering and neuroscience. Master’s students continue to be concentrated in two schools: the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science and the Naveen Jindal School of Management.

“We don’t want to grow just for the sake of being bigger. Our growth is intentional in our quest to become one of the nation’s premier public universities. We are pleased to see that students are attracted to the academic and research opportunities UT Dallas offers,” Daniel said.