U of I overall enrollment down but retention holds steady

MOSCOW, Idaho — University of Idaho Fall 2026 overall student enrollment is 12,275 students, down 0.9% from the Fall 2025 enrollment of 12,383 students.

• Undergraduate enrollment is down 3.4% to 7,704, from last fall’s 7,978.  
• Continuing undergraduate student enrollment is down 0.2% from 5,538 last fall to 5,526 this fall.
• Idaho resident undergraduate student enrollment decreased by 3% while non-resident undergraduate enrollment increased by 1.1%.
• International undergraduate enrollment decreased by 21.6% from 421 last fall to 330 this fall. 

Retention of first to second year students remains steady at 77.3%. Retention is a focus of the university’s strategic effort to further improve student success. 

For the seventh year in a row, U of I is ranked as a top Best Value Public University by U.S. News and World Report. This year U of I became the No. 1 Best Value Public University in the nation. Additionally, U of I is the only Idaho school highlighted as a Best Value School for In-State Students among National Universities, a new category in U.S. News and World Report rankings.

“There are already two million fewer U.S. students attending higher education institutions than in 2011. In this environment, it is a credit to our Vandal Family that our enrollment has increased every semester for the past five years,” said U of I President Scott Green. “Our national ranking proves that despite the headwinds of the enrollment cliff and budget cuts, we are nationally competitive, positioned to serve students no matter where they are located and priced to ensure that Idaho citizens have access to a world class research university. Our graduates are well prepared to compete in this new world.”

Graduate enrollment

New first-time graduate students are down 7.4% over Fall 2025. Total graduate student enrollment is 1,995, down 1.3% from 2,021 students in Fall 2025.  Total international graduate student enrollment increased by 1.5% to 264 this fall from 260 last fall. 

Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE)

Total WUE students in Fall 2026 decreased 1.5% to 1,844, from 1,872 in 2025. The WUE program provides a tuition discount to students outside Idaho and includes all 16 Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) states and regions.  

Law

College of Law enrollment is up 10.2% with 553 students, up from 502 last year. This is the largest first-year class in the history of the law school. 

Media contact

Jodi Walker
Executive Director of Communications
208-885-4295
jwalker@uidaho.edu