AMHERST — Even as undergraduate enrollment remains stable, with steady numbers of both first-year and transfer students, the University of Massachusetts is facing declines in other student populations.
“We know when it comes to graduate students we are seeing the challenges of enrollment,” UMass Amherst Chancellor Javier Reyes told the Faculty Senate at its latest meeting on Sept. 17.
During his annual “state of the campus” address, Reyes said there is “significant uncertainty” facing higher education, in part due to changes in federal research funding and immigration policies, but that UMass is standing strong.
“We have momentum as a university in all its dimensions,” Reyes said, echoing what he said at the annual UMass Community Breakfast earlier this month. There, Reyes told the campus and larger community that the university remains committed to its mission of excellence in teaching, research and service to the common good.
Reyes said UMass is in a good place, referencing the University of Maine, where faculty and staff are being laid off to make up a projected $19 million deficit in its fiscal year 2028 budget.
UMass has about 5,300 freshmen and about 1,100 transfer students this fall, and they are not only diverse but academically accomplished, he said. Reyes credits the state’s free community college initiative with helping to attract those transferring to a four-year institution.
But UMass is seeing a decline in doctoral and master’s students, with some areas having bigger drops, though more than 1,800 graduate students began their studies at UMass this fall.
The total number of doctoral students enrolled at UMass this fall is 2,414, a drop of 6.5% from the 2,583 enrolled last year. For master’s students, there are 3,863 enrolled this year, a nearly 10% decline from the 4,284 enrolled last year.
These are trends similar to what is happening nationally, where there are fewer applications from students pursuing advanced degrees.
In the previous four fiscal years, the campus was awarded a total of $957 million in sponsored projects, which remains consistent with the last academic year when $235 million was awarded, and the increasing number of faculty endowed chairs, up to 69, a 56% increase from the 44 in 2022.
Reyes also discussed the announcement of the $120 million Future of Food initiative and collaborations between departments, the ribbon-cutting for the Computer Sciences Laboratories and the opening of the Sustainable Engineering Laboratories and the net-zero efforts, such as the thermal energy storage tank capable of delivering 2.2 million gallons of chilled water that meet demands of cooling on the hottest days.
UMass is close to $700 million in the Accelerate campaign headed by the UMass Amherst Foundation, which by January 2026 had exceeded a $600 million goal 18 months ahead of schedule.
Reyes concluded his remarks by noting the success of sports, as well.
“UMass has momentum, including in our athletic teams,” Reyes said.
