San Jose State University welcomed a record number of students for the fall 2025 semester, despite concerns that the Trump administration’s crackdown on higher education would cause a drop in fall enrollment.
The university said Monday nearly 40,000 students enrolled at San Jose State for the fall semester — an 8% increase from last year and the highest enrollment total for a single academic term in the university’s 168-year history.
San Jose State also said it welcomed its largest-ever classes of first-year students, transfers and undergraduate students, with more than 5,100 first-year students, 3,600 transfer students and a total of 8,700 new undergraduate students.
Last year, the university saw a 3.7% increase in total fall enrollment and a 2.8% increase in freshman enrollment for the fall 2024 semester, despite concerns that errors in the federal financial aid form and resulting application delays would cause a widespread drop in enrollment. San Jose State credited last year’s enrollment boost to the university’s proactive workshops, communication and staff efforts to counteract the national error.
Last year, the California State University system as a whole saw record first-year enrollment for the fall 2024 semester. Preliminary fall enrollment data is typically released in October and finalized in November.
SJSU said it also saw a record number of students enrolled in its online programs for the fall 2025 semester, with 850 students enrolled — a 30% increase from last year. The university said its professional and continuing education programs — post-secondary learning opportunities for working adults — saw an all-time high of nearly 5,000 students enrolled.
The announcement comes as San Jose State University is one of many universities across the state and nation facing increasing scrutiny by the Trump administration.
San Jose State is currently under a federal investigation over a potential civil rights violation for allowing transgender athletes to compete on women’s teams, stemming from national scrutiny the university faced last year when the co-captain of the San Jose State women’s volleyball team joined a lawsuit accusing the NCAA of discriminating against women by allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports.
The university has also been impacted by several of the Trump administration’s higher education policy changes, including cuts to research funding, international students’ visa revocations and cuts to students’ financial aid.
