person in ASU graduation gown

Facts and figures

"For our society to achieve its ideal, there cannot be an unequal distribution of its most important asset — education."
– Michael M. Crow, President, Arizona State University

The educational experience at ASU is an immersion in a living-learning academic enterprise — a mindset focused on innovation and entrepreneurship, and a deep commitment to serving the public interest during a time of rapid and complex societal change. Nationally and internationally acclaimed, ASU consistently ranks among the very best in nearly every critical measurement of student success, outcomes of groundbreaking research and impact in the communities it serves.

About ASU

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Enrollment

Enrollment - total university Fall 2021 Fall 2020 Fall 2019 Fall 2018 Fall 2017
Campus immersion 77,881 74,795 75,698 73,875 72,947
Tempe 54,866 52,386 53,494 52,029 51,524
Polytechnic 5,545 5,168 5,283 5,160 4,874
West 5,209 5,390 4,955 4,463 4,085
Downtown 11,721 11,360 11,512 11,736 11,967
Other locations 540 491 454 487 497
Digital immersion 57,848 53,993 44,253 37,374 30,583
Total 135,729 128,788 119,951 111,249 103,530

 

61,600+

More than 61,600 students applied as incoming first-year students to ASU for the fall 2021 semester

Over 2/3

More than two-thirds of first-year students admitted for fall 2021 had unweighted GPAs of 3.42 and above.

89%

89% of ASU undergraduate students received some level of financial assistance in fall 2020.

33%

33% of ASU undergraduate students received Pell Grants in fall 2020.

girl standing on asu palm walk

Admission

ASU welcomed 14,250 incoming first-year students and accepted 88.2% of student applicants in fall 2021, demonstrating its commitment to educational access.

 

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80%

For fall 2021 campus immersion, 80% of first-year students who are Arizona residents earned one of ASU’s top academic scholarships collectively called the New American University Scholarships.

30%

Reflecting ASU’s commitment to higher education access, 30% of ASU’s student body are first-generation college students.

4.29 GPA

Students in Barrett, The Honors College at ASU average a weighted high school GPA of 4.29. Seventy-three percent of the nearly 1,100 National Scholars enrolled at ASU are Barrett students, including 402 National Merit Finalists and 392 recipients of the College Board Recognition Program for students who are African American or Black, Hispanic American or Latinx, Indigenous, or who attend school in a rural area or small town.

46%

The most diverse class ever, 46% of ASU’s incoming first-year students in fall 2021 came from minority backgrounds.

86.2%

ASU ranks No. 1 among the state’s public universities for its 86.2% first-year students retention rate.

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Academics

ASU’s faculty is composed of some of the most innovative, brilliant professors and researchers — game-changers whose discoveries are positively impacting the world and whose guidance and mentorship are positively impacting their students.

 

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400+

ASU offers more than 400 academic undergraduate programs and majors led by expert faculty in highly ranked colleges and schools.

86

U.S. News & World Report ranks 86 ASU degree programs in the top 25 in the country, including 39 programs ranked in the nation’s top 10.

450

Through more than 450 graduate degree programs and certificates, ASU master’s and doctoral students work directly with the nation’s top researchers.

Top 10

ASU is ranked top 10 nationally for best online bachelor's programs by U.S. News & World Report. It offers nearly 300 online degree and certificate programs taught by award-winning ASU faculty.

ASU library setup top view

Research impact

Our interdisciplinary, solutions-focused approach to research, entrepreneurship and economic development is centered on discovery that matters and the fusion of intellectual disciplines in order to solve complex problems.

 

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#6

For the second year in a row, ASU ranks sixth in the U.S. for research expenditures among universities without a medical school, ahead of Caltech, Princeton and Carnegie Mellon, according to the National Science Foundation Higher Education Research and Development Survey. Since 2002, ASU research expenditures have grown more than fivefold, going from $123 million to $673 million today.

$718 million

One of the top-performing U.S. universities for inventions and licensing deals, ASU has been the launching pad for 160+ startups, generating $718 million in gross state product and $64 million in state and local tax revenues from 2016 through 2020.

$673 million

ASU is one of the fastest-growing research enterprises in the U.S., with $673 million total research expenditures in FY20.

$833+ million

Since 2003, ASU research has resulted in more than 4,100  invention disclosures, more than 980 U.S. issued patents, and startups based on ASU intellectual property have generated more than $833 million in investment capital.

ASU Tempe campus stone

Economic impact

ASU is one of Arizona’s largest employers with more than 18,500 employees.

 

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ASU corporate engagement and strategic partnerships

$4.48B

 In FY21, the university generated an economic impact of $4.48 billion on the state’s gross product, $3.08 billion in labor income and 54,003 jobs.

$18.6B

 In 2020, 266,716 ASU graduates worked in Arizona, earning $18.6 billion and paying between $1.32 and $1.58 billion in state and local taxes.

Solar panel roof

Impact on our global future

ASU is deeply committed to sustaining our planet and designing a more just, equitable and prosperous future through the knowledge we share, the research we conduct, the spaces we design, the programs we establish and the solutions we innovate.

 

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1st in the world

The Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory, established in 2019 at the scale of a National Laboratory, is configured to operate like a medical center for the planet and its inhabitants. It is the world’s first comprehensive institution of its kind dedicated to ensuring humanity exists in equilibrium within the world’s systems, empowered by a platform for an ongoing and wide-ranging exchange across all knowledge domains to address the complex social, economic and scientific challenges spawned by the current and future threats.

1st in the U.S.

ASU is home to the College of Global Futures, a unique educational center that comprises three first-ever schools to develop knowledge and skills that address areas integral to understanding our future:

  • School of Sustainability (est. 2006).
  • School for the Future of Innovation in Society (est. 2016).
  • School of Complex Adaptive Systems (est. 2020). 

 

#1

Ranked No. 1 in the U.S., ahead of MIT and UNC–Chapel Hill, for global impact in advancing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

#1

Ranked No. 1 for sustainability in North America ahead of UCLA and Yale.

 

#1

Ranked No. 1 in the categories of Air and Climate as well as Investment and Finance by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education in their annual Sustainable Campus Index report.

#2

Ranked No. 2 on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership Top 30 College & University Partners listing. 78% of ASU’s total electricity use is green power derived from various resources.

 

50+

ASU’s solar program provides more than 50 MWdc equivalent solar-generating capacity, which contributed to the university reaching its goal of becoming carbon neutral in 2020, with zero greenhouse gas emissions from campus operations.

66

Total LEED Building Certifications: 

  • 7 Platinum.
  • 34 Gold.
  • 24 Silver.
  • 1 Certified.
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Philanthropic impact

The ASU Foundation raised $356.6 million in FY21 for students, faculty, research and community programs.

 

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97,069

At the close of the 2021 fiscal year, 97,069 unique donors had given to ASU.

7,416

In FY21, 7,416 ASU students received scholarships funded by donors. The total amount disbursed was $29.7 million.

$356.6 million

 Supporting ASU's academic programs, research and initiatives, the $356.6 million raised in FY21 generated new opportunities at the nation’s most innovative university.