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College of Education Opens 2021-2022 Academic Year with an Expected 1,942 Students, Its Most in a Decade

Students at New Graduate Student Orientation in August 2021

The NC State College of Education opened the 2021-2022 academic year Aug. 16 with an expected enrollment of 1,942 students—the college’s highest level of enrollment in at least a decade. This number includes the 197 new undergraduate and 392 new graduate students expected to join the college this fall. 

“Despite the ongoing challenges facing the field of education and North Carolina, we are continuing to grow our student enrollment and prepare extraordinary educators for the state and beyond,” NC State College of Education Dean Mary Ann Danowitz said. “This is good news for North Carolina and a testament to the hard work, innovativeness and resourcefulness of our faculty and staff and their understanding of and responsiveness to the educational needs of our state. They have developed or adapted programs and initiatives that have positioned us as North Carolina’s college of choice for those individuals determined to use the power of education for good in a multiracial democracy. We’re thrilled to have so many students who believe strongly in our mission that works toward the educational success of all.”

In addition to the college hitting a 10-year high for enrollment, here are a few additional facts about the College of Education’s new students:

  • The college will begin the new academic year with an expected 197 new undergraduate students, which is an increase of 32% in new undergraduate student enrollment over last year. 
  • The college expects to welcome 392 new master’s and doctoral students, bringing the college’s total expected graduate enrollment  to 1,325—an increase of 4.2% over last fall and the college’s highest enrollment of graduate students in at least 10 years. 
  • With the 144 new doctoral students, there are now 511 students enrolled in the college’s five doctoral programs—an all-time high and a 54% percent increase over last fall.
  • The new undergraduate students include nine Goodnight Scholars—the highest number of College of Education students ever in an incoming class of Goodnight Scholars. 
  • NC State will enroll 44 new students as part of the N.C. Teaching Fellows program—which is the largest entering cohort of Teaching Fellows among the eight institutions in North Carolina that host a program. 
  • The college has awarded its first-ever Dean’s Excellence Scholarships to 10 new undergraduate students and its first-ever Darla Buchanan Scholarships to one new student and one current student. 

Below is a deeper look at the College of Education’s new students:

New Undergraduate Student Enrollment Jumps 32%

Class of 2025 includes 149 first-year students

NC State’s College of Education will begin the 2021-2022 academic year with an expected 197 new undergraduate students, which is an increase of 32% in new undergraduate student enrollment over last year. The entering group of undergraduates includes 154 first-year and 43 external transfer students. 

The first-year students had an average weighted GPA of 4.26 and come from 12 states and 48 counties in North Carolina. Transfer students come from four states and 17 counties in North Carolina. 

Of the college’s expected 154 first-year students, 40 are students of color. 

“In order for us to fulfill our land-grant mission to increase the educational success of all students, we must prepare more teachers of color. We’re making strides in that area, and it will continue to be one of our highest priorities as a college,” Danowitz said. “Our faculty and staff have worked diligently and thoughtfully to create relevant programming and outreach initiatives like our Leadership Institute for Future Teachers to recruit more students to our college, particularly more students of color, while our development office has built the relationships we need and generated the financial support we need to provide scholarships to deserving students who may not otherwise be able to afford to NC State. 

“I am also extremely grateful to all of our donors who have allowed us to increase the number of scholarships we’re able to offer our students and for them sharing our belief that we must do more to ensure the educational success of all.” 

Help us prepare more extraordinary educators.

Support the College of Education’s Excellence Fund.

This year, the College of Education awarded its first Darla Buchanan Scholarship to a first-year student, Carla Gibson of Belmont, North Carolina. This scholarship is an equity-focused scholarship named in honor of a Black teacher from Topeka, Kansas, who lost her position at the end of the 1952-1953 school year due to an unintended consequence of the Brown vs. Board of Education decision. (A second Darla Buchanan Scholarship has been awarded to junior Eduardo Herrera-Rodriquez of Apex, North Carolina.)

Gibson is also the recipient of a Dean’s Excellence Scholarship—a new scholarship program the college has started this fall thanks to gifts made to the College of Education’s Excellence Fund. 

The Dean’s Excellence Scholarships provide $40,000 over four years to one first-year student and $20,000 over four years to eight first-year students and one transfer student. These students will also receive a $1,000 study abroad stipend and $2,000 in professional development. 

Recipients of the Dean’s Excellence Scholarships are the following: 

  • Carla Gibson of Belmont, North Carolina
  • Maia Solomon of Apex, North Carolina
  • Kayla Womble of Sanford, North Carolina
  • Anyah Moore of Charlotte, North Carolina
  • Travis Espinoza Mundo of Bear Creek, North Carolina
  • Andreas Dahntay Jordan of Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina
  • Angelena Christine Mangino of Pinetops, North Carolina
  • Victoria Campo Ringler of Greenville, North Carolina
  • Brett Liam Rothman of Raleigh, North Carolina
  • Jennifer Amador of Timberlake, North Carolina

Graduate Enrollment Hits Highest Level in a Decade

Among graduate students, the college expects to welcome 392 new master’s and doctoral students this fall, bringing the college’s total expected enrollment of graduate students to 1,325—which is a 4.2% increase over last fall and the college’s highest number for graduate enrollment in at least 10 years. In addition, over one-third of the college’s graduate students are students of color. 

With the 144 new doctoral students, there are now 511 students enrolled in the college’s five doctoral programs—an all-time high and a 54% increase over last fall when the college began 2020-2021 with 330 doctoral students.

Among master’s students, the college will have an expected 248 new master’s students, bringing total master’s enrollment to 757. 

Of those master’s programs, the college now has an all-time high of 288 students in its Master of Arts in Teaching program—an accelerated teacher licensure program where students earn both their master’s degree and initial teaching license. 

The master’s program in clinical mental health counseling also has reached an all-time high in enrollment with 72 students.

In addition, the college has 85 new students in its graduate certificate programs. 

Goodnight Scholars Welcome Largest Cohort of Education Students Yet 

The College of Education’s new undergraduate students include nine Goodnight Scholars— the highest number of College of Education students ever in an incoming class of Goodnight Scholars. 

Established in 2008, the Goodnight Scholars Program provides North Carolina students from low- and middle-income families interested in studying science, technology, engineering, mathematics or STEM education with a scholarship valued at $21,000. The scholarship is renewable for up to four years for four-year students and up to three years for transfer students. 

Among the new Goodnight Scholars is Alondra Badillo-Reyes, an elementary education major and the College of Education’s first transfer student to be named a Goodnight Scholar. 

The other new Goodnight Scholars in the college are these eight first-year students:

  • Cristal Gonzalez-Valdez, mathematics education
  • Bethany Lee, science education
  • Gabrielle Martin, mathematics education
  • Maria Mata-Reyes, science education
  • Hannah Morris, mathematics education
  • Yohana Nava-Trejo, elementary education 
  • Courtney Smith, elementary education
  • Jobie White, education undeclared

Teaching Fellows at NC State Welcome Largest Entering Cohort in NC for 4th Straight Year

This year, NC State will enroll 44 new students as part of the N.C. Teaching Fellows program—which is the largest entering cohort of Teaching Fellows among the eight institutions in North Carolina that host a program. 

The 44 first-year, transfer, Master of Arts in Teaching and licensure-only students studying across the College of Education and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences make up the fourth cohort of Teaching Fellows at NC State. Of those 44 new Teaching Fellows, 38 are in the College of Education’s undergraduate or Master of Arts in Teaching programs, and one is part of Pathway to Practice, the college’s joint licensure program with UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Education. 

Since state legislators reestablished Teaching Fellows in 2018, NC State has welcomed more Teaching Fellows in its program each year than any other institution. Today, there are 143 students at NC State who are formally part of the Teaching Fellows program—the most in North Carolina.

*Data through Aug. 10, 2021