Students
The University of Connecticut is a school of choice for academically talented students. UConn has stood as the top public university in New England for 12 consecutive years.
In 2010, 49,148 prospective students and their families took the student-guided Lodewick Visitors Center tour of the UConn campus in Storrs.
Fall 2010 enrollment: 30,034

Undergraduate
- 17,345 Undergraduates at main campus
- 4,536 Undergraduates at regional campuses
- 21,881 Subtotal Undergraduate

Graduate
- 6,748 Graduate (M.A./Ph.D., incl. 336 at Health Center)
- 672 Law
- 203 Pharm.D.
- 352 Medicine
- 178 Dental Medicine
- 8,153 Subtotal Graduate/Professional
Fall 2010 entering freshmen at main campus: 3,339
|
Student Characteristics
Characteristics Fall 2010 | Undergraduate | Grad/Professional |
---|---|---|
Female | 50% | 52% |
Minority | 23% | 16% |
International1 | 2% | 16% |
Connecticut Residents2 | 80% | 73% |
Full-time Degree | 91% | 60% |
Part-time Degree | 6% | 31% |
Non-Degree (FT & PT) | 3% | 9% |
- 1 101 countries were represented in the international student population.
- 2 75% of undergraduates on main campus are Connecticut residents.
- All 169 Connecticut towns and 44 of 50 states are represented in total undergraduate student body.
Retention and Graduation Rates
Characteristics Fall 2010 | Undergraduate | Grad/Professional |
---|---|---|
Main Campus | All | Minority |
Freshmen Retention: 1-Year Rate | 93% | 92% |
Graduation: 4-Year Rate | 67% | 57% |
Graduation: 6-Year Rate | 81% | 72% |
- UConn (main campus) ranks 21 out of 58 public research universities in graduation rate for all freshmen and 21 out of 58 public research universities for minority freshmen. (Sources: U.S. News 2011 America’s Best Colleges & 2009 IPEDS Graduation Rate Survey)
- UConn (main campus) average time to graduate is 4.2 years among those who graduate within 6 years, and ranks 5 out of 58 public research universities.
Student Awards and Achievements
Over the past year, undergraduate as well as graduate students from across the University of Connecticut have been honored with prestigious research grants, fellowships, and awards on the state and national levels.
College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
- Kyle Carney, a student in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources’ Turfgrass Science Program, was selected from applicants across the U.S. and Canada as winner of the 2008 Toro Super Bowl Sports Turf Training Scholarship. He traveled to Tampa, Fla., to work with the National Football League’s top turf professionals to prepare the game field and practice facilities for 2009's Super Bowl XLIII.
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Three undergraduates in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences – Michael Abramczyk, a double major in physics and philosophy; Kevin Burgio, an ecology and evolutionary biology major; and Alexander Meeske, a molecular and cell biology major – are among 278 students nationwide who won the prestigious 2009 Goldwater award, established by Congress in 1986 in honor of former Sen. Barry Goldwater.
- Kathryn Theiss, a doctoral student in ecology and evolutionary biology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, was one of 20 environmental scholars chosen as 2009 Switzer Environmental Fellows. The Switzer award, a prestigious national fellowship, will enable her to continue her field studies, monitoring the decline of two rare orchid species in Madagascar and analyzing the threats to their habitat.
- Amanda Wendt, a doctoral student in ecology and evolutionary biology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 2009, a program sponsored by the U.S. government that seeks to enhance cultural awareness and cooperation between U.S. scientists and professionals and peers around the globe. Wendt is conducting research on bats and their role in the regeneration of tropical forests in Costa Rica.
- Adam Wilson, a doctoral student in ecology and evolutionary biology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, was awarded a three-year graduate fellowship from NASA.
School of Engineering
- UConn Engineering has five U.S. Department of Education Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) Fellowship Sites, with support for 40 Ph.D. students – the greatest concentration of GAANN programs in the country. GAANN Fellowships fund U.S. citizens – particularly those from traditionally underrepresented populations – as they pursue doctoral studies.
- Jason Billings and Derek Nener-Plante, graduate students in the School of Engineering, each received a 2009 Eisenhower Graduate Fellowship, which provides funding for students pursuing advanced degrees in transportation-related fields.
- Mehdi DaneshPanah, a doctoral student in the School of Engineering, was awarded a Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) scholarship in 2009 in optical science and engineering.
- Kyle Grew, a graduate student in the School of Engineering, was awarded a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship for 2007-2010.
- Viviana Maggioni and Efthymios Nikolopoulos, graduate students in the School of Engineering, were each awarded NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowships in 2009.
- Thuy Pham, a graduate student in the School of Engineering, received a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award for Individual Predoctoral Fellows.
- The Connecticut Technology Council honored Claire Weiss, a doctoral student and researcher in the Institute of Materials Science and School of Engineering, with a 2010 “Women of Innovation” award, which honors women in the work force who are innovators, role models, and leaders in the field of technology, science, and engineering. Weiss, who is currently working on the fabrication and characterization of complex oxide thin films, was honored in the collegian innovation and leadership category. Her work could impact the performance of devices used in military, healthcare, energy, and commercial applications. Weiss also recently received a Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship for Service.
- Jonathan Winterstein, a doctoral student in materials science and engineering in the School of Engineering, was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 2009, a program sponsored by the U.S. government that seeks to enhance cultural awareness and cooperation between U.S. scientists and professionals and peers around the globe. Winterstein is conducting research at the Austrian Centre for Electron Microscopy and Nanoanalysis – an institute renowned for its high-quality electron spectroscopy and microscopy.
2011 Fact Sheet
Basic information about the University of Connecticut
UCONNOMY
UConn's impact on Connecticut's economy
History
The University's founding and early years