Tennessee Tech University announced its highest total enrollment since 2015, welcoming 10,773 students for the fall 2026 semester.

The milestone follows the university’s largest graduating class in history last spring. Tech added nearly 2,900 new students, driven by a year-over-year increase in transfer students and a freshman retention rate of nearly 80%, the second-highest on record for the institution.

The incoming freshman class arrived with an average high school GPA of 3.73, with 39% holding a perfect 4.0 GPA. President Phil Oldham attributed the growth to expanding academic programs—including new offerings in artificial intelligence and architecture—and heavy campus investments.

Mechanical engineering, nursing, computer science, civil and environmental engineering, and biology remain the university’s top undergraduate degree programs. The College of Engineering led all divisions in year-to-year enrollment growth, followed by the Whitson-Hester School of Nursing and the College of Business.