Georgian Court University is proud to welcome the newest members of our Lions family to campus this fall.
The Class of 2027 includes 253 first-time students, five of whom are international students from England, Germany, Italy, Norway, and Spain. The most popular majors for incoming students are Nursing; Exercise Science, Wellness & Sports; Psychology; and Business Administration.
The incoming class reflects GCU’s ongoing commitment to campus diversity, with enrollments of students of color increasing by nearly 60% over last year. Some 25% of students at GCU also identify as Hispanic, an increase of 16% over the previous year.
“This positive growth is due to our focused recruitment and outreach efforts, particularly to first-generation college students,” explained Chris Krzak, Georgian Court’s Vice President for Enrollment Management and Retention. “We have a very diverse staff, including several Spanish-speaking faculty and staff members who interact well with students and support our recruitment efforts.”
GCU anticipates just over 2,000 students to be enrolled for the 2023-2024 academic year, including some 150 transfer students from community colleges and other universities. Graduate enrollment includes 180 students, with new students joining degree programs in Social Work, Clinical Mental Health, Psychology, Education, Business, and Nursing.
“Students began paying their deposits much earlier this year, which shows how confident they are in GCU as their first choice, and they are looking forward to beginning their programs,” Krzak added.
The fall semester includes the following new programs:
- Bachelor of Science in Sport Management, which applies a robust business management background to the wide-ranging and continuously changing needs, challenges, trends, technologies, and opportunities of the sports industry, one of the fastest-growing fields globally.
- English as a Second Language (ESL), an NJ Education Certificate Program that fulfills requirements to lead to an endorsement for a New Jersey instructional certificate. Twelve teachers from the Toms River Unified School District have enrolled in the online program.
- Digital Marketing Concentration is available through the Marketing major. This concentration includes courses that enable students to earn Google and HubSpot Certifications. Certifications can be completed in Google Ads Search, Google Analytics Individual Qualification, Email Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, and Content Marketing. The first two courses launching this fall are “Viral & Organic Growth” and “Email Marketing.” The Social Media Marketing minor also includes some of these courses.
Move-in for residential students begins on August 30, and classes start for all students on September 5, 2023.
GCU welcomes all of our Lions back to campus for an exciting year of learning and personal, educational, social, and spiritual growth. We look forward to each of them sharing their diverse social, cultural, and regional experiences to nourish and grow their understandings of each other, and to continue fostering an even more compassionate and inclusive community.
