Journalism student statistics show how one program’s enrollment, degree production, and student timelines changed across measured cohorts. The figures below describe Grady College at the University of Georgia, with dates and academic periods kept explicit so that freshman cohorts, transfer cohorts, fall enrollment, and degrees conferred are not treated as interchangeable measures.
Contents
- Freshman journalism cohorts
- Transfer-sophomore cohorts
- Recent journalism enrollment
- Journalism compared with related majors
- Graduate enrollment
- Degrees conferred
- Time to degree
Freshman journalism cohorts
The first-time, full-time freshman series covers journalism majors entering Grady College from 2015 through 2021. The count reached its highest point in this series in 2017, when 438 freshmen were recorded. It then declined to 355 in 2021.
| Cohort year | Freshman journalism majors | Graduates produced |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 403 | 380 |
| 2016 | 427 | 406 |
| 2017 | 438 | 409 |
| 2018 | 413 | 386 |
| 2019 | 416 | 383 |
| 2020 | 396 | 362 |
| 2021 | 355 | 287 |
Source: UGA Facts & Figures.
The reported freshman-major count was 403 in 2015 and increased to 427 in 2016. It rose again to 438 in 2017 before falling to 413 in 2018 and 416 in 2019. The count was 396 in 2020 and 355 in 2021. These are cohort-entry counts, not a fall census of every journalism student enrolled at the college.
The same source reports 380 graduates for the 2015 freshman group, 406 for the 2016 group, and 409 for the 2017 group. The graduate count was 386 for 2018, 383 for 2019, 362 for 2020, and 287 for 2021. Because the figures are presented by cohort year, the graduate totals should be read as the outcomes associated with those listed groups rather than as the number of degrees conferred in the matching calendar year.
The 2021 freshman cohort is the smallest entry group in the series at 355 students, and its reported graduate count is also the lowest at 287. The available figures do not identify why the counts differ or specify whether the graduate measure uses the same timing window for every cohort. They do, however, provide a consistent seven-year view of the two reported measures.
Transfer-sophomore cohorts
Grady College also reports full-time transfer-sophomore journalism majors for the same 2015–2021 cohort range. These groups were substantially smaller than the freshman groups in every listed year.
Transfer-sophomore enrollment was 45 in 2015 and 44 in 2016. It increased to 61 in 2017, the highest transfer-sophomore count in the series, then fell to 40 in 2018. The count was 44 in 2019, 46 in 2020, and 58 in 2021.
The associated graduate counts were 43 in 2015, 39 in 2016, 54 in 2017, 34 in 2018, 39 in 2019, 42 in 2020, and 50 in 2021. The source identifies these as graduates produced by the listed transfer-sophomore cohorts.
| Cohort year | Transfer-sophomore majors | Graduates produced |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 45 | 43 |
| 2016 | 44 | 39 |
| 2017 | 61 | 54 |
| 2018 | 40 | 34 |
| 2019 | 44 | 39 |
| 2020 | 46 | 42 |
| 2021 | 58 | 50 |
Source: UGA Facts & Figures.
The transfer pathway’s largest recorded entry group, 61 students in 2017, was followed by 54 reported graduates. In 2021, 58 transfer sophomores were recorded and 50 graduates were reported. These figures describe a separate entry route from the first-time freshman series, so they should not be combined with it without a defined cohort methodology.
Recent journalism enrollment
A separate fall-enrollment series measures journalism majors at Grady College from Fall 2021 through Fall 2024. Journalism enrollment was 432 in Fall 2021, 419 in Fall 2022, 342 in Fall 2023, and 351 in Fall 2024.
The lowest figure in this four-fall series was 342 in Fall 2023. Enrollment then stood at 351 in Fall 2024, which was higher than the prior fall’s reported count but below the 2021 and 2022 figures. The source labels these observations as journalism major enrollment, rather than as freshman or transfer entry counts.
This distinction matters when reading the series alongside the cohort data. A fall enrollment count is a snapshot for a specified term; a freshman or transfer cohort count identifies an entry group; and a graduate count records an outcome attributed to that cohort. The measurements answer different questions about journalism students.
Journalism compared with related majors
Fall enrollment data also place journalism beside three related Grady College majors: advertising, entertainment and media studies, and public relations.
| Major | Fall 2021 | Fall 2022 | Fall 2023 | Fall 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Journalism | 432 | 419 | 342 | 351 |
| Advertising | 427 | 385 | 317 | 346 |
| Entertainment and media studies | 286 | 286 | 210 | 233 |
| Public relations | 387 | 383 | 304 | 303 |
Source: UGA Facts & Figures.
Journalism was the largest of the four listed majors in Fall 2021, with 432 students, narrowly ahead of advertising at 427. It remained the largest in Fall 2022, when journalism had 419 students and advertising had 385. In Fall 2023, journalism enrollment was 342, compared with 317 in advertising, 304 in public relations, and 210 in entertainment and media studies. In Fall 2024, journalism had 351 students, followed by advertising at 346, public relations at 303, and entertainment and media studies at 233.
The comparison shows the same broad pattern of lower reported enrollment in Fall 2023 than in Fall 2021 for all four majors, followed by a higher figure for journalism, advertising, and entertainment and media studies in Fall 2024. Public relations was 303 in Fall 2024, one student below its Fall 2023 count of 304. The figures are major-level fall enrollments and do not establish causes for the changes.
Graduate enrollment
Grady’s graduate enrollment figures cover Fall 2021 through Fall 2024 for MA, MFA, and PhD students. MA enrollment was 101 in Fall 2021, 78 in Fall 2022, 144 in Fall 2023, and 113 in Fall 2024. MFA enrollment was 66, 33, 88, and 65 across those same four falls. PhD enrollment was 34 in Fall 2021, 24 in Fall 2022, 29 in Fall 2023, and 37 in Fall 2024.
The MA series has the highest reported graduate-program count in this set, reaching 144 in Fall 2023. The MFA series reached 88 in that fall, while the PhD series reached 37 in Fall 2024. Each program also recorded its lowest listed enrollment in Fall 2022: 78 MA students, 33 MFA students, and 24 PhD students.
The graduate counts should be kept separate from undergraduate journalism enrollment. The source presents MA, MFA, and PhD enrollment as program-level figures, while the earlier fall comparison presents major enrollment. They therefore describe different parts of the student population.
Degrees conferred
Grady College reported 545 A.B./A.B.J. degrees conferred in the 2020–2021 academic year. The count was 558 in 2021–2022, 562 in 2022–2023, and 587 in 2023–2024. This is an academic-year degree series, not a count of journalism majors alone.
Graduate degree production varied by degree type. MA degrees conferred numbered 55 in 2020–2021, 56 in 2021–2022, 95 in 2022–2023, and 101 in 2023–2024. MFA degrees conferred were 8, 87, 36, and 29 across those four academic years. PhD degrees conferred were 6, 4, 5, and 6.
The A.B./A.B.J. series reached its highest listed value, 587, in 2023–2024. MA degrees also reached their highest listed value in 2023–2024, at 101. The MFA series was highest in 2021–2022, at 87, while PhD production was 4 to 6 degrees in each listed academic year.
Time to degree
UGA Facts & Figures reports mean time-to-degree for first-time freshman journalism majors in the 2015 through 2021 cohorts. The measure is shown both for the student’s time at UGA and for time within Grady College.
For the 2015 cohort, mean time to degree was 3.76 years at UGA and 3.38 years within Grady. For 2016, the corresponding figures were 3.75 and 3.30 years. The 2017 cohort averaged 3.80 years at UGA and 3.42 years within Grady. The 2018 cohort averaged 3.75 years at UGA and 3.34 years within Grady.
The 2019 freshman cohort had a mean time to degree of 3.76 years at UGA and 3.42 years within Grady. For 2020, the figures were 3.72 and 3.30 years. The 2021 cohort averaged 3.60 years at UGA and 3.25 years within Grady.
Across the listed freshman cohorts, the reported UGA mean ranged from 3.60 to 3.80 years, while the Grady mean ranged from 3.25 to 3.42 years. The source gives separate institutional and college measures; neither should be treated as a forecast for current students.
Transfer-sophomore journalism majors had shorter reported mean times to degree. The 2015 transfer cohort averaged 2.63 years at UGA and 2.54 years within Grady. The 2016 cohort averaged 2.79 and 2.56 years; the 2017 cohort, 2.80 and 2.64 years; and the 2018 cohort, 2.85 and 2.64 years.
For the 2019 transfer cohort, mean time to degree was 2.81 years at UGA and 2.68 years within Grady. The 2020 cohort averaged 2.89 years at UGA and 2.73 years within Grady. The 2021 cohort averaged 2.93 years at UGA and 2.80 years within Grady.
The transfer series ranges from 2.63 to 2.93 years for time at UGA and from 2.54 to 2.80 years within Grady. These are reported cohort means. They describe the measured 2015–2021 groups and do not establish an expected completion time for a future journalism student.