Florida Atlantic: A University on the Rise

Florida Atlantic University received more than 57,000 first-year applications for fall 2025. More than 10,000 over last fall, this marks a new record for the university as the incoming student profile also continues to rise. The admitted high school GPA for this group is a 4.0 average and the average ACT score is 25, compared to 3.94 and 24 last year, respectively.

This comes on the heels of Florida Atlantic joining just 21 esteemed institutions nationwide to achieve both R1 top-tier research status and receive the Carnegie "Opportunity College and University" (OCU) designation.

"We are thrilled that Florida Atlantic has become the first-choice university for so many students," said FAU President Adam Hasner. "Our university is on the rise, and we are becoming an incredibly attractive option for top students across Florida and the nation."

Achieving R1 status for "Very High Research Spending and Doctorate Production" is a prestigious goal for most higher education institutions and brings many benefits to the universities that achieve it.

"R1 empowers Florida Atlantic to address pressing societal issues head-on, contributing to advances in health, technology and policy," said Gregg Fields, Ph.D., vice president for research at Florida Atlantic. "This distinction highlights Florida Atlantic's commitment to excellence in research and education, creating a magnet to draw in world-class faculty, top-tier students, new funding sources and global collaboration."

While R1 has been a significant research classification for more than five decades, the OCU recognition was just established this year. The designation is part of the Student Access and Earnings Classification in the new 2025 Carnegie Classifications. It measures whether institutions are enrolling and creating opportunities for students in communities the institutions serve and whether students earn competitive wages after they graduate.

Florida Atlantic received two top measures: one for access, based on the percentage of students who receive Pell grants and the percentage of undergraduate students who are from underrepresented backgrounds; and one based on undergraduate students' post-attendance earnings eight years after entering the institution.

"Florida Atlantic continues to deliver outcomes that matter," said Russell Ivy, Ph.D., interim provost and vice president for academic affairs. "Not only are we anchoring our region as a top-tier research university with nationally renowned scholars on our faculty, but we are also providing life-changing opportunities by graduating more students than ever who are highly prepared for the workforce and making earnings that reflect the strength of their education and the value of their FAU degree."

Florida Atlantic students finishing their degrees are also making history, as more than 3,700 students graduated in spring 2025, another record for the school. The university increased the number of spring ceremonies from six to seven to accommodate this milestone. To date, more than 216,000 alumni have graduated from Florida Atlantic since the university opened its doors in 1964.