Preliminary enrollment data for fall 2026 shows third year of promising trends

 By Chris A. Meinzer 

As of October 26, 2026, 254 ATS member schools representing nearly 90 percent of the membership have reported enrollment data. Of these reporting schools, 58 percent have shown year-over-year enrollment increases, and 42 percent have shown declines. For the third year in a row, more ATS member schools have grown than declined.

Total enrollment of this reporting group reflects an increase of 2.4 percent over what these same schools reported in fall 2025 — about 78,371 students in fall 2026 and 76,558 in fall 2025. If the 30 schools that still need to report have similar enrollments than what they reported last year, the total enrollment across all ATS schools is projected to be over 82,000 students in fall 2026.

Notable trends emerge

When looking at degree categories, some interesting trends are evident within these 254 reporting schools. All degree categories currently reflect year-over-year increases except for ThM/STM, PhD/ThD, and nondegree programs, which are essentially flat at this point. ATS staff will continue to monitor enrollment as the final 30 schools report to see how these overall trends change, and an updated and more detailed article will follow in December.

For the same-set 254 schools reporting data:

• MDiv enrollment is up 4.4 percent. Of these schools, 67 percent have shown year-over-year growth in MDiv enrollment. This is significant because the growth is very widespread. By ecclesial family, 66 percent of reporting evangelical schools show increases, 72 percent of mainline schools show increases, and 63 percent of Catholic/Orthodox schools show increases.

• MA enrollment is up 1.4 percent. This degree category, which previously had been a significant growth area across ATS member schools, had slowed its rate of growth in recent years. But now, of these 254 schools, 51 percent have shown year-over-year increases in MA enrollment. By ecclesial family, 46 percent of reporting evangelical schools show increases, 62 percent of mainline schools show increases, and 49 percent of Catholic/Orthodox schools show increases.

• DMin enrollment grew by 3.2 percent. Like the MA, this degree category has been a substantial growth area for ATS member schools for more than a decade. Today, 61 percent of reporting schools show year-over-year increases in DMin enrollment. By ecclesial family, 64 percent of evangelical schools show increases, 58 percent of mainline schools show increases, and 70 percent of Catholic/Orthodox schools show increases.

• PhD/ThD shows an decrease of 1.1 percent.

• Other professional doctorates had an increase of 9.4 percent.

• ThM/STM reflects a decrease of 4.5 percent.

• Degree-seeking students reflect an increase of 2.6 percent, growing from about 70,400 students in fall 2025 to about 72,300 in fall 2026. This indicates the widespread nature of the increases across many degree offerings.

• In the last few years, nondegree enrollment has grown significantly. But this year, enrollment is flat. Of the 254 schools reporting so far, enrollment has decreased by 0.4 percent, with just 51 percent of the schools reporting year-over-year increases. By ecclesial family, 49 percent of reporting evangelical schools show increases, 55 percent of mainline schools show increases, and 52 percent of Catholic/Orthodox schools show increases.