Enrollment in accounting undergraduate programs across the U.S. rose for the third straight year in fall 2025, according to new data from the National Student Clearinghouse.
Overall accounting undergraduate enrollment grew by 7.3% year over year in the fall 2025 semester. That increase compares to 1.2% for enrollment across all majors, data from the clearinghouse’s Final Fall Enrollment Trends 2025 report shows.
The increase for accounting majors follows an 11.3% rise in fall 2024 and a 1.9% increase in fall 2023 at the undergraduate level.
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“Three straight years of growth is energizing for the profession,” Susan Coffey, CEO of public accounting at the American Institute of CPAs, said in a statement on Jan. 20.
“The fact that enrollment was up this fall versus competitive fields of study signals that students are seeing the purpose, trust, value, and financial security that accounting delivers—and they’re choosing it.”
Among the highlights from the clearinghouse’s most recent data:
- Total postsecondary accounting enrollment in 2025 was 313,397 students, compared to 293,759 last year. That includes enrollment at four-year colleges and universities, community colleges, hybrid institutions that primarily offer associate’s degrees, and graduate schools.
- Accounting enrollment at four-year undergraduate programs rose 7.4% to 204,283 in fall 2025, the third consecutive year-over-year increase.
- By comparison, total enrollment across all program areas at the four-year undergraduate level rose 1.4% at public institutions and declined at private institutions.
- One in eight undergraduate business students majored in accounting in fall 2025, an increase from one in nine in 2023.
- At the graduate level, accounting enrollment rose just under a half-percent to 25,580 students. While modest, the accounting graduate-level enrollment increases still outstripped the growth in overall graduate business, management, and marketing programs and represents the first year-over-year increase in graduate accounting enrollment since 2019.
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The AICPA noted in a media release that it continues to work with educators, accounting firms and other employers, state CPA societies, and other accounting groups to promote workforce development and career opportunities in the profession.
Students can visit ThisWaytoCPA.com to discover resources and information about accounting careers, the AICPA said.
“Workforce development and talent readiness are a significant focus for us,” Coffey said. “Partnering with stakeholders to make our profession more accessible and rewarding remains a critical priority.”
Photo illustration credit: AlexSecret/iStock
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