The University of California, Davis, enrolled its highest-ever numbers of both Latinx and African American new undergraduates as it welcomed one of its most diverse entering classes in fall 2025.

The University of California released systemwide enrollment statistics today (Jan. 8).

At UC Davis, overall enrollment — including undergraduate, graduate and professional students as well as 1,208 veterinary and medical residents and interns — numbered 40,617, a decrease of 622, or 1.5%, from fall 2024.

UC Davis enrolled 9,466 new undergraduates, roughly the same number as fall 2024: 6,805 as first-year students directly from high school, 2,639 as transfer students and 22 others seeking a second undergraduate degree.

Among new U.S. domestic undergraduates, a record 428 were African American and 2,564 were Hispanic/Latino(a). 

Representation

The new undergraduates come from 54 of California’s 58 counties, 45 states and U.S. territories, and 54 countries. Approximately 84.6% are California residents, 4.7% are U.S. domestic students from outside California, and 10.7% are international students.

Among the 5,860 U.S domestic first-year students, 4.6% were African American, 0.6% American Indian, 31.7% Hispanic/Latino(a), 0.3% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 39.4% Asian American, 20.5% White and 2.8% unknown.

Among 2,538 U.S. domestic transfer students, 5.9% were African American, 1.0% American Indian, 27.3% Hispanic/Latino(a), 0.3% Pacific Islander, 35.8% Asian American, 28.0% White and 1.4% unknown.

Socioeconomic measures, GPAs

Among new undergraduates, 40.3% indicated they would be in the first generation of their family to graduate from a four-year university. About 31.3% of all new undergraduates were considered low income, and 38.1% were recipients of the federal Pell Grant for low-income students.

Robert Penman, executive director of Undergraduate Admissions, said the average grade point average, or GPA, for first-year students was 4.03, and the median was 4.07. More than 75% of first-year students had a weighted GPA above 3.91.

The average transfer GPA was 3.57, and the median was 3.59. More than 75% of newly enrolled transfer students had a GPA above 3.35.

For fall 2025, UC Davis received a record 120,131 applications and offered admission to a record 55,739 students.

Calculations for planning purposes

Counted among the university’s total enrollment, some students study at the Sacramento campus, facilities across California and beyond. UC Davis also tracks student population averaged over the three quarters of an academic year for implementing the 2018 Long Range Development Plan, or LRDP, capacity of 39,000 students at the Davis campus. In keeping with the last few years, the LRDP three-quarter average is estimated to be around 36,000 for 2025-26.