The University of California, Davis, has fully embraced its journey toward achieving Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) designation.

Students from historically underrepresented groups — African American, Native American and Chicano/Latino — represented 32.6 percent of both the entering class and all undergraduates who are residents of the United States.

“These UC Davis students are among the best of the best,” said Chancellor Gary S. May. “This HSI journey represents our commitment to fulfilling our academic mission by serving this growing population in California.” (More from the Chancellor on the HSI milestone.)

This year the university, which ranks fifth among all U.S. public research universities according to The Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education’s annual ranking, enrolled 38,167 students as well as 985 interns and residents for a total of 39,152.

Student enrollment increased by 787, or about 2.1 percent, from last fall’s 37,380. Undergraduates numbered 30,876, and there were 7,291 graduate and professional students. The entering class of 9,480 — up 286, or 3.1 percent, from last fall’s 9,194 — included 6,395 new freshmen and 3,085 new transfer students.

GPA and first-generation status

The mean grade point average, or GPA, for freshmen increased from 3.99 last fall to 4.03 this fall. For transfer students, the GPA for college studies increased from 3.40 last fall to 3.45.

Higher percentages of students than last fall indicated they would be in the first generation of their family to earn a degree from a four-year college or university: about 40.9 percent among new freshmen respondents and 52.2 percent of new transfer respondents.

Davis campus population

With about 2,000 students, interns and residents at locations beyond Davis, the enrollment on the Davis campus itself is estimated at 37,150. When averaged over three academic quarters, total enrollment for 2018-19 is expected to be 37,500.