New data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center shows a 12% increase in fall 2024 accounting enrollment compared to fall 2023. The increase amounted to an additional 28,672 students.
Total undergraduate accounting enrollment for fall 2024 was 267,278 students, the highest accounting enrollment reported since fall 2020 (263,092 students) and just shy of the pre-pandemic fall 2019 enrollment (275,963 students).
“Strong accounting enrollment is heartening,” said Susan Coffey, CEO of public accounting for the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA). “The larger undergraduate student body presents a bigger opportunity to demonstrate to students the dynamic, rewarding career opportunities accounting can deliver.”
Coffey said the enrollment data will be critical for a host of programs and initiatives that stakeholders from across the profession are leading – from educators on college campuses to accountants volunteering to talk about accounting careers to high school students.
“There is much work to do to increase awareness and interest in accounting as a major and to sustain that interest through college and into the workplace as students begin their careers,” Coffey added. “This ongoing work will be even more critical in the coming years as demographic shifts reshape education and the workforce.”
To learn more about ways to promote the accounting profession, please visit the National Pipeline Advisory Group’s resource page.
