By Elizabeth Troutman |

Almost 30,000 students will graduate from Grand Canyon University later this month, marking the third time the school has produced this many alumni in a year. 

“We are blessed to be able to celebrate the accomplishments of another record class of graduates who are meeting the needs of today’s workforce and fulfilling their purpose as servant leaders throughout the world,” GCU President Brian Mueller said in a statement.

On April 25-26, GCU will hold commencement ceremonies for 5,388 traditional students on the Phoenix campus, while the 23,597 graduating online students will have commencement May 1-3. The total number of students in the graduating class is 28,985, including those who completed their degrees in Summer 2023, Fall 2023, and projected graduates from Spring 2024.

In the 2022-23 year, 29,116 students graduated, while 30,000 graduated in the 2021-22 year. 

“While enrollment numbers and graduation numbers are declining nationwide, we have continued to produce a significant number of graduates who are impacting industries throughout the country,” Mueller said. 

Of all graduates, 15,580 completed their undergraduate degree, and 13,405 were graduate students earning master’s or doctoral degrees.

The Honors College had 682 graduates, raising the total to more than 2,500 since the college started in 2013.

In the 2023-24 academic year, enrollment at GCU surpassed 25,000 on the Phoenix campus, with another more than 92,000 studying online. Additionally, GCU grew from nine to 10 colleges when the College of Science, Engineering and Technology split into two, forming the College of Engineering and Technology and the College of Natural Sciences. 

GCU also opened a physical location for its Grand Canyon Theological Seminary in the fall. The 17,000-square-foot Seminary offers GCU’s Master of Divinity program and provides a meeting space for local pastors. 

The Phoenix-based university also created the Center for Workforce Development and added two more Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program sites, bringing the total number of sites to six. GCU is on track to open three more sites in the 2024-25 academic year.

Mueller attributed the growth to students, faculty, and above all, God. 

“That is a testament to the extraordinary power of education when delivered creatively across multiple platforms and taught from a Christian worldview perspective,” Mueller said. “It is also a reflection of both our outstanding students and the support they receive from our faculty and staff.”

Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.