As Grace College celebrates its 75-year history, it welcomes an unprecedented 1,364 new and returning students to its Winona Lake campus for the 2023-24 school year. In addition to a campus full of traditional undergraduate students, Grace’s total enrollment of 2,271 is helped by strong numbers from Grace Theological Seminary, Grace Online and College Launch, its associate degree program for students in high school.
“God has been so gracious to this institution from the very beginning,” said Dr. Drew Flamm, president of Grace College and Seminary. “I find it fitting that as we recognize a historic milestone in our timeline, our numbers have reached a historic high — only more evidence of His grace. We are grateful that in 1948, the leadership of Grace Theological Seminary saw a need to start Grace College, and I praise the Lord that we continue to strive forward together to know Christ and make Him known.”
This fall, Grace tied its second-largest incoming undergraduate class with 465 new students. The diverse group comes to Winona Lake from 19 states and 15 different countries. They are studying a wide array of disciplines across Grace’s seven academic schools, including its School of Science and Engineering, which was introduced this summer.
“By introducing the School of Science and Engineering and giving our STEM programs their own home, we can increase resources and advancements in these fields and expand the agility of these programs as they respond to the needs of our community and the needs within the broader market,” said Dr. Kevin Roberts, provost at Grace College.
The school has already seen enrollment growth in majors such as nursing, medical imaging and computer science, and has also made way for new developments. This summer, the school launched a new academic research center: The Center for Movement and Well-Being. Funded by a Lilly Endowment Grant, this new center will provide programming to help Kosciusko County residents take ownership of their health and wellness and equip exercise science students with the skills they need for their careers. Likewise, the Department of Engineering received $443,240 from the Don Wood Foundation to increase the visibility of the program, purchase new equipment and build new connections with the community.
Grace Theological Seminary has seen tremendous growth in its enrollment this year. Welcoming 82 new students, the seminary totals 208 students engaged in theological education through an array of delivery methods: on campus, online, on-site and on demand.
“This is the highest number of incoming students the seminary has seen in a long, long time,” said Dr. Freddy Cardoza, vice president of Grace Theological Seminary. “What is perhaps even more exciting is that we offer dozens of on-ramps for students to begin our various programs throughout the year, so we will soar past 208 students over the next several months.”
A large percentage of those students are those pursuing online master’s degrees through the seminary, which saw a 54% increase this year. This comes on the heels of a new seminary offering: a completely online MDiv program delivered with high-definition videos that launched this fall.
Grace Online welcomed 150 new students this year. The MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling grew by 31%, and College Launch, Grace’s associate degree in high school program, grew by 59%.
“As our students increase and our programs grow, we are dedicated to improving the student experience,” said Flamm. “This summer, we renovated Beta Hall, a male dormitory, and in the spring, we broke ground on our new Tom Roy – UPI Baseball Park. We are so thankful for the last 75 years of Grace College, and we are hopeful as we look to the next 75 years ahead.”
To find out more about Grace College, including how to visit and apply, visit www.grace.edu.
Photo attached: The Grace College 2023 incoming class kicked off the new academic year with a Winona Lake beach party.
