by Brooklyn Draisey, Iowa Capital Dispatch
December 18, 2025
More than 4,000 college students from across Iowa, the U.S. and the world are set to earn their degrees from the state’s public universities at the end of the fall semester, according to numbers released by the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and University of Northern Iowa.
Each of the state universities is celebrating its degree applicants and the accomplishments they made as students this week as the fall 2025 semester comes to a close.
UI grads represent 67 countries
At the UI, 1,113 undergraduate and 578 graduate students are set to earn their degrees, according to a news release. The oldest student to earn their degree this semester is 65 years old, and the youngest is 19. The release stated 44 graduating students identify as veterans.
Fifteen percent of UI undergraduate degree applicants will graduate with multiple majors, the release stated, and the average undergraduate cumulative grade-point average for the group is 3.27. Nearly one-quarter of the undergraduate applicants identify as first-generation students.
Degree applicants at the UI come from 67 Iowa counties, 36 states and U.S. territories and 46 countries, including the U.S. Academic programs represented in the graduating cohort include accounting, business analytics and information systems, enterprise leadership, exercise science, finance, marketing, nursing and psychology.
UNI grads from 90 Iowa counties
The 688 UNI students set to graduate this weekend represent 90 Iowa counties, 14 U.S. states and nine countries, a news release stated. Of the university’s degree applicants, 610 are undergraduate students and 78 are graduate students, and Iowa residents make up 626 members of the group. Twenty-five students identified as veterans.
Of the undergraduate students earning their UNI degree, the release stated close to one-third identify as first-generation and “nearly one in five” are enrolled in multiple majors. The average undergraduate cumulative grade-point average is 3.38.
UNI’s college of humanities, arts and sciences produced the most degree applicants this semester, with the release stating 211 enrolled graduating students, followed by the college of social and behavioral sciences and college of education.
Retiring ISU president’s tenure has seen 60K grads
ISU announced in a news release it has 1,803 students set to complete their degree, with 1,462 earning a bachelor’s degree and 341 students finishing their master’s or doctoral program.
This semester’s commencement ceremonies will be President Wendy Wintersteen’s last chance to congratulate graduates as they receive their degrees, as she will retire Jan. 2. The release stated that during her time leading the university, ISU has graduated more than 60,000 students.
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