O'Neill School celebrates record enrollment for 2025-26 school year

The Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs in Bloomington is celebrating record enrollment numbers for the 2025–26 academic year, underscoring the growing demand for education that prepares students to address the world’s most pressing public and environmental challenges.

This fall, the O’Neill School Bloomington is home to 2,638 undergraduate majors and 520 master’s students, along with a strong cohort of doctoral scholars. The school has welcomed 11 new Ph.D. students and more than 225 new master’s students—a 10 percent increase over last year’s incoming graduate class.

The momentum extends beyond Bloomington. An additional 63 students have enrolled in the O’Neill School’s online programs, where enrollments in the online Master of Public Affairs and certificate offerings are up 50 percent compared to fall 2024.

At the undergraduate level, O’Neill is also seeing steady growth. The school welcomed 289 first-year students this fall, marking its largest freshman class in history and a more than 5 percent increase from last year.

“Welcoming our largest incoming freshman class ever is not only a milestone—it’s a sign of momentum and trust in our mission to prepare future leaders,” Dean Siân Mooney said. “The need for evidence-based policy and strong public service has never been higher, and we’re proud to be the school students turn to for the tools to make a difference.”

The O’Neill School is recognized as one of the nation’s leading institutions for public and environmental affairs, consistently ranked among the top programs in the country for public affairs, nonprofit management, environmental policy, and public finance. Students are drawn to the school’s combination of rigorous academics, applied learning opportunities, and a commitment to shaping policy and practice at the local, national, and global levels.

With record numbers across undergraduate, graduate, and online programs, the O’Neill School continues to expand its impact, training the next generation of leaders committed to solving society’s most complex challenges.

Media Contact

Ken Bikoff, Faculty Liaison and Public Relations Officer
Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs | Indiana University
onnews@iu.edu

About the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs

The O’Neill School is a world leader in public and environmental affairs and is the largest school of public administration and public policy in the United States. In the 2025-26 U.S. News & World Report "Best Graduate School" rankings, the O'Neill School is listed as having the top Master of Public Affairs among public universities and ranks #2 overall out of 269 public and private institutions. In addition, the O’Neill School’s Bloomington campus received #1 rankings in the specialty areas of environmental policy and management, nonprofit management, public finance and budgeting, and public management and leadership.