By Kamiko Chamble
For the first time since 2021, SUNY Plattsburgh has more than 4,500 students. The student population stands at 4,541 — thanks to a growing interest in the college’s graduate-level programs.
President Alexander Enyedi’s email to the campus Nov. 1 noted that 715 of SUNY Plattsburgh’s students are in masters programs. The number is double that of last year’s. Transfer student enrollment grew by 31% and first-year enrollment grew by just 1%, according to the email.
Director of Graduate Admissions Carrie Woodward said, “The graduate programs with the largest absolute increases are childhood education, school building leader certificate, adolescence education, special education and data analytics.”
The increases to the graduates program are mainly attributable to the addition of online modalities for several programs, including accounting, business administration, global supply chain management.
SUNY Plattsburgh has also recently launched an online social work program, which will enroll its first full cohort of new students in fall 2025.
Another program high in demand is the masters in clinical mental health counseling, given the growing need for mental health providers. Rates of mental illness in New York are increasing while providers’ capacity are decreasing, according to reports by state Attorney General Leticia James and state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
Tim Thomas, graduate student majoring in clinical mental health counseling, said he has had a good experience in the program, but he needed time to adjust to its rigor.
“Being in the graduate program is much more work and you have to apply yourself,” Thomas said. “There’s no handing assignments in late. If you miss a class or two, your grade drops a letter. Classes are much longer — it’s intense.”
