Scranton Welcomes Diverse Class of 2026

The University of Scranton will welcome the most diverse class in the history of the school for the start of the fall semester this weekend.
Shania Hemingway (left), a chemistry major, and her twin sister Selina, a biology major, both from Alburtis and in the pre-med program, arrived on campus to participate in the Royals of Color Kickoff. Their classmates will move in on Saturday. The class of 2026 is the most diverse in the history of the University, with 285 incoming students identifying as a person of color.
Shania Hemingway (left), a chemistry major, and her twin sister Selina, a biology major, both from Alburtis and in the pre-med program, arrived on campus to participate in the Royals of Color Kickoff. Their classmates will move in on Saturday. The class of 2026 is the most diverse in the history of the University, with 285 incoming students identifying as a person of color.

The University of Scranton will welcome the most diverse class in the history of the school this weekend with 285 members of its class of 2026 identifying as a student of color, representing nearly 27 percent of the incoming class. Scranton will also welcome its largest degree seeking, graduate international student cohort in the last 15 years, with more than 60 new graduate degree-seeking international students starting this fall.

Incoming University students include more than 1,060 members of its undergraduate class of 2026, which is one of the largest in Scranton’s history, in addition to nearly 50 transfer students and nearly 275 graduate students, both on-campus and online.

The University’s undergraduate class of 2026, selected from a pool of more than 9,525 applicants, is the most diverse in its history, with nearly 27 percent of incoming students identifying as a person of color. More than 30 percent of the incoming class identify as first generation college students. The class represents more than 500 high schools, has an average SAT score of 1,240 and includes seven valedictorians and eight salutatorians. Members of the class of 2026 represent five countries, including Ukraine, and 14 states, including Delaware, Georgia, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Texas. Nearly 25 percent of the class is from Northeast Pennsylvania. The most common majors chosen by members of the incoming class are nursing, biology, occupational therapy, kinesiology, business administration and psychology.

The class of 2026 also includes 74 legacy children whose parents are University of Scranton alumni.

In addition to the undergraduate class of 2026, the University’s incoming graduate students represent several states and foreign countries, including the Czech Republic, India, Ethiopia, Ghana, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.

The University’s Fall Welcome events on August 27 and 28 include a Mass, a class legacy reception and photo, residence hall and commuter meetings and other events and activities. The University will display a special tribute to returning students on its Class of 2020 Gateway, which will run on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings.

Photos of fall welcome activities, as well as images from students participating in FIRST (Freshmen Involved in Reflective Service Together) and ROCK (Royals of Color Kickoff) can be seen on the University’s Flickr page.

Fall semester classes on campus begin Monday, Aug. 29.

Forty-two members of The University of Scranton’s Class of 2026 arrived on Aug. 22 to participate in FIRST (Freshmen Involved in Reflective Service Together), a reflective service immersion program at Scranton.

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