Anderson University enrolled 7,412 students for the spring 2026 semester — a record for the 112-year-old institution and a 19 percent increase over five years — as the university expands its health sciences programs to meet growing regional demand for clinical professionals.
The milestone comes as the university opens its new 68,000-square-foot Center for Health Sciences on the Boulevard campus, a $34 million facility that consolidates nursing, physical therapy, and the university’s first physician assistant program under one roof.
“We have seen demand for health sciences programs that we honestly didn’t fully anticipate when we started planning this building four years ago,” said President [Name]. “The regional need is real, and our students are responding to it.”
Growth in Health Programs
Anderson University’s nursing program has grown from 180 students to more than 400 over five years. The physical therapy doctoral program, launched in 2021, is now fully enrolled. The new physician assistant program — one of only three in South Carolina — accepted its inaugural class of 30 students this year and had more than 400 applicants.
University officials attribute the health sciences surge to a combination of pandemic-era interest in medical careers, a well-documented shortage of primary care providers in rural South Carolina, and the university’s clinical partnerships with AnMed Health, the dominant health system in Anderson County.
“Our students are going to stay in this region. That’s the point. Anderson County and the surrounding communities need these practitioners, and we want to be the pipeline.” — Dean of Health Sciences [Name], Anderson University
The New Facility
The Center for Health Sciences includes 14 simulation labs designed to replicate hospital and clinical settings, including a high-fidelity simulation suite where nursing and PA students practice procedures on computerized patient mannequins before entering clinical rotations.
The building also houses faculty offices, seminar rooms, and a dedicated anatomy lab for PA students — equipment and infrastructure that the university previously had to access through partnership agreements with other institutions.
Construction was financed through a combination of a capital campaign that raised $18 million from donors, a $10 million state higher education bond allocation, and university reserves. The Anderson County community foundation contributed $2.5 million, the largest grant in its history.
Beyond Health Sciences
While health programs are driving the growth headline, Anderson University has also seen enrollment increases in its business, criminal justice, and education programs. The university opened a satellite instructional center in Greenville in 2024, serving working adults who cannot commute to the Anderson campus regularly.
Total residential enrollment on the Anderson campus has grown enough that the university is completing a new dormitory — the third added since 2018 — scheduled to open in August.
What’s Next
Anderson University will host an open house for prospective health sciences students on April 18 at the new Center for Health Sciences. The physician assistant program is currently accepting applications for its 2027 class. More information is available at andersonuniversity.edu.