The numbers are in. And they are looking great. With the drop/add date passed, officials released the enrollment totals in late September.

This fall the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) said hello to 208 incoming first-year, 57 transfer, 59 graduate and 7 PhD students, swelling enrollment to the largest number of students in the College's history — 1,136 by all counts.

For context: last May, at commencement, the College bid adieu to graduates carrying 272 bachelor's, 39 master's and 6 doctorate diplomas — for a total of 317.

A spike in the numbers is reflected by students' strong interest in a relatively new major — public communications in the community development and applied economics department. CALS also enrolls students studying animal science, microbiology and molecular genetics, nutrition and food sciences, plant biology, plant and soil science and integrated programs in biochemistry, biological science, environmental sciences and environmental studies.

Graduate enrollment is also up 15 percent. And CALS and the University of Vermont are riding a demographic wave of not just more students but more diverse and academically talented students. Other indicators of CALS' good health are reflected below.

CALS SNAPSHOT 2009

Total Fall Enrollment: 1,136

Undergraduates: 1,070

Vermont Undergrads: 410

ALANA Students: 86

First-Year Undergrads: 208

Transfer Students: 57

Graduate Students 129

Doctoral Students: 29

Full-Time Faculty: 72

Part-Time Faculty: 24

Full-Time Staff: 64

Part-Time Staff: 5

Undergrad Student: Faculty Ratio: 21.3:1