Note: This session will be livestreamed. Over the last two decades, the age profile of U.S. graduate students has undergone a profound transformation, yet campus planning models often rely on outdated assumptions that graduate students are older, independent, and less campus-centered. This session introduces the Graduate Youth Index (GYI), a novel metric designed to measure the growing concentration of students aged 24 and under within graduate education. Using national IPEDS data from 2003–2025, the research demonstrates a significant downward shift in average age, driven by graduate students aged 24 and under. This new archetype often transitions directly from undergraduate study and engages with campus life more like an advanced undergraduate than a mid-career professional.
Participants will understand the macroeconomic, programmatic, and developmental drivers behind this demographic shift.
Attendees will learn how to apply the GYI to their own data to signal when inherited assumptions about space, housing, and services no longer match reality.
The session will provide actionable recommendations for shifting toward high-intensity, flexible learning environments and "age-aware" student support models.
Executive Director of Operations, Capitol Campus, Georgetown University
Nico Hohman currently serves as the Executive Director of Operations at Georgetown University's Capitol Campus in downtown Washington, D.C. Mr. Hohman is a graduate of the University of Florida’s School of Construction Management and a current Master's candidate at Georgetown University... Read More →
