For the academic year 2024-2025, Northern Illinois University has a total enrollment of 15,414 students, including 11,348 undergraduate and 4,066 graduate students.
Compared to similar public Research University (high research activity) - which average 16,875 - Northern Illinois's body is relatively small.
Explore complete student demographics below, including gender ratio, race and ethnicity, age distribution, and distance learning statistics.
By gender, 6,960 male (45.15%) and 8,454 female (54.85%) students are attending Northern Illinois University. The number of male students per 100 females students (male-to-female ratio) is 82.33.
By class level, 11,348 (73.62%) are undergraduate students and 4,066 (26.38%) are graduate students. Among undergraduates, 46.97% are male and 53.03% are female, while among graduate students, 40.09% are male and 59.91% are female.
| Total | Undergraduate | Graduate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 15,414 | 11,348 | 4,066 |
| Men | 6,960 | 5,330 | 1,630 |
| Women | 8,454 | 6,018 | 2,436 |
By race/ethnicity, 6,831 White, 2,741 Black, and 921 Asian students out of a total of 15,414 are attending at Northern Illinois University. Comprehensive enrollment statistic data by race/ethnicity is shown in the chart below (academic year 2024-2025 data).
Northern Illinois University is quite diverse with a diversity index of 71.9% measured by Census Bureau Diversity Index. The institution demonstrates strong racial and ethnic diversity among its student body.
| Race | Total | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Indian or Native American | 64 | 30 | 34 |
| Asian | 921 | 447 | 474 |
| Black | 2,741 | 1,051 | 1,690 |
| Hispanic | 3,407 | 1,500 | 1,907 |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders | 13 | 5 | 8 |
| White | 6,831 | 3,141 | 3,690 |
| Two or more races | 268 | 113 | 155 |
| Race Unknown | 197 | 104 | 93 |
| Race | Total | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Indian or Native American | 61 | 28 | 33 |
| Asian | 728 | 379 | 349 |
| Black | 2,381 | 941 | 1,440 |
| Hispanic | 2,917 | 1,330 | 1,587 |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders | 12 | 4 | 8 |
| White | 4,766 | 2,387 | 2,379 |
| Two or more races | 177 | 74 | 103 |
| Race Unknown | 105 | 64 | 41 |
| Race | Total | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Indian or Native American | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Asian | 193 | 68 | 125 |
| Black | 360 | 110 | 250 |
| Hispanic | 490 | 170 | 320 |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| White | 2,065 | 754 | 1,311 |
| Two or more races | 91 | 39 | 52 |
| Race Unknown | 92 | 40 | 52 |
By age, Northern Illinois has 3,185 students under 18 years old and 51 students over 65 years old. There are 11,324 students under 25 years old, and 4,180 students over 25 years old out of 15,504 total students.
In undergraduate programs, 3,185 students are younger than 18 and 28 students are older than 65. Northern Illinois has 10,251 undergraduate students aged under 25 and 1,107 students aged 25 and over.
It has 1,073 graduate students aged under 25 and 3,073 students aged 25 and over.
*The age distribution is based on 2023-2024 enrollment data.
| Age | Total | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 3,185 | 1,781 | 1,404 |
| 18-19 | 3,528 | 1,944 | 1,584 |
| 20-21 | 2,531 | 1,236 | 1,295 |
| 22-24 | 2,080 | 1,028 | 1,052 |
| 25-29 | 1,680 | 878 | 802 |
| 30-34 | 732 | 416 | 316 |
| 35-39 | 596 | 373 | 223 |
| 40-49 | 805 | 544 | 261 |
| 50-64 | 316 | 228 | 88 |
| Over 65 | 51 | 29 | 22 |
| Age | Total | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 3,185 | 1,781 | 1,404 |
| 18-19 | 3,527 | 1,943 | 1,584 |
| 20-21 | 2,489 | 1,208 | 1,281 |
| 22-24 | 1,050 | 494 | 556 |
| 25-29 | 496 | 219 | 277 |
| 30-34 | 216 | 118 | 98 |
| 35-39 | 164 | 112 | 52 |
| 40-49 | 136 | 95 | 41 |
| 50-64 | 67 | 50 | 17 |
| Over 65 | 28 | 15 | 13 |
| Age | Total | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18-19 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 20-21 | 42 | 28 | 14 |
| 22-24 | 1,030 | 534 | 496 |
| 25-29 | 1,184 | 659 | 525 |
| 30-34 | 516 | 298 | 218 |
| 35-39 | 432 | 261 | 171 |
| 40-49 | 669 | 449 | 220 |
| 50-64 | 249 | 178 | 71 |
| Over 65 | 23 | 14 | 9 |
Distance learning, also called online education, is very attractive to students, especially those who want to continue education and work in the field. At Northern Illinois University, 2,197 students are enrolled exclusively in online courses and 7,937 students are enrolled in some online courses.
2,012 students who live in Illinois or the jurisdiction in which the school is located are enrolled exclusively in online courses and 185 students live in another State or outside of the United States.
| All Students | Enrolled Exclusively Online Courses | Enrolled in Some Online Courses | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Students | 15,414 | 2,197 | 7,937 |
| Undergraduate | 11,348 | 830 | 7,157 |
| Graduate | 4,066 | 1,367 | 780 |
| Illinois Residents | Other States in U.S. | Outside of U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Students | 2,012 | 172 | 13 |
| Undergraduate | 787 | 42 | 1 |
| Graduate | 1,225 | 130 | 12 |
Among 11,348 enrolled in undergraduate programs, 1,461 students have transferred-in from other institutions. The percentage of transfer-in students is 12.87%.1,238 students have transferred in as full-time status and 223 students transferred in as part-time status.
| Number of Students | |
|---|---|
| Regular Full-time | 8,781 |
| Transfer-in Full-time | 1,238 |
| Regular Part-time | 1,106 |
| Transfer-in Part-time | 223 |
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