Student Population at WKU

How many students at WKU?

For the academic year 2024-2025, Western Kentucky University has a total enrollment of 16,291 students, including 14,151 undergraduate and 2,140 graduate students.

Gender Breakdown: 6,146 male students (37.7%) and 10,145 female students (62.3%) are attending .
Race and Ethnicity Breakdown: The two largest race/ethnicity groups are 12,231 White students (75.1%) and 1,395 Black students (8.6%).
Class Level Breakdown: 14,151 undergraduate students (86.9%) and 2,140 graduate students (13.1%).
Class Delivery: 3,505 students are enrolled online exclusively, while 6,624 students take a hybrid mix of online and on-campus courses.

Compared to similar public Doctoral / Research University - which average 13,360 - WKU's body is larger.

Explore complete student demographics below, including gender ratio, race and ethnicity, age distribution, and distance learning statistics.

Explore Western Kentucky University

Enrollment by Gender and Class Level

By gender, 6,146 male (37.73%) and 10,145 female (62.27%) students are attending Western Kentucky University. The number of male students per 100 females students (male-to-female ratio) is 60.58.

By class level, 14,151 (86.86%) are undergraduate students and 2,140 (13.14%) are graduate students. Among undergraduates, 38.38% are male and 61.62% are female, while among graduate students, 33.41% are male and 66.59% are female.

Total Student Enrolled By Gender
	Total	Undergraduate	Graduate
Total	16,291	14,151	2,140
Men	6,146	5,431	715
Women	10,145	8,720	1,425

Student Distribution by Race/Ethnicity

By race/ethnicity, 12,231 White, 1,395 Black, and 549 Asian students out of a total of 16,291 are attending at Western Kentucky University. Comprehensive enrollment statistic data by race/ethnicity is shown in the chart below (academic year 2024-2025 data).

Western Kentucky University is somewhat diverse with a diversity index of 42.2% measured by Census Bureau Diversity Index. The institution shows moderate representation of multiple racial and ethnic groups.

All Students

Race/Ethnicity Distribution (Total)
Race	Total	Men	Women
American Indian or Native American	41	20	21
Asian	549	209	340
Black	1,395	557	838
Hispanic	1,015	395	620
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders	17	6	11
White	12,231	4,533	7,698
Two or more races	689	266	423
Race Unknown	204	97	107

Undergraduate

Race/Ethnicity Distribution (Undergraduate)
Race	Total	Men	Women
American Indian or Native American	34	15	19
Asian	519	197	322
Black	1,189	475	714
Hispanic	925	355	570
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders	15	4	11
White	10,574	4,019	6,555
Two or more races	631	245	386
Race Unknown	178	85	93

Graduate

Race/Ethnicity Distribution (Graduate)
Race	Total	Men	Women
American Indian or Native American	7	5	2
Asian	30	12	18
Black	206	82	124
Hispanic	90	40	50
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders	2	2	0
White	1,657	514	1,143
Two or more races	58	21	37
Race Unknown	26	12	14

Student Age Distribution

By age, WKU has 1,804 students under 18 years old and 23 students over 65 years old. There are 13,397 students under 25 years old, and 2,894 students over 25 years old out of 16,291 total students.

In undergraduate programs, 1,804 students are younger than 18 and 16 students are older than 65. WKU has 12,806 undergraduate students aged under 25 and 1,345 students aged 25 and over.

It has 591 graduate students aged under 25 and 1,549 students aged 25 and over.

All Students

Student Age Distribution (Total)
Age	Total	Men	Women
Under 18	1,804	1,175	629
18-19	4,796	3,008	1,788
20-21	4,536	2,795	1,741
22-24	2,261	1,316	945
25-29	1,020	632	388
30-34	583	362	221
35-39	490	294	196
40-49	554	376	178
50-64	224	172	52
Over 65	23	15	8

Undergraduate

Student Age Distribution (Undergraduate)
Age	Total	Men	Women
Under 18	1,804	1,175	629
18-19	4,796	3,008	1,788
20-21	4,490	2,754	1,736
22-24	1,716	932	784
25-29	504	291	213
30-34	276	170	106
35-39	230	140	90
40-49	236	173	63
50-64	83	65	18
Over 65	16	12	4

Graduate

Student Age Distribution (Graduate)
Age	Total	Men	Women
20-21	46	41	5
22-24	545	384	161
25-29	516	341	175
30-34	307	192	115
35-39	260	154	106
40-49	318	203	115
50-64	141	107	34
Over 65	7	3	4

Online Student Enrollment

Distance learning, also called online education, is very attractive to students, especially those who want to continue education and work in the field. At Western Kentucky University, 3,505 students are enrolled exclusively in online courses and 6,624 students are enrolled in some online courses.

2,720 students who live in Kentucky or the jurisdiction in which the school is located are enrolled exclusively in online courses and 785 students live in another State or outside of the United States.

Online Population

Online Student Population
	All Students	Enrolled Exclusively Online Courses	Enrolled in Some Online Courses
All Students	16,291	3,505	6,624
Undergraduate	14,151	2,055	6,410
Graduate	2,140	1,450	214

By Locality

Online Student Population by Locality
	Kentucky Residents	Other States in U.S.	Outside of U.S.
All Students	2,720	761	24
Undergraduate	1,682	361	12
Graduate	1,038	400	12

Transfer-in Students (Undergraduate)

Among 14,151 enrolled in undergraduate programs, 715 students have transferred-in from other institutions. The percentage of transfer-in students is 5.05%.586 students have transferred in as full-time status and 129 students transferred in as part-time status.

Transfer-in Students (Undergraduate)
	Number of Students
Regular Full-time	10,713
Transfer-in Full-time	586
Regular Part-time	2,723
Transfer-in Part-time	129

WKU Enrollment Frequently Asked Questions

How many students attend WKU?

For the academic year 2024-2025, 16,291 students are enrolled at WKU.

How many undergraduate and graduate students are at WKU?

14,151 undergraduate and 2,140 graduate students are enrolled at WKU.

What is the gender breakdown at WKU?

6,146 male (37.73%) and 10,145 female (62.27%) students are attending WKU.

What is the international student enrollment at WKU?

150 international students (0.92%) are enrolled at WKU, including 86 undergraduate and 64 graduate students.

How diverse is the student population at WKU?

WKU has a student population that is predominantly White: 12,231 White (75.08%), 1,395 Black (8.56%), and 549 Asian (3.37%) students are enrolled.

How many students at WKU are under 18 or over 65?

1,804 students are under 18 and 23 students are over 65 years old.

How many students at WKU take online courses?

3,505 students are enrolled exclusively online, and 6,624 students take some online courses.

Ratings & Review

Share your experiences and thoughts about Western Kentucky University. It will be a great help to applicants and prospective students!

Be the first reviewer

Compare Rivalry Schools

The following schools are frequently compared to WKU. Compare them with important perspectives.

Members In C-USA

Western Kentucky University is a member of Conference USA (C-USA). Check and Compare to other members.

See and compare all schools

Similar Colleges

The schools below are similar in school type, level, and location.

Compare all schools

Most Searched Kentucky Colleges (last 30 days)

Undergraduate

University of Kentucky Public, 4-year | Lexington
University of Louisville Public, 4-year | Louisville
Western Kentucky University Public, 4-year | Bowling Green
Eastern Kentucky University Public, 4-year | Richmond
Murray State University Public, 4-year | Murray
Northern Kentucky University Public, 4-year | Highland Heights
Campbellsville University Private, 4-year | Campbellsville
University of the Cumberlands Private, 4-year | Williamsburg
Union Commonwealth University Private, 4-year | Barbourville
Centre College Private, 4-year | Danville

compare schools

Graduate

Eastern Kentucky University Public, 4-year | Richmond
Spalding University Private, 4-year | Louisville
University of the Cumberlands Private, 4-year | Williamsburg
Lindsey Wilson University Private, 4-year | Columbia
University of Louisville Public, 4-year | Louisville
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Private, 4-year | Louisville
Midway University Private, 4-year | Midway
Northern Kentucky University Public, 4-year | Highland Heights
University of Kentucky Public, 4-year | Lexington
Campbellsville University Private, 4-year | Campbellsville

compare schools

Online Schools

University of Kentucky Public, 4-year | Lexington
Eastern Kentucky University Public, 4-year | Richmond
University of the Cumberlands Private, 4-year | Williamsburg
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Private, 4-year | Louisville
Gateway Community and Technical College Public, 2-4 year | Florence
Bluegrass Community and Technical College Public, 2-4 year | Lexington
American National University-Louisville Private, 4-year | Louisville
Northern Kentucky University Public, 4-year | Highland Heights
Somerset Community College Public, 2-4 year | Somerset
Thomas More University Private, 4-year | Crestview Hills

compare schools

Trade Schools

MedQuest College Private, 2-4 year | Louisville
Regina Webb Academy Private, Less than 2-year | Bowling Green
Medical Career & Technical College Private, Less than 2-year | Richmond
Paul Mitchell the School-Lexington Private, Less than 2-year | Lexington
University of the Cumberlands Private, 4-year | Williamsburg
Employment Solutions-College for Technical Education Private, Less than 2-year | Lexington
Kentucky Horseshoeing School Private, Less than 2-year | Richmond
Ross Medical Education Center-Bowling Green Private, Less than 2-year | Bowling Green
University of Kentucky Public, 4-year | Lexington
Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College Public, 2-4 year | Bowling Green

compare schools