Student Population at NSU

How many students at NSU?

For the academic year 2024-2025, Northern State University has a total enrollment of 3,708 students, including 3,169 undergraduate and 539 graduate students.

Gender Breakdown: 1,425 male students (38.4%) and 2,283 female students (61.6%) are attending .
Race and Ethnicity Breakdown: The two largest race/ethnicity groups are 3,065 White students (82.7%) and 147 Hispanic students (4%).
Class Level Breakdown: 3,169 undergraduate students (85.5%) and 539 graduate students (14.5%).
Class Delivery: 1,636 students are enrolled online exclusively, while 735 students take a hybrid mix of online and on-campus courses.

Compared to similar public Master's College and University (smaller programs) - which average 3,189 - NSU's body is relatively large.

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

Explore Northern State University

Enrollment by Gender and Class Level

By gender, 1,425 male (38.43%) and 2,283 female (61.57%) students are attending Northern State University. The number of male students per 100 females students (male-to-female ratio) is 62.42.

By class level, 3,169 (85.46%) are undergraduate students and 539 (14.54%) are graduate students. Among undergraduates, 39.98% are male and 60.02% are female, while among graduate students, 29.31% are male and 70.69% are female.

Total Student Enrolled By Gender
	Total	Undergraduate	Graduate
Total	3,708	3,169	539
Men	1,425	1,267	158
Women	2,283	1,902	381

Student Distribution by Race/Ethnicity

By race/ethnicity, 3,065 White, 75 Black, and 54 Asian students out of a total of 3,708 are attending at Northern State University. Comprehensive enrollment statistic data by race/ethnicity is shown in the chart below (academic year 2024-2025 data).

Northern State University is somewhat diverse with a diversity index of 31.3% measured by Census Bureau Diversity Index. The institution has limited racial and ethnic diversity in its student population.

All Students

Race/Ethnicity Distribution (Total)
Race	Total	Men	Women
American Indian or Native American	64	23	41
Asian	54	23	31
Black	75	50	25
Hispanic	147	54	93
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders	5	3	2
White	3,065	1,152	1,913
Two or more races	107	46	61
Race Unknown	85	40	45

Undergraduate

Race/Ethnicity Distribution (Undergraduate)
Race	Total	Men	Women
American Indian or Native American	58	20	38
Asian	51	22	29
Black	70	46	24
Hispanic	131	49	82
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders	5	3	2
White	2,569	1,012	1,557
Two or more races	101	43	58
Race Unknown	85	40	45

Graduate

Race/Ethnicity Distribution (Graduate)
Race	Total	Men	Women
American Indian or Native American	6	3	3
Asian	3	1	2
Black	5	4	1
Hispanic	16	5	11
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders	-	-	-
White	496	140	356
Two or more races	6	3	3
Race Unknown	-	-	-

Student Age Distribution

By age, NSU has 1,195 students under 18 years old and 11 students over 65 years old. There are 3,007 students under 25 years old, and 701 students over 25 years old out of 3,708 total students.

In undergraduate programs, 1,195 students are younger than 18 and 3 students are older than 65. NSU has 2,916 undergraduate students aged under 25 and 253 students aged 25 and over.

It has 91 graduate students aged under 25 and 448 students aged 25 and over.

All Students

Student Age Distribution (Total)
Age	Total	Men	Women
Under 18	1,195	783	412
18-19	774	449	325
20-21	676	360	316
22-24	362	188	174
25-29	190	110	80
30-34	131	102	29
35-39	105	85	20
40-49	166	128	38
50-64	98	69	29
Over 65	11	9	2

Undergraduate

Student Age Distribution (Undergraduate)
Age	Total	Men	Women
Under 18	1,195	783	412
18-19	774	449	325
20-21	673	358	315
22-24	274	134	140
25-29	97	58	39
30-34	50	38	12
35-39	35	29	6
40-49	47	34	13
50-64	21	16	5
Over 65	3	3	0

Graduate

Student Age Distribution (Graduate)
Age	Total	Men	Women
20-21	3	2	1
22-24	88	54	34
25-29	93	52	41
30-34	81	64	17
35-39	70	56	14
40-49	119	94	25
50-64	77	53	24
Over 65	8	6	2

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 Northern State University, 1,636 students are enrolled exclusively in online courses and 735 students are enrolled in some online courses.

1,400 students who live in South Dakota or the jurisdiction in which the school is located are enrolled exclusively in online courses and 236 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	3,708	1,636	735
Undergraduate	3,169	1,231	684
Graduate	539	405	51

By Locality

Online Student Population by Locality
	South Dakota Residents	Other States in U.S.	Outside of U.S.
All Students	1,400	140	96
Undergraduate	1,035	134	62
Graduate	365	6	34

Transfer-in Students (Undergraduate)

Among 3,169 enrolled in undergraduate programs, 91 students have transferred-in from other institutions. The percentage of transfer-in students is 2.87%.71 students have transferred in as full-time status and 20 students transferred in as part-time status.

Transfer-in Students (Undergraduate)
	Number of Students
Regular Full-time	1,049
Transfer-in Full-time	71
Regular Part-time	2,029
Transfer-in Part-time	20

NSU Enrollment Frequently Asked Questions

How many students attend NSU?

For the academic year 2024-2025, 3,708 students are enrolled at NSU.

How many undergraduate and graduate students are at NSU?

3,169 undergraduate and 539 graduate students are enrolled at NSU.

What is the gender breakdown at NSU?

1,425 male (38.43%) and 2,283 female (61.57%) students are attending NSU.

What is the international student enrollment at NSU?

106 international students (2.86%) are enrolled at NSU, including 99 undergraduate and 7 graduate students.

How diverse is the student population at NSU?

NSU has a student population that is predominantly White: 3,065 White (82.66%), 75 Black (2.02%), and 54 Asian (1.46%) students are enrolled.

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

1,195 students are under 18 and 11 students are over 65 years old.

How many students at NSU take online courses?

1,636 students are enrolled exclusively online, and 735 students take some online courses.

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