The student population at American University is 12,321 (7,476 undergraduate and 4,845 graduate students) . The number of students has decreased by 877 (6.64%) over the past decade.
The average student population over the last 11 years is 13,711 where 12,321 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.
Total enrollment fluctuated between 2016 and 2025, with 5 year-over-year increases and 4 decreases. It peaked at 14,852 students in 2022 and was lowest at 12,321 in 2025. Overall, enrollment dropped from 13,198 to 12,321 students, a net loss of 877 (6.6%).
The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at American University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Undergraduate | Graduate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 13,198 | 7,909 | 2,971 | 4,938 | 5,289 | 2,023 | 3,266 |
| 2016-17 | 13,346 148 | 7,900 -9 | 2,953 -18 | 4,947 9 | 5,446 157 | 2,095 72 | 3,351 85 |
| 2017-18 | 13,858 512 | 8,123 223 | 3,094 141 | 5,029 82 | 5,735 289 | 2,215 120 | 3,520 169 |
| 2018-19 | 14,311 453 | 8,287 164 | 3,189 95 | 5,098 69 | 6,024 289 | 2,291 76 | 3,733 213 |
| 2019-20 | 14,318 7 | 8,527 240 | 3,300 111 | 5,227 129 | 5,791 -233 | 2,111 -180 | 3,680 -53 |
| 2020-21 | 14,001 -317 | 7,953 -574 | 3,044 -256 | 4,909 -318 | 6,048 257 | 2,243 132 | 3,805 125 |
| 2021-22 | 14,852 851 | 8,463 510 | 3,147 103 | 5,316 407 | 6,389 341 | 2,368 125 | 4,021 216 |
| 2022-23 | 13,885 -967 | 7,917 -546 | 2,875 -272 | 5,042 -274 | 5,968 -421 | 2,230 -138 | 3,738 -283 |
| 2023-24 | 13,019 -866 | 7,817 -100 | 2,865 -10 | 4,952 -90 | 5,202 -766 | 1,954 -276 | 3,248 -490 |
| 2024-25 | 12,321 -698 | 7,476 -341 | 2,823 -42 | 4,653 -299 | 4,845 -357 | 1,769 -185 | 3,076 -172 |
| Average | 13,711 | 8,037 | 3,026 | 5,011 | 5,674 | 2,130 | 3,544 |
The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 8,037 where 7,476 students are attending the Undergraduate school for the academic year 2024-2025. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Undergraduate enrollment by attending status and gender at American University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 7,909 | 7,540 | 2,796 | 4,744 | 369 | 175 | 194 |
| 2016-17 | 7,900 | 7,544 | 2,790 | 4,754 | 356 | 163 | 193 |
| 2017-18 | 8,123 | 7,764 | 2,928 | 4,836 | 359 | 166 | 193 |
| 2018-19 | 8,287 | 7,952 | 3,044 | 4,908 | 335 | 145 | 190 |
| 2019-20 | 8,527 | 8,207 | 3,138 | 5,069 | 320 | 162 | 158 |
| 2020-21 | 7,953 | 7,453 | 2,820 | 4,633 | 500 | 224 | 276 |
| 2021-22 | 8,463 | 8,124 | 2,993 | 5,131 | 339 | 154 | 185 |
| 2022-23 | 7,917 | 7,600 | 2,736 | 4,864 | 317 | 139 | 178 |
| 2023-24 | 7,817 | 7,533 | 2,752 | 4,781 | 284 | 113 | 171 |
| 2024-25 | 7,476 | 7,220 | 2,712 | 4,508 | 256 | 111 | 145 |
| Average | 8,037 | 8,037 | 2,871 | 4,823 | 8,037 | 155 | 188 |
The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 5,674 where 4,845 students are attending the Graduate school for the academic year 2024-2025. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Graduate enrollment by attending status and gender at American University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 5,289 | 2,921 | 1,127 | 1,794 | 2,368 | 896 | 1,472 |
| 2016-17 | 5,446 | 3,113 | 1,188 | 1,925 | 2,333 | 907 | 1,426 |
| 2017-18 | 5,735 | 3,220 | 1,189 | 2,031 | 2,515 | 1,026 | 1,489 |
| 2018-19 | 6,024 | 3,483 | 1,286 | 2,197 | 2,541 | 1,005 | 1,536 |
| 2019-20 | 5,791 | 2,997 | 1,060 | 1,937 | 2,794 | 1,051 | 1,743 |
| 2020-21 | 6,048 | 2,943 | 1,092 | 1,851 | 3,105 | 1,151 | 1,954 |
| 2021-22 | 6,389 | 3,116 | 1,139 | 1,977 | 3,273 | 1,229 | 2,044 |
| 2022-23 | 5,968 | 3,240 | 1,210 | 2,030 | 2,728 | 1,020 | 1,708 |
| 2023-24 | 5,202 | 2,905 | 1,085 | 1,820 | 2,297 | 869 | 1,428 |
| 2024-25 | 4,845 | 2,916 | 1,093 | 1,823 | 1,929 | 676 | 1,253 |
| Average | 5,674 | 5,674 | 1,147 | 1,939 | 5,674 | 983 | 1,605 |
The percentage of white students is 49.80% and the percentage of black students is 9.63% at American University. 6.65% of enrolled students is Asian. Hispanic students comprise 13.13% of the student body.
Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students increased from 48.84% to 49.80%. Asian enrollment grew from 6.02% to 6.65%. Black student enrollment increased from 7.96% to 9.63%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 10.45% to 13.13%.
The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.7187 which indicates that quite diverse. This decreased from 0.7395 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has declined.
The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at American University over the past 11 years (2015-2025).
| Year | American Indian or Native American | Asian | Black | Hispanic | Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | White | Two or More Races |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 41 | 794 | 1,050 | 1,379 | 14 | 6,446 | 427 |
| 2016-17 | 27 | 812 | 1,190 | 1,470 | 11 | 6,886 | 504 |
| 2017-18 | 22 | 900 | 1,285 | 1,655 | 8 | 6,932 | 538 |
| 2018-19 | 22 | 877 | 1,302 | 1,730 | 12 | 6,979 | 539 |
| 2019-20 | 18 | 827 | 1,238 | 1,497 | 8 | 6,900 | 579 |
| 2020-21 | 19 | 830 | 1,409 | 1,528 | 13 | 6,763 | 648 |
| 2021-22 | 15 | 913 | 1,471 | 1,642 | 13 | 7,542 | 699 |
| 2022-23 | 13 | 859 | 1,328 | 1,603 | 11 | 7,072 | 625 |
| 2023-24 | 6 | 850 | 1,232 | 1,595 | 10 | 6,629 | 620 |
| 2024-25 | 6 | 819 | 1,187 | 1,618 | 7 | 6,136 | 601 |
| Average | 19 | 848 | 1,269 | 1,572 | 11 | 6,829 | 578 |
895 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 7% of total students. The number of online students has increased 58.97% since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at American University from 2015 to 2025.
| Year | Total Enrollment | Online Completely | Enrolled in Some Online Courses | Not Enrolled in Online Courses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 13,198 | 563 | 779 | 11,856 |
| 2016-17 | 13,346 | 879 | 723 | 11,744 |
| 2017-18 | 13,858 | 1,244 | 682 | 11,932 |
| 2018-19 | 14,311 | 478 | 549 | 13,284 |
| 2019-20 | 14,318 | 1,307 | 1,508 | 11,503 |
| 2020-21 | 14,001 | 1,597 | 3,012 | 9,392 |
| 2021-22 | 14,852 | 1,934 | 5,283 | 7,635 |
| 2022-23 | 13,885 | 1,516 | 2,507 | 9,862 |
| 2023-24 | 13,019 | 1,122 | 2,092 | 9,805 |
| 2024-25 | 12,321 | 895 | 1,822 | 9,604 |
| Average | 13,711 | 1,154 | 1,896 | 10,662 |
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