The student population at Bethel University is 2,936 (2,674 undergraduate and 262 graduate students) . The number of students has decreased by 3,382 over the past decade.
The percentage of undergraduate students at Bethel is 91.08% which is decreased by 2,347 over last 10 years. The graduate student population decreased by 1,035 and it has been decreasing.
The female to male ratio is 1.16 to 1 which means that female students enrolled slightly more than male students.
1,295 students enrolled in online degree program exclusively and the number of online students has decreased by -57.95% since 2015.
The average student population over the last 11 years is 4,521 where 2,936 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.
91.08% of total students is undergraduate students and 8.92% students is graduate students. The number of undergraduate students has decreased by 2,347 and the graduate enrollment has decreased by 1,035 over past 10 years.
The female to male ratio is 1.16 to 1 and it means that there are slightly more female students enrolled in Bethel than male students.
The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Bethel University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Undergraduate | Graduate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 6,318 | 5,021 | 2,111 | 2,910 | 1,297 | 464 | 833 |
| 2016-17 | 5,975 -343 | 4,829 -192 | 2,044 -67 | 2,785 -125 | 1,146 -151 | 396 -68 | 750 -83 |
| 2017-18 | 5,779 -196 | 4,829 | 2,115 71 | 2,714 -71 | 950 -196 | 351 -45 | 599 -151 |
| 2018-19 | 5,407 -372 | 4,560 -269 | 2,008 -107 | 2,552 -162 | 847 -103 | 301 -50 | 546 -53 |
| 2019-20 | 3,119 -2,288 | 2,358 -2,202 | 1,197 -811 | 1,161 -1,391 | 761 -86 | 263 -38 | 498 -48 |
| 2020-21 | 4,001 882 | 3,457 1,099 | 1,548 351 | 1,909 748 | 544 -217 | 190 -73 | 354 -144 |
| 2021-22 | 4,011 10 | 3,446 -11 | 1,635 87 | 1,811 -98 | 565 21 | 196 6 | 369 15 |
| 2022-23 | 4,686 675 | 4,038 592 | 1,915 280 | 2,123 312 | 648 83 | 238 42 | 410 41 |
| 2023-24 | 2,974 -1,712 | 2,719 -1,319 | 1,291 -624 | 1,428 -695 | 255 -393 | 103 -135 | 152 -258 |
| 2024-25 | 2,936 -38 | 2,674 -45 | 1,259 -32 | 1,415 -13 | 262 7 | 100 -3 | 162 10 |
| Average | 4,521 | 3,793 | 1,712 | 2,081 | 728 | 260 | 467 |
The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 3,793 where 2,674 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 Bethel University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 5,021 | 3,569 | 1,572 | 1,997 | 1,452 | 539 | 913 |
| 2016-17 | 4,829 | 3,474 | 1,525 | 1,949 | 1,355 | 519 | 836 |
| 2017-18 | 4,829 | 3,454 | 1,605 | 1,849 | 1,375 | 510 | 865 |
| 2018-19 | 4,560 | 2,981 | 1,405 | 1,576 | 1,579 | 603 | 976 |
| 2019-20 | 2,358 | 1,638 | 871 | 767 | 720 | 326 | 394 |
| 2020-21 | 3,457 | 2,190 | 1,073 | 1,117 | 1,267 | 475 | 792 |
| 2021-22 | 3,446 | 1,973 | 1,062 | 911 | 1,473 | 573 | 900 |
| 2022-23 | 4,038 | 2,382 | 1,281 | 1,101 | 1,656 | 634 | 1,022 |
| 2023-24 | 2,719 | 1,567 | 879 | 688 | 1,152 | 412 | 740 |
| 2024-25 | 2,674 | 1,479 | 818 | 661 | 1,195 | 441 | 754 |
| Average | 3,793 | 3,793 | 1,209 | 1,262 | 3,793 | 503 | 819 |
The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 728 where 262 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 Bethel University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 1,297 | 1,114 | 397 | 717 | 183 | 67 | 116 |
| 2016-17 | 1,146 | 981 | 335 | 646 | 165 | 61 | 104 |
| 2017-18 | 950 | 695 | 262 | 433 | 255 | 89 | 166 |
| 2018-19 | 847 | 574 | 199 | 375 | 273 | 102 | 171 |
| 2019-20 | 761 | 593 | 209 | 384 | 168 | 54 | 114 |
| 2020-21 | 544 | 484 | 165 | 319 | 60 | 25 | 35 |
| 2021-22 | 565 | 166 | 47 | 119 | 399 | 149 | 250 |
| 2022-23 | 648 | 169 | 60 | 109 | 479 | 178 | 301 |
| 2023-24 | 255 | 233 | 96 | 137 | 22 | 7 | 15 |
| 2024-25 | 262 | 240 | 96 | 144 | 22 | 4 | 18 |
| Average | 728 | 728 | 187 | 338 | 728 | 74 | 129 |
The percentage of white students is 48.77% and the percentage of black students is 28.95% at Bethel University. 2.35% of enrolled students is Asian. Hispanic students comprise 9.20% of the student body.
Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 53.94% to 48.77%. Asian enrollment grew from 0.82% to 2.35%. Black student enrollment decreased from 35.80% to 28.95%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 1.79% to 9.20%.
The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.6681 which indicates that moderately diverse. This increased from 0.5804 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.
The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Bethel 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 | 34 | 52 | 2,262 | 113 | 11 | 3,408 | 54 |
| 2016-17 | 34 | 49 | 2,230 | 114 | 10 | 3,169 | 66 |
| 2017-18 | 39 | 55 | 2,153 | 129 | 9 | 3,047 | 117 |
| 2018-19 | 38 | 64 | 1,914 | 129 | 7 | 2,817 | 209 |
| 2019-20 | 11 | 17 | 1,045 | 68 | 3 | 1,615 | 224 |
| 2020-21 | 25 | 58 | 1,189 | 153 | 3 | 2,168 | 240 |
| 2021-22 | 21 | 60 | 1,140 | 142 | 4 | 2,199 | 201 |
| 2022-23 | 18 | 61 | 1,382 | 218 | 8 | 2,517 | 209 |
| 2023-24 | 8 | 58 | 827 | 234 | 3 | 1,480 | 115 |
| 2024-25 | 9 | 69 | 850 | 270 | 2 | 1,432 | 99 |
| Average | 24 | 54 | 1,499 | 157 | 6 | 2,385 | 153 |
1,295 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 44% of total students. The number of online students has decreased -57.95% since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Bethel University from 2015 to 2025.
| Year | Total Enrollment | Online Completely | Enrolled in Some Online Courses | Not Enrolled in Online Courses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 6,318 | 3,080 | 2,802 | 436 |
| 2016-17 | 5,975 | 3,040 | 2,785 | 150 |
| 2017-18 | 5,779 | 2,927 | 313 | 2,539 |
| 2018-19 | 5,407 | 2,438 | 1,001 | 1,968 |
| 2019-20 | 3,119 | 1,582 | 0 | 1,537 |
| 2020-21 | 4,001 | 1,711 | 41 | 2,249 |
| 2021-22 | 4,011 | 1,747 | 847 | 1,417 |
| 2022-23 | 4,686 | 1,728 | 1,160 | 1,798 |
| 2023-24 | 2,974 | 1,310 | 510 | 1,154 |
| 2024-25 | 2,936 | 1,295 | 604 | 1,037 |
| Average | 4,521 | 2,086 | 1,006 | 1,429 |
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