The student population at Eastern Illinois University is 8,505 (6,785 undergraduate and 1,720 graduate students) . The number of students has decreased by 15 (0.18%) over the past decade.
The average student population over the last 11 years is 8,170 where 8,505 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.
Total enrollment fluctuated between 2016 and 2025, with 4 year-over-year increases and 5 decreases. It peaked at 8,857 students in 2023 and was lowest at 7,030 in 2018. Overall, enrollment dropped from 8,520 to 8,505 students, a net loss of 15 (0.2%).
The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Eastern Illinois University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Undergraduate | Graduate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 8,520 | 7,202 | 2,900 | 4,302 | 1,318 | 507 | 811 |
| 2016-17 | 7,415 -1,105 | 5,957 -1,245 | 2,335 -565 | 3,622 -680 | 1,458 140 | 598 91 | 860 49 |
| 2017-18 | 7,030 -385 | 5,568 -389 | 2,249 -86 | 3,319 -303 | 1,462 4 | 534 -64 | 928 68 |
| 2018-19 | 7,526 496 | 6,012 444 | 2,559 310 | 3,453 134 | 1,514 52 | 505 -29 | 1,009 81 |
| 2019-20 | 7,806 280 | 6,229 217 | 2,648 89 | 3,581 128 | 1,577 63 | 517 12 | 1,060 51 |
| 2020-21 | 8,626 820 | 6,969 740 | 2,872 224 | 4,097 516 | 1,657 80 | 531 14 | 1,126 66 |
| 2021-22 | 8,608 -18 | 6,903 -66 | 2,805 -67 | 4,098 1 | 1,705 48 | 640 109 | 1,065 -61 |
| 2022-23 | 8,857 249 | 6,916 13 | 2,824 19 | 4,092 -6 | 1,941 236 | 897 257 | 1,044 -21 |
| 2023-24 | 8,804 -53 | 6,849 -67 | 2,923 99 | 3,926 -166 | 1,955 14 | 901 4 | 1,054 10 |
| 2024-25 | 8,505 -299 | 6,785 -64 | 2,890 -33 | 3,895 -31 | 1,720 -235 | 734 -167 | 986 -68 |
| Average | 8,170 | 6,539 | 2,701 | 3,839 | 1,631 | 636 | 994 |
The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 6,539 where 6,785 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 Eastern Illinois University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 7,202 | 6,255 | 2,544 | 3,711 | 947 | 356 | 591 |
| 2016-17 | 5,957 | 5,133 | 2,050 | 3,083 | 824 | 285 | 539 |
| 2017-18 | 5,568 | 4,319 | 1,754 | 2,565 | 1,249 | 495 | 754 |
| 2018-19 | 6,012 | 4,091 | 1,681 | 2,410 | 1,921 | 878 | 1,043 |
| 2019-20 | 6,229 | 3,990 | 1,649 | 2,341 | 2,239 | 999 | 1,240 |
| 2020-21 | 6,969 | 4,082 | 1,600 | 2,482 | 2,887 | 1,272 | 1,615 |
| 2021-22 | 6,903 | 3,984 | 1,585 | 2,399 | 2,919 | 1,220 | 1,699 |
| 2022-23 | 6,916 | 4,014 | 1,592 | 2,422 | 2,902 | 1,232 | 1,670 |
| 2023-24 | 6,849 | 3,896 | 1,563 | 2,333 | 2,953 | 1,360 | 1,593 |
| 2024-25 | 6,785 | 3,719 | 1,524 | 2,195 | 3,066 | 1,366 | 1,700 |
| Average | 6,539 | 6,539 | 1,754 | 2,594 | 6,539 | 946 | 1,244 |
The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 1,631 where 1,720 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 Eastern Illinois University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 1,318 | 656 | 269 | 387 | 662 | 238 | 424 |
| 2016-17 | 1,458 | 783 | 353 | 430 | 675 | 245 | 430 |
| 2017-18 | 1,462 | 677 | 244 | 433 | 785 | 290 | 495 |
| 2018-19 | 1,514 | 676 | 233 | 443 | 838 | 272 | 566 |
| 2019-20 | 1,577 | 671 | 241 | 430 | 906 | 276 | 630 |
| 2020-21 | 1,657 | 615 | 219 | 396 | 1,042 | 312 | 730 |
| 2021-22 | 1,705 | 730 | 343 | 387 | 975 | 297 | 678 |
| 2022-23 | 1,941 | 948 | 518 | 430 | 993 | 379 | 614 |
| 2023-24 | 1,955 | 1,030 | 553 | 477 | 925 | 348 | 577 |
| 2024-25 | 1,720 | 873 | 455 | 418 | 847 | 279 | 568 |
| Average | 1,631 | 1,631 | 343 | 423 | 1,631 | 294 | 571 |
The percentage of white students is 60.56%. The percentage was 68.44% 10 years ago and EIU still has a high percentage of white students. 3.75% of enrolled students is Asian and 11.38% is black students. Hispanic students comprise 8.72% of the student body.
Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 68.44% to 60.56%. Asian enrollment grew from 1.08% to 3.75%. Black student enrollment decreased from 16.91% to 11.38%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 5.53% to 8.72%.
The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.6108 which indicates that moderately diverse. This increased from 0.4994 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.
The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Eastern Illinois 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 | 20 | 92 | 1,441 | 471 | 4 | 5,831 | 181 |
| 2016-17 | 20 | 76 | 1,226 | 449 | 5 | 4,904 | 153 |
| 2017-18 | 19 | 118 | 1,119 | 583 | 6 | 4,489 | 156 |
| 2018-19 | 15 | 168 | 1,117 | 792 | 5 | 4,755 | 149 |
| 2019-20 | 18 | 224 | 1,145 | 915 | 6 | 4,799 | 152 |
| 2020-21 | 14 | 274 | 1,132 | 1,162 | 6 | 5,229 | 173 |
| 2021-22 | 10 | 300 | 1,106 | 1,161 | 7 | 5,054 | 184 |
| 2022-23 | 12 | 295 | 1,150 | 1,191 | 6 | 4,900 | 190 |
| 2023-24 | 11 | 313 | 1,044 | 1,251 | 6 | 4,782 | 169 |
| 2024-25 | 55 | 319 | 968 | 742 | 4 | 5,151 | 155 |
| Average | 19 | 218 | 1,145 | 872 | 6 | 4,989 | 166 |
1,283 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 15% of total students. The number of online students has increased 122.74% since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Eastern Illinois University from 2015 to 2025.
| Year | Total Enrollment | Online Completely | Enrolled in Some Online Courses | Not Enrolled in Online Courses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 8,520 | 576 | 1,119 | 6,825 |
| 2016-17 | 7,415 | 599 | 1,402 | 5,414 |
| 2017-18 | 7,030 | 779 | 1,525 | 4,726 |
| 2018-19 | 7,526 | 985 | 1,510 | 5,031 |
| 2019-20 | 7,806 | 1,086 | 1,553 | 5,167 |
| 2020-21 | 8,626 | 1,706 | 3,716 | 3,204 |
| 2021-22 | 8,608 | 1,459 | 2,449 | 4,700 |
| 2022-23 | 8,857 | 1,382 | 2,433 | 5,042 |
| 2023-24 | 8,804 | 1,305 | 2,126 | 5,373 |
| 2024-25 | 8,505 | 1,283 | 2,051 | 5,171 |
| Average | 8,170 | 1,116 | 1,988 | 5,065 |
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