Enrollment Trends at Nicholls State

The student population at Nicholls State University is 6,043 (5,518 undergraduate and 525 graduate students) . The number of students has decreased by 115 (1.87%) over the past decade.

Class Level: The percentage of undergraduate students at Nicholls State is 91.31% which is increased by 29 over last 10 years. The graduate student population decreased by 144 and it has been decreasing.
Gender Breakdown: In 2025, there were 59 male students for every 100 female students, up from 54 in 2015.
1,295 students enrolled in online degree program exclusively and the number of online students has increased by 73.36% since 2015.

School Home 2024 Student Population

Trends by Subject

Home
Trends
Nicholls State University
Student Population

Student Population Changes

The average student population over the last 11 years is 6,278 where 6,043 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.

Total enrollment fluctuated between 2016 and 2025, with 6 year-over-year increases and 3 decreases. It peaked at 6,769 students in 2021 and was lowest at 5,883 in 2023. Overall, enrollment dropped from 6,158 to 6,043 students, a net loss of 115 (1.9%).

The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Nicholls State University since 2015.

Year	Total	Undergraduate			Graduate
Year	Total	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2015-16	6,158	5,489	2,029	3,460	669	141	528
2016-17	6,255 97	5,636 147	2,044 15	3,592 132	619 -50	121 -20	498 -30
2017-18	6,327 72	5,685 49	2,065 21	3,620 28	642 23	143 22	499 1
2018-19	6,453 126	5,864 179	2,094 29	3,770 150	589 -53	144 1	445 -54
2019-20	6,491 38	5,906 42	2,133 39	3,773 3	585 -4	128 -16	457 12
2020-21	6,769 278	6,134 228	2,178 45	3,956 183	635 50	124 -4	511 54
2021-22	6,225 -544	5,567 -567	2,029 -149	3,538 -418	658 23	124	534 23
2022-23	5,883 -342	5,314 -253	1,916 -113	3,398 -140	569 -89	120 -4	449 -85
2023-24	6,180 297	5,612 298	2,088 172	3,524 126	568 -1	118 -2	450 1
2024-25	6,043 -137	5,518 -94	2,125 37	3,393 -131	525 -43	117 -1	408 -42
Average	6,278	5,673	2,070	3,602	606	128	478

Nicholls State University Enrollment Trends Chart

Undergraduate Enrollment Changes

The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 5,673 where 5,518 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 Nicholls State University since 2015.

Year	Total	Full-time			Part-time
Year	Total	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2015-16	5,489	4,591	1,708	2,883	898	321	577
2016-17	5,636	4,605	1,687	2,918	1,031	357	674
2017-18	5,685	4,662	1,714	2,948	1,023	351	672
2018-19	5,864	4,893	1,798	3,095	971	296	675
2019-20	5,906	4,975	1,815	3,160	931	318	613
2020-21	6,134	4,968	1,805	3,163	1,166	373	793
2021-22	5,567	4,582	1,679	2,903	985	350	635
2022-23	5,314	4,244	1,558	2,686	1,070	358	712
2023-24	5,612	4,282	1,625	2,657	1,330	463	867
2024-25	5,518	4,289	1,681	2,608	1,229	444	785
Average	5,673	5,673	1,707	2,902	5,673	363	700

Nicholls State University Undergraduate Enrollment Trends Chart

Graduate Enrollment Changes

The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 606 where 525 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 Nicholls State University since 2015.

Year	Total	Full-time			Part-time
Year	Total	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2015-16	669	189	55	134	480	86	394
2016-17	619	211	37	174	408	84	324
2017-18	642	224	59	165	418	84	334
2018-19	589	209	65	144	380	79	301
2019-20	585	234	46	188	351	82	269
2020-21	635	259	53	206	376	71	305
2021-22	658	222	47	175	436	77	359
2022-23	569	235	51	184	334	69	265
2023-24	568	224	59	165	344	59	285
2024-25	525	211	53	158	314	64	250
Average	606	606	53	169	606	76	309

Nicholls State University Graduate Enrollment Trends Chart

Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity Changes

The percentage of white students is 63.86%. The percentage was 68.19% 10 years ago and Nicholls State still has a high percentage of white students. 1.47% of enrolled students is Asian and 18.24% is black students. Hispanic students comprise 6.57% of the student body.

Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 68.19% to 63.86%. Asian enrollment grew from 1.14% to 1.47%. Black student enrollment decreased from 19.19% to 18.24%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 3.26% to 6.57%.

The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.5523 which indicates that moderately diverse. This increased from 0.4958 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.

The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Nicholls State 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
Year	2015-16	113	70	1,182	201	3	4,199	177
2016-17	110	67	1,271	217	1	4,167	186
2017-18	121	66	1,224	213	1	4,327	158
2018-19	128	73	1,166	238	2	4,448	152
2019-20	140	71	1,182	243	5	4,427	157
2020-21	153	129	1,252	295	4	4,384	172
2021-22	148	108	1,057	294	4	4,112	136
2022-23	140	92	981	325	4	3,698	150
2023-24	143	104	1,062	356	4	3,976	187
2024-25	126	89	1,102	397	8	3,859	245
Average	132	87	1,148	278	4	4,160	172

Nicholls State University Enrollment by Race Trends Chart

Distance Learning (Online Courses) Enrollment Changes

1,295 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 21% of total students. The number of online students has increased 73.36% since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Nicholls State University from 2015 to 2025.

Year	Total Enrollment	Online Completely	Enrolled in Some Online Courses	Not Enrolled in Online Courses
2015-16	6,158	747	2,405	3,006
2016-17	6,255	806	2,443	3,006
2017-18	6,327	823	2,416	3,088
2018-19	6,453	769	2,400	3,284
2019-20	6,491	941	2,447	3,103
2020-21	6,769	1,183	2,611	2,975
2021-22	6,225	1,173	2,210	2,842
2022-23	5,883	1,271	2,134	2,478
2023-24	6,180	1,415	2,171	2,594
2024-25	6,043	1,295	2,193	2,555
Average	6,278	1,042	2,343	2,893

Ratings & Review

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

Be the first reviewer

Most Searched Louisiana Colleges (last 30 days)

Undergraduate

Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Public, 4-year | Baton Rouge
Tulane University of Louisiana Private, 4-year | New Orleans
University of Louisiana at Lafayette Public, 4-year | Lafayette
University of New Orleans Public, 4-year | New Orleans
Opelousas School of Cosmetology Private, Less than 2-year | Opelousas
Southern University and A & M College Public, 4-year | Baton Rouge
Louisiana Tech University Public, 4-year | Ruston
McNeese State University Public, 4-year | Lake Charles
University of Louisiana at Monroe Public, 4-year | Monroe
Herzing University-New Orleans Private, 4-year | Metairie

compare schools

Graduate

Louisiana State University-Shreveport Public, 4-year | Shreveport
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Private, 4-year | New Orleans
University of New Orleans Public, 4-year | New Orleans
Southern University at New Orleans Public, 4-year | New Orleans
Grambling State University Public, 4-year | Grambling
Nicholls State University Public, 4-year | Thibodaux
Louisiana Tech University Public, 4-year | Ruston
Northwestern State University of Louisiana Public, 4-year | Natchitoches
University of Louisiana at Monroe Public, 4-year | Monroe
Notre Dame Seminary Graduate School of Theology Private, 4-year | New Orleans

compare schools

Online Schools

Baton Rouge Community College Public, 2-4 year | Baton Rouge
Grambling State University Public, 4-year | Grambling
Delgado Community College Public, 2-4 year | New Orleans
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Public, 4-year | Baton Rouge
Nicholls State University Public, 4-year | Thibodaux
Southeastern Louisiana University Public, 4-year | Hammond
Louisiana State University-Shreveport Public, 4-year | Shreveport
University of Phoenix-Louisiana Private, 4-year | Baton Rouge
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-New Orleans Public, 4-year | New Orleans
Louisiana State University at Alexandria Public, 4-year | Alexandria

compare schools

Trade Schools

Cloyd's Beauty School 1 Inc Private, Less than 2-year | West Monroe
Infinity College Private, 2-4 year | Lafayette
University of Louisiana at Monroe Public, 4-year | Monroe
Delta College West Private, Less than 2-year | Lake Charles
LaSalle Tech Private, Less than 2-year | Houma
Nicholls State University Public, 4-year | Thibodaux
Bossier Parish Community College Public, 2-4 year | Bossier City
Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute-Covington Private, Less than 2-year | Covington
Stevensons Academy of Hair Design Private, Less than 2-year | New Orleans
Delta College South Private, Less than 2-year | Baton Rouge

compare schools