The student population at Northern Kentucky University is 15,347 (10,163 undergraduate and 5,184 graduate students) . The number of students has increased by 648 over the past decade.
The percentage of undergraduate students at NKU is 66.22% which is decreased by 2,368 over last 10 years. The graduate student population increased by 3,016 and it has been increasing.
The female to male ratio is 1.69 to 1 which means that female students enrolled more than male students.
6,624 students enrolled in online degree program exclusively and the number of online students has increased by 320.57% since 2015.
The average student population over the last 11 years is 15,242 where 15,347 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.
66.22% of total students is undergraduate students and 33.78% students is graduate students. The number of undergraduate students has decreased by 2,368 and the graduate enrollment has increased by 3,016 over past 10 years.
The female to male ratio is 1.69 to 1 and it means that there are more female students enrolled in NKU than male students.
The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Northern Kentucky University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Undergraduate | Graduate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 14,699 | 12,531 | 5,550 | 6,981 | 2,168 | 783 | 1,385 |
| 2016-17 | 14,542 -157 | 12,380 -151 | 5,379 -171 | 7,001 20 | 2,162 -6 | 766 -17 | 1,396 11 |
| 2017-18 | 14,456 -86 | 12,329 -51 | 5,367 -12 | 6,962 -39 | 2,127 -35 | 753 -13 | 1,374 -22 |
| 2018-19 | 14,764 308 | 11,914 -415 | 4,984 -383 | 6,930 -32 | 2,850 723 | 915 162 | 1,935 561 |
| 2019-20 | 15,664 900 | 11,868 -46 | 4,866 -118 | 7,002 72 | 3,796 946 | 1,059 144 | 2,737 802 |
| 2020-21 | 16,211 547 | 11,507 -361 | 4,617 -249 | 6,890 -112 | 4,704 908 | 1,247 188 | 3,457 720 |
| 2021-22 | 15,979 -232 | 10,814 -693 | 4,300 -317 | 6,514 -376 | 5,165 461 | 1,339 92 | 3,826 369 |
| 2022-23 | 15,801 -178 | 10,776 -38 | 4,361 61 | 6,415 -99 | 5,025 -140 | 1,368 29 | 3,657 -169 |
| 2023-24 | 14,961 -840 | 9,927 -849 | 4,071 -290 | 5,856 -559 | 5,034 9 | 1,460 92 | 3,574 -83 |
| 2024-25 | 15,347 386 | 10,163 236 | 4,216 145 | 5,947 91 | 5,184 150 | 1,481 21 | 3,703 129 |
| Average | 15,242 | 11,421 | 4,771 | 6,650 | 3,822 | 1,117 | 2,704 |
The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 11,421 where 10,163 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 Northern Kentucky University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 12,531 | 9,268 | 4,200 | 5,068 | 3,263 | 1,350 | 1,913 |
| 2016-17 | 12,380 | 9,184 | 4,062 | 5,122 | 3,196 | 1,317 | 1,879 |
| 2017-18 | 12,329 | 8,962 | 3,955 | 5,007 | 3,367 | 1,412 | 1,955 |
| 2018-19 | 11,914 | 8,551 | 3,630 | 4,921 | 3,363 | 1,354 | 2,009 |
| 2019-20 | 11,868 | 8,243 | 3,460 | 4,783 | 3,625 | 1,406 | 2,219 |
| 2020-21 | 11,507 | 8,024 | 3,280 | 4,744 | 3,483 | 1,337 | 2,146 |
| 2021-22 | 10,814 | 7,598 | 3,073 | 4,525 | 3,216 | 1,227 | 1,989 |
| 2022-23 | 10,776 | 7,412 | 3,069 | 4,343 | 3,364 | 1,292 | 2,072 |
| 2023-24 | 9,927 | 7,011 | 2,892 | 4,119 | 2,916 | 1,179 | 1,737 |
| 2024-25 | 10,163 | 7,070 | 2,955 | 4,115 | 3,093 | 1,261 | 1,832 |
| Average | 11,421 | 11,421 | 3,458 | 4,675 | 11,421 | 1,314 | 1,975 |
The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 3,822 where 5,184 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 Northern Kentucky University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 2,168 | 743 | 310 | 433 | 1,425 | 473 | 952 |
| 2016-17 | 2,162 | 712 | 291 | 421 | 1,450 | 475 | 975 |
| 2017-18 | 2,127 | 778 | 307 | 471 | 1,349 | 446 | 903 |
| 2018-19 | 2,850 | 952 | 331 | 621 | 1,898 | 584 | 1,314 |
| 2019-20 | 3,796 | 1,205 | 357 | 848 | 2,591 | 702 | 1,889 |
| 2020-21 | 4,704 | 1,206 | 379 | 827 | 3,498 | 868 | 2,630 |
| 2021-22 | 5,165 | 1,312 | 364 | 948 | 3,853 | 975 | 2,878 |
| 2022-23 | 5,025 | 1,221 | 372 | 849 | 3,804 | 996 | 2,808 |
| 2023-24 | 5,034 | 1,361 | 464 | 897 | 3,673 | 996 | 2,677 |
| 2024-25 | 5,184 | 1,484 | 435 | 1,049 | 3,700 | 1,046 | 2,654 |
| Average | 3,822 | 3,822 | 361 | 736 | 3,822 | 756 | 1,968 |
The percentage of white students is 74.46%. The percentage was 83.20% 10 years ago and NKU still has a high percentage of white students. 2.30% of enrolled students is Asian and 9.80% is black students. Hispanic students comprise 4.37% of the student body.
Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 83.20% to 74.46%. Asian enrollment grew from 1.14% to 2.30%. Black student enrollment increased from 6.63% to 9.80%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 2.83% to 4.37%.
The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.4323 which indicates that somewhat diverse. This increased from 0.3020 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.
The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Northern Kentucky 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 | 51 | 167 | 975 | 416 | 10 | 12,229 | 318 |
| 2016-17 | 43 | 173 | 995 | 446 | 8 | 12,008 | 334 |
| 2017-18 | 30 | 180 | 1,009 | 449 | 11 | 11,872 | 364 |
| 2018-19 | 35 | 187 | 1,032 | 456 | 16 | 12,133 | 385 |
| 2019-20 | 29 | 247 | 1,148 | 533 | 9 | 12,736 | 449 |
| 2020-21 | 25 | 302 | 1,293 | 593 | 20 | 13,012 | 460 |
| 2021-22 | 24 | 314 | 1,383 | 605 | 18 | 12,639 | 433 |
| 2022-23 | 20 | 326 | 1,378 | 663 | 17 | 12,124 | 440 |
| 2023-24 | 20 | 336 | 1,361 | 636 | 10 | 11,314 | 467 |
| 2024-25 | 18 | 353 | 1,504 | 671 | 8 | 11,428 | 524 |
| Average | 30 | 259 | 1,208 | 547 | 13 | 12,150 | 417 |
6,624 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 43% of total students. The number of online students has increased 320.57% since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Northern Kentucky University from 2015 to 2025.
| Year | Total Enrollment | Online Completely | Enrolled in Some Online Courses | Not Enrolled in Online Courses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 14,699 | 1,575 | 3,972 | 9,152 |
| 2016-17 | 14,542 | 1,582 | 4,299 | 8,661 |
| 2017-18 | 14,456 | 1,671 | 4,449 | 8,336 |
| 2018-19 | 14,764 | 2,740 | 4,827 | 7,197 |
| 2019-20 | 15,664 | 4,157 | 914 | 10,593 |
| 2020-21 | 16,211 | 7,835 | 7,331 | 1,045 |
| 2021-22 | 15,979 | 6,629 | 5,476 | 3,874 |
| 2022-23 | 15,801 | 6,567 | 5,059 | 4,175 |
| 2023-24 | 14,961 | 8,189 | 5,577 | 1,195 |
| 2024-25 | 15,347 | 6,624 | 4,682 | 4,041 |
| Average | 15,242 | 4,757 | 4,659 | 5,827 |
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