The student population at Samford University is 6,097 (4,210 undergraduate and 1,887 graduate students) . The number of students has increased by 891 (17.11%) over the past decade.
The average student population over the last 11 years is 5,655 where 6,097 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.
Total enrollment fluctuated between 2016 and 2025, with 8 year-over-year increases and 1 decrease. It peaked at 6,097 students in 2025 and was lowest at 5,206 in 2016. Overall, enrollment rose from 5,206 to 6,097 students, a net gain of 891 (17.1%).
The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Samford University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Undergraduate | Graduate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 5,206 | 3,168 | 1,123 | 2,045 | 2,038 | 823 | 1,215 |
| 2016-17 | 5,471 265 | 3,341 173 | 1,160 37 | 2,181 136 | 2,130 92 | 820 -3 | 1,310 95 |
| 2017-18 | 5,509 38 | 3,373 32 | 1,144 -16 | 2,229 48 | 2,136 6 | 774 -46 | 1,362 52 |
| 2018-19 | 5,619 110 | 3,535 162 | 1,175 31 | 2,360 131 | 2,084 -52 | 738 -36 | 1,346 -16 |
| 2019-20 | 5,692 73 | 3,591 56 | 1,199 24 | 2,392 32 | 2,101 17 | 723 -15 | 1,378 32 |
| 2020-21 | 5,729 37 | 3,576 -15 | 1,151 -48 | 2,425 33 | 2,153 52 | 736 13 | 1,417 39 |
| 2021-22 | 5,758 29 | 3,607 31 | 1,203 52 | 2,404 -21 | 2,151 -2 | 694 -42 | 1,457 40 |
| 2022-23 | 5,682 -76 | 3,672 65 | 1,185 -18 | 2,487 83 | 2,010 -141 | 639 -55 | 1,371 -86 |
| 2023-24 | 5,791 109 | 3,832 160 | 1,309 124 | 2,523 36 | 1,959 -51 | 637 -2 | 1,322 -49 |
| 2024-25 | 6,097 306 | 4,210 378 | 1,470 161 | 2,740 217 | 1,887 -72 | 592 -45 | 1,295 -27 |
| Average | 5,655 | 3,591 | 1,212 | 2,379 | 2,065 | 718 | 1,347 |
The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 3,591 where 4,210 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 Samford University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 3,168 | 3,040 | 1,088 | 1,952 | 128 | 35 | 93 |
| 2016-17 | 3,341 | 3,207 | 1,114 | 2,093 | 134 | 46 | 88 |
| 2017-18 | 3,373 | 3,266 | 1,103 | 2,163 | 107 | 41 | 66 |
| 2018-19 | 3,535 | 3,453 | 1,145 | 2,308 | 82 | 30 | 52 |
| 2019-20 | 3,591 | 3,509 | 1,168 | 2,341 | 82 | 31 | 51 |
| 2020-21 | 3,576 | 3,501 | 1,121 | 2,380 | 75 | 30 | 45 |
| 2021-22 | 3,607 | 3,549 | 1,185 | 2,364 | 58 | 18 | 40 |
| 2022-23 | 3,672 | 3,609 | 1,162 | 2,447 | 63 | 23 | 40 |
| 2023-24 | 3,832 | 3,778 | 1,289 | 2,489 | 54 | 20 | 34 |
| 2024-25 | 4,210 | 4,148 | 1,446 | 2,702 | 62 | 24 | 38 |
| Average | 3,591 | 3,591 | 1,182 | 2,324 | 3,591 | 30 | 55 |
The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 2,065 where 1,887 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 Samford University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 2,038 | 1,845 | 761 | 1,084 | 193 | 62 | 131 |
| 2016-17 | 2,130 | 1,941 | 761 | 1,180 | 189 | 59 | 130 |
| 2017-18 | 2,136 | 1,924 | 721 | 1,203 | 212 | 53 | 159 |
| 2018-19 | 2,084 | 1,839 | 671 | 1,168 | 245 | 67 | 178 |
| 2019-20 | 2,101 | 1,852 | 658 | 1,194 | 249 | 65 | 184 |
| 2020-21 | 2,153 | 1,949 | 674 | 1,275 | 204 | 62 | 142 |
| 2021-22 | 2,151 | 1,941 | 634 | 1,307 | 210 | 60 | 150 |
| 2022-23 | 2,010 | 1,842 | 590 | 1,252 | 168 | 49 | 119 |
| 2023-24 | 1,959 | 1,776 | 592 | 1,184 | 183 | 45 | 138 |
| 2024-25 | 1,887 | 1,714 | 540 | 1,174 | 173 | 52 | 121 |
| Average | 2,065 | 2,065 | 660 | 1,202 | 2,065 | 57 | 145 |
The percentage of white students is 80.04%. The percentage was 80.02% 10 years ago and Samford still has a high percentage of white students. 1.67% of enrolled students is Asian and 7.81% is black students. Hispanic students comprise 5.04% of the student body.
Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students increased from 80.02% to 80.04%. Asian enrollment declined from 1.82% to 1.67%. Black student enrollment decreased from 8.13% to 7.81%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 4.00% to 5.04%.
The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.3501 which indicates that somewhat diverse. This decreased from 0.3509 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has declined.
The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Samford 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 | 22 | 95 | 423 | 208 | 1 | 4,166 | 77 |
| 2016-17 | 21 | 94 | 502 | 176 | 1 | 4,389 | 92 |
| 2017-18 | 20 | 80 | 545 | 146 | 2 | 4,438 | 112 |
| 2018-19 | 17 | 83 | 532 | 154 | 3 | 4,545 | 118 |
| 2019-20 | 19 | 87 | 544 | 170 | 2 | 4,606 | 114 |
| 2020-21 | 14 | 80 | 473 | 208 | 1 | 4,712 | 124 |
| 2021-22 | 11 | 87 | 531 | 230 | 2 | 4,651 | 129 |
| 2022-23 | 7 | 108 | 496 | 234 | 6 | 4,558 | 109 |
| 2023-24 | 15 | 103 | 473 | 273 | 5 | 4,676 | 109 |
| 2024-25 | 23 | 102 | 476 | 307 | 5 | 4,880 | 113 |
| Average | 17 | 92 | 500 | 211 | 3 | 4,562 | 110 |
412 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 decreased -28.22% since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Samford University from 2015 to 2025.
| Year | Total Enrollment | Online Completely | Enrolled in Some Online Courses | Not Enrolled in Online Courses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 5,206 | 574 | 656 | 3,976 |
| 2016-17 | 5,471 | 698 | 786 | 3,987 |
| 2017-18 | 5,509 | 757 | 815 | 3,937 |
| 2018-19 | 5,619 | 651 | 1,040 | 3,928 |
| 2019-20 | 5,692 | 588 | 1,138 | 3,966 |
| 2020-21 | 5,729 | 535 | 1,605 | 3,589 |
| 2021-22 | 5,758 | 379 | 1,305 | 4,074 |
| 2022-23 | 5,682 | 218 | 800 | 4,664 |
| 2023-24 | 5,791 | 66 | 436 | 5,289 |
| 2024-25 | 6,097 | 412 | 892 | 4,793 |
| Average | 5,655 | 488 | 947 | 4,220 |
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