The student population at Western Kentucky University is 16,291 (14,151 undergraduate and 2,140 graduate students) . The number of students has decreased by 3,772 over the past decade.
The percentage of undergraduate students at WKU is 86.86% which is decreased by 3,159 over last 10 years. The graduate student population decreased by 613 and it has been decreasing.
The female to male ratio is 1.65 to 1 which means that female students enrolled more than male students.
3,505 students enrolled in online degree program exclusively and the number of online students has increased by 25.54% since 2015.
The average student population over the last 11 years is 18,203 where 16,291 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.
86.86% of total students is undergraduate students and 13.14% students is graduate students. The number of undergraduate students has decreased by 3,159 and the graduate enrollment has decreased by 613 over past 10 years.
The female to male ratio is 1.65 to 1 and it means that there are more female students enrolled in WKU than male students.
The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Western Kentucky University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Undergraduate | Graduate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 20,063 | 17,310 | 7,421 | 9,889 | 2,753 | 972 | 1,781 |
| 2016-17 | 20,271 208 | 17,595 285 | 7,363 -58 | 10,232 343 | 2,676 -77 | 963 -9 | 1,713 -68 |
| 2017-18 | 20,257 -14 | 17,656 61 | 7,296 -67 | 10,360 128 | 2,601 -75 | 888 -75 | 1,713 |
| 2018-19 | 19,456 -801 | 17,030 -626 | 6,930 -366 | 10,100 -260 | 2,426 -175 | 805 -83 | 1,621 -92 |
| 2019-20 | 18,171 -1,285 | 15,895 -1,135 | 6,340 -590 | 9,555 -545 | 2,276 -150 | 749 -56 | 1,527 -94 |
| 2020-21 | 17,517 -654 | 15,286 -609 | 5,928 -412 | 9,358 -197 | 2,231 -45 | 796 47 | 1,435 -92 |
| 2021-22 | 16,750 -767 | 14,729 -557 | 5,561 -367 | 9,168 -190 | 2,021 -210 | 689 -107 | 1,332 -103 |
| 2022-23 | 16,493 -257 | 14,440 -289 | 5,490 -71 | 8,950 -218 | 2,053 32 | 693 4 | 1,360 28 |
| 2023-24 | 16,759 266 | 14,590 150 | 5,609 119 | 8,981 31 | 2,169 116 | 741 48 | 1,428 68 |
| 2024-25 | 16,291 -468 | 14,151 -439 | 5,431 -178 | 8,720 -261 | 2,140 -29 | 715 -26 | 1,425 -3 |
| Average | 18,203 | 15,868 | 6,337 | 9,531 | 2,335 | 801 | 1,534 |
The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 15,868 where 14,151 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 Western Kentucky University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 17,310 | 13,152 | 5,859 | 7,293 | 4,158 | 1,562 | 2,596 |
| 2016-17 | 17,595 | 13,160 | 5,769 | 7,391 | 4,435 | 1,594 | 2,841 |
| 2017-18 | 17,656 | 12,919 | 5,567 | 7,352 | 4,737 | 1,729 | 3,008 |
| 2018-19 | 17,030 | 12,393 | 5,249 | 7,144 | 4,637 | 1,681 | 2,956 |
| 2019-20 | 15,895 | 11,815 | 4,858 | 6,957 | 4,080 | 1,482 | 2,598 |
| 2020-21 | 15,286 | 11,749 | 4,660 | 7,089 | 3,537 | 1,268 | 2,269 |
| 2021-22 | 14,729 | 11,359 | 4,374 | 6,985 | 3,370 | 1,187 | 2,183 |
| 2022-23 | 14,440 | 11,163 | 4,305 | 6,858 | 3,277 | 1,185 | 2,092 |
| 2023-24 | 14,590 | 11,330 | 4,429 | 6,901 | 3,260 | 1,180 | 2,080 |
| 2024-25 | 14,151 | 11,299 | 4,425 | 6,874 | 2,852 | 1,006 | 1,846 |
| Average | 15,868 | 15,868 | 4,950 | 7,084 | 15,868 | 1,387 | 2,447 |
The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 2,335 where 2,140 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 Western Kentucky University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 2,753 | 1,028 | 401 | 627 | 1,725 | 571 | 1,154 |
| 2016-17 | 2,676 | 1,001 | 402 | 599 | 1,675 | 561 | 1,114 |
| 2017-18 | 2,601 | 879 | 317 | 562 | 1,722 | 571 | 1,151 |
| 2018-19 | 2,426 | 835 | 283 | 552 | 1,591 | 522 | 1,069 |
| 2019-20 | 2,276 | 776 | 221 | 555 | 1,500 | 528 | 972 |
| 2020-21 | 2,231 | 829 | 258 | 571 | 1,402 | 538 | 864 |
| 2021-22 | 2,021 | 756 | 241 | 515 | 1,265 | 448 | 817 |
| 2022-23 | 2,053 | 741 | 222 | 519 | 1,312 | 471 | 841 |
| 2023-24 | 2,169 | 744 | 216 | 528 | 1,425 | 525 | 900 |
| 2024-25 | 2,140 | 771 | 230 | 541 | 1,369 | 485 | 884 |
| Average | 2,335 | 2,335 | 279 | 557 | 2,335 | 522 | 977 |
The percentage of white students is 75.08%. The percentage was 75.96% 10 years ago and WKU still has a high percentage of white students. 3.37% of enrolled students is Asian and 8.56% is black students. Hispanic students comprise 6.23% of the student body.
Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 75.96% to 75.08%. Asian enrollment grew from 1.22% to 3.37%. Black student enrollment decreased from 8.90% to 8.56%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 2.96% to 6.23%.
The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.4222 which indicates that somewhat diverse. This increased from 0.4134 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.
The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Western 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 | 39 | 244 | 1,786 | 594 | 20 | 15,240 | 494 |
| 2016-17 | 38 | 295 | 1,767 | 588 | 21 | 15,598 | 567 |
| 2017-18 | 53 | 323 | 1,739 | 654 | 26 | 15,753 | 622 |
| 2018-19 | 54 | 369 | 1,619 | 692 | 21 | 15,350 | 621 |
| 2019-20 | 42 | 400 | 1,506 | 729 | 21 | 14,354 | 599 |
| 2020-21 | 33 | 427 | 1,557 | 771 | 28 | 13,723 | 619 |
| 2021-22 | 32 | 464 | 1,439 | 816 | 17 | 13,032 | 619 |
| 2022-23 | 37 | 505 | 1,349 | 857 | 16 | 12,784 | 602 |
| 2023-24 | 47 | 562 | 1,409 | 975 | 23 | 12,647 | 660 |
| 2024-25 | 41 | 549 | 1,395 | 1,015 | 17 | 12,231 | 689 |
| Average | 42 | 414 | 1,557 | 769 | 21 | 14,071 | 609 |
3,505 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 22% of total students. The number of online students has increased 25.54% since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Western Kentucky University from 2015 to 2025.
| Year | Total Enrollment | Online Completely | Enrolled in Some Online Courses | Not Enrolled in Online Courses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 20,063 | 2,792 | 4,895 | 12,376 |
| 2016-17 | 20,271 | 3,216 | 5,179 | 11,876 |
| 2017-18 | 20,257 | 3,335 | 4,840 | 12,082 |
| 2018-19 | 19,456 | 3,575 | 4,906 | 10,975 |
| 2019-20 | 18,171 | 3,376 | 4,092 | 10,703 |
| 2020-21 | 17,517 | 4,127 | 10,806 | 2,584 |
| 2021-22 | 16,750 | 3,205 | 6,291 | 7,254 |
| 2022-23 | 16,493 | 3,162 | 6,396 | 6,935 |
| 2023-24 | 16,759 | 3,327 | 6,335 | 7,097 |
| 2024-25 | 16,291 | 3,505 | 6,624 | 6,162 |
| Average | 18,203 | 3,362 | 6,036 | 8,804 |
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