Western Illinois University Student Population

How many students at Western Illinois?

For the academic year 2024-2025, Western Illinois University has a total enrollment of 6,332 students, including 4,525 undergraduate and 1,807 graduate students.

• Gender Breakdown: 2,569 male students (40.6%) and 3,763 female students (59.4%) are attending .
• Race and Ethnicity Breakdown: The two largest race/ethnicity groups are 3,615 White students (57.1%) and 966 Black students (15.3%).
• Class Level Breakdown: 4,525 undergraduate students (71.5%) and 1,807 graduate students (28.5%).
• Class Delivery: 1,607 students are enrolled online exclusively, while 2,917 students take a hybrid mix of online and on-campus courses.

Compared to similar public Master's College and University (larger programs) - which average 10,123 - Western Illinois's body is much smaller.

Explore complete student demographics below, including gender ratio, race and ethnicity, age distribution, and distance learning statistics.

Enrollment by Gender and Class Level

By gender, 2,569 male (40.57%) and 3,763 female (59.43%) students are attending Western Illinois University. The number of male students per 100 females students (male-to-female ratio) is 68.27.

By class level, 4,525 (71.46%) are undergraduate students and 1,807 (28.54%) are graduate students. Among undergraduates, 41.06% are male and 58.94% are female, while among graduate students, 39.35% are male and 60.65% are female.

• Enrollment Trends

Student Distribution by Race/Ethnicity

By race/ethnicity, 3,615 White, 966 Black, and 90 Asian students out of a total of 6,332 are attending at Western Illinois University. Comprehensive enrollment statistic data by race/ethnicity is shown in the chart below (academic year 2024-2025 data).

Western Illinois University is moderately diverse with a diversity index of 63.8% measured by Census Bureau Diversity Index. The institution demonstrates strong racial and ethnic diversity among its student body.

• Total
• Undergraduate
• Graduate

Student Age Distribution

By age, Western Illinois has 133 students under 18 years old and 30 students over 65 years old. There are 4,138 students under 25 years old, and 2,194 students over 25 years old out of 6,332 total students.

In undergraduate programs, 133 students are younger than 18 and 3 students are older than 65. Western Illinois has 3,682 undergraduate students aged under 25 and 843 students aged 25 and over.

It has 456 graduate students aged under 25 and 1,351 students aged 25 and over.

• Total
• Undergraduate
• Graduate

Online Student Enrollment

Distance learning, also called online education, is very attractive to students, especially those who want to continue education and work in the field. At Western Illinois University, 1,607 students are enrolled exclusively in online courses and 2,917 students are enrolled in some online courses.

1,348 students who live in Illinois or the jurisdiction in which the school is located are enrolled exclusively in online courses and 259 students live in another State or outside of the United States.

• Online Population
• By Locality

Transfer-in Students (Undergraduate)

Among 4,525 enrolled in undergraduate programs, 596 students have transferred-in from other institutions. The percentage of transfer-in students is 13.17%.480 students have transferred in as full-time status and 116 students transferred in as part-time status.