Northern Kentucky University Student Population

How many students at NKU?

For the academic year 2024-2025, Northern Kentucky University has a total enrollment of 15,347 students, including 10,163 undergraduate and 5,184 graduate students.

• Gender Breakdown: 5,697 male students (37.1%) and 9,650 female students (62.9%) are attending .
• Race and Ethnicity Breakdown: The two largest race/ethnicity groups are 11,428 White students (74.5%) and 1,504 Black students (9.8%).
• Class Level Breakdown: 10,163 undergraduate students (66.2%) and 5,184 graduate students (33.8%).
• Class Delivery: 6,624 students are enrolled online exclusively, while 4,682 students take a hybrid mix of online and on-campus courses.

Compared to similar public Doctoral / Research University - which average 13,360 - NKU's body is relatively large.

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, 5,697 male (37.12%) and 9,650 female (62.88%) students are attending Northern Kentucky University. The number of male students per 100 females students (male-to-female ratio) is 59.04.

By class level, 10,163 (66.22%) are undergraduate students and 5,184 (33.78%) are graduate students. Among undergraduates, 41.48% are male and 58.52% are female, while among graduate students, 28.57% are male and 71.43% are female.

• Enrollment Trends

Student Distribution by Race/Ethnicity

By race/ethnicity, 11,428 White, 1,504 Black, and 353 Asian students out of a total of 15,347 are attending at Northern Kentucky University. Comprehensive enrollment statistic data by race/ethnicity is shown in the chart below (academic year 2024-2025 data).

Northern Kentucky University is somewhat diverse with a diversity index of 43.2% measured by Census Bureau Diversity Index. The institution shows moderate representation of multiple racial and ethnic groups.

• Total
• Undergraduate
• Graduate

Student Age Distribution

By age, NKU has 1,487 students under 18 years old and 60 students over 65 years old. There are 9,097 students under 25 years old, and 6,250 students over 25 years old out of 15,347 total students.

In undergraduate programs, 1,487 students are younger than 18 and 31 students are older than 65. NKU has 8,269 undergraduate students aged under 25 and 1,894 students aged 25 and over.

It has 828 graduate students aged under 25 and 4,356 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 Northern Kentucky University, 6,624 students are enrolled exclusively in online courses and 4,682 students are enrolled in some online courses.

3,745 students who live in Kentucky or the jurisdiction in which the school is located are enrolled exclusively in online courses and 2,879 students live in another State or outside of the United States.

• Online Population
• By Locality

Transfer-in Students (Undergraduate)

Among 10,163 enrolled in undergraduate programs, 896 students have transferred-in from other institutions. The percentage of transfer-in students is 8.82%.591 students have transferred in as full-time status and 305 students transferred in as part-time status.