The student population at Eastern Illinois University is 8,505 (6,785 undergraduate and 1,720 graduate students) . The number of students has decreased by 15 (0.18%) over the past decade.
- Class Level: The percentage of undergraduate students at EIU is 79.78% which is decreased by 417 over last 10 years. The graduate student population increased by 402 and it has been increasing.
- Gender Breakdown: In 2025, there were 74 male students for every 100 female students, up from 67 in 2015.
- 1,283 students enrolled in online degree program exclusively and the number of online students has increased by 122.74% since 2015.
Student Population Changes
The average student population over the last 11 years is 8,170 where 8,505 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.
Total enrollment fluctuated between 2016 and 2025, with 4 year-over-year increases and 5 decreases. It peaked at 8,857 students in 2023 and was lowest at 7,030 in 2018. Overall, enrollment dropped from 8,520 to 8,505 students, a net loss of 15 (0.2%).
The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Eastern Illinois University since 2015.
Undergraduate Enrollment Changes
The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 6,539 where 6,785 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 Eastern Illinois University since 2015.
Graduate Enrollment Changes
The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 1,631 where 1,720 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 Eastern Illinois University since 2015.
Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity Changes
The percentage of white students is 60.56%. The percentage was 68.44% 10 years ago and EIU still has a high percentage of white students. 3.75% of enrolled students is Asian and 11.38% is black students. Hispanic students comprise 8.72% of the student body.
Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 68.44% to 60.56%. Asian enrollment grew from 1.08% to 3.75%. Black student enrollment decreased from 16.91% to 11.38%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 5.53% to 8.72%.
The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.6108 which indicates that moderately diverse. This increased from 0.4994 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.
The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Eastern Illinois University over the past 11 years (2015-2025).
Distance Learning (Online Courses) Enrollment Changes
1,283 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 15% of total students. The number of online students has increased 122.74% since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Eastern Illinois University from 2015 to 2025.