The student population at Eastern Kentucky University is 15,673 (13,448 undergraduate and 2,225 graduate students) . The number of students has decreased by 1,171 (6.95%) over the past decade.
- Class Level: The percentage of undergraduate students at EKU is 85.80% which is decreased by 879 over last 10 years. The graduate student population decreased by 292 and it has been decreasing.
- Gender Breakdown: In 2025, there were 63 male students for every 100 female students, down from 71 in 2015.
- 5,246 students enrolled in online degree program exclusively and the number of online students has increased by 51.84% since 2015.
Student Population Changes
The average student population over the last 11 years is 15,459 where 15,673 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 16,881 students in 2017 and was lowest at 13,984 in 2022. Overall, enrollment dropped from 16,844 to 15,673 students, a net loss of 1,171 (7%).
The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Eastern Kentucky University since 2015.
Undergraduate Enrollment Changes
The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 13,082 where 13,448 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 Kentucky University since 2015.
Graduate Enrollment Changes
The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 2,376 where 2,225 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 Kentucky University since 2015.
Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity Changes
The percentage of white students is 79.51%. The percentage was 82.81% 10 years ago and EKU still has a high percentage of white students. 1.21% of enrolled students is Asian and 6.71% is black students. Hispanic students comprise 5.44% of the student body.
Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 82.81% to 79.51%. Asian enrollment grew from 0.87% to 1.21%. Black student enrollment increased from 5.77% to 6.71%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 2.32% to 5.44%.
The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.3578 which indicates that somewhat diverse. This increased from 0.3097 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.
The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Eastern Kentucky University over the past 11 years (2015-2025).
Distance Learning (Online Courses) Enrollment Changes
5,246 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 34% of total students. The number of online students has increased 51.84% since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Eastern Kentucky University from 2015 to 2025.