The student population at Southern Wesleyan University is 980 (784 undergraduate and 196 graduate students) . The number of students has decreased by 756 (43.55%) over the past decade.
- Class Level: The percentage of undergraduate students at SWU is 80.00% which is decreased by 539 over last 10 years. The graduate student population decreased by 217 and it has been decreasing.
- Gender Breakdown: In 2025, there were 56 male students for every 100 female students, down from 57 in 2015.
- 412 students enrolled in online degree program exclusively and the number of online students has increased by 21.89% since 2015.
Student Population Changes
The average student population over the last 11 years is 1,427 where 980 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.
Total enrollment fluctuated between 2016 and 2025, with 2 year-over-year increases and 7 decreases. It peaked at 1,880 students in 2017 and was lowest at 980 in 2025. Overall, enrollment dropped from 1,736 to 980 students, a net loss of 756 (43.5%).
The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Southern Wesleyan University since 2015.
Undergraduate Enrollment Changes
The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 1,118 where 784 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 Southern Wesleyan University since 2015.
Graduate Enrollment Changes
The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 310 where 196 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 Southern Wesleyan University since 2015.
Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity Changes
The percentage of white students is 68.16%. The percentage was 61.52% 10 years ago and SWU still has a high percentage of white students. 0.41% of enrolled students is Asian and 17.04% is black students. Hispanic students comprise 7.55% of the student body.
Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students increased from 61.52% to 68.16%. Asian enrollment declined from 0.46% to 0.41%. Black student enrollment decreased from 28.40% to 17.04%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 4.44% to 7.55%.
The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.4992 which indicates that somewhat diverse. This decreased from 0.5387 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has declined.
The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Southern Wesleyan University over the past 11 years (2015-2025).
Distance Learning (Online Courses) Enrollment Changes
412 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 42% of total students. The number of online students has increased 21.89% since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Southern Wesleyan University from 2015 to 2025.