Bowling Green, Kentucky · Public · 4-year · Small city
Overview
Located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Western Kentucky University is a public four-year institution. The campus sits in a small city. It enrolled 16,291 students in fall 2024, including 14,151 undergraduates and 2,140 graduate students.
Western Kentucky University offers certificates, associate degrees, bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, doctoral degrees, and professional doctorates across 160 programs. Its largest programs by number of graduates are Business Administration and Management, General Studies, and Registered Nursing. It awarded 4,683 degrees and certificates in 2024-25. 56 of its programs can be completed entirely online.
78% of full-time first-year students return for a second year. The student-to-faculty ratio is 19 to 1.
Key figures
16,291
Students enrolled
78%
First-year retention
4,683
Degrees and certificates awarded, 2024-25
160
Programs and majors
19:1
Student-to-faculty ratio
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Delivery modes
CampusOnlineHybrid
Program levels
CertificateAssociateBachelorMasterPhDProfessional
Programs and majors offered 160
Graduate counts are degrees and certificates awarded in each program between July 2024 and June 2025. Largest fields are listed first.
Retention is for students who started in fall 2023 and returned in fall 2024.
First-year retention, full-time students
78%
First-year retention, part-time students
41%
Student-to-faculty ratio
19:1
Degrees and certificates awarded
Awards conferred between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025.
Bachelor's degrees
2,804
Associate degrees
255
Master's degrees
799
Doctoral degrees (research)
8
Professional doctorates
42
Certificates under 1 year
552
Certificates of 1 to 2 years
8
Postbaccalaureate certificates
195
Post-master's certificates
20
Enrollment
Students, fall 2024
16,291
Undergraduates, fall 2024
14,151
Graduate students, fall 2024
2,140
Full-time, fall 2024
74%
Students over the full 2024-25 year
19,534
Undergraduates, 2024-25
16,700
Graduate students, 2024-25
2,834
Full-time, 2024-25
65%
Size category
10,000 to 19,999 students
Student body
Share of all students enrolled during 2024-25. Small groups can round to zero and are not listed.
Women
62%
Men
38%
White
75%
Hispanic or Latino
6%
Black or African American
9%
Asian
3%
Two or more races
4%
International (U.S. nonresident)
1%
Race or ethnicity unknown
1%
Online and flexible learning
Distance education in 2024-25.
Programs that can be completed fully online
56
Programs with a fully online option
2
Online undergraduate programs
Yes
Online graduate programs
Yes
Students studying fully online
24%
Students taking some online courses
51%
Campus and services
Setting
Small city
Academic calendar
Semester
Carnegie classification
Doctoral/Professional Universities
Research designation
Research Colleges and Universities
Athletic association
NCAA
Athletic conference
Conference USA
President
Timothy C. Caboni
Services and opportunities
Study abroad, ROTC, Undergraduate research, Teacher certification, Academic and career counseling, Student employment services, Job placement for graduates, On-campus day care, Accepts AP credit
For veterans and service members
Yellow Ribbon Program, Credit for military training, Dedicated veterans contact, Student veteran organization