Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Western Kentucky University

Find Schools Near

Western Kentucky University Overview

Western Kentucky University is a public institution located in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The city atmosphere of Bowling Green makes it a great place for students who enjoy having lots of educational and entertainment options.

What Is Western Kentucky University Known For?

3,765 Undergraduate Awards
$30,246 Avg Cost After Aid
98% Acceptance Rate
  • The doctor's degree is the highest award offered at WKU.
  • In 2017-2018, 66% of the faculty were full-time.

Best Schools

Western Kentucky University Rankings

These rankings may look different from those published by other outlets, because we use an outcomes-based approach rather than a subjective one. We get our data from a number of places, including the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard. For more information, check out our rankings and methodology page.

Program Level Awards

These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at WKU.

Rank Ranking Name Share
#1 Best Value Recreation Administration Graduate Certificate Schools Tweet It - Post It
#1 Most Popular Recreation Administration Master’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#1 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools Tweet It - Post It
#10 Most Popular Communication Sciences Master’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#40 Most Popular Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#40 Most Popular Liberal Arts General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#47 Most Popular Teacher Education Grade Specific Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#73 Most Popular Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#93 Most Popular Foreign Languages & Linguistics Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#141 Most Popular Health Professions Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It

Awards From Around the Web

The following table lists some notable awards WKU has earned from around the web.

Rank Ranking Name Source
#1 Best Technical Teacher Education Associate Degree Schools College Factual
#30 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Chemistry College Factual
#35 Best Health Information/Medical Records Technology/Technician Colleges for Veterans College Factual
#57 Best Health & Medical Administrative Services Associate Degree Colleges for Veterans College Factual
#88 Best Nursing Associate Degree Colleges for Veterans College Factual
#139 Best Health Professions Associate Degree Colleges for Veterans College Factual

Where Is Western Kentucky University?

undefined

Contact details for WKU are given below.

Contact Details
Address: 1906 College Heights Blvd, Bowling Green, KY 42101-1000
Phone: 270-745-0111
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WKUNews
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wkunews

How Do I Get Into WKU?

You can apply to WKU online at: www.wku.edu/atwku/admissions.php

Admission Requirements for WKU

Submission Required?
High School GPA required
High School Rank neither required nor recommended
High School Transcript required
College Prep Program required
Recommendations neither required nor recommended
SAT or ACT Scores required
TOEFL required

How Hard Is It To Get Into WKU?

98% Acceptance Rate
64% Of Accepted Are Women
10% Submit SAT Scores
WKU has the high acceptance rate of 98%, which means it is fairly easy to gain admittance as long as you submit a complete application with requested materials.

Approximately 36% of accepted students are men and 64% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 97%, and the acceptance rate for women is 98%.

Average Test Scores

About 10% of students accepted to WKU submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 500 and 600. Math scores were between 480 and 580.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for Western Kentucky University  ( 500 to 600 )
200
800

SAT Math Scores for Western Kentucky University  ( 480 to 580 )
200
800
WKU received ACT scores from 95% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT English scores ranged between 19 and 27. Math scores were between 17 and 25. Composite scores were between 19 and 26.

ACT English Scores for Western Kentucky University  ( 19 to 27 )
1
36
ACT Math Scores for Western Kentucky University  ( 17 to 25 )
1
36
ACT Composite Scores for Western Kentucky University  ( 19 to 26 )
1
36

Can I Afford Western Kentucky University?

$30,246 Net Price
54% Take Out Loans
9.3% Loan Default Rate
The overall average net price of WKU is $30,246. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group.

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.

Student Loan Debt

Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At WKU, approximately 54% of students took out student loans averaging $6,946 a year. That adds up to $27,784 over four years for those students.

The student loan default rate at WKU is 9.3%. This is about the same as the national default rate of 10.1%.

Western Kentucky University Undergraduate Student Diversity

11,749 Full-Time Undergraduates
60% Women
20% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
There are 15,286 undergraduate students at WKU, with 11,749 being full-time and 3,537 being part-time.

undefined

There are also 2,231 graduate students at the school.

Gender Diversity

Of the 11,749 full-time undergraduates at WKU, 40% are male and 60% are female.

undefined

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

The racial-ethnic breakdown of Western Kentucky University students is as follows.

undefined
Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 292
Black or African American 1,093
Hispanic or Latino 509
White 9,135
International Students 184
Other Races/Ethnicities 536

Geographic Diversity

Kentucky students aren't the only ones who study at Western Kentucky University. At this time, 30 states are represented by the student population at the school.

Over 86 countries are represented at WKU. The most popular countries sending students to the school are Saudi Arabia, China, and India.

Online Learning at Western Kentucky University

4,127 Took All Classes Online
14,933 Took At Least One Class Online
6.9% Avg Growth Over 4 Years
There are 15 bachelor’s degree and 23 master’s degree programs available online at WKU. In 2019-2020, 14,933 students took at least one online class at the school.

The following chart shows how the online learning population at WKU has changed over the last few years.

undefined

This school is the 3rd most popular in Kentucky for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2019-2020.

Online Affordability Rankings of WKU

The following table shows how WKU is ranked for affordability for both in-state and out-of-state students among colleges and universities that are not mostly online.

Major Tuition for In-State Students Tuition for Out-of-State Students
General Biology #7 #10
Geography & Cartography #8 #11
General Agriculture #10 #7
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods #10 #13
Sociology #10 #10
Recreation Administration #10 #13
Criminology #13 #22
Community Organization & Advocacy #16 #16
General Social Sciences #16 #23
Biological & Biomedical Sciences #16 #22
Communication Sciences #25 #28
Mathematics & Statistics #28 #28
Mathematics #28 #31
History #31 #40
Industrial Production Technology #31 #42
History #31 #40
Agriculture & Agriculture Operations #31 #25
Human Development & Family Studies #34 #33
Management Information Systems #37 #58
Engineering-Related Fields #52 #58
Dental Support Services #52 #57
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences #52 #66
Library & Information Science #55 #64
Library Science #55 #64
Health & Medical Administrative Services #55 #123
Health Sciences & Services #60 #98
Teacher Education Subject Specific #61 #73

Online Growth Rankings of WKU

The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at Western Kentucky University was 6.9%. This is the #1,494 largest growth rate of all schools that are only partially online. This refers to all students at WKU regardless of major.

The following table shows the 1-year growth rate of WKU majors that offer at least one online course. This table only includes majors with positive growth.

Major 1-Year Growth Rate
Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies 20%
Biological & Biomedical Sciences 8%
Business Administration & Management 2%
Communication & Journalism 8%
Community Organization & Advocacy 25%
Criminology 15%
Curriculum & Instruction 29%
Education 15%
Educational Administration 43%
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences 3%
General Biology 6%
General Social Sciences 48%
Geography & Cartography 23%
Gerontology 67%
Health & Physical Education 20%
Health Professions 6%
Health Sciences & Services 17%
History 25%
History 25%
Human Development & Family Studies 21%
Instructional Media Design 63%
Library & Information Science 17%
Library Science 17%
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods 26%
Medical Illustration & Informatics 30%
Mental & Social Health Services 73%
Nursing 4%
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies 9%
Public Administration 10%
Public Administration & Social Service 5%
Public Health 17%
Public Relations & Advertising 11%
Social Sciences 11%
Social Work 2%
Sociology 4%
Special Education 5%
Student Counseling 17%
Teacher Education Grade Specific 16%

The table below shows how the average growth rate over 4 years at WKU ranks compared to all other partially online schools that offer a specific major. Note that the majors may or may not be offered online at WKU.

Major Growth Rate Rank
Recreation Administration #11
Ethnic Studies #21
Community Organization & Advocacy #21
Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies #32
General Agriculture #32
Sustainability Science #35
Quality Control Technology #35
General Biology #40
Other Business, Management & Marketing #41
Dental Support Services #43
Industrial Production Technology #44
Criminology #56
General Social Sciences #57
Library & Information Science #77
Geography & Cartography #78
Library Science #88
Engineering-Related Fields #88
Public Relations & Advertising #90
Management Information Systems #97
Biological & Biomedical Sciences #103
Social Work #104
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods #107
History #115
History #115
Student Counseling #118
Sociology #120
Homeland Security #131
Agriculture & Agriculture Operations #132
General Education #146
Mental & Social Health Services #150
Health Sciences & Services #150
Public Administration #162
Public Health #217
Health & Physical Education #218
Curriculum & Instruction #224
Instructional Media Design #230
Human Development & Family Studies #239
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies #242
Communication & Journalism #270
Engineering Technologies #270
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences #301
Special Education #316
Computer Information Systems #320
Teacher Education Subject Specific #320
Public Administration & Social Service #365
Social Sciences #371
Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies #412
Educational Administration #454

When we speak of partially online, we are referring to schools whose online population is less than 50% of its total student body. Mostly online refers to those with online populations greater than or equal to 50%.

Western Kentucky University Undergraduate Concentrations

The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.

Major Basic Certificate Associate’s Bachelor’s Graduate Certificate Master’s Doctor’s TOTAL
Business Administration & Management 65 2 234 18 170 0 489
Nursing 0 89 220 17 17 19 362
Liberal Arts General Studies 0 51 221 0 0 0 272
Teacher Education Grade Specific 0 3 174 4 44 0 225
Health & Physical Education 0 0 137 21 0 0 158
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods 105 0 36 0 0 0 141
General Biology 0 0 102 2 22 0 126
Social Work 0 0 74 0 51 0 125
Communication Sciences 0 0 36 0 81 0 117
General Psychology 0 0 97 0 18 0 115
Health & Medical Administrative Services 20 2 67 0 19 0 108
Recreation Administration 0 0 23 17 66 0 106
Public Relations & Advertising 1 0 87 12 0 0 100
Accounting 0 0 71 0 20 0 91
Public Health 12 0 30 19 27 0 88
Finance & Financial Management 10 0 75 0 0 0 85
Journalism 0 0 84 0 0 0 84
General Agriculture 0 0 74 0 7 0 81
Computer Information Systems 0 0 75 0 5 0 80
Teacher Education Subject Specific 0 6 41 1 32 0 80
Marketing 0 0 74 0 0 0 74
Criminology 0 0 69 0 5 0 74
Economics 0 0 42 11 14 0 67
Special Education 0 0 29 1 27 0 57
History 0 0 47 0 10 0 57
Sociology 0 0 49 0 3 0 52
Mechanical Engineering 0 0 50 0 0 0 50
General English Literature 0 0 44 0 4 0 48
Industrial Production Technology 16 0 31 0 0 0 47
Health Sciences & Services 0 0 47 0 0 0 47
Geography & Cartography 14 0 19 1 9 0 43
Political Science & Government 0 0 43 0 0 0 43
Fine & Studio Arts 0 0 43 0 0 0 43
Child Development & Psychology 0 0 40 0 0 0 40
Communication & Media Studies 0 0 31 0 8 0 39
Construction Engineering Technology 0 0 39 0 0 0 39
Civil Engineering 0 0 39 0 0 0 39
Chemistry 0 0 29 0 10 0 39
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology 0 0 0 0 34 2 36
Textile & Apparel Studies 0 0 35 0 0 0 35
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 16 0 18 0 0 0 34
Hospitality Management 0 0 33 0 0 0 33
Human Development & Family Studies 25 0 0 1 7 0 33
Dental Support Services 0 4 29 0 0 0 33
Romance Languages 0 0 32 0 0 0 32
Music 0 0 32 0 0 0 32
Drama & Theater Arts 0 0 31 0 0 0 31
Mathematics 0 0 19 0 11 0 30
Library & Information Science 0 0 0 0 29 0 29
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 0 0 0 0 0 28 28
Electrical Engineering 0 0 27 0 0 0 27
General Social Sciences 0 0 27 0 0 0 27
Architectural Sciences & Technology 0 0 23 0 0 0 23
Educational Administration 7 0 0 0 1 15 23
Student Counseling 0 0 0 11 12 0 23
Geological & Earth Sciences 14 0 9 0 0 0 23
Instructional Media Design 15 0 0 2 2 0 19
International Relations & National Security 0 0 17 0 0 0 17
Ethnic Studies 0 0 12 1 3 0 16
Cultural Studies & Analysis 0 0 16 0 0 0 16
International Business 0 0 15 0 0 0 15
English Literature (Other) 0 0 14 0 0 0 14
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology 0 0 13 0 0 0 13
Business/Managerial Economics 0 0 12 0 0 0 12
Management Information Systems 0 0 12 0 0 0 12
East Asian Languages 0 0 12 0 0 0 12
Middle Eastern Semitic Languages 0 0 12 0 0 0 12
Anthropology 0 0 12 0 0 0 12
Community Organization & Advocacy 0 0 0 0 12 0 12
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology 0 0 11 0 0 0 11
Mental & Social Health Services 8 0 0 3 0 0 11
Religious Studies 0 0 10 0 1 0 11
Medical Illustration & Informatics 10 0 0 0 0 0 10
Public Administration 0 0 0 3 7 0 10
Entrepreneurial Studies 0 0 9 0 0 0 9
Area Studies 0 0 9 0 0 0 9
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services 0 0 0 9 0 0 9
Dance 0 0 8 0 0 0 8
Curriculum & Instruction 0 0 0 7 0 0 7
Writing Studies 0 0 0 0 7 0 7
Legal Support Services 0 1 6 0 0 0 7
Agricultural Production 0 5 0 0 0 0 5
Engineering-Related Fields 0 0 0 0 5 0 5
Other Business, Management & Marketing 2 0 0 2 0 0 4
Germanic Languages 0 0 4 0 0 0 4
Physics 0 0 4 0 0 0 4
Food Science Technology 3 0 0 0 0 0 3
Gerontology 3 0 0 0 0 0 3
General Physical Sciences 0 0 3 0 0 0 3
Educational Assessment 0 0 0 2 0 0 2
General Education 0 0 0 0 2 0 2
Teaching English or French 0 0 0 2 0 0 2
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science 0 0 2 0 0 0 2
Statistics 2 0 0 0 0 0 2
Biological & Physical Science 0 0 0 0 2 0 2
Homeland Security 1 0 0 1 0 0 2
Real Estate 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
Quality Control Technology 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
Allied Health Professions 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Sustainability Science 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
Biotechnology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Genetics 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Business Support & Assistant Services 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Information Science 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Housing 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Historic Preservation 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Natural Resource Management 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Natural Resources Conservation 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Design & Applied Arts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
TOTAL 350 164 3,251 170 804 64 4,803

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.