by our College Data Analytics TeamEastern Kentucky University is a public institution in Richmond, Kentucky enrolling 12,318 undergraduates. It accepts 78% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 50%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #1,694 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 33%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Eastern Kentucky University ranks #1,694 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 33%.
College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.
Eastern Kentucky University was awarded 183 badges in the 2027 rankings.
College Factual ranked Eastern EKU as #1,694 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list.
Within the state, Eastern EKU holds the #20 spot on the Best Colleges in Kentucky ranking.
See all of the rankings for Eastern Kentucky University.
The acceptance rate at Eastern Kentucky University is 78%. That’s higher than the rate at many schools, but still low enough to be considered somewhat selective. If you want to get in, you’ll need good grades and to be able to show that Eastern EKU is a good fit for you.
About 1% of students accepted to Eastern EKU submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 440 and 530. Math scores were between 440 and 550.
Eastern EKU received ACT scores from 97% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 19 and 25.
Learn more about Eastern Kentucky University admissions.
The student to faculty ratio at Eastern Kentucky University is about average at 17 to 1. This ratio is often used to gauge how many students might be in an average class and how much time professors will have to spend with their students on an individual level. The national average for this metric is 15 to 1.
When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at Eastern Kentucky University is 56%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate of 77% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like Eastern Kentucky University enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That’s certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at Eastern EKU for first-time, full-time students is 50%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Eastern Kentucky University.
During the most recent academic year, there were 12,318 undergraduates at Eastern EKU.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Eastern Kentucky University.
The overall average net price of Eastern EKU is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $8,591 | $8,005 | $10,382 | $14,384 | $17,009 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Eastern EKU, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At Eastern EKU, approximately 41% of students took out student loans averaging $6,669 a year. That adds up to $26,676 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 9.1%. This is about the same as the national default rate of 10.1%. Get more details about paying for Eastern Kentucky University.
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Kentucky University make about $45,795 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is in the same neighborhood of the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. However, certain majors may produce higher-paying graduates.
See which majors at Eastern Kentucky University make the most money.
Eastern Kentucky University is a public institution located in Richmond, Kentucky. Richmond is a great place for students who enjoy small town life. Get more details about the location of Eastern Kentucky University.
Get in touch with Eastern Kentucky University are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 521 Lancaster Ave, Richmond, KY 40475-3102 |
| Phone: | 8596221000 |
| Website: | www.eku.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Kentucky_University |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/EasternKentuckyUniversity |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/EKUBuilds |
In the latest year of available data, students from 31 majors graduated from Eastern Kentucky University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 3,738 | NA |
| General Psychology | 307 | $25,642 |
| Nursing | 281 | $69,439 |
| Liberal Arts General Studies | 247 | $29,895 |
| Criminal Justice & Corrections | 234 | $30,352 |
| Business & Commerce | 204 | $37,931 |
| Social Work | 154 | $33,448 |
| Rehabilitation Professions | 129 | $56,959 |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 117 | $35,640 |
| Quality Control Technology | 114 | $67,935 |
9,564 students took at least one online class at Eastern Kentucky University.
Online courses are a great option for busy, working students as well as for those who have scheduling conflicts and want to study on their own time. As time goes by, expect to see more and more online learning options become available.
Learn more about online learning at Eastern Kentucky University.
Interested in comparing Eastern EKU? Match them up using College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.
Footnotes
*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.
References