Graduate Programs at Western Kentucky University

Graduate School Overview

Western Kentucky University (referred to as WKU) is a Public, 4 years school located in Bowling Green, KY. It is classified as a Doctoral/Research University school by Carnegie Classification and its highest level of offering is Doctor's degree- professional practice.

The school is accredited by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges (1/1/1926 - Current).

WKU Directory Information
School Name	Western Kentucky University (WKU)
Address	1906 College Heights Blvd, Bowling Green, KY 42101-1000
Phone	270-745-0111
Web	https://www.wku.edu
Online Application	https://www.wku.edu/admissions
Financial Info	https://www.wku.edu/financialaid

The 2023 graduate school tuition & fees at Western Kentucky University is $12,140 for Kentucky residents and $18,340 for out-of-state students. The school has 2,021 graduate students where it has a total enrollment of 16,750 including undergraduate students.

It offers total 263 graduate programs through Post-Bachelor Certificate, Master's, Post-Master Certificate, Doctorate (Professional Practice), and Doctorate (Other). Among them, 84 programs are available online classes.

Graduate School 2023 Key Facts
School Type	Public, 4 years
Tuition & Fees	$18,340 $12,140 for Kentucky Residents
Student Population	2,021
Offered Degrees/Programs	Post-Bachelor Certificate, Master's, Post-Master Certificate, Doctorate (Professional Practice), and Doctorate (Other)
Number of Programs	263 graduate programs (84 programs available online learning)
Student to Faculty Ratio	18 to 1

The graduate tuition & fees at Western Kentucky University is $12,140 for Kentucky residents and $18,340 for out-of-state students for the academic year 2022-2023. The tuition per credit hour is $607 for Kentucky residents and $917 for out-of-state students.

Western Kentucky University offers the alternative tuition plans.

Western Kentucky University offers the distance education programs. All course works for completing a degree program can be done through online exclusively for graduate programs. In addition, the distance learning courses are offered for students who are not enrolled online exclusively.

On its campus, academic/career services, employment services for students, placement services for completers, on-campus daycare for students' children are provided for their students.

Special Learning Opportunities & On-campus Services
Distance Learning (Online Classes)	84 Online Programs Available
Special learning Opportunities	ROTC (Army, Air Force) Study abroad Teacher certification
On-Campus Student Services	Academic/career services Employment services for students Placement services for completers On-campus daycare for students' children

2023 Graduate Tuition, Fees, Other Expenses

For the academic year 2022-2023, the graduate school tuition & fees of Western Kentucky University is $12,140 for Kentucky residents and $18,340 for other students. The graduate tuition & fees are stayed same compared to previous academic year.

Data source: 2022-2023 tuition - NCES(National Center for Education Statistics (Last update: July 22, 2022)

2022-2023 Graduate Tuition & fees
	Kentucky Residents		Out-of-State
	Tuition	Fees	Tuition	Fees
2018-2019	$12,140	-	$17,980	-
2019-2020	$12,140	-	$18,340	-
2020-2021	$12,140	-	$18,340	-
2021-2022	$12,140	-	$18,340	-
2022-2023	$12,140	-	$18,340	-

The graduate school tuition & fees of WKU is average compared to public graduate schools in Kentucky. The average graduate school tuition for all graduate schools in United States is $19,603 and the Kentucky graduate tuition is $17,742 (public) / $11,001 (private).

The next table compares the average graduate school tuition by location and school types.

Graduate Tuition & fees Comparison
	Residents	Out-of-State
Western Kentucky University	$12,140	$18,340
All Graduate Schools	$16,007	$19,603
Public	$11,484	$20,787
Private	$19,674
Kentucky Graduate Schools	$10,479	$13,191
Public	$10,985	$17,742
Private	$11,001

For academic year 2022-2023, the living costs are $16,602 when a student lives on-campus housing facilities (i.e. dormitory, school owned apartments, etc.) at Western Kentucky University. On-campus living costs are increased by 4.00% compared to previous academic year. The off-campus living costs are $16,602. Off-campus living costs are increased by 4.40% compared to previous academic year.

2022-2023 Living Expenses
	Living On-Campus		Living Off-Campus
	Room & Board	Other Expense	Room & Board	Other Expense
2018-2019	$8,343	$1,985	$8,343	$3,640
2019-2020	$8,432	$2,035	$8,432	$4,080
2020-2021	$10,044	$2,086	$10,044	$4,238
2021-2022	$10,708	$2,115	$10,708	$5,195
2022-2023	$11,072	$2,264	$11,072	$5,530

For academic year 2022-2023, the tuition per credit hour for graduate programs is $607 for Kentucky residents and $917 for other students at Western Kentucky University. The graduate tuition per credit hour are stayed same compared to previous academic year.

2022-2023 Graduation Program Tuition per Credit Hour
	Kentucky Residents	Out-of-State
2018-2019	$607	$899
2019-2020	$607	$917
2020-2021	$607	$917
2021-2022	$607	$917
2022-2023	$607	$917

Graduate Programs at WKU

Western Kentucky University offers 111 graduate programs for Master's, Doctorate, and Post-Graduate Certificate. The next table lists number of programs by offered degree and online availability along with number of completers by degree/certificate programs. Last year, 991 students have completed their study at Western Kentucky University.

Offered Degrees at Western Kentucky University
Award Level	Total Number of Programs	Available Online Class	Number of Completers
Master's Degree	56	22	728
Doctor's degree - professional practice	1	0	12
Doctor's degree - other	4	0	56
Post Bachelor's Degree	43	32	169
Post Master's Degree	7	1	26
Total	111	55	991

The next table shows the popular graduate programs at Western Kentucky University by award level.

The most popular Post-graduate Certificate program is the Sport and Fitness Administration/Management program with 28 completers.
The most popular Master's program is the Organizational Leadership program with 123 completers.
The most popular Doctorate program is the Physical Therapy/Therapist program with 29 completers.

Popular Post-graduate Certificate Programs at Western Kentucky University
Program	Available Online	Number of Completers	Average Earning after graduation
Sport and Fitness Administration/Management	✔	28	-
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing	✔	22	-
Sport and Fitness Administration/Management	✔	21	-
Substance Abuse/Addiction Counseling	✔	18	-
Parks, Recreation and Leisure Facilities Management	✔	17	-

Popular Master's Programs at Western Kentucky University
Program	Available Online	Number of Completers	Average Earning after graduation
Organizational Leadership	✔	123	-
Organizational Leadership	✔	123	-
Audiology/Audiologist and Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist	✕	81	-
Business Administration and Management	✔	79	$55,000
Parks, Recreation and Leisure Facilities Management	✔	72	$41,400

Popular Doctorate Programs at Western Kentucky University
Program	Available Online	Number of Completers	Average Earning after graduation
Physical Therapy/Therapist	✕	29	-
Physical Therapy/Therapist	✕	28	-
Nursing Practice	✕	24	-
Nursing Practice	✕	19	-
Educational Leadership and Administration	✕	15	-

Western Kentucky University offers 111 programs through Master's, Doctorate, and Post-Graduate Certificate. The programs are offered both in online and on-site education. Last year total 991 students have completed their graduate studies.

728 students have earned/completed Master's program.
56 students have earned/completed Doctorate (Practice) program.
12 students have earned/completed Doctorate (Other) program.
169 students have earned/completed Post-Bachelor's program.
26 students have earned/completed Post-Master's program.

Master's Programs and Number of Completers
Program	Available Online	Number of Completers	Average Earning after graduation
Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender, and Group Studies [+]	✕	4 completers	-
Folklore Studies	✕	4	-
Communication and Journalism [+]	✕	7 completers	-
Speech Communication and Rhetoric	✕	7	-
Computer and Information Sciences [+]	✕	1 completers	-
Computer and Information Sciences	✕	1	-
Education [+]	✔ (5 completers)	82 completers	-
Education	✕	0	-
Educational Leadership and Administration	✕	0	-
Educational Administration and Supervision (other)	✕	0	-
Educational/Instructional Technology	✔	5	-
Learning Sciences	✕	0	-
Special Education and Teaching	✕	13	$39,900
Education/Teaching of the Gifted and Talented	✔	5	-
Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services	✕	0	-
College Student Counseling and Personnel Services	✕	15	-
Adult and Continuing Education and Teaching	✔	7	$40,000
Elementary Education and Teaching	✕	6	-
Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education and Teaching	✕	3	-
Secondary Education and Teaching	✕	5	-
Teacher Education, Multiple Levels	✕	7	-
Early Childhood Education and Teaching	✕	6	-
Art Teacher Education	✕	0	-
Music Teacher Education	✕	6	-
Physical Education Teaching and Coaching	✔	3	-
Reading Teacher Education	✔	1	-
Engineering Technology [+]	✔ (1 completers)	4 completers	-
Engineering/Industrial Management	✔	4	-
Work and Family Studies [+]	✔ (1 completers)	4 completers	-
Family and Community Services	✔	4	-
English Language and Literature [+]	✕	9 completers	-
English Language and Literature	✕	3	-
Creative Writing	✕	6	-
Library Science [+]	✔ (1 completers)	28 completers	$42,400
Library and Information Science	✔	28	$42,400
Biological and Biomedical Sciences [+]	✔ (1 completers)	12 completers	-
Biology/Biological Sciences	✔	12	-
Mathematics and Statistics [+]	✕	9 completers	-
Mathematics	✕	9	-
Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies [+]	✔ (1 completers)	2 completers	-
Biological and Physical Sciences	✔	2	-
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, and Fitness Studies [+]	✔ (1 completers)	72 completers	-
Parks, Recreation and Leisure Facilities Management	✔	72	$41,400
Philosophy and Religious Studies [+]	✕	0 completers	-
Religion/Religious Studies	✕	0	-
Physical Sciences [+]	✕	7 completers	-
Chemistry	✕	7	-
Psychology [+]	✕	56 completers	$36,800
Psychology	✕	15	$36,800
Counseling Psychology	✕	35	-
School Psychology	✕	6	-
Human Services [+]	✔ (2 completers)	69 completers	-
Community Organization and Advocacy	✔	9	-
Public Administration	✕	7	-
Social Work	✔	53	$36,200
Social Sciences [+]	✔ (2 completers)	20 completers	-
Criminology	✔	7	-
Applied Economics	✕	0	-
Econometrics and Quantitative Economics	✔	9	-
Geography	✕	2	-
Sociology	✕	2	-
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences [+]	✔ (3 completers)	115 completers	-
Audiology/Audiologist and Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist	✕	64	-
Health/Health Care Administration/Management	✔	15	-
Public Health	✔	19	-
Environmental Health	✔	6	-
Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse	✕	11	$85,200
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing	✕	0	-
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing	✕	0	-
Business [+]	✔ (2 completers)	216 completers	-
Business Administration and Management	✔	79	$55,000
Organizational Leadership	✔	123	-
Accounting	✕	14	-
History [+]	✔	4 completers	-
History	✔	4	-
	Total	728

Doctorate (Practice) Programs and Number of Completers
Program	Available Online	Number of Completers	Average Earning after graduation
Education [+]	✕	0 completers	-
Educational Leadership and Administration	✕	0	-
Psychology [+]	✕	3 completers	-
School Psychology	✕	3	-
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences [+]	✕	53 completers	-
Physical Therapy/Therapist	✕	29	-
Nursing Practice	✕	24	-
	Total	56

Doctorate (Other) Programs and Number of Completers
Program	Available Online	Number of Completers	Average Earning after graduation
Education [+]	✕	12 completers	-
Educational Leadership and Administration	✕	12	-
	Total	12

Post-Bachelor's Programs and Number of Completers
Program	Available Online	Number of Completers	Average Earning after graduation
Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender, and Group Studies [+]	✔ (1 completers)	3 completers	-
Women's Studies	✔	3	-
Communication and Journalism [+]	✔ (3 completers)	17 completers	-
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication	✔	10	-
Organizational Communication	✔	5	-
Health Communication	✔	2	-
Computer and Information Sciences [+]	✕	0 completers	-
Information Science/Studies	✕	0	-
Education [+]	✔ (8 completers)	26 completers	-
Curriculum and Instruction	✔	14	-
Community College Education	✕	0	-
Educational/Instructional Technology	✕	0	-
Education/Teaching of the Gifted and Talented	✕	0	-
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Autism	✕	0	-
Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services	✔	2	-
College Student Counseling and Personnel Services	✔	1	-
Student Counseling and Personnel Services (other)	✔	2	-
Adult and Continuing Education and Teaching	✔	6	-
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods, Oth (other)	✔	0	-
Mathematics Teacher Education	✔	0	-
Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language (other)	✔	1	-
Engineering Technology [+]	✔ (1 completers)	4 completers	-
Quality Control Technology/Technician	✔	4	-
Work and Family Studies [+]	✕	0 completers	-
Adult Development and Aging	✕	0	-
Biological and Biomedical Sciences [+]	✔ (2 completers)	9 completers	-
Biology/Biological Sciences	✔	6	-
Epidemiology	✔	3	-
Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies [+]	✔ (2 completers)	1 completers	-
Cultural Resource Management and Policy Analysis	✕	0	-
Sustainability Studies	✔	1	-
Data Analytics, General	✔	0	-
Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies (other)	✕	0	-
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, and Fitness Studies [+]	✔ (2 completers)	42 completers	-
Parks, Recreation and Leisure Facilities Management	✔	14	-
Sport and Fitness Administration/Management	✔	28	-
Philosophy and Religious Studies [+]	✕	0 completers	-
Religion/Religious Studies	✕	0	-
Psychology [+]	✔ (1 completers)	0 completers	-
Applied Behavior Analysis	✔	0	-
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, and Firefighting [+]	✔ (2 completers)	5 completers	-
Crisis/Emergency/Disaster Management	✔	5	-
Cybersecurity Defense Strategy/Policy	✔	0	-
Human Services [+]	✔ (1 completers)	5 completers	-
Public Administration	✔	5	-
Social Sciences [+]	✔ (2 completers)	2 completers	-
Econometrics and Quantitative Economics	✔	1	-
Geographic Information Science and Cartography	✔	1	-
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences [+]	✔ (3 completers)	39 completers	-
Substance Abuse/Addiction Counseling	✔	18	-
Environmental Health	✔	4	-
Public Health Education and Promotion	✔	11	-
Health Services Administration	✕	0	-
Dietetics/Dietitian	✕	6	-
Business [+]	✔	16 completers	-
Business Administration and Management	✔	3	-
Non-Profit/Public/Organizational Management	✔	4	-
Organizational Leadership	✔	5	-
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services (other)	✔	4	-
	Total	169

Post-Master's Programs and Number of Completers
Program	Available Online	Number of Completers	Average Earning after graduation
Education [+]	✕	0 completers	-
Learning Sciences	✕	0	-
Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research (other)	✕	0	-
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences [+]	✔	26 completers	-
Nursing Education	✕	0	-
Nursing Administration	✕	0	-
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing	✕	4	-
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing	✔	22	-
Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing	✕	0	-
	Total	26

Graduate Student Population at WKU

For the academic year 2021-2022, total 2,021 students enrolled into Western Kentucky University graduate schools where it has total 16,750 students including undergraduate students. By attending status, there are 756 full-time and 1,265 part-time graduate students. By gender, 689 male and 1,332 female students are attending graduate schools. The next table summarizes the graduate student population by gender and attending status.

Graduate School Student Population By Gender
	Total	Male	Female
Total	2,021	689	1,332
Full-time	756	241	515
Part-tme	1,265	448	817

The next table summarizes the students population by race/ethnicity.

There are 1,589 White (78.62%), 209 Black/African American (10.34%), 63 Hispanic (3.12%), 21 Asian (1.04%), and 139 students with other races. 52 students are enrolled with non-resident alien status.

Graduate Student Population By Race/ethnicity
	Total	Male	Female
Total	2,021	689	1,332
American Indian/Native American	3	1	2
Asian	21	6	15
Black/African American	209	89	120
Hispanic	63	31	32
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander	3	2	1
White	1,589	503	1,086
Two More	64	24	40
Un-Known	17	8	9
Non-resident Alien	52	25	27

Western Kentucky University offers the distance learning opportunities (online degree program and/or courses) for graduate programs. 1,121 graduate students (55.47% of total students) are enrolled online exclusively and 280 graduate students (13.85% of total students) are enrolled some online courses. The next table summarizes the online student population.

Distance Learning Student Population
	Number of Graduate Students
Total	2,021
Enrolled Online Exclusively	1,121
Enrolled Some Online Courses	280
Not in Online Courses	620

The following table summarizes the graduate students population by age at Western Kentucky University. 628 students are aged 20 to 24 (31.07% of total students), 1 students are aged below 20 (0.05%), 101 students are aged above 50 (5.00%). Next table summarizes the student population by age at Western Kentucky University.

Graduate Student Population By Age
	Total	Male	Female
Total	2,021	689	1,332
Age 18-19	1	0	1
Age 20-21	37	6	31
Age 22-24	591	180	411
Age 25-29	483	173	310
Age 30-34	270	113	157
Age 35-39	244	99	145
Age 40-49	294	89	205
Age 50-64	94	28	66
Over 64	7	1	6

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