Eastern Kentucky University

Richmond, KY · Public · 12,318 undergrads (medium, town) · website ↗

Test-optional
No application fee

What you'll actually pay

Average net price per year — tuition, fees, room & board minus grant and scholarship aid — for in-state students by household income.

Household income	Avg net price / year
Under $30,000	$8,591
$30,000 – $48,000	$8,005
$48,000 – $75,000	$10,382
$75,000 – $110,000	$14,384
Over $110,000	$17,009
All incomes (average)	$11,040

Sticker tuition and fees: $10,320 in-state, $21,230 out-of-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use Eastern Kentucky University's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator ↗

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, on campus	$12,662
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$12,662
Other expenses, on campus	$3,816
Other expenses, off campus	$4,888

Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (2,532 of them) in 2022–23; 99% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.

Type of aid	Students awarded	Average amount
Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own	98%	$11,460
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	47%	$5,144
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	86%	$6,161
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	45%	$4,796

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.

Admissions & outcomes

Acceptance rate: 78%
Average SAT: 1149
Median ACT: 21
Students with Pell grants: 41%
Graduation rate (6yr): 50%
Freshman retention: 77%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $45,795
Median debt at graduation: $22,500
International undergrads: 90 (0.7%)

For comparison, the median across all 1,596 four-year colleges on this site: graduation rate 56%, earnings ten years after entering $54,869, debt at graduation $23,250.

Admission policy, test scores and teaching

SAT/ACT policy: Test-optional
Application fee: None
Students per faculty member: 17 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 56%
Open admission: No

Middle 50% of test scores, fall 2024

25th to 75th percentile of enrolled first-year students who submitted scores. A quarter scored below the first figure and a quarter above the second. Section ranges can't be added together into a total-score range.

SAT Reading and Writing: 440–530
SAT Math: 440–550
ACT composite: 19–25

What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023

How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.

High school GPA	Required
High school class rank	Required
High school record	Required
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Required
Recommendations	Not considered
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Not considered
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Required
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	Not considered
Work experience	Required
Personal statement or essay	Required
Legacy status	Considered if submitted

First-time applicants: 17,082
Admitted: 13,340
Enrolled: 2,782

Counts of first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, including early decision and early action. The acceptance rate higher up this page comes from a different College Scorecard release, so it may not match these counts.

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.

Most popular fields of study

Share of bachelor's degrees awarded.

Business18%

Health & Nursing13%

Criminal Justice11%

Psychology10%

Education4%

Kinesiology & Sports Science3%

Social Sciences3%

Communications & Media2%

Biology & Life Sciences2%

Physics & Chemistry2%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Bachelor's degrees (47)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Psychology, General	248	$32,867	$41,384national $50,706	$21,899
Criminal Justice and Corrections	188	$39,538	$47,882national $55,378	$19,500
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	155	$41,907	$43,352national $53,072	$18,965
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	101	$77,058	$83,920national $88,910	$20,585
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	97	$35,762	$51,386national $54,562	$19,500
Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians	81	$75,355	$92,289national $86,525	$24,628
Business/Commerce, General	77	$51,049	$57,724national $68,407	$21,500
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	70	$36,499	$38,951national $47,382	$25,250
Marketing	64	$46,742	$53,559national $69,303	$18,718
Biology, General	62	$34,887	$48,327national $57,214	$17,500
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	61	—	$66,530national $55,792	$18,337
Social Work	58	$40,142	$46,705national $51,790	$25,000
Chemistry	54	$45,775	$52,216national $65,120	$21,035
Fire Protection	52	$62,905	$80,497national $86,436	$26,769
Accounting and Related Services	51	$51,021	$59,609national $76,194	$21,191
Finance and Financial Management Services	50	$46,192	$63,685national $83,343	$18,303
Air Transportation	45	$50,221	$66,943national $85,825	$20,992
Homeland Security	39	$55,462	$67,096national $70,193	$21,500
Public Health	36	$39,634	$51,086national $58,808	$23,250
Insurance	36	$50,060	—national $88,472	—
Agricultural Production Operations	35	—	$53,450national $53,588	$19,000
Business Administration, Management and Operations	33	$46,359	$68,249national $68,257	$23,346
Communication and Media Studies	31	$37,258	—national $56,359	$18,750
Fine and Studio Arts	31	$22,793	$35,365national $41,367	$27,000
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	29	$77,505	$77,992national $70,786	$20,690
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	28	—	$50,818national $58,928	$21,000
English Language and Literature, General	27	$25,635	$35,203national $48,590	$20,227
Health and Medical Administrative Services	25	$39,368	$55,570national $58,716	$24,389
Legal Support Services	24	$43,034	—national $53,266	$26,741
History	23	—	—national $50,680	$20,500
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	22	$40,673	$41,893national $51,389	—
Music	21	$35,510	$37,673national $42,892	$23,000
Computer and Information Sciences, General	20	$41,167	$68,774national $92,374	—
Political Science and Government	20	—	$43,786national $63,293	—
Construction Management	19	$61,464	$88,120national $95,124	$18,162
Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services	17	—	$59,838national $54,945	$19,856
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services	17	$35,310	$39,921national $48,568	$27,095
American Sign Language	16	$43,727	$36,755national $45,044	—
Radio, Television, and Digital Communication	15	$26,376	$41,368national $50,497	$19,850
Special Education and Teaching	14	$40,874	$38,991national $50,499	—
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other	12	$33,201	—national $55,693	—
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication	11	—	$49,272national $63,560	—
Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management	11	—	$41,877national $50,468	—
Management Information Systems and Services	10	$45,791	—national $83,290	—
Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management	9	—	$40,149national $45,338	—
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions	8	$60,777	$63,533national $75,975	—
Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations	3	$25,839	—national $59,631	—

Associate degrees (2)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	34	—	$71,506national $80,813	$20,587
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	29	—	—national $44,125	$15,877

Undergraduate certificates (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Criminal Justice and Corrections	43	—	$51,849national $57,702	$22,916

Master's degrees (17)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services, Other	88	$90,630	$99,631national $95,461	$40,849
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	80	$110,519	$119,778national $120,193	$57,898
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	59	$45,809	$46,153national $59,916	$40,874
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	48	$61,360	$72,321national $71,416	$41,000
Student Counseling and Personnel Services	47	$50,644	$54,288national $60,111	$49,367
Business/Commerce, General	41	$69,901	—national $125,988	$24,520
Psychology, General	38	—	—national $64,711	$38,118
Educational Administration and Supervision	32	$46,040	$49,776national $71,685	—
Special Education and Teaching	30	$49,231	$45,142national $64,397	$30,722
Criminal Justice and Corrections	28	—	—national $66,714	$30,750
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	28	—	$54,123national $67,030	$43,110
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology	26	$56,687	$51,307national $65,184	$27,766
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	23	$45,726	—national $62,033	$20,500
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	20	$55,040	$59,395national $63,707	—
Public Administration	20	$46,813	$59,419national $81,408	$24,778
Public Health	9	$52,686	$65,669national $82,751	—
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	3	$43,845	—national $127,347	—

Doctoral degrees (2)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology	—	$53,772	—national $99,878	—
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	—	$83,896	—national $82,893	$47,764

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 82 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: 521 Lancaster Ave, Richmond, KY 40475-3102
Phone: (859) 622-1000
Institutional accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS Fall Enrolment for international student counts. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Verify current costs and requirements with the school.

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