Western Kentucky University

Bowling Green, KY · Public · 12,155 undergrads (medium, city) · website ↗

Test-optional
$50 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	$7,087
$30,000 – $48,000	$6,871
$48,000 – $75,000	$9,765
$75,000 – $110,000	$14,049
Over $110,000	$17,653
All incomes (average)	$10,990

Sticker tuition and fees: $11,652 in-state, $27,000 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 Western 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	$13,080
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$13,080
Books and supplies	$1,000
Other expenses, on campus	$2,556
Other expenses, off campus	$6,363

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

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (2,719 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	99%	$10,906
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	37%	$5,112
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	93%	$6,386
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	46%	$5,078

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: 94%
Average SAT: 971
Median ACT: —
Students with Pell grants: 31%
Graduation rate (6yr): 56%
Freshman retention: 78%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $43,889
Median debt at graduation: $22,095
International undergrads: 91 (0.6%)

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: $50
Students per faculty member: 19 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 67%
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: 420–530
SAT Math: 420–520
ACT composite: 16–21

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	Not considered
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	Not considered
Personal statement or essay	Not considered
Legacy status	Not considered

First-time applicants: 7,720
Admitted: 7,492
Enrolled: 2,822

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.

Business20%

Health & Nursing14%

Education6%

Communications & Media6%

Psychology5%

Social Sciences5%

Kinesiology & Sports Science5%

Visual & Performing Arts4%

Biology & Life Sciences3%

Computer Science3%

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 (56)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business Administration, Management and Operations	222	$48,092	$59,362national $68,257	$17,750
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	147	$37,645	$38,656national $47,382	$19,645
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	146	$73,223	$73,496national $88,910	$21,130
Psychology, General	145	$35,658	$44,848national $50,706	$22,375
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	137	$37,122	$46,583national $53,072	$21,250
Criminology	118	$37,516	$45,124national $55,556	$20,500
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	116	$41,365	$54,396national $54,562	$18,000
Marketing	108	$46,304	$60,222national $69,303	$18,742
Biology, General	94	$38,895	$52,487national $57,214	$21,500
Social Work	89	$36,862	$48,771national $51,790	$23,251
Finance and Financial Management Services	69	$51,468	$70,313national $83,343	$17,781
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication	67	$42,209	$53,839national $63,560	$21,500
Health and Medical Administrative Services	67	$42,077	$60,103national $58,716	$20,750
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General	61	$38,274	$57,271national $61,296	$17,750
Accounting and Related Services	56	$53,267	$71,274national $76,194	$18,000
Agriculture, General	54	$41,883	$51,065national $53,676	$20,500
Fine and Studio Arts	52	$31,282	$45,957national $41,367	$21,500
Journalism	50	$39,993	$47,661national $56,278	$21,393
Computer and Information Sciences, General	50	$56,335	$73,300national $92,374	$15,855
Apparel and Textiles	47	$41,480	$45,420national $57,640	$22,127
Political Science and Government	47	$34,809	$54,333national $63,293	$20,500
Sociology	45	$37,641	$43,520national $52,657	$22,633
Mechanical Engineering	44	$68,191	$86,624national $92,135	$20,100
Data Analytics	40	—	—	$21,197
Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians	38	$71,975	$86,033national $80,890	$17,499
Research and Experimental Psychology	37	$34,133	—national $55,695	$20,250
Construction Management	36	$66,806	—national $95,124	$24,250
English Language and Literature, General	35	$31,884	$40,616national $48,590	$21,500
History	35	$35,319	$38,836national $50,680	$19,692
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	34	$36,351	$40,838national $51,389	$21,500
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	34	—	$57,844national $58,928	$19,500
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft	33	$32,317	$34,987national $39,775	$24,195
Music	31	$35,078	$38,377national $42,892	$26,000
Dental Support Services and Allied Professions	31	$52,750	$57,958national $68,061	$14,736
Computer Science	29	$62,782	—national $107,009	—
Civil Engineering	28	$65,983	$75,732national $86,517	$22,672
Hospitality Administration/Management	27	$33,850	$50,712national $56,726	$18,250
Communication and Media Studies	26	$32,100	$50,392national $56,359	$18,371
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	25	—	$53,921national $55,000	$14,037
Architectural Sciences and Technology	24	$52,179	$71,240national $70,074	$19,389
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	23	—	$85,772national $100,647	—
Natural Resources Conservation and Research	21	—	—national $55,012	$20,375
Anthropology	20	—	$40,415national $46,676	—
Business/Managerial Economics	20	—	—national $77,981	$12,000
Economics	19	$52,320	$68,051national $82,686	—
Radio, Television, and Digital Communication	16	$24,401	$41,791national $50,497	—
Chemistry	15	$44,752	—national $65,120	—
International Relations and National Security Studies	15	—	$64,710national $66,596	—
Public Health	15	—	$43,605national $58,808	$19,500
Special Education and Teaching	13	$38,507	$40,705national $50,499	$23,250
Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management	13	—	$42,600national $50,468	—
East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	10	—	$43,210national $51,642	—
Social Sciences, General	10	$36,939	—national $53,366	—
Mathematics	9	$39,249	$38,434national $69,562	—
Management Information Systems and Services	—	$55,206	$68,333national $83,290	—
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	—	$53,524	$74,452national $86,176	—

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	114	$74,271	$75,959national $80,813	$13,561
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	50	$35,358	$45,877national $44,125	$17,000

Undergraduate certificates (10)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Data Analytics	115	—	—	$17,625
Business Administration, Management and Operations	67	—	$49,760national $47,440	—
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication	50	—	—national $52,763	$25,000
Geography and Cartography	23	—	—national $58,705	$18,901
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services	16	$35,569	$38,962national $31,135	$18,457
Radio, Television, and Digital Communication	14	$45,645	—national $33,711	$27,000
Health and Medical Administrative Services	13	$38,850	—national $35,447	$25,750
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences	8	—	$76,463national $63,448	—
Finance and Financial Management Services	7	—	$85,634national $53,418	—
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	—	$50,459	$66,066national $84,309	—

Master's degrees (15)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business Administration, Management and Operations	138	$72,265	$69,436national $103,485	$23,009
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	90	$42,230	$49,133national $59,916	$24,890
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	65	$56,245	$55,249national $67,030	$41,000
Social Work	54	$47,211	$56,628national $65,123	$20,500
Special Education and Teaching	46	$42,250	$51,391national $64,397	$22,954
Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management	33	$50,221	$57,109national $57,803	—
Library Science and Administration	30	$49,245	$52,390national $56,301	$12,360
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology	25	$42,418	$47,567national $65,184	$41,000
Public Health	21	$58,836	—national $82,751	—
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	20	$51,588	$51,451national $63,707	—
Psychology, General	19	$52,177	—national $64,711	—
Student Counseling and Personnel Services	13	$41,899	—national $60,111	—
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	13	$85,662	$112,455national $120,193	$22,378
Health and Medical Administrative Services	8	—	$71,024national $89,981	—
Accounting and Related Services	8	$61,857	$78,094national $95,833	—

Doctoral degrees (3)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Educational Administration and Supervision	13	$81,091	—national $100,573	—
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	—	$74,354	$84,680national $82,893	$98,500
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	—	$97,589	$112,179national $138,131	—

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 109 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: 1906 College Heights Blvd, Bowling Green, KY 42101-1000
Phone: (270) 745-0111
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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