Eastern Kentucky University

Eastern Kentucky University logo
#2111 / #584
Global Influence / U.S. Influence
#888
Most Desirable School
University

Eastern Kentucky University at a Glance

U.S. influence rank
#584
Acceptance rate (fall 2024)
78%
Tuition and fees (2025–26)
$10,740
Graduation rate
51%
Undergraduates (fall 2024)
12,318

Reviewed by , Vice President and Academic Editor. Influence ranks come from our InfluenceRanking™ methodology; other figures come from federal data, with the year shown under each section. Report an error

Eastern Kentucky University Featured Rankings

About Eastern Kentucky University

According to Wikipedia, Eastern Kentucky University is a public university in Richmond, Kentucky. As a regional comprehensive institution, EKU also maintains branch campuses in Corbin, Hazard, Lancaster, and Manchester and offers over 40 online undergraduate and graduate options.

Eastern Kentucky University's Online Degrees

BA in Corrections & Juvenile Justice Studies
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Format: Fully online
BA in Emergency Medical Care
Degree Concentrations
  • Emergency Services Administration
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Format: Fully online
BA in Child & Family Studies
Degree Concentrations
  • Child Development
  • Required Credits: 120-125
  • Format: Fully online
BA in Criminal Justice
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Format: Fully online
MPA in Public Administration
  • Required Credits: 36
  • Format: Fully online
MS in Industrial-Organizational Psychology
  • Required Credits: 36
  • Format: Fully online
MS in Occupational Therapy
  • Required Credits: 40
  • Format: Fully online
BA in Health Services Administration
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Format: Fully online
MS in Computer Science
  • Required Credits: 30
  • Format: Fully online
BA in Business Administration
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Format: Fully online
MA in Education
Degree Concentrations
  • Elementary Education
  • Gifted Education
  • Instructional Leadership
  • Literacy P-12
  • Middle Grades
  • School Librarian
  • Special Education
  • Required Credits: 30-36
  • Format: Fully online
BA in Global Hospitality and Tourism
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Format: Fully online
Associate in General Studies
  • Required Credits: 60
  • Format: Fully online
BA in General Studies
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Format: Fully online
MS in Instructional Design and Learning Technology
Degree Concentrations
  • Online Learning Design
  • User Experience Design
  • Required Credits: 30
  • Format: Fully online
BA in Communication Studies
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Format: Fully online
BA in Psychology
Degree Concentrations
  • Geral Psychology
  • Autism Spectrum Disorders
  • Forensic Psychology
  • Child & Family Psychology
  • Workplace Psychology
  • Psychiatric Rehabilitation
  • Brain & Cognitive Sciences
  • Substance Abuse
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Format: Fully online
MS in Psychology
Degree Concentrations
  • Applied Behavior Analysis
  • Required Credits: 33
  • Format: Fully online
BS in Nursing
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Format: Fully online
MS in Nursing
Degree Concentrations
  • Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
  • Rural Health Family Nurse Practitioner
  • Required Credits: 46
  • Format: Fully online
BBA in Management
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Format: Fully online
BS in Occupational Safety
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Format: Fully online
BA in Fire Protection Administration
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Format: Fully online
BA in Fire Protection and Safety Engineering Technology
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Format: Fully online
BA in Fire, Arson and Explosion Investigation
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Format: Fully online
BA in Homeland Security
Degree Concentrations
  • Disaster management
  • Intelligence studies
  • and Security operations
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Format: Fully online
MJ in Justice, Policy & Leadership
  • Required Credits: 30
  • Format: Fully online
BA in Political Science
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Format: Fully online
DNP in Nursing Practice
  • Required Credits: 32-38
  • Format: Fully online
BBA in Risk Management & Insurance
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Format: Fully online
BBA in Finance
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Format: Fully online
BA in Social Work
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Format: Fully online
MPH in Social Work
  • Required Credits: 30 hours - Advanced Standing Option , 60 hours - Regular Option
  • Format: Fully online
AS in Paramedicine
  • Required Credits: 64
  • Format: Fully online
BA in Paralegal Science
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Format: Fully online
BA in Sport Management
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Format: Fully online
Associate in Paralegal Studies
  • Required Credits: 64
  • Format: Fully online
MA in Teaching
  • Required Credits: 44
  • Format: Fully online
BBA in Marketing
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Format: Fully online
Associate in Police Studies
  • Required Credits: 64
  • Format: Fully online
BA in Police Studies
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Format: Fully online
MS in Safety, Security and Emergency Management
Degree Concentrations
  • Occupational Safety
  • Corporate Security Operations
  • Emergency Management and disater Resilience
  • Format: Fully online
BBA in Public Accounting
  • Required Credits: 120
  • Format: Fully online

Eastern Kentucky University Admissions, Retention, and Graduation Information

Annual ApplicationsAcceptanceRetention RateGraduation RateMedian SAT ScoreMedian ACT Score
17,08278%77%51%98022

Source: U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and NCES); acceptance rate for fall 2024; test scores for fall 2024; applications and enrollment for fall 2023; retention for students who started in fall 2023; graduation rate within six years for students who started in 2019.

How Much Does Eastern Kentucky University Cost To Attend?

Tuition and fees (in-state)
$10,740
Average Net Price by Family Income (2024–25)
IncomeAverage Net Cost
0 - 30K$10,080
30K - 48K$9,346
48K - 75K$9,840
75K - 110K$13,484
110K+$18,544

Source: U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and NCES); tuition and fees for 2025–26; net price for 2024–25, for first-time, full-time students receiving financial aid.

How Much Do Eastern Kentucky University Graduates Make?

Ten years after starting college, former Eastern Kentucky University students who received federal financial aid earn a median of $50,885 a year, and 90% of those not still in school are working.

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard; students who started college in 2011–12 or 2012–13, measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars.

Eastern Kentucky University's Demographics

Students enrolled at any time during the 2023–24 school year, including part-time and online students.

Student BodyUnder-GradsGraduates
17,60714,6092,998

Source: National Center for Education Statistics; 12-month enrollment for 2023–24.

Where is Eastern Kentucky University?

Eastern Kentucky University is located at 521 Lancaster Ave, Richmond, KY 40475-3102.

How Safe is Eastern Kentucky University?

Like every college that receives federal student aid, Eastern Kentucky University publishes an annual security report with its campus crime statistics and safety policies. Its figures can also be looked up in the U.S. Department of Education’s Campus Safety and Security database.

Relative to its enrollment, Eastern Kentucky University has a violent crime rate of 0.07% and a property crime rate of 0.07%. Richmond has a violent crime rate of 0.22% and a property (including theft) crime rate of 1.98%. Sources: campus: U.S. Department of Education Campus Safety and Security data, on-campus offenses in 2024 (violent: murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault; property: burglary, motor vehicle theft and arson, which excludes ordinary theft); city: FBI Crime Data Explorer, offenses reported to the city police in 2024.

What Is Eastern Kentucky University Known For?

Eastern Kentucky University is known for its academic work in the following disciplines:

Eastern Kentucky University's Top Areas of Influence With Degrees Offered

Each rank compares how much Eastern Kentucky University's faculty and alumni have shaped a field with other schools, using Wikipedia, Wikidata and scholarly citation databases such as Crossref and Semantic Scholar. World and U.S. ranks reflect modern influence; the historical rank counts influence across all time. How we rank influence

Criminal Justice
#206
World Rank
#211
Historical Rank
#133
USA Rank

Eastern Kentucky University ranks #133 in the U.S. and #206 worldwide for influence in Criminal Justice.

criminal-justice Degrees
Earth Sciences
#1188
World Rank
#1209
Historical Rank
#283
USA Rank

Eastern Kentucky University ranks #283 in the U.S. and #1188 worldwide for influence in Earth Sciences.

earth-science Degrees
Chemistry
#1692
World Rank
#1717
Historical Rank
#322
USA Rank

Eastern Kentucky University ranks #322 in the U.S. and #1692 worldwide for influence in Chemistry.

chemistry Degrees
Education
#1787
World Rank
#1792
Historical Rank
#421
USA Rank

Eastern Kentucky University ranks #421 in the U.S. and #1787 worldwide for influence in Education.

education Degrees
Political Science
#1745
World Rank
#1756
Historical Rank
#432
USA Rank

Eastern Kentucky University ranks #432 in the U.S. and #1745 worldwide for influence in Political Science.

political-science Degrees
History
#1242
World Rank
#1255
Historical Rank
#436
USA Rank

Eastern Kentucky University ranks #436 in the U.S. and #1242 worldwide for influence in History.

history Degrees
Biology
#1978
World Rank
#2010
Historical Rank
#466
USA Rank

Eastern Kentucky University ranks #466 in the U.S. and #1978 worldwide for influence in Biology.

biology Degrees
Mathematics
#2078
World Rank
#2121
Historical Rank
#508
USA Rank

Eastern Kentucky University ranks #508 in the U.S. and #2078 worldwide for influence in Mathematics.

math Degrees
Business
#1880
World Rank
#1882
Historical Rank
#516
USA Rank

Eastern Kentucky University ranks #516 in the U.S. and #1880 worldwide for influence in Business.

business Degrees
Psychology
#1334
World Rank
#1349
Historical Rank
#518
USA Rank

Eastern Kentucky University ranks #518 in the U.S. and #1334 worldwide for influence in Psychology.

psychology Degrees
Literature
#1763
World Rank
#1818
Historical Rank
#581
USA Rank

Eastern Kentucky University ranks #581 in the U.S. and #1763 worldwide for influence in Literature.

literature Degrees
Sociology
#2011
World Rank
#2020
Historical Rank
#585
USA Rank

Eastern Kentucky University ranks #585 in the U.S. and #2011 worldwide for influence in Sociology.

sociology Degrees
Philosophy
#2035
World Rank
#2086
Historical Rank
#607
USA Rank

Eastern Kentucky University ranks #607 in the U.S. and #2035 worldwide for influence in Philosophy.

philosophy Degrees
Medical
#2443
World Rank
#2446
Historical Rank
#675
USA Rank

Eastern Kentucky University ranks #675 in the U.S. and #2443 worldwide for influence in Medical.

medicine Degrees
Communications
#2703
World Rank
#2727
Historical Rank
#723
USA Rank

Eastern Kentucky University ranks #723 in the U.S. and #2703 worldwide for influence in Communications.

communications Degrees
Physics
#3119
World Rank
#3142
Historical Rank
#729
USA Rank

Eastern Kentucky University ranks #729 in the U.S. and #3119 worldwide for influence in Physics.

physics Degrees
Computer Science
#3337
World Rank
#3345
Historical Rank
#745
USA Rank

Eastern Kentucky University ranks #745 in the U.S. and #3337 worldwide for influence in Computer Science.

computer-science Degrees
Nursing
#2106
World Rank
#2106
Historical Rank
#807
USA Rank

Eastern Kentucky University ranks #807 in the U.S. and #2106 worldwide for influence in Nursing.

nursing Degrees
Anthropology
#2540
World Rank
#2550
Historical Rank
#829
USA Rank

Eastern Kentucky University ranks #829 in the U.S. and #2540 worldwide for influence in Anthropology.

anthropology Degrees
Social Work
#3135
World Rank
#3135
Historical Rank
#1290
USA Rank

Eastern Kentucky University ranks #1290 in the U.S. and #3135 worldwide for influence in Social Work.

social-work Degrees

Who Are Eastern Kentucky University's Most Influential Alumni?

Eastern Kentucky University's most influential alumni include professors and professionals in the fields of Criminal Justice, Earth Sciences, and History. Here are some of Eastern Kentucky University's most famous alumni:

Tom Colbert
An American judge.
Don Showalter
An American chemist.
Eula Bingham
An American scientist.
Danny Ford
An American football player and coach.
Teresa W. Haynes
An American mathematician.
Crystal Wilkinson
Crystal Wilkinson
An American poet and educator.
Steve Smith
An American head coach for the basketball team at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia.
Dan Patrick
Dan Patrick
An American actor, sportscaster.
Lee Majors
Lee Majors
An American actor .
Thaksin Shinawatra
A Thai politician.
Mike Harmon
An American politician.
Faith Esham
An American opera soprano.