University of the Cumberlands

Private · Moderately Selective · KY

Photo: Blinutne (CC BY-SA 3.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationKY · South

SettingRural

Undergrads6,941

Student:faculty23:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate40.1%

6-yr grad rate50.4%

Drop-out rate25.7%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$10k

Out-of-state tuition$10k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity18.8%

Gender diversity68.1%

International1.9%

IdentityBaptist

Overview

Private Christian university in Williamsburg, Kentucky, in the Appalachian foothills near the Tennessee line. Cumberlands operates a modest residential undergraduate campus alongside a very large online and graduate operation, particularly in fields like information technology and business, which now makes up a substantial share of the university's overall enrollment even though the physical campus experience remains comparatively small and traditional.

Academics

The undergraduate residential program covers a fairly standard range of liberal-arts and pre-professional majors, but the university's more distinctive academic identity lies in its large online graduate divisions, especially information technology, business, and education, which serve working adults across the country rather than traditional-aged students on campus. Undergraduate costs are kept deliberately low relative to many other private Christian universities.

Campus & student life

The Williamsburg campus is small, rural, and traditional, reflecting Cumberlands' Appalachian setting near the Tennessee border. Campus life follows a fairly conventional small Christian-college pattern — chapel and faith-based programming alongside typical residential college activities — though the university's overall public identity is now shaped as much by its large online graduate enrollment as by the on-campus undergraduate experience.

Worth knowing

The gap between Cumberlands' modest physical campus and its very large total enrollment, driven almost entirely by online graduate programs, is the single most distinctive fact about the institution — a prospective undergraduate should understand that most of the university's students are never seen on campus.

ucumberlands.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate98.8%

Enrolled mid-50%1110

Test policynot used

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying