Fast Facts About APSU

Institutional Research

Institutional Research provides a wide range of data and informational resources that offer deeper insights into the university. Its public-facing interactive highlights key institutional metrics, including enrollment trends, retention patterns, graduation rates, and other essential indicators.

Enrollment

Austin Peay enrolled 11,161 students in Fall 2025, reflecting its mission‑driven, community‑focused commitment to providing transformational learning through innovative, creative, and scholarly activities. For detailed enrollment data and related facts, visit the university’s public or Fact Book.

Board of Trustees

Since 2017, Austin Peay has been governed by an institutional Board of Trustees. The board includes ten voting members appointed by the Governor, the Speaker of the House, or the Lieutenant Governor; one voting faculty trustee selected by the APSU Faculty Senate; and one nonvoting student member appointed by the APSU Board of Trustees.

Doctoral Degrees

In the fall of 2018, Austin Peay began offering a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degree in educational leadership – the first doctoral degree in the institution's history. That June, the program received its final approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) – the region's accrediting body for higher education. Austin Peay added a Psy.D. degree in counseling psychology in 2020 to address the region's critical shortage of advanced mental health providers, and the program includes a concentration focused on serving military populations. The program is Tennessee's first and only fully accredited Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) and celebrated its inaugural class of graduates in August 2025.

Centers of Excellence

The Tennessee General Assembly established the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts at APSU in July 1985, and that program received a major boost a few months later when country music legend Roy Acuff generously endowed a chair of excellence. In July of 1986, the university opened another specialized program – the Center of Excellence for Field Biology.

State's Leader in Military-Affiliated Students

Austin Peay is the state's largest provider of higher education to military-affiliated students, with over 3,700 military-affiliated students enrolled as of Fall 2025, representing approximately 33% of the overall student population. In 2015, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) honored the university's support of this population by naming Austin Peay a Veterans Education Transition Support (VETS) Campus. On April 15, 2025, the university made history by becoming the first university in Tennessee to earn the VETS Bravo title – the highest level of recognition awarded under the Tennessee VETS Act. VETS Bravo recognizes institutions that go above and beyond the baseline requirements.

Austin Peay offers a full-time Veterans Affairs counselor on campus through the VetSuccess program, as well as a Student Veterans Organization and the Newton Military Family Resource Center. The university also has a federally funded Veterans Upward Bound Office on campus to assist low-income veterans and first-generation college student veterans in earning a college education. Additional support includes the Military-Affiliated Professionals Program (MAPP) and initiatives that cover MyCAA-funded tuition for military spouses.

The university also offers academic programs and classes at its Austin Peay Center at Fort Campbell. Active-duty military service members, veterans and civilians can earn an associate, bachelor's or master's degree through 8-week courses at the center, allowing them to achieve their objectives faster than during traditional 16-week semesters.

Winning Athletic Teams

The compete in the ASUN Conference in NCAA Division I. With recent conference championships in baseball, beach volleyball, football, men's basketball, women's golf, and women's tennis, the university competes in 17 sports, including the recently added women's lacrosse program. Tipping off its inaugural season in Spring 2026, it is the first Division I women's lacrosse program at a public university in Tennessee.

Top ROTC Program

The Governors Guard Army ROTC at Austin Peay is one of the nation’s most decorated battalions, earning the prestigious MacArthur Award eight times and representing APSU at the Sandhurst Military Skills Competition at West Point five of the last seven years. With 977 officers commissioned since 1971 and nearly 1,000 soon to serve, the program continues to punch above its weight, producing nationally recognized leaders ranked among the Army’s best — including a university-record 12 Distinguished Military Graduates in 2025 alone.

How Do You Pronounce “Peay?”

The word Peay, as in Austin Peay, is pronounced just like the letter P or the vegetable pea.

Doctoral-Trained Faculty

APSU employs more than 680 faculty members (full- and part-time), maintaining a 14:1 student-faculty ratio, and 90% of full-time faculty hold a doctorate or other appropriate terminal degree in their respective fields.

Highest Level of Safety

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation statistics show that APSU is among the safest universities in the state. The APSU Police Department is accredited through the Tennessee Association Chiefs of Police.

New Facilities

The university has recently enhanced its campus with new and upgraded facilities designed to advance student success and strengthen community connections. These additions include the state-of-the-art Health Professions Building, the O’Malley Welcome Center, and the newly renovated Kimbrough Building. Looking ahead, Austin Peay will soon begin construction on a new Event Center and the Community Engagement and Sustainability Center, further demonstrating its ongoing commitment to students, innovation and the broader community.

Who was Austin Peay?

He was Tennessee’s governor from 1923 to 1927 and a favorite son of Clarksville. Peay signed a law establishing Austin Peay Normal School on April 26, 1927. That is why APSU's mascot is the “Governors.”