University of Kentucky
Kentucky's largest university: a land-grant R1 with medicine, engineering and agriculture on one Lexington campus.
- Acceptance rate
- 94%
- First-year students entering fall 2025 (Common Data Set 2025-26)
- Students
- 37,094
- 27,386 undergraduates
- International
- 1%
- of students
- Student–faculty
- 18:1
- ratio
- Tuition
- $35,846
- 2026-27
About UK
The University of Kentucky was founded in 1865 as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, a land-grant college under the Morrill Act, and took its current name in 1916. It is a public R1 research university in Lexington and the state's largest university, with 37,094 students in fall 2025 (27,386 of them undergraduates) and a preliminary record of 39,541 in fall 2026.
Undergraduates enroll in colleges including Arts and Sciences, the Gatton College of Business and Economics, the Pigman College of Engineering, Agriculture, Food and Environment, Communication and Information, Design, Fine Arts, Health Sciences, Nursing and Public Health, with the Lewis Honors College on top. UK describes itself as one of eight U.S. universities with liberal arts, engineering, professional, agricultural and medical colleges on one contiguous campus. Its academic medical center, UK HealthCare, includes the Markey Cancer Center, an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center since 2023.
Admission is broad: UK admitted 31,222 of 33,387 first-year applicants for fall 2025, and it is test-optional through 2028-29. The real competition is for places in selective majors, the Honors College and scholarships, all tied to the December 1 early action deadline. It suits students who want a big SEC campus with a serious research and health-sciences base, and out-of-state students can get sizeable merit scholarships on published GPA criteria.
United We Stand, Divided We Fall
University motto
Why students choose UK
Published-criteria merit scholarships: out-of-state students can get $6,500-$16,000 a year through the Bluegrass Scholarship and Kentucky residents up to $6,500 through the Hardymon Scholarship, with test-optional GPA thresholds.
Health-sciences depth on one campus: Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Health Sciences and Public Health sit next to UK HealthCare and the Markey Cancer Center.
The Lewis Honors College, created with a $23.5 million gift from alumnus Thomas W. Lewis and his wife Jan, teaches seminar-style honors classes of 15-20 students.
Big Blue Nation: SEC athletics and a men's basketball program with eight NCAA titles, the latest in 2012.
Admissions
First-year students entering fall 2025 (Common Data Set 2025-26)
31,222 admitted from 33,387 applicants
Middle 50% of admitted students scored in this range.
Middle 50% of admitted students scored in this range.
6,960 first-years enrolled in fall 2025: 4,096 from Kentucky, 2,778 from other states and 86 international. Out-of-state applicants were admitted at a similar rate (21,588 of 23,214). Colleges with selective majors (Business and Economics, Design, Engineering, Fine Arts, Health Sciences, Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health, Social Work and the Martin School of Public Policy) set their own additional requirements, and applicants may be placed in an alternate major until a decision is made.
Typical entry requirements
| U.S. high school curriculum (pre-college curriculum) | Minimum 24 credits: 4 English, 3 math (Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry), 3 science (one lab), 3 social studies, 2 of one foreign language, 1 visual/performing arts, 1/2 health, 1/2 PE, 7 electives; a math course beyond Algebra II is encouraged |
|---|---|
| International secondary education | Official transcripts in English plus English proficiency; ACT/SAT optional except for engineering programs |
| English language | IELTS 6 · TOEFL iBT 71 TOEFL iBT 71 for tests taken on or before 20 January 2026, or 4 or above (overall and subscores) on the new-scale TOEFL iBT taken from 21 January 2026; IELTS 6.0; Duolingo 105; TOEFL Essentials 7.5. Scores must come directly from the testing agency; applicants from listed countries are exempt. |
Deadlines
- Early Action Non-binding Next deadline · In 56 daysDecember 1, 2026
Encouraged for all freshmen and the deadline for Lewis Honors College, competitive and academic scholarship consideration. Also the international freshman priority and scholarship deadline.
- Regular Decision Non-binding In ~4 monthsFebruary 15, 2027
Admission only; applicants after December 1 may not be considered for the Lewis Honors College or competitive and academic scholarships. Enrollment deposit, orientation fee and scholarship acceptance are due May 1, 2027.
Dates are from UK's fall 2027 freshman admission checklist. Other fall 2027 dates: FAFSA priority March 1, Living Learning Program applications May 15 and housing and dining applications June 1. If a deadline falls on a weekend it moves to 11:59 p.m. Eastern the following Monday.
How to apply
UK Application for Undergraduate Admission or the Common App; $50 fee ($60 for international applicants); official high school transcript covering at least six semesters; ACT/SAT optional. Applicants for the Presidential and Singletary scholarships must also complete the competitive-scholarship section of the application.
What admissions looks for
- High school grades and the rigor of your courses, both rated very important in the CDS.
- Completion of the pre-college curriculum: UK requires at least 24 high school credits in set subjects.
- The application essay, rated very important in the CDS and named in UK's holistic review.
- Test scores only if you submit them; selective majors may also ask for higher GPAs or scores, a separate application, a portfolio or an interview.
Tips for applying to UK
- 1 Submit a complete application, including your transcript, by December 1, 2026: that is the cut-off for the Honors College and for academic and competitive scholarships, and UK says scholarship funds have run out in previous years.
- 2 Check the scholarship grids before deciding whether to send scores: test-optional applicants qualify on unweighted GPA alone (for example 3.00 for the $6,500 Bluegrass award), and UK does not superscore for scholarships.
- 3 Fill in the competitive-scholarship section of the application if you are aiming for the Presidential or Singletary scholarships; selected applicants may be invited to campus for interviews.
- 4 If you want a selective major such as nursing, engineering or business, read that college's own admission requirements early.
- 5 Use a personal (non-school) email address on your application, as UK asks, so admission and scholarship messages reach you.
What are your chances?
Sign up to see your personalized admission chances for University of Kentucky
Sign up to see your chancesCosts & financial aid
2026-27 · figures in USD
UK automatically considers admitted early action applicants for renewable academic scholarships with published GPA and test criteria: up to $6,500 a year for Kentucky residents (Hardymon) and $6,500-$16,000 for non-residents (Bluegrass). The competitive Presidential Scholarship covers full tuition and mandatory fees, and the Singletary Scholarship adds course and program fees and a housing and dining stipend. Need-based aid goes through the FAFSA (school code 001989); international students must document their funding but can be considered for undergraduate academic scholarships if they meet the criteria.
- $38,344 Kentucky resident; $60,838 non-resident
- Estimated cost of attendance 2026-27 (on campus)
- 57.2%
- Average share of need met, first-year need-based aid recipients (CDS 2025-26)
- $9,921
- Average need-based scholarship or grant, first-years (CDS 2025-26)
- $8,450
- Average institutional non-need-based award, first-years without need (CDS 2025-26)
Academics
Academic calendar: Semesters
Lewis Honors College
Honors at UK dates back to the late 1950s and became a college after a $23.5 million gift from alumnus Thomas W. Lewis; seminar-style classes of 15-20 students and an honors residence hall.
Nursing and health sciences
The Colleges of Nursing, Health Sciences, Pharmacy and Public Health share a campus with UK HealthCare's hospitals and the Markey Cancer Center.
Pigman College of Engineering
Formed in 1918 from UK's original engineering and mining colleges; it also runs an extended-campus program in Paducah, and admission to engineering majors is selective.
Gatton College of Business and Economics
Founded in 1925 as the College of Commerce and named for Bill Gatton, the donor of UK's largest gift, who is also the namesake of the Gatton Student Center.
College of Agriculture, Food and Environment
The land-grant core: UK's Agricultural Experiment Station dates from 1885 and its Agricultural Extension Service from 1910.
Research
- $542.3 million spent on research and development in FY2025 and $502.5 million in external grants and contracts awarded in FY2026, according to UK Research.
- The UK Markey Cancer Center earned NCI designation in 2013 and became an NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center, the institute's highest classification, in 2023.
- Classified R1 (very high research spending and doctorate production).
- The William T. Young Library is a federal depository library and a public library for the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Schools & faculties
- College of Arts and Sciences
- Gatton College of Business and Economics
- Pigman College of Engineering
- College of Agriculture, Food and Environment
- College of Communication and Information
- College of Design
- College of Education
- College of Fine Arts
- College of Health Sciences
- College of Nursing
- College of Pharmacy
- Lewis Honors College
College Scorecard: median earnings of $59,025 ten years after entry and $47,266 six years after entry for federally aided students. UK's preliminary fall 2026 report puts first-to-second-year retention at 86%, the six-year graduation rate above 73% and the four-year rate near 63%.
Student life
Life at UK revolves around a large campus and Big Blue Nation: Kentucky men's basketball has won eight NCAA titles, and football plays at Kroger Field in the SEC. Most first-years live on campus (85% in fall 2025), but only about 31% of all undergraduates do, as most move into Lexington after the first year. Greek life is sizeable, with 17% of undergraduate men in fraternities and 28% of women in sororities. Living Learning Programs group students who share academic interests, and UK Invests gives every student access to an investment account and financial-wellness programs.
- NCAA Division I athletics in the Southeastern Conference (SEC); men's basketball national titles in 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 1998 and 2012.
- Living Learning Programs in the residence halls, with their own application deadline (May 15 for fall 2027 entrants).
- UK Invests: since 2023 more than 18,000 students have earned nearly $3 million from UK into their investment accounts.
- Student media including the Kentucky Kernel newspaper (first published 1915) and student-run radio station WRFL 88.1 FM.
Housing. In fall 2025, 85% of first-years and 31% of all undergraduates lived in college-owned or affiliated housing, which includes residence halls, Living Learning Communities, theme housing and fraternity/sorority housing.
Location
Lexington anchors Kentucky's second-largest metro area and sits in the Bluegrass region's horse country. Downtown, with its farmers' market, restaurants and food trucks, is about ten minutes from campus, and horse farms are around a 20-minute drive away; in April and October students go to the races at Keeneland. It is a mid-sized city where the university and UK HealthCare are among the biggest presences.
Nearest airport: Blue Grass Airport (LEX), on the west side of Lexington
Notable alumni
- TH Thomas Hunt MorganGeneticist and winner of the 1933 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine; BS as valedictorian, State College of Kentucky (now UK), 1886
- WL William LipscombWinner of the 1976 Nobel Prize in Chemistry; BS in chemistry, 1941
- MM Mitch McConnellU.S. senator from Kentucky since 1985 and Senate Republican leader 2007-2025; JD, UK College of Law, 1967
- SB Steve BeshearGovernor of Kentucky 2007-2015; BA in history, 1966, and JD, 1968
- BP Beverly PerdueFormer governor of North Carolina; BA in history, 1969
- TS Ted StricklandGovernor of Ohio 2007-2011; MA and PhD (psychology) from the University of Kentucky
- AJ Ashley JuddActress; French major and graduate of the UK Honors Program
- AD Anthony DavisTen-time NBA All-Star; played one season for Kentucky (2011-12), winning the 2012 NCAA title and the tournament's most outstanding player award before turning pro
Frequently asked questions
What is the University of Kentucky's acceptance rate?
UK admitted 31,222 of 33,387 first-year applicants for fall 2025, about 94%. Some majors, such as nursing and engineering, have separate and more selective admission.
Does the University of Kentucky require the SAT or ACT?
No. UK is test-optional for admission and scholarships through 2028-29, though international applicants to engineering must submit scores. Among fall 2025 first-years who sent scores, the middle 50% was 21-28 on the ACT and 1058-1270 on the SAT.
When is the University of Kentucky's application deadline for fall 2027?
The early action deadline is December 1, 2026, and the regular decision deadline is February 15, 2027. Apply by December 1 to be considered for the Lewis Honors College and for academic and competitive scholarships.
How much does the University of Kentucky cost for out-of-state students?
For 2026-27, non-resident tuition and mandatory fees are $35,846 and the estimated on-campus cost of attendance is $60,838. Kentucky residents pay $14,178, with an on-campus total of $38,344.
Does UK give scholarships to out-of-state students?
Yes. Admitted non-residents with complete applications by December 1 are automatically considered for the Bluegrass Scholarship, worth $6,500-$16,000 a year depending on GPA (and test scores if submitted). The competitive Presidential and Singletary scholarships cover full out-of-state tuition and fees.
Sources & methodology
Figures on this page were checked against official university publications, national application services and ranking publishers in September 2026. Each number is shown with the year or admissions cycle it describes. Always confirm deadlines and fees on the university's own website before applying.
Explore nearby in the world top 100
Universities ranked close to UK in the QS World University Rankings 2027.