University of Kentucky

Lexington, KY · Public · 24,763 undergrads (large, 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	$12,182
$30,000 – $48,000	$12,119
$48,000 – $75,000	$16,313
$75,000 – $110,000	$21,192
Over $110,000	$26,781
All incomes (average)	$18,851

Sticker tuition and fees: $13,502 in-state, $34,140 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 University of Kentucky'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	$16,696
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$14,510
Books and supplies	$1,200
Other expenses, on campus	$5,718
Other expenses, off campus	$5,822

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

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (5,974 of them) in 2022–23; 97% 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	96%	$13,024
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	24%	$5,201
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	89%	$10,164
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	40%	$5,264

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: 93%
Average SAT: 1215
Median ACT: 26
Students with Pell grants: 23%
Graduation rate (6yr): 71%
Freshman retention: 87%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $59,025
Median debt at graduation: $22,500
International undergrads: 359 (1.5%)

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: 18 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 82%
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: 540–650
SAT Math: 530–640
ACT composite: 21–28

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	Required
Legacy status	Not considered

First-time applicants: 28,233
Admitted: 26,083
Enrolled: 6,437

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.

Business23%

Health & Nursing14%

Engineering8%

Communications & Media8%

Education7%

Psychology6%

Biology & Life Sciences5%

Agriculture5%

Computer Science5%

Social Sciences3%

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 (70)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business/Commerce, General	425	$52,645	$69,451national $68,407	$18,500
Marketing	405	$51,102	$70,776national $69,303	$18,500
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	339	$80,628	$81,941national $88,910	$19,500
Finance and Financial Management Services	323	$61,293	$84,087national $83,343	$18,500
Psychology, General	292	$36,006	$46,570national $50,706	$19,864
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	271	$37,672	$51,379national $51,389	$21,060
Communication and Media Studies	236	$43,783	$55,653national $56,359	$20,500
Accounting and Related Services	180	$62,046	$85,777national $76,194	$19,500
Biology, General	173	$35,188	$52,163national $57,214	$19,500
Mechanical Engineering	157	$75,954	$90,654national $92,135	$17,700
Computer and Information Sciences, General	139	$76,832	$99,535national $92,374	$18,500
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication	126	$48,202	$62,754national $63,560	$19,500
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General	121	$30,223	$82,533national $61,296	$18,500
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	109	$41,795	$44,352national $47,382	$17,250
Political Science and Government	100	$35,229	$57,514national $63,293	$20,500
Neurobiology and Neurosciences	88	$34,466	—national $62,451	$22,875
Architectural Sciences and Technology	81	—	—national $70,074	$20,872
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	73	$43,295	$36,942national $53,072	$21,437
Apparel and Textiles	71	$39,506	$66,255national $57,640	$19,500
Civil Engineering	70	$66,518	$81,031national $86,517	$15,000
Social Work	64	$38,808	$51,313national $51,790	$20,268
Natural Resources Conservation and Research	63	$42,939	$50,204national $55,012	$17,959
Information Science/Studies	63	$52,970	$65,407national $85,294	$18,750
Agricultural Production Operations	59	$35,980	$46,843national $53,588	$15,750
Business/Managerial Economics	59	$60,047	$74,202national $77,981	$21,476
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	57	$78,654	$96,913national $100,647	$25,500
Chemical Engineering	56	$76,969	$98,003national $98,158	$18,000
Visual and Performing Arts, General	54	$33,806	$40,538national $41,688	$19,125
English Language and Literature, General	52	$31,231	$44,384national $48,590	$19,850
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	52	—	$52,815national $58,928	$19,500
Public Health	49	$37,391	$59,163national $58,808	$23,891
Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services	44	—	—national $55,753	$21,500
Design and Applied Arts	43	$52,254	$62,966national $51,490	$26,750
Animal Sciences	42	$35,464	$53,918national $49,634	$20,500
Mathematics	39	$44,273	$75,222national $69,562	$11,000
Health and Medical Administrative Services	39	$58,897	$70,942national $58,716	$23,000
Agricultural Business and Management	38	$49,517	$65,847national $66,647	$20,500
Journalism	38	$40,731	$52,785national $56,278	$19,500
Computer Engineering	37	$75,439	$99,945national $109,015	$22,530
Economics	35	$40,722	$68,532national $82,686	$19,250
Biotechnology	33	—	—national $67,097	$22,350
History	33	$37,876	$46,111national $50,680	$18,738
Biomedical/Medical Engineering	32	—	—national $93,451	$17,000
Agricultural Public Services	31	$39,658	$42,612national $54,152	$19,000
Chemistry	30	$49,502	$73,549national $65,120	$15,000
Fine and Studio Arts	30	$33,963	$41,406national $41,367	$21,000
Sociology	29	$37,082	$56,266national $52,657	$19,500
Radio, Television, and Digital Communication	28	$39,480	$44,333national $50,497	$19,500
Music	28	$39,963	$39,746national $42,892	$19,400
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions	28	$68,748	$77,663national $75,975	$19,500
International/Globalization Studies	25	$34,822	$47,698national $59,972	$20,500
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft	25	$25,183	$38,475national $39,775	$20,500
Anthropology	24	$31,873	—national $46,676	$25,000
Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services	22	$39,541	$45,148national $49,984	$23,255
Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, General	20	$43,725	$55,937national $50,532	$21,250
Agricultural/Animal/Plant/Veterinary Science and Related Fields, Other	19	—	$60,375national $65,543	—
Forestry	19	—	$51,331national $58,784	—
Materials Engineering	19	$78,014	$84,796national $91,449	—
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	18	—	$56,234national $55,000	—
Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management	18	$35,428	$49,167national $48,240	—
Hospitality Administration/Management	18	$41,289	$52,477national $56,726	—
Business Administration, Management and Operations	17	—	—national $68,257	$22,500
Agricultural Engineering	15	$71,081	$68,605national $84,624	—
Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General	15	$35,621	$47,296national $48,460	$27,000
Mining and Mineral Engineering	14	$86,041	—national $101,390	—
Landscape Architecture	13	$62,966	$64,143national $66,387	—
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies	9	—	$38,822national $48,471	—
Applied Mathematics	9	$49,062	—national $91,532	—
Architecture	0	$44,445	$62,383national $66,914	—
Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services	0	$39,622	$55,633national $54,945	—

Undergraduate certificates (11)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations	88	—	—national $52,001	$14,500
Food Science and Technology	63	$49,465	$69,286national $52,207	$19,601
Health and Medical Administrative Services	47	—	—national $35,447	$19,000
Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians	44	$80,852	—national $57,294	$23,750
Industrial Engineering	37	$81,463	$99,370national $99,102	$23,474
Business Administration, Management and Operations	36	—	—national $47,440	$22,984
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General	29	—	—national $43,833	$25,483
Historic Preservation and Conservation	25	—	—	$23,250
Intercultural/Multicultural and Diversity Studies	22	—	—national $59,299	$21,000
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication	9	—	$57,711national $52,763	—
International Business	9	—	$88,980national $72,496	—

Master's degrees (24)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Social Work	861	$52,636	$60,970national $65,123	$30,750
Business/Commerce, General	119	$83,995	$111,868national $125,988	$41,000
Library Science and Administration	98	$42,808	$50,534national $56,301	$30,467
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	56	$106,659	$114,151national $127,347	$86,508
Public Health	53	$60,141	$100,253national $82,751	$39,000
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology	48	—	$64,227national $65,184	$20,842
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	32	$56,458	$57,644national $62,033	—
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	29	$43,744	$46,228national $59,916	$20,698
Public Administration	29	$55,276	$71,952national $81,408	—
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	29	$55,231	$53,218national $67,030	$45,984
Biology, General	28	$43,388	$71,905national $69,830	$37,660
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	28	$52,581	$56,399national $71,416	$41,000
Accounting and Related Services	27	$73,808	$92,636national $95,833	$20,500
Applied Mathematics	26	$69,579	—national $116,060	—
Health and Medical Administrative Services	23	$60,530	$103,270national $89,981	$36,500
Architectural Sciences and Technology	22	—	—national $77,466	$38,750
International Relations and National Security Studies	18	$55,118	$65,155national $95,627	—
Chemistry	16	—	—national $82,937	$41,000
Educational Administration and Supervision	15	$57,851	$66,209national $71,685	—
Civil Engineering	15	—	$91,461national $98,323	—
Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management	14	$55,695	$58,074national $59,685	—
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	10	—	$50,659national $63,707	—
Special Education and Teaching	6	$51,666	—national $64,397	—
Architecture	0	$64,503	$69,700national $74,139	—

First professional degrees (7)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Medicine	196	$60,915	$115,241national $112,460	$221,188
Law	140	$65,090	$86,420national $107,773	$82,963
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration	134	$88,600	$135,755national $138,348	$148,129
Social Work	107	$90,517	—national $64,950	$54,574
Dentistry	65	$140,241	$185,878national $170,812	$274,405
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	59	$75,096	$80,534national $81,641	$79,500
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	36	$111,714	$119,485national $133,099	$55,000

Doctoral degrees (3)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research	30	$75,596	$99,094national $99,550	$34,000
Music	24	$57,000	$49,845national $59,592	—
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology	14	—	$100,533national $99,878	—

Graduate certificates (5)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions	505	$52,245	—national $60,655	$34,100
Social Work	161	$47,729	—national $69,362	$35,913
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	13	—	$126,624national $126,911	—
Health and Medical Administrative Services	12	$64,732	—national $99,117	—
Geography and Cartography	6	—	$88,628national $72,959	—

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 229 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: South Limestone, Lexington, KY 40506-0032
Phone: (859) 257-9000
Institutional accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Is University of Kentucky a reach, target, or safety for you?

Take the 5-minute quiz and see how it stacks up against 1,595 other colleges — ranked by fit and by what your family would actually pay.

Find my matches →

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.

Similar colleges in the United States

Picked by control, selectivity, mix of majors, location and size, from the same data as this page — not a judgement of quality.