University of Kentucky
Public four-year university in Lexington, KY that costs an average of $18,868 a year after financial aid, admits 93% of applicants and graduates 72% of full-time students.
Net price / year
$18,868
Acceptance rate
93%
Graduation rate
72%
Earnings after 10 yrs
$63,924
PublicLarge city24,763 undergraduates
Cost of University of Kentucky
| Total cost of attendance (per year) | $35,083 |
|---|---|
| Tuition and fees, in-state | $13,907 |
| Tuition and fees, out-of-state | $35,164 |
| Housing and food (on campus) | $16,696 |
| Books and supplies | $1,200 |
| Average net price after aid | $18,868 |
Net price by family income
| Family income | Average net price / year |
|---|---|
| $0–30,000 | $12,528 |
| $30,001–48,000 | $12,460 |
| $48,001–75,000 | $14,192 |
| $75,001–110,000 | $20,327 |
| $110,001+ | $27,661 |
Net price is what students actually pay after grants and scholarships (in-state students). Get your own estimate with University of Kentucky's net price calculator ↗.
Admissions
| Acceptance rate | 93% |
|---|---|
| Average SAT | 1,215 |
| SAT reading (25th–75th percentile) | 540–650 |
| SAT math (25th–75th percentile) | 530–640 |
| ACT composite (25th–75th percentile) | 21–28 |
| Test scores | Considered but not required |
Graduation, earnings and debt
| Graduation rate | 72% |
|---|---|
| First-year retention | 87% |
| Median earnings 6 years after enrolling | $53,371 |
| Median earnings 10 years after enrolling | $63,924 |
| Rank in Kentucky (earnings) | 4th of 29 similar colleges |
| Median debt of graduates | $19,500 |
| Typical monthly loan payment | $222 (10-year plan) |
| Students with Pell grants | 25% |
| Students with federal loans | 36% |
Majors and programs at University of Kentucky
Earnings one year after graduation and median debt, by program. Click a program for details and comparisons.
Bachelor's degree programs (94)
Certificate programs (32)
| Program | Graduates (2 yrs) | Earnings after 1 yr | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial Engineering | 97 | $81,463 | $23,474 |
| Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians | 98 | $80,852 | $23,750 |
| Food Science and Technology | 127 | $49,465 | $19,601 |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering | 27 | — | — |
| Area Studies | 3 | — | — |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | 53 | — | $22,984 |
| Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management | 25 | — | — |
| Design and Applied Arts | 2 | — | — |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft | 8 | — | — |
| Educational Administration and Supervision | 4 | — | — |
| Environmental Control Technologies/Technicians | 10 | — | — |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies | 3 | — | — |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts | 16 | — | — |
| Finance and Financial Management Services | 13 | — | — |
| Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services | 5 | — | — |
| Forestry | 7 | — | — |
| General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations | 135 | — | $14,500 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services | 89 | — | $19,000 |
| Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences | 55 | — | $25,483 |
| Health/Medical Preparatory Programs | — | — | — |
| Historic Preservation and Conservation | 42 | — | $23,250 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services | 6 | — | — |
| Intercultural/Multicultural and Diversity Studies | 42 | — | $21,000 |
| International Business | 34 | — | — |
| International/Globalization Studies | 4 | — | — |
| Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies | 7 | — | — |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other | 3 | — | — |
| Music | 2 | — | — |
| Nutrition Sciences | 10 | — | — |
| Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution | 22 | — | — |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication | 23 | — | — |
| Social Sciences | 36 | — | — |
Master's degree programs (95)
| Program | Graduates (2 yrs) | Earnings after 1 yr | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions | 120 | $106,659 | $86,508 |
| Business/Commerce | 235 | $83,995 | $41,000 |
| Accounting and Related Services | 65 | $73,808 | $20,500 |
| Applied Mathematics | 71 | $69,579 | — |
| Architecture | 1 | $64,503 | — |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services | 39 | $60,530 | $36,500 |
| Public Health | 90 | $60,141 | $39,000 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision | 43 | $57,851 | — |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness | 65 | $56,458 | — |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management | 45 | $55,695 | — |
| Public Administration | 49 | $55,276 | — |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services | 61 | $55,231 | $45,984 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies | 32 | $55,118 | — |
| Social Work | 1,621 | $52,636 | $30,750 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions | 50 | $52,581 | $41,000 |
| Special Education and Teaching | 32 | $51,666 | — |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods | 64 | $43,744 | $20,698 |
| Biology | 65 | $43,388 | $37,660 |
| Library Science and Administration | 200 | $42,808 | $30,467 |
| Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences | 15 | — | — |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering | 2 | — | — |
| Agricultural Business and Management | 8 | — | — |
| Agricultural Engineering | 12 | — | — |
| Agricultural Public Services | 19 | — | — |
| Animal Sciences | 7 | — | — |
| Anthropology | 11 | — | — |
| Apparel and Textiles | 16 | — | — |
| Applied Statistics | 15 | — | — |
| Architectural Sciences and Technology | 34 | — | $38,750 |
| Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other | — | — | — |
| Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology | 2 | — | — |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering | 5 | — | — |
| Botany/Plant Biology | 2 | — | — |
| Chemical Engineering | 1 | — | — |
| Chemistry | 31 | — | $41,000 |
| City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning | 2 | — | — |
| Civil Engineering | 36 | — | — |
| Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 8 | — | — |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology | 88 | — | $20,842 |
| Communication and Media Studies | 25 | — | — |
| Communications Technologies/Technicians and Support Services, Other | 31 | — | — |
| Computer and Information Sciences | 21 | — | — |
| Computer Engineering | 2 | — | — |
| Curriculum and Instruction | 1 | — | — |
| Data Science | 14 | — | — |
| Design and Applied Arts | 4 | — | — |
| Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services | 13 | — | — |
| Economics | 2 | — | — |
| Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | 6 | — | — |
| Educational/Instructional Media Design | 11 | — | — |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering | 7 | — | — |
| English Language and Literature | 7 | — | — |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies | — | — | — |
| Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences Business Services | — | — | — |
| Fine and Studio Arts | 4 | — | — |
| Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services | 1 | — | — |
| Forestry | 10 | — | — |
| Geography and Cartography | 19 | — | — |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences | 10 | — | — |
| Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 4 | — | — |
| Historic Preservation and Conservation | 10 | — | — |
| History | 10 | — | — |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services | 15 | — | — |
| Human Resources Management and Services | 27 | — | — |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services | 16 | — | — |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods | 40 | — | — |
| Manufacturing Engineering | 6 | — | — |
| Marketing | 56 | — | — |
| Materials Engineering | 2 | — | — |
| Mathematics | 19 | — | — |
| Mechanical Engineering | 10 | — | — |
| Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies | — | — | — |
| Mining and Mineral Engineering | 9 | — | — |
| Music | 27 | — | — |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research | 14 | — | — |
| Nutrition Sciences | 5 | — | — |
| Pharmacology and Toxicology | 2 | — | — |
| Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration | 22 | — | — |
| Philosophy | 3 | — | — |
| Physics | — | — | — |
| Physics and Astronomy | 14 | — | — |
| Plant Sciences | 11 | — | — |
| Political Science and Government | 10 | — | — |
| Public Policy Analysis | 21 | — | — |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 9 | — | — |
| Research and Experimental Psychology | 14 | — | — |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies | 16 | — | — |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 12 | — | — |
| Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education | 3 | — | — |
| Sociology | 2 | — | — |
| Statistics | 17 | — | — |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas | 18 | — | — |
| Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language | — | — | — |
| Veterinary Biomedical and Clinical Sciences | 5 | — | — |
| Zoology/Animal Biology | 5 | — | — |
Doctoral degree programs (63)
| Program | Graduates (2 yrs) | Earnings after 1 yr | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | 57 | $75,596 | $34,000 |
| Music | 40 | $57,000 | — |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering | 1 | — | — |
| Agricultural Business and Management | 4 | — | — |
| Agricultural Engineering | 8 | — | — |
| Animal Sciences | 7 | — | — |
| Anthropology | 2 | — | — |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management | 4 | — | — |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology | 16 | — | — |
| Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other | — | — | — |
| Biology | 13 | — | — |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering | 5 | — | — |
| Botany/Plant Biology | 6 | — | — |
| Business/Commerce | 13 | — | — |
| Chemical Engineering | 11 | — | — |
| Chemistry | 31 | — | — |
| Civil Engineering | 9 | — | — |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology | 24 | — | — |
| Communication and Media Studies | 9 | — | — |
| Computer and Information Sciences | 20 | — | — |
| Curriculum and Instruction | 7 | — | — |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology | 9 | — | — |
| Economics | 6 | — | — |
| Educational Administration and Supervision | 6 | — | — |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering | 15 | — | — |
| English Language and Literature | 11 | — | — |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies | 2 | — | — |
| Geography and Cartography | 5 | — | — |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences | 4 | — | — |
| Gerontology | — | — | — |
| Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other | — | — | — |
| History | 9 | — | — |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services | — | — | — |
| Materials Engineering | 9 | — | — |
| Mathematics | 24 | — | — |
| Mechanical Engineering | 14 | — | — |
| Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies | 5 | — | — |
| Microbiological Sciences and Immunology | 5 | — | — |
| Mining and Mineral Engineering | 4 | — | — |
| Neurobiology and Neurosciences | 8 | — | — |
| Nutrition Sciences | 8 | — | — |
| Pharmacology and Toxicology | 16 | — | — |
| Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration | 17 | — | — |
| Philosophy | 6 | — | — |
| Physics | — | — | — |
| Physics and Astronomy | 26 | — | — |
| Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences | 7 | — | — |
| Plant Sciences | 16 | — | — |
| Political Science and Government | 13 | — | — |
| Public Administration | 3 | — | — |
| Public Health | 3 | — | — |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 4 | — | — |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions | 16 | — | — |
| Research and Experimental Psychology | 9 | — | — |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 14 | — | — |
| Social Work | 8 | — | — |
| Sociology | 7 | — | — |
| Soil Sciences | — | — | — |
| Special Education and Teaching | 3 | — | — |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness | 8 | — | — |
| Statistics | 14 | — | — |
| Veterinary Biomedical and Clinical Sciences | 5 | — | — |
| Zoology/Animal Biology | 19 | — | — |
Professional degree programs (8)
| Program | Graduates (2 yrs) | Earnings after 1 yr | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dentistry | 131 | $140,241 | $274,405 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 71 | $111,714 | $55,000 |
| Social Work | 200 | $90,517 | $54,574 |
| Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration | 264 | $88,600 | $148,129 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions | 125 | $75,096 | $79,500 |
| Law | 273 | $65,090 | $82,963 |
| Medicine | 386 | $60,915 | $221,188 |
| Public Health | 4 | — | — |
Graduate certificate programs (57)
| Program | Graduates (2 yrs) | Earnings after 1 yr | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health and Medical Administrative Services | 23 | $64,732 | — |
| Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions | 878 | $52,245 | $34,100 |
| Social Work | 264 | $47,729 | $35,913 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions | 12 | — | — |
| Applied Mathematics | 1 | — | — |
| Applied Statistics | 20 | — | — |
| Area Studies | 3 | — | — |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management | 13 | — | — |
| Behavioral Sciences | — | — | — |
| Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education | 8 | — | — |
| Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology | 11 | — | — |
| Biotechnology | 1 | — | — |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | 17 | — | — |
| Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences | 4 | — | — |
| Chemistry | — | — | — |
| Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 12 | — | — |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology | 3 | — | — |
| Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions | — | — | — |
| Cognitive Science | — | — | — |
| Communication and Media Studies | 3 | — | — |
| Computer and Information Sciences | — | — | — |
| Data Analytics | 50 | — | — |
| Educational Administration and Supervision | 27 | — | — |
| Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | 27 | — | — |
| Educational/Instructional Media Design | 10 | — | — |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering | 7 | — | — |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies | 9 | — | — |
| Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences | 6 | — | — |
| Geography and Cartography | 20 | — | — |
| Gerontology | 2 | — | — |
| Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other | — | — | — |
| Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences | 5 | — | — |
| Historic Preservation and Conservation | 19 | — | — |
| Homeland Security | — | — | — |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services | 6 | — | — |
| Human Resources Management and Services | 4 | — | — |
| Industrial Engineering | 9 | — | — |
| Intercultural/Multicultural and Diversity Studies | 16 | — | — |
| International and Comparative Education | 1 | — | — |
| Manufacturing Engineering | 3 | — | — |
| Materials Sciences | 1 | — | — |
| Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies | 4 | — | — |
| Music | 11 | — | — |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research | 43 | — | — |
| Nutrition Sciences | 8 | — | — |
| Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences | 3 | — | — |
| Public Health | 18 | — | — |
| Public Policy Analysis | 15 | — | — |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication | 4 | — | — |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 19 | — | — |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies | 14 | — | — |
| Sociology | 3 | — | — |
| Special Education and Teaching | 1 | — | — |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness | 31 | — | — |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods | 24 | — | — |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas | 2 | — | — |
| Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language | 2 | — | — |
Similar colleges in Kentucky
| College | City | Net price / yr | Acceptance | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Louisville | Louisville | $14,960 | 79% | $60,032 |
| Eastern Kentucky University | Richmond | $11,925 | 78% | $50,885 |
| Western Kentucky University | Bowling Green | $11,789 | 94% | $48,408 |
| Northern Kentucky University | Highland Heights | $8,976 | 68% | $55,024 |
| Murray State University | Murray | $7,350 | 86% | $48,482 |
| Morehead State University | Morehead | $9,912 | 77% | $47,134 |
| Kentucky State University | Frankfort | $17,637 | 96% | $42,650 |
About University of Kentucky
| Type | Public four-year university |
|---|---|
| Location | Lexington, KY |
| Setting | Large city |
| Undergraduates | 24,763 |
| Student-to-faculty ratio | 18 to 1 |
| Accreditor | Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges |
| Website | uky.edu ↗ |
Frequently asked questions
What is University of Kentucky's acceptance rate?
University of Kentucky admits 93% of applicants. Admitted students average 1,215 on the SAT.
How much does University of Kentucky cost per year?
The full cost of attendance is $35,083 a year (tuition and fees: $13,907 in-state, $35,164 out-of-state). After grants and scholarships the average student pays $18,868 a year, and students from families earning under $30,000 pay about $12,528.
How much do University of Kentucky graduates earn?
Former students earn a median of $63,924 a year, 10 years after first enrolling — 4th of 29 similar colleges in Kentucky. The best-paid bachelor's program is mining and mineral engineering ($86,041 a year after graduation).
What is University of Kentucky's graduation rate?
72% of full-time students graduate within six years, and 87% of first-year students return for a second year.