Lewis Honors College

Plan Your Visit High School Seniors: Apply by December 1

By the Numbers

100% Experiential Education Participation

97.2% First-Year Retention Rate

93.4% Employment or Graduate/Professional School

Mission in Action

Explore Your Purpose

Honors advisors and the Center for Personal Development counselors partner with students in their exploration of purpose to cultivate well-being, leadership, and career readiness.

Savannah King with her Honors Thesis Showcase poster

Honors at Kentucky has a long and proud history, dating back to 1959, and thousands of students have passed through our program, exploring themselves and the boundaries of thought with outstanding faculty.

Singletary Scholar speaking at the Leadership Conference

Lead With Integrity

Providing leadership development opportunities enables students to fulfill their experiential credit while bolstering lifelong skills to apply as a graduate student or employee.

The Honors classes I took my freshman year exposed me to ideas that I would not have otherwise thought deeply about. The topics we discussed have allowed me to engage with current events and the social sciences more than I would have been able to otherwise.

Asa O'Neal '25

NSF Graduate Research Fellow, Barry M. Goldwater Scholar, Astronaut Scholar

Honors students wearing Honors medallions at the Honors Medal Ceremony

Why Honors?

Honors Residential Experience

Tamika Tompoulidis with student during EXPO

Center for Personal Development

Internship, Research, Education Abroad, Service-Learning Opportunities

Dr. Ryan Voogt with Honors students in HON 310

Dedicated Honors Faculty

Take a Virtual Tour
Schedule Your Visit
Explore Admission Criteria
Apply for Housing
Register for Orientation

News and Events

From Kentucky to Colombia, UK graduate works to expand opportunity

By Daniel Flener

Nov 9, 2026

When University of Kentucky Lewis Honors College May 2026 graduate Jesse Lee arrived in Bogotá, Colombia, this summer, he came ready to help expand educational and employment opportunities for young people. Through a NextGen Service Fellowship, he would also learn how geography can shape access to those opportunities.

UK Theatre and Dance alum Taha Mandviwala finding his next act

By Kiana Pino Alpaca and Tom Musgrave

Oct 20, 2026

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 20, 2026) — When the national touring production of “Life of Pi” ended last fall, 2016 University of Kentucky College of Fine Arts graduate, Honors program alum, and Singletary Scholar Taha Mandviwala, who had the title role of Pi Patel, was ready for the next chapter in his life.

BBN Tackles Plastic expands to all UK residence halls

By Cadence Hamilton

Oct 15, 2026

BBN Tackles Plastic, a UK Recycling initiative aimed at reducing campus plastic waste through the collection of plastic bags, has expanded into all University of Kentucky residence halls this fall. The collected plastic bags are donated to Sustainability Future Leaders, an on-campus student organization, where members transform the bags into sleeping mats which are distributed to Lexington’s unhoused population through a partnership with The Hope Center. Honors student Misa DeVries is the director of Sustainability Future Leaders.

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CPD MCAT Prep Tips

Nov 16, 4:30 pm - Nov 16, 5:30 pm

Lewis Hall Room U136

420 Hilltop Ave

KY Blood Center Drive

Nov 19, 10:00 am - Nov 20, 5:00 pm

Lewis Scholars Lounge

420 Hilltop Ave, Lexington, KY

Breakfast with Buss!

Nov 30, 9:30 am - Nov 30, 11:00 am

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