Lewis Honors College

Plan Your Visit High School Seniors: Apply by December 1

By the Numbers

100% Experiential Education Participation

96% First-Year Retention Rate

90% 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

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News and Events

UK researcher shines light on maintenance work in ‘The Keeping Space’ documentary

By Erin Wickey

Aug 5, 2026

Thousands of people move across the campus of the University of Kentucky every day. They enter buildings that are already clean, walk through hallways already mopped and settle into classrooms prepared for the day. That work became a topic of research for Jena Seiler, Ph.D., lecturer in the UK Lewis Honors College, filmmaker and interdisciplinary artist whose creative practice focuses on helping audiences see the extraordinary in everyday life.

4 UK faculty members named 2026-27 SEC Academic Leadership Development Program fellows

By Ryan Girves

Aug 3, 2026

Four University of Kentucky faculty members, including Pearl James, Ph.D., associate dean of academic affairs in the Lewis Honors College, have been selected as 2026-27 fellows in the Southeastern Conference Academic Leadership Development Program (SEC-ALDP), a prestigious initiative that prepares emerging academic leaders for leadership roles across higher education.

Record participation reflects growing demand for honors education abroad programs

By Adrienne Clarke

Jul 15, 2026

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 15, 2026) — A record 60 Lewis Honors College students participated in four honors faculty-directed education abroad programs this summer, a 54% increase over last year. Overall, a record 250 honors students studied abroad through a variety of programs during the past academic year. In the four honors faculty-directed programs, students traveled to Ecuador, England, Greece, Italy and Scotland to study sustainability, leadership, writing and distilling.

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Lewis Launch

Aug 17, 12:00 am - Aug 19, 11:59 pm

CPD Honor the Balance: Create Your Well-Being Toolkit

Aug 26, 10:00 am - Aug 26, 1:00 pm

Lewis Scholars Lounge

420 Hilltop Ave, Lexington, KY

Breakfast with Buss!

Aug 27, 9:00 am - Aug 27, 10:30 am