Lewis Honors College

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.

Jacqueline Coleman, Christian Brady, Laura Bryan, Conner Brumley

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

Maddie Duff waving with other graduating students walking

Why Honors?

Honors Residential Experience

Tamika Tompoulidis with student during EXPO

Center for Personal Development

Internship, Research, Education Abroad, Service-Learning Opportunities

Dr. Kenton Sena with HON 152 students outdoors

Dedicated Honors Faculty

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Schedule Your Visit
Explore Admission Criteria
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Register for Orientation

News and Events

“Black Que(e)ries: Bridging Communities through Poetic Origins from Black Archives” will be presented Thursday, April 9.

UK senior Beaux Hardin to deliver 31st annual Breathitt Lecture

By Ryan Girves

Mar 25, 2026

Beaux Hardin, a University of Kentucky senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, Lewis Honors College student and Gaines Fellow, has been selected to give the 31st annual Edward T. Breathitt Undergraduate Lectureship in the Humanities. Hardin’s lecture will explore poetry as a creative medium that invents new language, connecting people across cultures and creating an immaterial space that redefines identity.

Documentary highlights Lewis Honors College custodian and her philosophy on cleaning and life

By Adrienne Clarke

Mar 25, 2026

“The Keeping Space,” a 15-minute documentary that shines a light on the often-unseen work by UK custodian Shelia Lackey, will be featured 6 p.m. Thursday, April 2, at Lexington’s Lyric Theatre & Cultural Arts Center. University of Kentucky Documentary co-directors Jena Seiler, Ph.D., Lewis Honors College lecturer, Nicole Martin, former honors college director of academic affairs, will be at the screening and participate in the discussion. The screening is sponsored by the Gaines Center for the Humanities.

Student earns international Platinum Viddy Award for Lewis Honors College video

By Neely Rutland

Mar 19, 2026

A University of Kentucky student has earned international recognition for a video created for the UK Lewis Honors College.

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Becoming Martian

Mar 26, 4:00 pm - Mar 26, 5:30 pm

Lewis Scholars Lounge

420 Hilltop Ave, Lexington, KY

Mathews Garden Work Days

Mar 30, 3:00 pm - Mar 30, 4:15 pm

Mathews Garden

Washington Ave, Lexington, KY 40508

Ideas That Matter: Comics and Social Commentary

Mar 30, 5:00 pm - Mar 30, 6:00 pm