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

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Explore Admission Criteria
Apply for Housing
Register for Orientation

News and Events

Beam Institute students gain global spirits experience in Scotland

By Grace Sowards

Aug 25, 2026

Bourbon is one of the Commonwealth’s signature industries, but Kentuckians aren’t the only group to pride themselves on their whisky. Students from the University of Kentucky James B. Beam Institute for Kentucky Spirits (JBBI) and the Lewis Honors College traveled to Scotland this summer to learn more about how spirits are made and marketed around the world.

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.

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Breakfast with Buss!

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

Lewis Scholars Lounge

420 Hilltop Ave, Lexington, KY

KY Blood Center Drive

Sep 03, 10:00 am - Sep 04, 5:00 pm

Lewis Scholars Lounge

420 Hilltop Ave, Lexington, KY

CPD Pause & Create: Bracelet Making Pop-Up

Sep 09, 10:00 am - Sep 09, 1:00 pm

Lewis Scholars Lounge

420 Hilltop Ave, Lexington, KY

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Lewis Honors College

By the Numbers

Mission in Action

Explore Your Purpose

Develop Intellectually

Lead With Integrity

Why Honors?

Honors Residential Experience

Center for Personal Development

Internship, Research, Education Abroad, Service-Learning Opportunities

Dedicated Honors Faculty

Interested in Learning More?

News and Events

Beam Institute students gain global spirits experience in Scotland

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

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

Breakfast with Buss!

KY Blood Center Drive

CPD Pause & Create: Bracelet Making Pop-Up

Campus Map

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