Lewis Honors College

Plan Your Visit Class of 2030 Information

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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Explore Admission Criteria
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Register for Orientation

News and Events

Watch live: The May 2026 UK Commencement Ceremonies

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

May 8, 2026

Today and tomorrow, the University of Kentucky will host its largest-ever Commencement, with a record number of both ceremony participants and degree candidates. More than 4,800 graduates are registered to participate across four ceremonies taking place May 8 and 9, in Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Overall, 6,693 May degree candidates were approved by the UK Board of Trustees. This includes 4,427 undergraduate, 1,526 graduate and 740 professional degree candidates.* Ceremonies include:

UK Libraries Awards Two Seniors for Excellence in Undergraduate Research

By Robby Hardesty

May 8, 2026

UK Libraries is proud to recognize seniors Natalie Lewis and Siena Pilati (Lewis Honors College) with the 2026 UK Libraries Award for Undergraduate Research. The annual prize celebrates exceptional and original undergraduate scholarship and is awarded to students whose research makes substantive and creative use of UK Libraries’ collections, services, and resources.

4 students named Excellent Undergraduate Research Ambassadors

By Christian Wells

May 8, 2026

Every year, the University of Kentucky’s Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) selects a new cohort of Undergraduate Research Ambassadors — a group of outstanding students who serve as advocates for undergraduate research at UK. This year, OUR awarded four students as Excellent Undergraduate Research Ambassadors in recognition of their outstanding contributions, achievements and dedication to promoting undergraduate research opportunities across UK’s campus and fostering community engagement.

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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

Watch live: The May 2026 UK Commencement Ceremonies

UK Libraries Awards Two Seniors for Excellence in Undergraduate Research

4 students named Excellent Undergraduate Research Ambassadors

Campus Map

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