College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of Kentucky

KYLarge public institution · Overall rank #220 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth places University of Kentucky in the composite’s 85th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

The fit is clearest for a student who wants a large public campus in Kentucky and expects to work after the degree. Most graduates are estimated to go into jobs rather than on to further study, and the degree mix is led by Business and Health Professions.

Graduates effectively earn what predicts for students like them, and the typical graduate earns above the median at comparable schools. The model adds for the factors it measures and subtracts for what it cannot explain.

Students who arrive at the University of Kentucky with Pell Grants finish below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole. Mobility is among the highest we track, while affordability is around the average.

The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools. A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the highest-earning fields, like Computer Engineering, are much smaller.

University of Kentucky at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
92.9%
Six-year completion[2]
71.4%
Four-year earnings[3]
$65,922

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$16,313
Median student debt[4]
$22,500
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$30,006

University of Kentucky rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

University of Kentucky is a public university in Lexington, Kentucky, enrolling 24,763 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits toward the top of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The university admits 92.9% of applicants, against a median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). Of students who start full time, 86.8% return for a second year, compared with a peer median of 83.1%.

The six-year graduation rate for the first-time, full-time cohort is 71.4%, against a peer median of 65.0%. An estimated 14.9% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the graduation rate describes a majority of the student body but not all of it.

The four are spread across the ranking rather than clustered. Mobility is the strongest (92nd percentile), and affordability is the weakest (55th percentile). Return and access sit between them.

University of Kentucky stands out most for mobility, while affordability is its weakest of the four Azimuth pillars. Azimuth places the university's mobility pillar in the 92nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Return sits in the 68th percentile and access in the 63rd percentile. Affordability reaches the 55th percentile, so the strongest mobility showing sits alongside a more moderate affordability result.

22.5% of undergraduates at University of Kentucky receive Pell Grants. Azimuth ranks University of Kentucky #549 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at 57.6%, which is 13.8 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate (71.4%). Azimuth ranks the university #118 for mobility.

Graduates earn about $545 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level, and the mobility pillar is the strongest of the four for this institution.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

University of Kentucky rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#220
Kentucky#3
South#75

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 92
Access & reach
National percentile: 63
Affordability
National percentile: 55
Return on investment
National percentile: 68

Top-ranked majors

  1. Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General#4
  2. Agricultural Production Operations#8
  3. Agricultural Public Services#9

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / University of Kentucky briefing

University of Kentucky cost & financial aid[6][7]

Even after aid, costs at University of Kentucky remain higher than at comparable institutions. The published cost of attendance is $34,391.

In-state tuition and fees are $13,502, while out-of-state tuition and fees are $34,140 and room and board are $16,016. For aid recipients, the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $18,851, with average financial-aid savings of $15,540 from the sticker price.

That price is $3,217 above the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size). Aid covers about 45% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

Azimuth ranks the university #639 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. The above-peer net price and affordability rank both make cost a consideration alongside the published price.

At University of Kentucky, aid-recipient costs vary substantially by family income. The published cost of attendance is $34,391.

Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $12,182 for the lowest family-income band, $12,119 for the lower-middle band, $16,313 for the middle band, $21,192 for the upper-middle band, and $26,781 for the highest band. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $14,599.

Azimuth ranks the university #639 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 45% of the published cost, and the across all aid recipients is $18,851.

That average is $3,217 above the peer median of $15,634 at comparable institutions (same type and size). Published in-state tuition and fees are $13,502, compared with $34,140 for out-of-state tuition and fees.

The higher average price than comparable institutions sits alongside aid that offsets a substantial share of the published cost. Among federal loan borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $22,500, and 89.0% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.

The peer median debt is $20,076 at comparable institutions (same type and size), making Kentucky’s median $2,424 above that benchmark. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $256 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $30,006.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$16,313

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at University of Kentucky

Federal student loan borrowing reaches 89.0% of federal aid recipients at University of Kentucky, making debt a common part of the financing picture. For federal-loan borrowers who completed, median debt is $22,500.

Comparable institutions (same type and size) have a peer median federal debt of $20,076. The university's median is above that benchmark by $2,424, placing its borrower median above the comparable-school figure.

For the separate population of Parent PLUS parent borrowers, median borrowing is $30,006.

At University of Kentucky, the investment picture is mixed: earnings sit close to the model’s expectation, while borrower debt is above the comparable-school median. For federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, median earnings are $65,922 four years after completion.

Azimuth places those earnings in the 68th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, falls in the 57th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $545 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. The program-mix scenarios put typical earnings at $65,922, with a downside scenario of $46,396 and an upside scenario of $87,532.

Borrowers complete with median federal student loan debt of $22,500, which is above the $20,076 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $2,424. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $256 a month if repaid over ten years.

Near-expected earnings and higher peer-relative debt leave a mixed return picture.

For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $30,006. For student borrowers, the federal debt figure corresponds to an estimated payment of $256 a month if repaid over ten years.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$22,500
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$30,006

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$256/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$381/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / University of Kentucky briefing

University of Kentucky career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Mobility is the strongest pillar at University of Kentucky, while return measures sit close to modeled expectations and the peer level. Azimuth puts the return pillar in the 68th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $545 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. That earnings beyond expectations result, the gap between graduate earnings and the model’s expectation for similar students, is in the 57th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $9,764. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $9,219.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,679. Four years after completion, median earnings are $65,922, in the 68th percentile.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $65,610; the university’s median is above it by $312.

The central earnings picture at University of Kentucky is $65,922 four years after completion for federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. That median draws on an earnings cohort of 5,040 completers, and Azimuth places it in the 68th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $545 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. Earnings scenarios based on the program mix range from $46,396 in the downside scenario to $87,532 in the upside scenario, with $65,922 as the typical scenario.

An estimated 28.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment.

Mobility is the strongest pillar at University of Kentucky, while return figures sit near the comparable-institution benchmark. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $65,922 four years after completion, in the 68th percentile.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $65,610, leaving the university $312 above that mark. Graduates earn about $545 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is in the 57th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $9,764.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $9,219. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,679.

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix range from $46,396 on the downside to $87,532 on the upside. Azimuth places the return pillar in the 68th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Program figures vary across the programs shown here. Marketing was the largest program, with 369 degrees awarded and median earnings of $70,776 four years after completion; Azimuth ranks it #60 nationally in its field.

Finance had 297 degrees awarded and median earnings of $84,087 four years after completion. Azimuth ranks it #4 nationally in its field, and its earnings stand at 1.35x the national median for its field.

At University of Kentucky, earnings scenarios show that earnings can vary widely by field rather than following one schoolwide pattern. The downside earnings scenario is $46,396, and the upside scenario is $87,532; both are estimated from the program mix, not observed groups.

The financial picture pairs debt above the peer close to earnings close to the model expectation. At University of Kentucky, borrowers who completed with federal student loans had median debt of $22,500.

That is $2,424 above the $20,076 median at comparable institutions (same type and size). That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $256 a month if repaid over ten years.

Parent borrowers using Parent PLUS, a separate population, had median debt of $30,006. Graduates earn about $545 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

Debt above the peer median and earnings effectively at the expected level make the return picture mixed.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$9,764
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$9,219
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$545

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / University of Kentucky briefing

University of Kentucky acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

University of Kentucky admitted 92.9% of applicants, meaning most people in the reported applicant pool received an offer. That rate is above the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

The rate describes an outcome across the reported applicant pool rather than a forecast for an individual applicant.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
92.9%
25th percentile
1058
Median
1165
75th percentile
1270

CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / University of Kentucky briefing

What are the largest majors at University of Kentucky?[12]

At University of Kentucky, the largest fields span markedly different earnings four years after completion, so program choice carries much of the return picture. Finance reports median earnings of $84,087 and 297 degrees awarded; Azimuth ranks it #65 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

Nursing shows $81,941 with 302 degrees awarded and an Azimuth rank of #220 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. Business/Commerce sits at $69,451 across 352 degrees awarded, ranking #15 nationally with Azimuth among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

Psychology is lower at $46,570 on 290 degrees awarded and ranks #246 nationally with Azimuth among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. The higher earnings in finance and nursing contrast with the more moderate business and psychology figures.

The program roster offers several nationally ranked fields to compare: 52 programs hold Azimuth ranks, and earnings data are published for 61 programs. Health Sciences ranks #4 nationally in its field, with 103 degrees awarded and median earnings of $82,533 four years after completion.

Azimuth ranks Agricultural Production Operations #8 nationally in its field; it awarded 39 degrees and shows $46,843 in median earnings four years after completion. Agricultural Public Services is ranked #9 nationally by Azimuth in its field, with 32 degrees awarded and $42,612 in median earnings four years after completion.

The degree mix at University of Kentucky is anchored by Business, which accounts for 23.7% of bachelor's degrees awarded, with Health Professions at 11.4% and Engineering at 8.8%. Across all fields, 20.2% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

The university has 52 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 61 with published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Marketing, at 369 degrees awarded, followed by Business/Commerce at 352 degrees awarded and Nursing at 302 degrees awarded.

The highest-ranked program is Health Sciences, which Azimuth ranks #4 nationally within its field and #1 in Kentucky. It awards 103 degrees a year and its graduates earn a median of $82,533 four years after completion.

Agricultural Production Operations ranks #8 nationally and #2 in Kentucky, with earnings of $46,843. Health Sciences carries a benchmark ratio of 1.35x against the national median for its field, with earnings of $82,533.

The highest-earning program is Computer Engineering, at $99,945, though it awards only 54 degrees a year. Computer and Information Sciences follows at $99,535 from 108 degrees awarded, and Azimuth ranks it #72 nationally and #1 in Kentucky within its field.

The pattern is one of strength spread across business, engineering, and specialized professional fields, with several programs holding top state ranks. The largest programs by degrees awarded are not the highest-earning: Marketing and Business/Commerce sit in the $70,776 to $69,451 range, while the engineering programs that lead on earnings award far fewer degrees.

Psychology, the fifth-largest program at 290 degrees awarded, reports median earnings of $46,570, well below the university's top earners.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Marketing 369 degrees awarded
$70,776
Business/Commerce, General 352 degrees awarded
$69,451
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 302 degrees awarded
$81,941
Finance and Financial Management Services 297 degrees awarded
$84,087
Psychology, General 290 degrees awarded
$46,570
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas 250 degrees awarded
$51,379

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / University of Kentucky briefing

How does University of Kentucky serve students from different backgrounds?

Mobility is a clear strength at University of Kentucky: Azimuth places the pillar in the 92nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 71.4%, while Pell recipients complete at 57.6%, below the overall rate by 13.8 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $545 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. That earnings-beyond-expectations measure sits in the 57th percentile.

The mobility standing is high, while graduate earnings remain effectively at the modeled expectation.

A 92.9% admission rate gives University of Kentucky a broad entry point, alongside 24,763 undergraduates. Pell Grant recipients make up 22.5% of undergraduates, and an estimated 14.9% of the undergraduate population arrives as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth places its access pillar in the 63rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Broad admissions, Pell participation, and transfer enrollment describe several routes into the university.

06 / University of Kentucky briefing

What colleges are similar to University of Kentucky?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with University of Kentucky.

Admissions peerThomas More University90.4% admitted
Comparison with University of Kentucky
MeasureUniversity of KentuckyThomas More University
Peer earnings · 4 years$65,922$70,208+$4,286 vs University of Kentucky
Average annual net price$18,851$21,835+$2,984 vs University of Kentucky · higher cost
Admission rate92.9%90.4%
Nearby alternativeNorthern Kentucky UniversityNearby option · KY
Comparison with University of Kentucky
MeasureUniversity of KentuckyNorthern Kentucky University
Peer earnings · 4 years$65,922$58,429-$7,493 vs University of Kentucky
Average annual net price$18,851$8,191-$10,660 vs University of Kentucky · lower cost
Admission rate92.9%67.7%
Explore Northern Kentucky University →
Higher-earnings alternativeCal Poly Maritime Academy$108,757 earnings
Comparison with University of Kentucky
MeasureUniversity of KentuckyCal Poly Maritime Academy
Peer earnings · 4 years$65,922$108,757+$42,835 vs University of Kentucky
Average annual net price$18,851$20,555+$1,704 vs University of Kentucky · higher cost
Admission rate92.9%95.0%
Explore Cal Poly Maritime Academy →
Lower-cost alternativeNorthern Kentucky University$8,191 average net price
Comparison with University of Kentucky
MeasureUniversity of KentuckyNorthern Kentucky University
Peer earnings · 4 years$65,922$58,429-$7,493 vs University of Kentucky
Average annual net price$18,851$8,191-$10,660 vs University of Kentucky · lower cost
Admission rate92.9%67.7%
Explore Northern Kentucky University →
Similar profileUniversity of North Carolina at CharlotteMatched across several measures
Comparison with University of Kentucky
MeasureUniversity of KentuckyUniversity of North Carolina at Charlotte
Peer earnings · 4 years$65,922$65,370-$552 vs University of Kentucky
Average annual net price$18,851$15,435-$3,416 vs University of Kentucky · lower cost
Admission rate92.9%79.6%
Explore University of North Carolina at Charlotte →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings