Interested in attending a STEM school in Kentucky? Our ranking of top research universities for bachelor’s degrees displays schools that will best prepare you for STEM careers.
Between community colleges, technical schools, and universities, Kentucky has 24 public schools. The community colleges and technical schools average $4,000 for tuition, and tuition for public universities ranges from $8,000 to $12,000. Those looking to attend private colleges can choose from 26 schools, of which 21 are religiously affiliated. The cost to attend private schools tends to be higher, reaching $42,000 in Kentucky, but there are some affordable options with tuition rates as low as $9,000.
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The largest and top-rated public university is the University of Kentucky, which has over 30,000 students and costs about $12,000. Political science, chemistry, and literature are all possible majors. Students who attend either the University of Louisville or Western Kentucky University will become part of a friendly basketball rivalry. Both of these universities also offer varying fields of study, including mathematics, communications, business, and history. In addition, Kentucky encourages graduating education students to apply for the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program, which awards $5,000 to $17,500 toward Federal Stafford loans to those remaining the profession.
There is something for everyone in The Bluegrass State. Kentucky is home to the famous Kentucky Derby, the Daniel Boone National Forest, and the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory. Students wanting to study where Abraham Lincoln and Muhammad Ali both called home have 50 higher learning institutions from which to choose.
Kentucky has it all — associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. Check out the top programs and find which institution is the right one for you.
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Related: Differences between research universities and teaching colleges
A research university is a great option for students interested in obtaining STEM degrees. Research universities invest heavily in research, which consequently provides meaningful and extensive opportunities for its students and faculty to participate in research. There are 7 research universities in Kentucky, 5 of which meet our criteria. The list below of the best research universities in the state satisfies the following four conditions:
The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great. This is why, at the undergraduate level, we rank the best colleges and universities based on what we call “Concentrated Influence”. Concentrated Influence takes the combined influence score of a college or university’s top academic influencers (including faculty and alums) and divides it by the school’s total number of undergraduates.
Using concentrated influence gives small and mid-sized schools an opportunity to shine by taking away the size advantage of larger universities. A small school with proportionately more influential faculty than a large school, whose influence in absolute terms may be bigger, will nonetheless score higher in a concentrated influence ranking. Our approach highlights undergraduate schools that truly rank for excellence, regardless of size.
If you are serious about finding the best colleges and universities for a bachelor’s degree, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching and whether their graduates are themselves advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence.
Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Concentrated Influence provides a ranking that is free from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.
Find out more about our ranking methodology here.
Less Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
96%
Graduation
66%
Student body
24K
Median SAT/ACT
1195/25
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University of Kentucky’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
65%
Graduation
60%
Student body
16K
Median SAT/ACT
1180/25
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University of Louisville’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
87%
Graduation
47%
Student body
11K
Median SAT/ACT
1130/23
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Northern Kentucky University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$42K
Acceptance
82%
Graduation
64%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1160/25
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Bellarmine University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
98%
Graduation
52%
Student body
15K
Median SAT/ACT
1105/23
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Western Kentucky University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$25K
Acceptance
93%
Graduation
58%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1040/19
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Spalding University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
81%
Graduation
40%
Student body
11K
Median SAT/ACT
1035/21
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University of the Cumberlands’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
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