Best Research Universities in Kentucky 2025
Key Takeaways
- We’ve identified seven of the best research universities in Kentucky that invest heavily in research and provide extensive opportunities for students to participate in research.
- Attending a research university in Kentucky is a great option for students interested in obtaining STEM degrees.
- Many of the research universities in this ranking are well known across the country and have well established alumni networks.
Best Research Universities in Kentucky 2025
2025 Ranking Update
Our Influence Ranking Engine™ leverages machine learning to track the real-world influence of colleges and universities over time. Below you’ll see which schools gained or lost ground for the 2025 school year.
There were no changes in our 2025 ranking of the best research universities in Kentucky.
For 2025, UK is offering an unprecedented $175 million in financial aid, aimed at boosting student retention and graduation rates by alleviating financial burdens, which is especially beneficial for those focused on research and academics.
U of L has added a new $90 million, 114,000-square-foot engineering building at the J.B. Speed School of Engineering. This state-of-the-art facility, featuring high-tech labs, classrooms, and a makerspace, and will focus on emerging fields like renewable energy, cybersecurity, and advanced manufacturing.
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. We’ve identified 7 research universities in Kentucky. To be included in our ranking, schools must be a fully accredited universities and must must offer doctoral degrees across the range of STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math).
Best Research Universities in Kentucky 2025
- #13 15 Best Online Colleges for Veterans to Start Their Careers 2025 #1 Best Public Colleges in Kentucky 2025 #1 Best Grad Schools in Kentucky 2025 #1 Most Affordable Colleges in Kentucky 2025
Tuition + fees
$13K
Acceptance
95%
Graduation
69%
Student body
33K
Median SAT/ACT
1180/24
Career Outlook for degree at University of Kentucky
Cost of Degree: $13,212Expenses: $21,886Starting Salary: $54,000Cost Recoup Time: 12 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is University of Kentucky known for?
University of Kentucky’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
University of Kentucky’s Online Degrees
Bachelor of Science or a Bachelor of Arts in Communication
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA in Health Science
Degree Concentrations
- Medical Laboratory Science
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA in Liberal Studies
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
Bachelor of Science or a Bachelor of Arts in Information Communication Technology
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Nursing
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: None Reported
BA in Social Work
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
- #2 Best Public Colleges in Kentucky 2025 #2 Best Grad Schools in Kentucky 2025 #2 Most Affordable Colleges in Kentucky 2025 #2 Best Colleges in Kentucky 2024
Tuition + fees
$13K
Acceptance
82%
Graduation
62%
Student body
26K
Median SAT/ACT
1170/23
Career Outlook for degree at University of Louisville
Cost of Degree: $12,828Expenses: $20,878Starting Salary: $48,600Cost Recoup Time: 13 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is University of Louisville known for?
University of Louisville’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Medical
- History
- Law
- Communications
- Education
- Mathematics
- Political Science
- Social Work
- Psychology
- Criminal Justice
Most Influential Alumni
University of Louisville’s Online Degrees
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Accountancy
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA/BS in Communication
- Required Credits: 121
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Criminal Justice
- Required Credits: 121
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA in Business Administration
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Organizational Leadership & Learning
Degree Concentrations
- Counseling and Human Relations Track
- Early Childhood Education
- Healthcare Leadership Track
- Career & Technical Education
- Counseling & Human Relations
- Early Childhood Education
- Healthcare Leadership (term or flex option)
- Leadership
- Training & Organization Development
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Nursing
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA/BS in Sociology
- Required Credits: 121
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Sport Administration
- Required Credits: 123
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
- #3 Best Public Colleges in Kentucky 2025 #3 Most Affordable Colleges in Kentucky 2025 #3 Best Colleges in Kentucky 2024 #5 The Most Influential Universities and Colleges Ranked by State 2024
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
97%
Graduation
51%
Student body
20K
Median SAT/ACT
1075/21
Career Outlook for degree at Western Kentucky University
Cost of Degree: $11,436Expenses: $15,452Starting Salary: $38,600Cost Recoup Time: 13 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Western Kentucky University known for?
Western Kentucky University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
Western Kentucky University’s Online Degrees
BS in Management
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Organizational Leadership
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Workforce Administration
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Computer Information Technology
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA in Criminology
- Required Credits: 121
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Family And Consumer Sciences
Degree Concentrations
- Family Studies
- Child Studies
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BIS in Interdisciplinary Studies
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA in Sociology
Degree Concentrations
- Community
- Environment And Development
- Family-Gender And Sexuality
- Inequality And Social Change
- Research Methods
- Required Credits: 121
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Dental Hygiene
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Healthcare Administration
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Health Information Management
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Health Sciences
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
- #3 Best Grad Schools in Kentucky 2025 #4 Best Public Colleges in Kentucky 2025 #4 Most Affordable Colleges in Kentucky 2025 #6 Best Colleges in Kentucky 2024
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
86%
Graduation
50%
Student body
19K
Median SAT/ACT
1160/22
Career Outlook for degree at Northern Kentucky University
Cost of Degree: $10,896Expenses: $14,960Starting Salary: $41,800Cost Recoup Time: 12 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Northern Kentucky University known for?
Northern Kentucky University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Anthropology
- Computer Science
- Psychology
- Law
- Mathematics
- Political Science
- Education
- Criminal Justice
- History
- Sociology
Most Influential Alumni
Northern Kentucky University’s Online Degrees
BA/BS in Criminal Justice
- Required Credits: 48
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Human Services and Addictions
- Required Credits: 121
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA/BS in Psychological Science
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Business Administration
Degree Concentrations
- Management
- Marketing
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA in Integrative Studies
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA in History
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Business Administration
Degree Concentrations
- General Business
- Global Supply Chain Management
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA in Organizational Leadership
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
- #3 Best Christian Colleges in Kentucky 2024 #4 Best Grad Schools in Kentucky 2025 #5 Best Private Colleges in Kentucky 2025 #6 Best Small Colleges in Kentucky 2025
Tuition + fees
$46K
Acceptance
88%
Graduation
60%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1195/24
Career Outlook for degree at Bellarmine University
Cost of Degree: $46,780Starting Salary: $50,600What is Bellarmine University known for?
Bellarmine University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Philosophy
- Psychology
- Mathematics
- Communications
- Economics
- History
- Political Science
- Medical
- Nursing
- Business
Most Influential Alumni
- #5 Best Grad Schools in Kentucky 2025 #6 Best Christian Colleges in Kentucky 2024 #7 Best Private Colleges in Kentucky 2025 #9 Most Affordable Colleges in Kentucky 2025
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
83%
Graduation
44%
Student body
25K
Median SAT/ACT
1060/19
Career Outlook for degree at University of the Cumberlands
Cost of Degree: $9,875Expenses: $16,268Starting Salary: $38,200Cost Recoup Time: 13 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is University of the Cumberlands known for?
University of the Cumberlands’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
- Psychology
- Criminal Justice
- Business
- Religious Studies
- Literature
- Education
- Communications
- Political Science
- History
- Biology
Most Influential Alumni
University of the Cumberlands’s Online Degrees
BS/BA in Applied Science
Degree Concentrations
- Accounting
- Allied Health
- Business Administration
- Coaching
- Criminal Justice
- General Studies
- Human Services
- Information Technology
- Missions and Ministries
- Public Health
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Applied Science in Coaching
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Accounting
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BAS in Human Services
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BAS in Criminal Justice
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BA in Elementary Education
Degree Concentrations
- English/Communications
- Interdisciplinary
- Social and Behavioral Studies
- Special Education*
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Applied Science in Business Administration
Degree Concentrations
- Business Administration
- Finance
- Strategic Marketing
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BAS in General Studies
- Required Credits: 27
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BAS in Missions and Ministry
- Required Credits: 122
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Applied Science in Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Nursing
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: None Reported
BAS in Information Technology
Degree Concentrations
- Cybersecurity
- Infrastructure
- Management
- Software Engineering
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS/BAS in Psychology
- Required Credits: 120
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
BS in Information Technology
Degree Concentrations
- Cybersecurity
- Infrastructure
- Management
- Software Engineering
- Required Credits: 128
- Completion Time: None Reported
- Format: Online
- #6 Best Grad Schools in Kentucky 2025 #8 Best Christian Colleges in Kentucky 2024 #9 Best Private Colleges in Kentucky 2025 #9 Best Small Colleges in Kentucky 2025
Tuition + fees
$27K
Acceptance
98%
Graduation
45%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
981/19
Career Outlook for degree at Spalding University
Cost of Degree: $27,672Expenses: $17,494Starting Salary: $48,300Cost Recoup Time: 15 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryWhat is Spalding University known for?
Spalding University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Most Influential Alumni
Find the Best Research Universities in Kentucky for Your Area of Interest
Frequently Asked Questions About Research Universities, Liberal Arts Colleges, Online Colleges
In pursuing a bachelor’s degree, you will need to choose between three kinds of schools: research universities, liberal arts colleges, and online colleges.
Research universities are colleges and universities whose faculty are active in research and publishing. Research universities offer a wide array of doctoral programs, especially in the sciences. They tend to be big, with tens of thousands of students.
Do you prefer a larger university setting, such as largest public university in your state? Research universities are typically big, offering degrees in many different disciplines.
Is a big high-powered research environment the thing for you? If not, you should think about a liberal arts college. In deciding on an undergraduate institution, ask yourself what sort of environment will best help you to be happy and excel.
- Consider whether you are self motivated enough to be a face in the crowd for some classes and largely unknown on campus at a large university. Of course you can find clubs and friends at a large university, but often liberal arts colleges have a more personal quality to them. If you want the community feel, a research university may not fit you well.
- Are you interested in STEM fields? Research universities have that name for a reason – real research is happening there. This can create an exciting atmosphere for students interested in STEM. Attending a research university can give you a better chance of getting into better programs for graduate degrees, although a lot of that depends on your performance.
Learn more about research universities by reading about the best research universities in the US.
Often referred to as “teaching colleges” liberal arts colleges put a premium on undergraduate studies and offers a broad range of subjects for students to study. A college of liberal arts typically provides smaller class sizes, more direct engagement with professors, and, most importantly, the opportunity to sample a wide range of subject areas on the way to a bachelor’s degree.
- Do you want your professors to know you? Liberal arts colleges strive to cultivate campus cultures that encourage tight bonds between professors and students.
- Do you want to feel like you know everybody? One of the most enticing features of a liberal arts college is that in very little time, you can feel like you know who’s who, which can create strong friendships and make walks across campus more fun. While your sports teams may never be on ESPN, it’s more likely that you’ll know the athletes as your peers.
Professors at these schools will typically conduct original research. Yet the best of these schools offer their faculty reduced teaching loads so that they can both be productive researchers and still have plenty of time for students (both in and outside the classroom).
Beyond student and faculty relationships, it’s not unusual for the school president and other administrators to learn who you are. When faced with problems with your student account or the need to switch classes, this can be comforting during a stressful moment.
Learn more about liberal arts colleges by reading about the best liberal arts colleges in the US.
If you think a liberal arts college may be a better fit for you, see our ranking of the best liberal arts colleges for a bachelor’s in mathematics.
Online colleges are typically the same colleges and universities you could attend in-person, but for certain degree programs the college or unviersity has made the degree programs available to be completed online. For over 5 million students, online degree programs allow students to earn their degrees in the most flexible format available.
Online degrees are as respected as the on-campus degrees you could earn from the same schools. There’s usually no distinction between the two degrees, and your degree and transcript will not say that the degree was earned online.
Online degree programs are offered by a vast majority of colleges and universities, and the number of offering continues to grow. Whether you are searching for an associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate, there’s a good chance you can earn your degree online from a respectable online college.
- Are you a self-driven student? Perhaps the hardest aspect of obtaining an online degree is whether you will be disciplined enough to manage your time and course demands.
- Do you need the flexibility of an online degree program? Most online students study online because of time demands of balancing work and life, or because the online college affords them the chance to attend a better school without moving.
- The good news is that attending an online college doesn’t mean you will miss out on getting to know your professors and classmates. In fact, many online students who have experienced both online and on-campus courses report having easier access to their professors.
Many online students report that online college made them more disciplined in all areas of their lives, but the flexible, self-paced learning that makes online colleges attractive can often be the same qualities that make it difficult. If you tend to be a procrastinator, you need to be honest with yourself. You can change your habits and propensities, or you can throw money down the drain.
If you are serious about earning your degree for career advancement, online colleges make it possible. The most flexible options among online degrees are those that are asynchronous, meaning you don’t have scheduled times to meet with your class online. However, many students seek synchronous online degree programs so that they have some structure – set meeting times, scheduled exams, etc.
Since most communication with your professor is expected to be in text – via email or your class learning management system – it makes asking your questions easier. The same students also report that they got to better know the thoughts of their classmates. While in-person course conversations can be dominated by a few extroverts, online courses that require online discussions make it so that you see all of your classmates’ thoughts and questions.
If you’re interested in an online bachelor’s degree, check out what the best online colleges offer, or search our online degrees for the exact program that interests you. In either case, you will find well respected colleges and universities that offer online degrees.
Back to TopCheck out our directory of research universities throughout the U.S. for a look at the top research institutions in every state.
