---
title: University of Kentucky — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Lexington, KY
control: Public
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# University of Kentucky

Lexington, KY · Public · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $59,025 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $38,233 – $86,281 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $16,750 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $7,500 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 71% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $34,391 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 77% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.28× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $31,025 | derived |

**71% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $16,750 (≈ 28% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $17,785 to $106,223 across 85 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dentistry. | First Professional Degree | $106,223 | $249,454 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $101,348 | not reported |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | First Professional Degree | $99,330 | $53,600 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | Master's Degree | $92,048 | $80,472 |
| Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration. | First Professional Degree | $81,971 | $139,898 |
| Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research. | Doctoral Degree | $75,863 | not reported |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | First Professional Degree | $71,089 | $78,880 |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology. | Doctoral Degree | $68,072 | not reported |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $67,465 | $23,485 |
| Business/Commerce, General. | Master's Degree | $65,062 | $32,146 |
| Computer Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $64,632 | $21,500 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $62,556 | $23,250 |
| Chemical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $60,597 | $22,950 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $60,064 | $21,453 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $58,034 | $25,418 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $57,819 | $20,500 |
| Geography and Cartography. | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $56,963 | not reported |
| Medicine. | First Professional Degree | $56,061 | $212,674 |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $55,159 | $22,478 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services. | Master's Degree | $54,371 | $37,969 |
| Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $52,351 | $15,688 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $51,865 | $37,028 |
| Agricultural Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,269 | $19,500 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $50,819 | $20,750 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $50,335 | $22,562 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $48,856 | $28,500 |
| Law. | First Professional Degree | $48,755 | $75,150 |
| Business/Managerial Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,381 | $20,441 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management. | Master's Degree | $46,538 | $32,765 |
| Architecture. | Master's Degree | $45,905 | not reported |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,726 | $26,250 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Master's Degree | $45,326 | not reported |
| Information Science/Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,916 | $25,000 |
| Public Health. | Master's Degree | $42,882 | $40,014 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Master's Degree | $42,622 | not reported |
| Public Administration. | Master's Degree | $42,608 | not reported |
| Music. | Doctoral Degree | $41,899 | not reported |
| Business/Commerce, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,792 | $22,500 |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology. | Master's Degree | $40,216 | $21,557 |
| Agricultural Business and Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,029 | $19,500 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,976 | $25,000 |
| Hospitality Administration/Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,835 | $21,125 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,713 | $22,500 |
| Library Science and Administration. | Master's Degree | $38,660 | $24,435 |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $38,642 | $41,000 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies. | Master's Degree | $38,240 | $30,750 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,594 | $18,102 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $37,479 | $20,500 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Master's Degree | $37,306 | $39,175 |
| Agricultural/Animal/Plant/Veterinary Science and Related Fields, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,268 | $21,694 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,223 | $25,250 |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,018 | $23,000 |
| Architecture. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,777 | $20,815 |
| Apparel and Textiles. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,317 | $22,612 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,220 | $23,250 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,959 | $22,500 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,243 | $22,500 |
| Biology, General. | Master's Degree | $32,561 | $30,750 |
| Journalism. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,366 | $25,000 |
| Agricultural Production Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,296 | $19,500 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,771 | $22,804 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,710 | not reported |
| Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,546 | $25,100 |
| Animal Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,252 | $20,800 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,192 | $20,500 |
| Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,623 | $27,000 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,314 | $22,500 |
| Public Health. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,293 | $23,250 |
| Biotechnology. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,968 | $22,507 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,800 | $20,606 |
| Agricultural Public Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,813 | $22,875 |
| International/Globalization Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,694 | $24,550 |
| Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,420 | $23,000 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,392 | $22,000 |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,801 | $22,750 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,200 | $27,000 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,569 | $23,500 |
| Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,464 | $20,000 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,884 | $20,500 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,573 | $23,250 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,473 | $26,000 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,244 | $20,194 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,606 | $18,750 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,456 | $22,250 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $17,785 | $24,041 |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore University of Kentucky by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?157085

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/university-of-kentucky-ky.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`