Kentucky Colleges & Universities

Barbourville, KY (Knox County) — Private United Methodist liberal arts college, est. 1879; home of the Bulldogs; Mid-South Conference (NAIA); one of Eastern Kentucky's oldest private institutions of higher education; founded to serve the Appalachian communities of Knox County; strong teacher education and social work programs

Berea, KY (Madison County) — Private liberal arts college, est. 1855; home of the Mountaineers; NCAA Division III; unique no-tuition model (all students receive full-tuition scholarships funded by endowment); historically the first interracial and coeducational college in the South; founded by abolitionist John G. Fee; known as "The College of the Mountains" for its service to Appalachian Kentucky

Bowling Green, KY — Public university, est. 1906; home of the Hilltoppers; Conference USA member; one of the most successful programs in the Football Championship Subdivision historically; "The Hill" (South Lawn atop a prominent hill) is one of the most recognizable campus settings in the South; strong journalism, public service, and education programs

Campbellsville, KY (Taylor County) — Private Baptist liberal arts university, est. 1906; home of the Tigers; Mid-South Conference (NAIA) member; one of Kentucky's most active evangelical Christian universities; significant athletic programs across multiple sports at the NAIA level; strong nursing, education, and music programs

Columbia, KY (Adair County) — Private United Methodist liberal arts college, est. 1903; home of the Blue Raiders; Mid-South Conference (NAIA); Lindsey Wilson has produced a remarkable number of NAIA national championships in football relative to its small student body; consistently one of the top NAIA football programs in the country; strong counseling and human services programs

Highland Heights, KY (Campbell County) — Public metropolitan research university, est. 1968; home of the Norse; Horizon League member; one of the fastest-growing universities in the nation; serves the Greater Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky metropolitan area; strong law (Chase College of Law), business, and informatics programs; relatively young university with significant research and athletic infrastructure

Crestview Hills, KY (Kenton County) — Private Catholic liberal arts university, est. 1921; home of the Saints; NCAA Division III (Presidents' Athletic Conference); formerly Thomas More College; serves the Northern Kentucky / Greater Cincinnati metropolitan area; strong pre-health, business, and education programs; named for English statesman and martyr Sir Thomas More

Danville, KY (Boyle County) — Private liberal arts college, est. 1819; home of the Colonels; NCAA Division III; consistently ranked as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the South; hosted a U.S. Vice Presidential debate in 2000 and 2012 — one of the smallest institutions ever to host a national political debate; member of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

Frankfort, KY — Public HBCU, est. 1886; home of the Thorobreds; Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) member; one of the oldest historically Black universities in Kentucky; located in the state capital; historically significant as a focal point of African American higher education in Kentucky during the era of segregation

Georgetown, KY (Scott County) — Private Baptist liberal arts college, est. 1829; home of the Tigers; NAIA; one of Kentucky's oldest private colleges; NAIA football and basketball programs; located in the heart of the Bluegrass horse country; strong pre-law and pre-med tracks

Grayson, KY (Carter County) — Private Churches of Christ liberal arts university, est. 1919; home of the Knights; Appalachian Athletic Conference (NAIA); one of Eastern Kentucky's most historically significant faith-based institutions; strong Bible, ministerial studies, and social work programs; serves the Grayson / Ashland region of northeastern Kentucky

Lexington, KY — Private liberal arts college, est. 1780; home of the Pioneers; NCAA Division III; the oldest university in Kentucky and west of the Alleghenies; one of the oldest universities in the United States; despite its name, founded in the American sense by the Presbyterian Church; known for rigorous academics and an intimate residential campus in the heart of Lexington

Lexington, KY — Public flagship research university, est. 1865; home of the Wildcats; Southeastern Conference (SEC) member; storied basketball program under coaches Adolph Rupp and John Calipari with eight national championships; alma mater of Cliff Hagan, Frank Ramsey, Tim Couch, Pat Riley, and many other Kentucky sports legends

Louisville, KY — Private Catholic liberal arts university, est. 1950; home of the Knights; Division I member (Great Lakes Valley Conference); founded by the Archdiocese of Louisville; consistently ranked among the top Catholic universities in the South by U.S. News & World Report; strong nursing, business, and education programs

Louisville, KY — Private Catholic liberal arts university, est. 1814; home of the Golden Eagles; founded by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth; one of the oldest Catholic universities in the United States; strong nursing, social work, and psychology programs; located in the heart of downtown Louisville

Louisville, KY — Public research university, est. 1798; home of the Cardinals; Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) member; two NCAA basketball national championships (1980, 1986) under Denny Crum; alma mater of Wes Unseld, Darrell Griffith, and other Kentucky sports legends; also known for strong football, baseball, and track programs

Midway, KY (Woodford County) — Private Christian liberal arts university, est. 1847; home of the Eagles; AAC (NAIA) member; originally founded as the Kentucky Female Orphan School and later as Midway College, one of the few women's colleges in Kentucky; became fully coeducational in 2016; located in the heart of the Bluegrass horse country between Lexington and Frankfort

Morehead, KY (Rowan County) — Public regional university, est. 1922; home of the Eagles; ASUN Conference member; space science programs (NASA partnership) have made Morehead internationally recognized; located in the foothills of Eastern Kentucky; strong nursing, education, and social work programs

Murray, KY (Calloway County) — Public regional university, est. 1922; home of the Racers; Missouri Valley Conference member; famous for its Thoroughbred baseball program and Ohio Valley Conference basketball success; alma mater of numerous Kentucky sports figures; one of the westernmost Kentucky universities in the Purchase region near the Tennessee border

Owensboro, KY (Daviess County) — Private Catholic liberal arts university, est. 1950; home of the Bearcats; Mid-South Conference (NAIA) member; founded by the Ursuline Sisters; one of two Catholic universities in Owensboro (along with Bellarmine in Louisville); strong nursing, business, and education programs; serves the western Kentucky / Green River region

Owensboro, KY (Daviess County) — Private United Methodist liberal arts college, est. 1858; home of the Panthers; NCAA Division II (Great Midwest Athletic Conference); eight NCAA Division II national football championships — the most in the history of the division at the small-college level; alma mater of multiple professional athletes; strong business and education programs

Pikeville, KY (Pike County) — Private Presbyterian liberal arts university, est. 1889; home of the Bears; Mid-South Conference (NAIA) member; originally named Pikeville College; unique emphasis on serving first-generation and low-income students from the Appalachian region; home of the Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine, the first osteopathic medical school in Kentucky

Pippa Passes, KY (Knott County) — Private liberal arts college, est. 1923; home of the Eagles; Appalachian Athletic Conference (NAIA) member; one of the unique work-study-based colleges in America, modeled on the Berea College principle of tuition-free education for Appalachian students; named for social activist Alice Spencer Geddes Lloyd, who dedicated her life to educational uplift in the Kentucky coalfields; located deep in the mountains of Knott County

Richmond, KY — Public regional university, est. 1906; home of the Colonels; ASUN Conference member; alma mater of Earle Combs (Baseball Hall of Fame, 1970); one of the most successful programs in the Football Championship Subdivision all-time; known for its criminal justice and fire protection programs; located in central Bluegrass Region

Wilmore, KY (Jessamine County) — Private Methodist liberal arts university, est. 1890; home of the Eagles; USA South Athletic Conference (Division III); one of the leading evangelical Christian liberal arts universities in the country; consistently ranked among the top Christian colleges in the Southeast; strong Bible, communication, and education programs; Wilmore is a small Jessamine County community known for its deep Wesleyan heritage