Which University of Kentucky bachelor's program has the lowest debt?

Agricultural Engineering graduates leave with a median of $19,500 in federal loans, the lowest among 57 University of Kentucky bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does University of Kentucky cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $13,502 a year, and $34,140 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $18,851 a year.

How many University of Kentucky programs report graduate pay?

59 bachelor's programs and 2 certificate programs at University of Kentucky report first-year pay, and 59 of them also report federal debt.

University of Kentucky Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public university
Lexington, KY
24,763 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

59 University of Kentucky bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Computer Engineering pays the most in the first year ($79,620), and Music the least ($17,040). The median program pays $36,926. University of Kentucky also has 2 certificate programs that report pay.

In-state tuition and fees$13,502Per year. Out-of-state $34,140

Average net price after aid$18,851Per year

Graduation rate71%Within 6 years

Admission rate93%Of applicants

All 59 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Kentucky" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across Kentucky. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Kentucky
1	Computer EngineeringAbout 43 graduates a year	$79,620	Not reported	$21,500	1st of 2
2	Electrical EngineeringAbout 57 graduates a year	$78,006	$88,742	$25,000	1st of 3
3	NursingAbout 387 graduates a year	$71,461	$72,876	$27,000	7th of 19
4	Computer and Information ScienceAbout 156 graduates a year	$71,293	$91,572	$22,250	1st of 8
5	Mechanical EngineeringAbout 156 graduates a year	$68,448	$87,796	$25,000	3rd of 3
6	Civil EngineeringAbout 98 graduates a year	$67,044	$76,310	$23,625	1st of 3
7	Chemical EngineeringAbout 83 graduates a year	$65,389	$83,438	$25,308	2nd of 2
8	AccountingAbout 121 graduates a year	$59,474	$79,925	$23,250	1st of 11
9	Medical Laboratory ScienceAbout 46 graduates a year	$59,282	$65,512	$23,250	1st of 2
10	FinanceAbout 327 graduates a year	$58,422	$80,396	$22,375	1st of 7
11	Landscape ArchitectureAbout 9 graduates a year	$52,841	Not reported	Not reported	1st of 1
12	Agricultural EngineeringAbout 19 graduates a year	$51,864	$90,188	$19,500	1st of 1
13	Business EconomicsAbout 76 graduates a year	$51,081	$77,597	$20,500	1st of 2
14	BusinessAbout 392 graduates a year	$49,431	$68,803	$23,055	2nd of 14
15	Information ScienceAbout 63 graduates a year	$49,165	Not reported	$26,026	1st of 3
16	MarketingAbout 385 graduates a year	$48,100	$68,574	$24,225	1st of 7
17	Health and Medical AdministrationAbout 36 graduates a year	$46,477	Not reported	$23,375	1st of 3
18	Public Relations and AdvertisingAbout 134 graduates a year	$45,275	$59,011	$24,625	1st of 6
19	BiotechnologyAbout 58 graduates a year	$43,030	$56,791	$23,180	1st of 1
20	Design and Applied ArtsAbout 25 graduates a year	$42,168	$57,495	$27,000	1st of 1
21	EconomicsAbout 44 graduates a year	$41,713	$62,955	$26,942	3rd of 3
22	Agricultural BusinessAbout 42 graduates a year	$41,508	$61,999	$23,250	1st of 1
23	Teacher EducationAbout 90 graduates a year	$41,312	$43,081	$23,250	2nd of 15
24	Special EducationAbout 14 graduates a year	$41,217	$45,328	$26,500	1st of 7
25	Other AgricultureAbout 17 graduates a year	$39,657	Not reported	$23,088	2nd of 2
26	CommunicationsAbout 190 graduates a year	$39,311	$54,361	$23,875	2nd of 11
27	MathematicsAbout 39 graduates a year	$39,211	$58,171	$22,500	1st of 2
28	ArchitectureAbout 10 graduates a year	$37,078	$55,915	$24,125	1st of 1
29	Public HealthAbout 91 graduates a year	$36,957	Not reported	$23,250	2nd of 4
30	JournalismAbout 48 graduates a year	$36,926	$47,621	$26,000	1st of 3
31	Social WorkAbout 81 graduates a year	$36,312	$44,253	$26,875	3rd of 9
32	Environmental Science and ConservationAbout 56 graduates a year	$36,117	$54,801	$25,000	2nd of 2
33	Subject-Area Teacher EducationAbout 274 graduates a year	$35,282	$52,644	$24,002	4th of 7
34	Agricultural ProductionAbout 59 graduates a year	$35,167	$51,426	$21,250	2nd of 2
35	SociologyAbout 35 graduates a year	$34,922	$42,327	$26,000	1st of 4
36	Political ScienceAbout 112 graduates a year	$34,745	$58,226	$21,667	2nd of 5
37	Agricultural Public ServicesAbout 44 graduates a year	$34,495	$44,268	$22,000	1st of 1
38	Apparel and TextilesAbout 57 graduates a year	$34,315	$51,301	$23,000	2nd of 2
39	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 53 graduates a year	$33,700	Not reported	$30,690	6th of 8
40	NeuroscienceAbout 108 graduates a year	$33,030	Not reported	$25,021	1st of 1
41	ForestryAbout 13 graduates a year	$32,573	$54,734	Not reported	1st of 1
42	Family and Consumer SciencesAbout 16 graduates a year	$31,464	$42,992	$27,250	1st of 2
43	BiologyAbout 205 graduates a year	$31,360	$63,199	$23,250	2nd of 12
44	Interdisciplinary StudiesAbout 26 graduates a year	$29,529	Not reported	$26,000	1st of 1
45	PsychologyAbout 276 graduates a year	$28,551	$47,701	$25,000	8th of 14
46	HistoryAbout 45 graduates a year	$28,432	$55,642	$20,500	3rd of 6
47	Radio, TV, and Digital MediaAbout 16 graduates a year	$28,215	$42,148	$24,897	1st of 5
48	Hospitality ManagementAbout 19 graduates a year	$27,809	$55,454	$21,610	2nd of 2
49	Linguistics and Language StudiesAbout 29 graduates a year	$27,449	Not reported	$26,530	1st of 1
50	Foods and NutritionAbout 13 graduates a year	$27,447	$62,851	$24,270	1st of 1
51	Arts ManagementAbout 23 graduates a year	$27,323	$45,547	$27,000	1st of 1
52	Animal ScienceAbout 48 graduates a year	$27,144	$65,391	$23,250	1st of 1
53	Visual and Performing ArtsAbout 68 graduates a year	$26,343	Not reported	$23,522	1st of 1
54	International StudiesAbout 28 graduates a year	$26,104	$52,705	$25,368	2nd of 2
55	AnthropologyAbout 26 graduates a year	$25,668	$46,078	$22,494	2nd of 3
56	EnglishAbout 57 graduates a year	$21,404	$42,565	$21,250	6th of 8
57	TheatreAbout 21 graduates a year	$20,937	$35,087	$27,000	2nd of 3
58	Health SciencesAbout 93 graduates a year	$19,370	$94,455	$23,000	4th of 4
59	MusicAbout 30 graduates a year	$17,040	$36,411	$23,000	7th of 7

Program names link to the program's own page, and Kentucky ranks link to the full ranking for the field. A program gets its own page when it reports both pay and debt and at least five Kentucky programs in the field do too.

Some nursing bachelor's programs are for nurses who are already licensed and working (RN-to-BSN). College Scorecard counts them with programs for new students, and their graduates' pay reflects years of nursing experience, so high pay at a program here may not mean higher starting pay for a new nurse.

3 more bachelor's programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

Both certificate programs

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Kentucky" compares first-year pay with the same field's certificate programs across Kentucky.

Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Kentucky
Industrial EngineeringAbout 60 graduates a year	$76,033	Not reported	$27,000	1st of 1
Food ScienceAbout 64 graduates a year	$49,123	Not reported	$21,250	1st of 1

2 more certificate programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

Quick picks: bachelor's programs

Highest first-year pay

Computer Engineering$79,620
Electrical Engineering$78,006
Nursing$71,461
Computer and Information Science$71,293
Mechanical Engineering$68,448

Lowest median debt

Agricultural Engineering$19,500
Business Economics$20,500
History$20,500
Agricultural Production$21,250
English$21,250

Largest programs

BusinessAbout 392 graduates a year
NursingAbout 387 graduates a year
MarketingAbout 385 graduates a year
FinanceAbout 327 graduates a year
PsychologyAbout 276 graduates a year

Common questions

Computer Engineering graduates earn a median of $79,620 in their first year, the most of 59 University of Kentucky bachelor's programs that report pay.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Tuition, net price, graduation rate, and admission rate are for the whole school, not one program.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Kentucky rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
NCES, IPEDS tuition and fees, 2023-24, for in-district tuition labels