MenuMenu Image

New University Scholars Program ("USP")


Below are descriptions of official policies established in the University Senate Rules, available HERE in their entirety.


General Information

USPs are designed for particularly gifted and highly motivated undergraduate students at UK whose well-defined academic and career plans include graduate study. USP offers these students the opportunity and the challenge of integrating their undergraduate and graduate courses of study in a single continuous program, culminating in both a baccalaureate degree and a graduate degree.


Admissions Requirements

  1. The program is open to undergraduates with senior standing who have completed at least 90 hours of course work and should have satisfied all UK Core requirements. Application to the program should be at the end of the student's junior year.


  2. The graduate program should be in the field of the undergraduate major.


  3. The undergraduate grade point average should be greater than or equal to 3.5 in the student's major and 3.2 overall.


  4. Application to the program will follow the current procedures for application to the Graduate School, subject to the above conditions. Admission decisions will be made by the Graduate Dean or his/her appointee.

Degree Requirements

The total number of credit hours completed for the combined program may be twelve (12) fewer than the total required for both the bachelor's and graduate degrees. Requirements for the bachelor's degree will be unaffected.


Credit Hour Load

Students in a USP shall not take more than 16 credit hours per semester. Permission to exceed that number is subject to approval by the Director of Graduate Studies and Dean of the Graduate School.