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The International Center promotes relationships with educational institutions, student and faculty exchanges, and joint research projects through international academic exchange and collaboration.

International Research

Research and creativity crosses borders, and the grand challenges facing our  commonwealth, nation  and world are often inherently transnational in nature. The best ideas, the transformative science, the most innovative creative expression, can come from anywhere. The UK International Center supports faculty in doing research outside the U.S., building international research collaborations, and strengthening global professional networks. International Partnerships & Research collaborates with the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) to strengthen research security and ensure that UK researchers comply with all relevant federal and state regulations and guidelines when engaging in international research.

UK's Global Footprint

As the flagship, land-grant, public research university serving the Commonwealth, the University of Kentucky is engaged in local, regional, transnational, and global relationships. The UK Global Footprint compiles and visualizes data on UK's global engagement activities to support existing activities and enhance strategic decision-making.

Global Footprint

Recent News

‘I never dreamed I’d see it’: UK Astronaut Scholar conducts research in Madagascar

When she was a child, Jaesylin Stephens, a senior biology major in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, saw nature documentaries on Madagascar. She never imagined, though, that she would one day visit the east African county. “I never dreamed I’d get to see it with my own eyes,” Stephens said. “I’ll never forget finding bamboo lemurs on my first day in the field. I couldn’t believe I was just a few feet below such a unique, rare and endangered animal in its natural habitat.”

UK scientists and scholars among top 2% of most-cited researchers in the world

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 24, 2026) — The University of Kentucky is well-represented on a list of the most-cited researchers in the world. In a database compiled by Stanford University in a partnership with Elsevier, 112 current UK scientists and scholars appear among the top 2% of the most-cited researchers across 22 disciplines.

UKIC releases Global Engagement Academy offerings for spring 2026

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 23, 2026)  As the commonwealth’s flagship research university, the University of Kentucky benefits from being globally engaged.  It is important that all faculty and staff have the opportunity to be informed about UK’s many international connections and to contribute to this important strength of the university themselves.