“Private Presbyterian university in Pikeville, Kentucky and home of the Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine.”
The University of Pikeville (UPIKE) is a private, non-profit university founded in 1889 by Presbyterian ministers in Pikeville, Kentucky, a small city in the heart of Central Appalachia's Eastern Mountain Coal Field region. Originally chartered as the Pikeville Collegiate Institute with 125 students and later known as Pikeville College, the institution formally took its current name in 2011 to reflect its expansion into graduate and professional education. More than 130 years later, UPIKE still carries the founders' mission to serve Appalachia — offering low-cost tuition, heavy institutional aid, and professional pathways in medicine, optometry, social work, business, and education for a region that has historically been underserved by higher education. Academically, UPIKE is organized around a Patton College of Education, a Coleman College of Business, a College of Arts and Sciences, a College of Nursing and Human Services, a Kentucky College of Optometry (KYCO, launched 2016), and the Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine (KYCOM), which was established in 1997 and is the only DO-granting medical school in Kentucky. KYCOM is nationally known for training primary-care physicians who return to practice in rural and medically underserved communities, and it now anchors the university's graduate offerings alongside an online Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences, an MBA, a Master of Social Work, and a cooperative 4+4 Osteopathic Medical Scholars Program for high-performing Appalachian undergraduates. The undergraduate campus sits on a compact 25-acre hillside above downtown Pikeville, just off the Hatfield-McCoy Heritage Corridor and surrounded by the mountains that define the region's identity. UPIKE is small (roughly 2,200 students across undergrad and professional programs), with a strong sense of community, Division II-style NAIA Mid-South Conference athletics as the UPIKE Bears, and 96% of undergraduates receiving institutional grants or scholarships. International students can apply with TOEFL iBT 68 / IELTS 6.5 for undergraduate admission, and the International Student Services office issues I-20s twice yearly (Fall and Spring) — international enrolment is small but growing.
Visa, OPT, H-1B alumni outcomes, and acceptance rates by country — sourced from FOIA, USCIS H-1B Hub, and DHS SEVIS.
Test Optional — You can submit scores if they help your case, but they're not required.
Official SourceInternational Fall
Final international undergraduate deadline for Fall semester entry.
International Spring
Final international undergraduate deadline for Spring semester entry (international students are not admitted for Summer).
Domestic Rolling Admission
Rolling admission for U.S. undergraduate applicants.
The deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Tuition & Fees (All Students)
$24,850
/yr
Beyond the sticker price — every named scholarship, the financial aid policy, need-aware notes, and a personalized net-cost estimate.
How life on campus actually feels — clubs, sports, traditions, housing realities, and how the school integrates with its city.
4 years
Kentucky's only osteopathic medical school. Consistently ranked among the top U.S. DO programs for graduates who enter primary care and practice in rural or underserved communities.
4 years
Four-year clinical optometry program launched in 2016, with in-house patient care facilities and clinical rotations across Kentucky and surrounding states.
8 years
Cooperative eight-year pathway for high-achieving Appalachian-affiliated undergraduates leading directly to a Bachelor's and Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree.
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
Sticker price (annual, out-of-state): $24,850
Net-cost estimate is US-resident-only — international applicants are typically excluded from need-based aid at most schools and should treat the sticker price as the planning baseline.
