Forward & Acknowledgments

As the Director of Undergraduate Studies, I regularly meet with students and engage in discussions with faculty and advisors in the Arts and Sciences about our curriculum and navigating the University. The idea for this book came from my desire to provide a comprehensive resource for our students that would reduce the cost of accessing information and make things easier. Navigating a university as large as the University of Kentucky can be a daunting task. This Handbook is designed to help incoming freshmen and existing majors navigate and orient themselves to our programs, the Department, the College, and the University. At the University of Kentucky and within the department, 26 percent of our students are first-generation. Given this, the Handbook may also be helpful to parents who may not be familiar with our majors, the University of Kentucky specifically, or higher education more generally. As an open-access text, I hope it will be continually updated, ensuring that it continues to meet the needs of our students and remains a valuable resource.

Acknowledgments

This book was made possible by the generous OER Grant Program from the University of Kentucky Libraries. This project would not have been made possible without the generosity and expertise provided by the University of Kentucky Libraries,  Stephen Krueger, Affordable Course Content Librarian, and Jennifer Horne, Social Sciences Librarian and Political Science and Law and Justice Liaison.

 I would especially like to acknowledge Dr. Priscilla Llamosa, who wrote the original text from which the content for this handbook is adapted. 

August 2025

Bridgett A. King