Do Illinois Residents Get In-State Tuition in Kentucky? (Graduate, 2026)
Yes — Illinois and Kentucky run Kentucky Regional Reciprocity Agreements, so Illinois residents can pay the Kentucky in-state graduate rate of about $14,000 a year instead of the $30,300 non-resident rate at University of Kentucky Graduate School. Check the current terms before you apply.
- You would pay
- $14,000/yr
- Resident pays
- $14,000/yr
- Non-resident rate
- $30,300/yr
- Saved over 2 yrs
- $32,600
Conditional: Limited to students living in counties along the shared border — check the county list first.
Tuition and mandatory fees only, compiled from published rates and rounded. Excludes housing, books and course differentials. Eligibility is decided by the institution, not by this page.
Open this pair in the checker to switch level, compare other states, or copy a link to the result.
Illinois to Kentucky is covered by Kentucky Regional Reciprocity Agreements. That agreement is renegotiated between the two states rather than administered by a national body, so its terms move more often than a compact's do — read the current year before you rely on it.
Kentucky is the only state where Illinois residents have a reduced graduate rate. At home, in-state graduate tuition is $18,700 at University of Illinois Graduate College, so Kentucky works out at $4,700 a year less than staying home.
The failure mode is timing. Awards of this kind are funded annually and allocated in the order applications arrive, so a student admitted in March can find the program closed while a student admitted in November does not.
Every route from Illinois to Kentucky
| Route | What it gives you | Per year | Saving | Guaranteed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky Regional Reciprocity Agreements | Kentucky's Council on Postsecondary Education maintains reciprocity agreements with each bordering state, granting in-state or near-in-state rates to students from designated counties at designated institutions. Scope varies by partner state and is reviewed regularly. | $14,000 | $16,300 | Conditional |
Where Illinois residents pay less
Staying home, an Illinois resident pays $18,700 a year for in-state graduate tuition at University of Illinois Graduate College. The cheapest Kentucky option for you is $14,000 at University of Kentucky Graduate School, which is $4,700 a year less than Illinois's own in-state rate at University of Illinois Graduate College.
Illinois belongs to none of the four regional tuition compacts at graduate level, but one state offers Illinois residents a reduced rate through a state or campus agreement.
Illinois's neighboring states, compared
What an Illinois resident pays for graduate tuition in each state that borders Illinois, cheapest first:
- Kentucky$14,000/yr · Kentucky Regional Reciprocity Agreements
- Wisconsin$26,000/yr · non-resident
- Missouri$26,600/yr · non-resident
- Iowa$31,600/yr · non-resident
- Indiana$32,000/yr · non-resident
Compare all 50 states from Illinois in the checker. Each figure is one reference campus per state, not a state average.
Kentucky residency, in brief
Kentucky grants in-state tuition after 12 months of domicile before the term begins (13 KAR 2:045), and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile. Moving to Kentucky to enroll does not by itself start the clock.
Kentucky residency requirements in full · how long every state requires
Step by step
- Read the current terms of Kentucky Regional Reciprocity Agreements — bilateral agreements are renegotiated and can narrow to specific campuses or majors between academic years.
- Apply through the channel the agreement specifies; several are administered by the home state's higher-education agency, not by the receiving campus.
- Provide proof of Illinois residency in the form the agreement requires.
- If you fall outside the agreement's scope, fall back to the residency route: 12 months of Kentucky domicile.
Official links
Related
Asked and answered
›Do Illinois residents get in-state tuition in Kentucky?
Effectively yes, through Kentucky Regional Reciprocity Agreements, but it is not residency. You pay the in-state rate of about $14,000 while remaining an Illinois resident for every other purpose, and the benefit ends if you leave the approved program.
›How long does it take to get in-state tuition in Kentucky?
Kentucky requires 12 months of domicile before the term begins (13 KAR 2:045), and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile.
›How much would graduate study in Kentucky actually cost an Illinois resident?
About $14,000 a year in tuition and mandatory fees under Kentucky Regional Reciprocity Agreements, against $30,300 at the published non-resident rate and $14,000 for a Kentucky resident. Over 2 years that is roughly $32,600 saved. Figures are compiled 2025–26 published rates and exclude housing, books and course-specific differentials.
›Where can Illinois residents get reduced graduate tuition?
Only in Kentucky, through Kentucky Regional Reciprocity Agreements, at about $14,000 a year.
›Is studying in Kentucky cheaper than staying in Illinois?
On tuition, yes. The cheapest Kentucky option for an Illinois resident is $14,000 a year, which is $4,700 below Illinois's own in-state rate of $18,700 at University of Illinois Graduate College. Housing and travel are not included.
Sources
Every eligibility rule on this page is checked against the operating compact commission or the state's own residency authority. Last verified 2026-08-07.
Tuition figures on this page are compiled 2025–26 published rates (basis: published compiled), rounded to the nearest $100 and refreshed each June. Eligibility rules are checked against the cited compact commission or residency authority.
- Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education — residency for tuition purposes ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- University of Kentucky Graduate School — tuition and fees ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- University of Illinois Graduate College — tuition and fees ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
How this page was made
Compiled and checked by Billy Reiner, editor of In-State Check. Last verified 2026-08-07.
- Compiled from published rate pages
- The in-state and non-resident figures are tuition and mandatory fees for one full-time year, read from University of Kentucky Graduate School’s own 2025–26 rate page and rounded to the nearest $100. Housing, books, travel and course-specific differentials are not included in them.
- Checked against the administering body
- Compact membership at this level was checked against the commission that runs the program (SREB). The residency test — the durational requirement, the domicile evidence and the dependent-student rule — was checked against Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, 13 KAR 2:045. Nothing here is taken from another comparison site.
Not advice. In-State Check is independent of every college, compact and state agency named here. Residency classification and award decisions are made by the institution you apply to. Found an error? Send the page URL and the source that contradicts it to [email protected], and the page is corrected and re-dated. Full methodology.