Student Requirements

All matriculating students must provide evidence of immunity to certain vaccine-preventable illnesses at the time of entry into the UK College of Medicine. These requirements reflect Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and UK HealthCare policies. The following immunizations are required for all students:

• Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR)
• Tetanus, Diphtheria, Acellular Pertussis (Tdap)
• Varicella
• Influenza (annually Sept. 1 – Nov. 1)

If a learner has a medical contraindication or would like to request an individual exemption to any of the requirements, they should contact the student affairs officer at their campus for guidance.

Note: Health care systems will not allow non-compliant learners to participate in clinical activities in their facilities, which will delay program progression and ultimately result in failure of academic progress. Therefore, medical students are bound by the same requirements as UK HealthCare, Med Center Health (Bowling Green), St. Claire, or St. Elizabeth providers.

Please click here for the full list of details for immunization requirements.

Requirements for incoming students:

Prior to your start at UK College of Medicine, you are required to complete a TB Risk Assessment Questionnaire and provide proof of a CDC-compliant Tuberculosis (TB) test conducted within one month prior to your start date. Our Student Affairs Office will provide you with the TB Risk Assessment Questionnaire at the appropriate time.

For this requirement, you must submit documentation of an IGRA blood test for TB. Please note that a TB skin test (TST) does not meet this requirement and will not be accepted.

If your IGRA test result is positive, you are encouraged to consult with a healthcare provider to discuss the accuracy of the result and any necessary next steps.

If you have a confirmed positive blood draw (IGRA) you must also have a chest x-ray after the positive TB test.  Please provide documentation of the positive test and a chest x-ray report.

If you have a history of a prior positive TB test, we will need all documentation about that test, follow-up evaluations you had (including chest x- rays) and any treatment received.

Requirements for returning students (Lexington campus):

Returning Lexington campus UK COM students are required to take a TB risk assessment questionnaire annually. Any student who is determined to be at increased risk of exposure based on the questionnaire would then need a TB test. If you are identified as increased risk for TB exposure, you will be contacted to go to student health for a TB test.  

Please follow the steps below for TB compliance:

1. Click [HERE] to complete the brief TB questionnaire Qualtrics survey.
2. After you complete the TB questionnaire, you should receive an emailed response form that includes your responses to the survey (If not, reach out to the University Health staff at uhspin@uky.edu).
3. Login to MyChart (if you don’t have an account, you’ll need to sign up/create an account).
4. In MyChart, upload the TB questionnaire response form through the questionnaires section on MyChart. Please click here to learn how to upload your TB documentation to MyChart. 
5. After 3 business days, log into MyChart, go to the “Letters” tab and download your TB compliance verification letter.
6. Login to CastleBranch and upload the TB compliance verification letter for your TB documentation. If your letter is rejected, our student affairs staff can override and accept.

You are required to upload the letter from MyChart to CastleBranch by June 15. If you require further testing after the questionnaire, you must submit TB testing documentation to CastleBranch by June 30.

Requirements for returning students (Regional campuses):

For local hospitals/providers, all regional campus medical students must undergo testing for tuberculosis (TB) at the time of entry and annually thereafter. At the time of entry, an Interferon Gamma Release Assay (IGRA, which is a TB blood test) is required. Each year after, students may choose to get either a TB skin test or IGRA.

For UK, all regional students must complete the TB risk assessment questionnaire. The TB risk assessment questionnaire can be found here. Once completed, please click here to learn how to upload your TB documentation to MyChart.

Titers are not required for matriculation; however, students opting to complete visiting (“away”) rotations in fourth year will likely have to provide titers as part of the Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO) application.

Students are required to maintain health and disability insurance to cover expenses related to hospitalization, accident care, and surgical services and must demonstrate proof of health insurance coverage at the beginning of each academic year. A student health insurance plan is available for students without individual health insurance plans or for those wishing to transfer to a potentially less expensive plan. Health insurance premiums are included in the mandatory fees if the student will not be covered by another health insurance policy. Disability premiums are also included in the mandatory fees paid with tuition.

The UK College of Medicine has educational and training sites across the state of Kentucky. Medical students must maintain reliable transportation as required coursework may be at off-site locations.

For details and specifics, please refer to our page here.

The demands of the medical school curriculum consume the entire efforts of medical students. As such, students are not permitted to have outside employment during the fall semester of first year, except under exceptional circumstances. Beginning in the spring semester of first year, students are permitted to work up to five hours per week. Exceptions to this policy may be requested of the Student Progress and Promotion Committee.