Kentucky's second-oldest public HBCU, a land-grant university preparing leaders since 1886.
Kentucky State University operates five colleges: Agriculture, Food Science, and Sustainable Systems; Arts and Sciences; Business and Computer Science; Professional Studies; and the Whitney Young School of Honors and Liberal Studies. The university offers four associate degrees, 55 undergraduate degrees, and six postgraduate programs across 40+ areas of study. The Paul G. Blazer Library, constructed in 1960, houses over 700,000 items including books, videos, microforms, and sound recordings. KSU maintains a 13:1 student-to-faculty ratio and is designated as a space-grant institution.
Kentucky State University is home to the world's largest pawpaw (Asimina triloba) research planting, established in 1990. The university serves as the USDA National Clonal Germplasm Repository for Asimina species, with over 1,700 pawpaw trees on campus. KSU researchers have developed three cultivars—'KSU-Atwood', 'KSU-Benson', and 'KSU-Chappell'—focusing on improved flavor, yield, and fruit characteristics. The research program aims to develop pawpaw as a commercial tree-fruit crop for Kentucky.
Kentucky State's athletic teams, the Thorobreds and Thorobrettes, compete in NCAA Division II within the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, and track and field; women's sports include basketball, cross country, track and field, softball, and volleyball. The men's basketball team won NAIA national championships in 1970, 1971, and 1972. The Mighty Marching Thorobreds, the university's marching band with over 200 members, has performed at the Honda Battle of the Bands and National Battle of the Bands.
Chartered in May 1886 and formally opened October 11, 1887, KSU began with three teachers and 55 students under President John H. Jackson. The university became a land-grant institution in 1890, adding departments of home economics, agriculture, and mechanics. The civil engineering program was established in 1942 following NAACP pressure on behalf of a Black student denied entry to the University of Kentucky's engineering program. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the commencement address in 1957. KSU became a university in 1972, and currently serves approximately 2,000 students.