It is located within a day's drive of most major metropolitan areas in the Eastern United States. The city is 84 miles south of Cincinnati and 80 miles east of Louisville. Lexington is a vibrant business community with large corporations, such as LexMark, Ashland Oil, Long John Silvers, Procter and Gamble, General Electric, and Dixie Cup within minutes from campus. Toyota Motor Company's only U.S. manufacturing plant is 12 miles north of Lexington. UK students benefit from the part-time employment, cooperative work, and internship programs that are routinely offered by area businesses.
Cultural life is abundant and well in Lexington.
Among other things, the city offers the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra, the Lexington Ballet, the Opera House, and a variety of small art galleries and stage theaters. The area also enjoys the unique exhibits at the nationally accredited Art Museum in the Otis A. Singletary Center for the Arts. The College Graduate degrees in communication, journalism and telecommunication have been offered since Fall 1966 when the School of Communications was founded and authorized to accept the first students in a new MA program. The Ph.D. program was approved in December 1977 and admitted its first students in 1980. At the same time, the School of Journalism merged with the Department of Telecommunications.