Lexington was an educational Mecca in the eighteenth century and boasted the first institution of higher learning west of the Allegheny Mountains. Today, Transylvania University continues to provide its students with an excellent liberal arts education. Lexington is also home to the University of Kentucky, the commonwealth's largest university with more than 24,000 students on its campus, as well the Lexington Theological Seminary. Universities and colleges in the Central Kentucky area are:

• Lexington Theological Seminary
• Transylvania University
• University of Kentucky
• Eastern Kentucky University
• Midway College
• Spencerian College
• Sullivan University
• Central Kentucky Vo-Tech