UK College of Medicine welcomes Class of 2030 with White Coat Ceremonies
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 5, 2026) — A total of 215 future doctors received their first white coats last week as the University of Kentucky College of Medicine welcomed its Class of 2030 with ceremonies across the state.
The White Coat Ceremony is a tradition in medical education, symbolizing a student’s formal entrance into the profession and the responsibilities that come with it. At UK, it also reflects the college’s commitment to supporting students every step of the way, from their first day in a white coat to one day caring for patients of their own.
At the Bowling Green Campus, 32 students were coated on July 30. The following day, 143 students were coated — including 12 headed for the college’s Rural Physician Leadership Program in Morehead — at the Lexington Campus, as well as 40 students at the Northern Kentucky Campus.
Students in the incoming class come from Kentucky and across the country, but many share the same goal: to practice medicine in the communities that need it most. That goal is central to UK’s mission of training physicians who will go on to serve Kentuckians in cities, small towns and everywhere in between.
After being coated in front of family, friends and faculty, the new medical students recited the Pledge of Professionalism, which is a promise to act with honesty, respect and compassion toward every patient they treat regardless of their circumstances.
“The White Coat Ceremony is a powerful reminder that every physician’s journey begins with a commitment to caring for others,” said Dean Charles “Chipper” Griffith III, M.D. “These students have chosen a profession centered on service, compassion and lifelong learning. We are proud to welcome them to the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and support them as they learn to care for patients, families and communities across the Commonwealth.”
The college extends its gratitude for the generous support of 1974 graduate J.K. Phillips Jr., M.D., and Faye Phillips, whose contributions helped provide white coats to incoming students, as well as the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, which first introduced the White Coat Ceremony in 1993 and supplied each incoming student with a Humanism in Medicine pin.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and healthcare. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $1.02 billion research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.