How to Schedule a Re-Entry COVID-19 Test and When You Will Get Results

Drive up Covid testing at locations across campus | UK Photo
Drive up Covid testing at is available at locations across campus. | UK Photo

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 14, 2020) — If you are a student returning to campus at any point this semester and you have not tested positive for COVID-19 since Oct. 16, it’s time to make an appointment to get a COVID-19 test. How do you do that?

To schedule a testing time between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. seven days a week, Jan. 14-30, visit www.uky.edu/coronavirus/students/testing-screening-and-tracing.

Note that asymptomatic and symptomatic students have different testing locations. If you don’t have any symptoms of illness, click on the “Schedule Your Test” link. If you have symptoms, click on the “Schedule Your Appointment” link to make an appointment with University Health Service.

After taking a COVID-19 nasal swab test, students can expect their test results to come back in 24 hours. UK is administering the PCR test — not a rapid test.

Students who test negative will be notified via email. Students who test positive will be contacted by phone by a member of the UK Health Corps team and will be required to isolate in accordance with CDC and state public health guidelines. The team will provide the students with instructions, resources and other necessary support.

In addition to re-entry testing and contact tracing UK will continue:

  • Conducting wastewater testing on residence halls.  
  • Testing specific student subpopulations when data indicate a higher prevalence of the virus.  
  • Requiring UK students to complete the daily screener.  
  • Holistically supporting students through UK Health Corps. This team of contact tracers, academic coordinators and wellness connectors will operate seven days a week throughout the spring. They are here to help you navigate any issues and to make it as easy as possible to be safe on our campus. 

For any questions or if you feel you should be exempt from re-entry testing please contact healthcorps@uky.edu or call 218-SAFE.

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 health care. 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 $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.   

In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.