 She has received the Guldberg and Waage medal from the Norwegian Chemical Society.In 1980 she received «Fridtjof Nansens belønning for yngre forskere», (the Fridtjof Nansen Reward for young scientists).In 2018 her daughter, the composer Maja Ratkje, wrote the musical work «A Highway in State Space», dedicated to Kjelstrup and inspired by her research.