Tertiary and University Education in Kenya

Tertiary Education These are also called colleges, vocational schools or Post secondary institutions. They offer diplomas or certificates for courses that last anywhere from a few months to 4 years. Typical courses offered are Accounting (including CPA), nursing, IT, Culinary studies, tourism, metalwork, teacher training etc.

University Education University education typically comes after secondary education. There are 7 state Universities and 23 private Universities in Kenya. Earning a degree typically requires 4 years of coursework. The 7 state Universities admit students based on their KCSE scores. For a list of the 7 state Universities and their websites, go to this site.

There are 3 categories of private universities: 1. Chartered Universities - fully accredited universities, by the Commission for Higher Education, 2. Universities, which had been offering degrees long before the establishment of the Commission for Higher Education and 3. Universities authorised to operate with Letters of Interim Authority (LIA). For a list of the Private Universities in Kenya and their websites, go to this site

The University of Nairobi was the first Kenyan University, having been established in 1960. It is ranked as one of the top Universities in Africa by webometrics, only behind a number of South African and two Egyptian Universities. Its main campus is located only a few miles from Nairobi's central business district. Other major campuses of UoN are in the Chiromo area of Northern Nairobi and in Kikuyu, 20 miles North of Nairobi.

Kenyatta University was established in 1965 as Kenyatta college primarily as a teacher training college. In 1970 it became a constituent college of the University of Nairobi.  It achieved University status in 1985. It is located 23 kilometers from Nairobi on 1100 acres of land along the Nairobi-Thika highway. Moi University is located in Eldoret town in Western Kenya. It as established in 1984. It has over 20,000 students.