Agriculture

Master of Science in Veterinary Medicine

The Master of Science in Veterinary Medicine is a postgraduate programme that prepares veterinary professionals for advanced clinical practice and research in veterinary medicine. The programme provides specialised training in bovine medicine, small animal medicine, herd health, flock health, and clinical veterinary research.

Core areas include veterinary medicine, bovine medicine and herd health, small animal medicine, ovine and caprine medicine, porcine medicine, camel medicine, equine medicine, research methods, and thesis. Students engage with both theoretical and practical work through coursework, clinical sessions, and research.

The programme is offered by the University of Nairobi as a public institution through the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Clinical Studies. The programme is available in full-time mode over two years, combining coursework with research and thesis.

Students develop competencies in clinical veterinary medicine, herd health management, diagnostic techniques, research, and specialist practice. The programme includes coursework, examinations, clinical sessions, and a supervised research thesis, preparing graduates for specialist veterinary practice and academic roles.

The University of Nairobi charges approximately KES 722,500 per year. No private university confirmed offering this exact programme. Entry requires a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine degree from a recognised institution, registrable with the Kenya Veterinary Board.

Graduates pursue careers as veterinary specialists, clinical veterinarians, herd health consultants, veterinary researchers, veterinary consultants, and lecturers across veterinary practices, livestock organisations, research institutions, and universities.

Skills Required

Bovine Medicine and Herd Health Management
Small Animal Medicine and Clinical Practice
Ovine and Caprine Medicine and Flock Health
Porcine Medicine and Herd Health
Camel Medicine and Herd Health
Equine Medicine and Herd Health
Clinical Veterinary Diagnosis and Treatment
Veterinary Research Methods
Clinical Case Management and Reporting
Academic Writing and Thesis Research

Key Subjects

Bovine Medicine and Herd Health
Small Animal Medicine and Clinical Practice
Ovine and Caprine Medicine and Flock Health
Porcine Medicine and Herd Health
Camel Medicine and Herd Health
Equine Medicine and Herd Health
Clinical Veterinary Diagnosis and Treatment
Veterinary Research Methods
Clinical Case Management and Reporting
Thesis Research

Certifications

KVB Specialist Registration
WVA Professional Membership

Specializations

Bovine Medicine and Herd Health

Focuses on bovine medicine, covering bovine, medicine, herd, health, and managing bovine medicine and herd health.

Small Animal Medicine

Examines small animal medicine, covering small, animal, medicine, clinical, and managing small animal medicine and clinical practice.

Ovine and Caprine Medicine

Covers ovine and caprine medicine, covering ovine, caprine, medicine, flock, and managing ovine and caprine medicine and flock health.

Porcine Medicine

Focuses on porcine medicine, covering porcine, medicine, herd, health, and managing porcine medicine and herd health.

Camel Medicine

Examines camel medicine, covering camel, medicine, herd, health, and managing camel medicine and herd health.

Equine Medicine

Covers equine medicine, covering equine, medicine, herd, health, and managing equine medicine and herd health.

Duration: 2 years
Public, up to: Ksh 722,500
Job market: High

The programme

What you study, how long it takes, and how it is delivered.

Practicalities

Study mode: Full-time
Attachment: 0 months
Average class: 10 students
Award: Masters

What you study

10 subjects

Bovine Medicine and Herd Health
Small Animal Medicine and Clinical Practice
Ovine and Caprine Medicine and Flock Health
Porcine Medicine and Herd Health
Camel Medicine and Herd Health
Equine Medicine and Herd Health
Clinical Veterinary Diagnosis and Treatment
Veterinary Research Methods
Clinical Case Management and Reporting
Thesis Research

Modules

12 in the programme

Principles of Veterinary Medicine
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Examines veterinary medicine principles, covering principles, veterinary, medicine, clinical, and managing veterinary medicine principles and practice.
Bovine Medicine and Herd Health
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Covers bovine medicine, covering bovine, medicine, herd, health, and managing bovine medicine and herd health management.
Small Animal Medicine
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Examines small animal medicine, covering small, animal, medicine, clinical, and managing small animal medicine and clinical practice.
Ovine and Caprine Medicine and Flock Health
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Covers ovine and caprine medicine, covering ovine, caprine, medicine, flock, and managing ovine and caprine medicine and flock health.
Porcine Medicine and Herd Health
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Examines porcine medicine, covering porcine, medicine, herd, health, and managing porcine medicine and herd health.
Camel Medicine and Herd Health
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Covers camel medicine, covering camel, medicine, herd, health, and managing camel medicine and herd health.
Equine Medicine and Herd Health
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Examines equine medicine, covering equine, medicine, herd, health, and managing equine medicine and herd health.
Research Methods in Veterinary Medicine
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Covers research, methods, veterinary, medicine, and conducting research in veterinary medicine, preparing students for their thesis.
Clinical Diagnosis and Case Management
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Examines clinical diagnosis, covering diagnosis, clinical, case, management, and managing clinical diagnosis and case management.
Advanced Clinical Veterinary Practice
Year 2Semester 13 creditsCore
Covers advanced clinical practice, covering advanced, clinical, veterinary, practice, and managing advanced clinical veterinary practice.
Preventive Medicine and Public Health
Year 2Semester 13 creditsCore
Examines preventive medicine, covering preventive, medicine, public, health, and managing preventive medicine and public health.
Research Thesis
Year 2Semester 212 creditsCore
Original supervised research thesis on a veterinary medicine topic, demonstrating mastery of research methods and clinical veterinary knowledge, assessed through written submission and oral defence.

Specialisations

Bovine Medicine and Herd Health
Focuses on bovine medicine, covering bovine, medicine, herd, health, and managing bovine medicine and herd health.
Small Animal Medicine
Examines small animal medicine, covering small, animal, medicine, clinical, and managing small animal medicine and clinical practice.
Ovine and Caprine Medicine
Covers ovine and caprine medicine, covering ovine, caprine, medicine, flock, and managing ovine and caprine medicine and flock health.
Porcine Medicine
Focuses on porcine medicine, covering porcine, medicine, herd, health, and managing porcine medicine and herd health.
Camel Medicine
Examines camel medicine, covering camel, medicine, herd, health, and managing camel medicine and herd health.
Equine Medicine
Covers equine medicine, covering equine, medicine, herd, health, and managing equine medicine and herd health.

A day as a student

A typical day during the MSc in Veterinary Medicine programme combines lectures, clinical sessions, case discussions, seminars, and independent study. Sessions cover bovine medicine, small animal medicine, herd health, flock health, and clinical diagnosis. Bovine medicine sessions examine bovine, medicine, herd, health, and managing bovine medicine and herd health. Small animal sessions cover small, animal, medicine, clinical, and managing small animal medicine. Ovine and caprine sessions cover ovine, caprine, medicine, flock, and managing ovine and caprine medicine. Porcine sessions cover porcine, medicine, herd, health, and managing porcine medicine. Camel sessions cover camel, medicine, herd, health, and managing camel medicine. Equine sessions cover equine, medicine, herd, health, and managing equine medicine. Clinical sessions provide practical experience in clinical examination, diagnosis, and treatment across species. Case discussions provide opportunities for analysing clinical cases. Seminars provide opportunities for presenting research findings. The programme culminates in a supervised research thesis on a veterinary medicine topic.

The trade offs

In its favour

Programme produces specialist veterinarians aligned with regional and international trends.
Programme covers multiple species specialisations including bovine, small animal, equine, camel, and porcine.
Graduates can seek KVB specialist registration and WVA international membership.
Programme combines clinical training with research, preparing graduates for both practice and academia.

Against it

Programme is expensive at KES 722,500 per year, which may limit accessibility.
Only one university offers this programme, limiting options for students.
Programme requires a BVM degree, excluding graduates from other fields.
Programme is offered only in full-time mode, which may not suit practising veterinarians.

What it costs

Tuition at both ends of the market, and how to pay for it.

What it costs, and where

Against 303 agriculture courses

Public84k to 723k

84k at Rongo University723k at University of Nairobi

Annual tuition in Kenyan shillings, rounded. The upright tick is the median for this field, so a bar sitting entirely to its right is an expensive programme by the standards of its own subject.

The fine print

UoN 1.445M/2yr=722K/yr(clinicalstudies.uonbi.ac.ke).Rongo unverified

HELB postgraduate loans are available for Kenyan students. Universities may offer scholarships for eligible students. WVA and WOAH may offer fellowships for veterinary research and education.

Funding options

HELB Postgraduate Loan
University Scholarship
WVA Fellowship

Scholarships

3 recorded

HELB Postgraduate Loan
LoanKsh 200,000Kenyan
Kenyan students pursuing postgraduate studies at recognised universities.
University Scholarship
ScholarshipKsh 722,500Kenyan
University of Nairobi may offer scholarships for eligible postgraduate veterinary students.
WVA Fellowship
ScholarshipKsh 300,000
WVA and WOAH may offer fellowships for veterinary research and education.

Getting in

The grades, the alternatives, and who accredits the award.

What you need

KCSE mean grade: N/A (Postgraduate)
Alternative entry: Holders of a Bachelor's degree from other universities approved by the Senate as equivalent to the BVM degree of the University of Nairobi and registrable with the Kenya Veterinary Board may also be eligible. Contact the university for specific admission requirements.

How you are assessed

4 components

Coursework and Continuous Assessment
Coursework30% of the mark
Continuous assessment through coursework assignments, clinical reports, case presentations, and class participation.
Written Examinations
Examination70% of the mark
Written examinations covering bovine medicine, small animal medicine, herd health, and clinical diagnosis.
Clinical Assessment
Project40% of the mark
Practical assessment through clinical sessions, demonstrating clinical examination, diagnosis, and treatment skills across species.
Research Thesis
Research100% of the mark
Original supervised research thesis on a veterinary medicine topic, demonstrating mastery of research methods and clinical veterinary knowledge, assessed through written submission and oral defence.

Accreditation

The programme is accredited by the Commission for University Education (CUE). University of Nairobi (public) offers Master of Veterinary Medicine through the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Clinical Studies. The programme meets CUE standards for postgraduate training in veterinary medicine. Graduates may seek specialist registration with the Kenya Veterinary Board and international professional bodies including WOAH and WVA. The programme aligns with KVB and WOAH global veterinary medicine frameworks.

Accredited by

Commission for University Education (CUE)
Academic accreditationRequired
Programme accredited by CUE. University of Nairobi (public) offers Master of Veterinary Medicine through the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Clinical Studies. The programme meets CUE standards for postgraduate training in veterinary medicine. Graduates may seek specialist registration with the Kenya Veterinary Board and international professional bodies including WOAH and WVA. The programme aligns with KVB and WOAH global veterinary medicine frameworks.

Where it leads

The roles it opens, and what you leave with.

Where graduates go

6 roles

Veterinary Specialist
High demandKsh 150,000 to Ksh 500,000
Provides specialist veterinary services, covering specialist, veterinary, medicine, clinical, and managing specialist veterinary practice and medicine.
Clinical Veterinarian
High demandKsh 120,000 to Ksh 400,000
Provides clinical veterinary services, covering clinical, veterinarian, medicine, practice, and managing clinical veterinary practice and medicine.
Herd Health Consultant
Moderate demandKsh 130,000 to Ksh 450,000
Consults on herd health, covering herd, health, consultant, veterinary, and managing herd health and consultancy.
Veterinary Researcher
Moderate demandKsh 130,000 to Ksh 450,000
Conducts veterinary research, covering veterinary, research, medicine, analysis, and managing veterinary research and analysis.
Veterinary Consultant
Moderate demandKsh 150,000 to Ksh 500,000
Provides veterinary consulting, covering consulting, veterinary, advisory, medicine, and managing veterinary consulting and advisory.
Veterinary Medicine Lecturer
Moderate demandKsh 120,000 to Ksh 450,000
Teaches veterinary medicine at university or college level, overseeing instruction, research, and academic supervision.

Graduate outcomes

Where these fields lead

8 careers

Tools you will learn

Veterinary Diagnostic Equipment
EquipmentPrimary
Diagnostic equipment for clinical veterinary examination, covering diagnostic, veterinary, clinical, examination, and managing clinical veterinary diagnosis.
Laboratory Equipment
Equipment
Laboratory equipment for veterinary diagnostics, covering laboratory, diagnostics, veterinary, analysis, and managing veterinary laboratory diagnostics.
SPSS
Software
SPSS for veterinary research data analysis, covering statistics, data, analysis, veterinary, and managing research data analysis.
Veterinary Practice Management Software
Software
Practice management software for veterinary clinical records, covering practice, management, veterinary, records, and managing veterinary practice and records.

Industry links

Common misconceptions

Veterinary medicine is just about treating sick animals.
Veterinary medicine at MSc level covers herd health, preventive medicine, research, and specialist practice beyond just treating individual animals.
This programme is only for cattle veterinarians.
The programme covers multiple species including small animals, equine, porcine, camel, and ovine, not just cattle.
Veterinary medicine has limited career prospects in Kenya.
Veterinary specialists are in high demand in private practice, livestock organisations, research institutions, and universities.
This programme is the same as veterinary surgery.
Veterinary medicine focuses on medical diagnosis and treatment, distinct from veterinary surgery which focuses on surgical interventions.
You can study this without a veterinary degree.
A Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine degree is a strict requirement, as graduates seek KVB specialist registration.
Specialist veterinary practice is not viable in Kenya.
Growing demand for specialised veterinary services in livestock, companion animals, and wildlife creates viable specialist career paths.