Social Sciences

Doctor of Philosophy in Gender, Women and Development Studies

The Doctor of Philosophy in Gender, Women and Development Studies is a doctoral programme offered at the University of Nairobi through the School of Continuing and Distance Education and at Kenyatta University. It is designed to produce scholars capable of advancing research in gender, women's studies and development with a focus on African women's experiences. The programme addresses Kenya's gender equality, women's empowerment and social development challenges.

Students engage with advanced topics in feminist theory, women and development, gender and policy, African women's history, gender and education, women's economic empowerment, gender and health, gender and conflict, women's leadership and research methods. The curriculum emphasises original research that develops gender, women and development insights for Kenya's social transformation.

Kenya's constitutional gender provisions, women's political representation, economic empowerment challenges, gender-based violence, women's education access and the SDG 5 agenda create demand for doctoral-level gender, women and development expertise. The programme supports Kenya's gender equality and women's empowerment goals.

Teaching is delivered through coursework and supervised research. At UoN, the School of Continuing and Distance Education offers PhD Programme on African Women Studies. At KU, the School of Humanities and Social Sciences offers PhD in Gender and Development Studies at KSh 244,800/year.

Graduates pursue careers as university professors, gender researchers, women's rights advocates, development consultants and policy analysts. They work in universities, Ministry of Public Service and Gender, NGEC, UN Women, FIDA Kenya and international development organisations.

The programme is ideal for individuals with backgrounds in gender studies, women's studies, sociology, development studies or related fields who wish to contribute original research to gender, women and development.

Duration: 3-5 years
Public, up to: Ksh 244,800
Private, up to: Ksh 288,000
Job market: High

The programme

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

Practicalities

Study mode: Full-time, Part-time
Attachment: 0 months
Average class: 5 students
Award: PhD

What you study

10 subjects

Feminist Theory and African Womanism
Women and Development Theory
Gender Policy and Analysis
African Women's History and Movements
Gender and Education
Women's Economic Empowerment
Gender and Health
Gender, Conflict and Peacebuilding
Women's Leadership and Governance
Research Methods in Women's Studies

Modules

8 in the programme

Feminist Theory and African Womanism
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Feminist theory and African womanism, examining foundational principles, conceptual frameworks, and theoretical debates that shape contemporary understanding in this field.
Women and Development Theory
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Women in development theory, examining foundational principles, conceptual frameworks, and theoretical debates that shape contemporary understanding in this field.
Gender Policy and Analysis
Year 1Semester 33 creditsCore
Gender policy analysis, covering theoretical foundations, practical methodologies, and current analytical techniques used in advanced research and professional practice.
African Women's History and Movements
Year 2Semester 13 creditsCore
History of African women's movements, covering historical methods, archaeological techniques, and their application in understanding past societies.
Women's Economic Empowerment
Year 2Semester 23 creditsCore
Economic empowerment of women, covering economic theories, analytical frameworks, and their application to policy and decision-making in the field.
Research Methods in Women's Studies
Year 2Semester 33 creditsCore
Research design and methodology, covering quantitative and qualitative approaches, data collection techniques, and analytical frameworks relevant to doctoral-level research in the field.
Departmental Seminars
Year 3Semester 13 creditsCore
Research presentations and peer review of doctoral work, providing a platform for doctoral candidates to present research findings, engage with peer feedback, and explore contemporary debates in.
Thesis Research
Year 3Semester 26 creditsCore
Doctoral thesis research and dissertation writing, involving original research, literature review, data analysis, and the production of a doctoral dissertation contributing new knowledge to the.

Specialisations

Gender and Conflict
Research on gender, conflict and peacebuilding
Women's Economic Empowerment
Research on women's economic empowerment
Women's Leadership
Research on women's leadership and governance
African Women's History
Research on African women's history

A day as a student

A typical day involves conducting gender research, analysing women's experiences data, reviewing feminist literature, attending seminars on women and development, meeting with supervisors to discuss research progress, and engaging with NGEC, UN Women, FIDA and women's groups for research collaboration.

The trade offs

In its favour

Kenya's constitutional gender provisions create strong demand
Access to NGEC, UN Women and FIDA for research
Research contributes to gender equality and social justice

Against it

Gender research can be politically sensitive
Funding for gender research can be limited
Research with vulnerable communities requires ethical care

What it costs

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

What it costs, and where

Against 241 social sciences courses

Public192k to 245k

192k at University of Nairobi245k at Kenyatta University

Private170k to 288k

170k at Kenya Methodist University288k at Kabarak University

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

KU 244.8K (ku.ac.ke). UoN 192K (uonbi.ac.ke). KeMU 170K, Kabarak 288K/yr (eafinder, kabarak.ac.ke).

HELB provides postgraduate loans. DAAD offers scholarships for postgraduate study. CODESRIA and UN Women provide research grants for gender research.

Funding options

HELB Postgraduate Loan
DAAD Kenya Scholarship
CODESRIA Research Grant
UN Women Research Grant

Scholarships

4 recorded

HELB Postgraduate Scholarship
LoanKsh 200,000Kenyan
Kenyan postgraduate students
CODESRIA Research Grant
Grant
Social science researchers in Africa
DAAD Kenya Scholarship
ScholarshipKenyan
Postgraduate students in Kenya
UN Women Research Grant
Grant
Gender researchers

Getting in

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

What you need

KCSE mean grade: Masters Degree
Alternative entry: At UoN: Masters degree from UoN or recognised institution. School of Continuing and Distance Education. At KU: Masters degree in relevant area. KSh 244,800/year. Application fee KSh 3,000.

MA/Masters in Gender Studies, Women's Studies, Sociology, Development Studies or related field
Relevant Masters from recognised university

How you are assessed

3 components

Thesis Proposal Defence
Oral defence20% of the mark
Defence of research proposal before faculty panel
Coursework
Continuous assessment30% of the mark
Assignments, research papers and seminar presentations
Thesis
Thesis50% of the mark
Doctoral thesis research, submission and oral defence

Accreditation

Accredited by the Commission for University Education (CUE). Offered at University of Nairobi (School of Continuing and Distance Education, African Women Studies) and Kenyatta University (School of Humanities, KSh 244,800/year).

Accredited by

Commission for University Education
AcademicRequired
Statutory body responsible for accreditation of university programmes in Kenya

Where it leads

The roles it opens, and what you leave with.

Where graduates go

4 roles

Development Consultant
High demandKsh 170,000 to Ksh 420,000
Consulting on gender and development
Women's Rights Advocate
High demandKsh 170,000 to Ksh 420,000
Advocacy at FIDA and NGEC
University Professor
High demandKsh 180,000 to Ksh 450,000
Teaching and research in social science departments
Gender Researcher
High demandKsh 170,000 to Ksh 420,000
Research on gender and women's studies

Graduate outcomes

Graduates pursue careers as university professors, gender researchers, women's rights advocates and development consultants. They work at NGEC, Ministry of Gender, UN Women, FIDA and universities.

Where these fields lead

8 careers

Certifications

Industry links

Common misconceptions

Gender, women and development studies is only for women.
The programme is open to all genders and examines masculinities alongside women's experiences.
There is no demand for this PhD in Kenya.
Kenya's constitutional gender provisions and SDG 5 create strong demand.
Women's studies research is purely advocacy.
The programme uses rigorous feminist methodologies, policy analysis and empirical research.
Only sociologists study this PhD.
The programme attracts lawyers, educators, development practitioners and health professionals.