Health Sciences

Doctor of Philosophy in Tropical and Infectious Diseases

The Doctor of Philosophy in Tropical and Infectious Diseases is a doctoral programme offered at the University of Nairobi through the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology. It is designed to produce scholars capable of advancing research in tropical diseases, infectious diseases and immunology. The programme addresses Kenya's tropical disease research and public health development needs.

Students engage with advanced topics in tropical medicine, infectious disease epidemiology, medical microbiology, immunology, parasitology, virology, bacteriology, molecular diagnostics, vaccine development, drug resistance, emerging infections and research methods. The curriculum emphasises original research that develops tropical and infectious disease insights for Kenya's health challenges.

Kenya's malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, neglected tropical diseases, emerging infections, antimicrobial resistance, vaccine development, KEMRI research, CDC collaboration, WHO partnerships and the demand for infectious disease research create demand for doctoral-level tropical and infectious disease expertise. The programme supports Kenya's health security and disease control goals.

Teaching is delivered through coursework, laboratory sessions and supervised research. At UoN, the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology offers PhD in Tropical and Infectious Diseases. Tuition KSh 432,000/year, Year 1 total KSh 464,000, Year 2 KSh 459,000, Year 3 KSh 509,000, total KSh 1,432,000 over 3 years.

Application fee KSh 4,000. KEMRI Graduate School also offers related PhD programmes in collaboration with JKUAT.

Graduates pursue careers as university professors, infectious disease researchers, medical microbiologists, immunologists and public health specialists. They work in universities, KEMRI, CDC Kenya, WHO, Ministry of Health and research institutes.

Duration: 3 years
Public, up to: Ksh 432,000
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

Advanced Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases
Medical Microbiology and Bacteriology
Immunology and Vaccine Development
Virology and Viral Diseases
Parasitology and Tropical Parasites
Molecular Diagnostics and Genomics
Antimicrobial Resistance and Drug Discovery
Emerging and Re-emerging Infections
Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Research Methods in Tropical Medicine

Modules

8 in the programme

Advanced Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Tropical medicine, exploring cutting-edge developments, theoretical frameworks, and research methodologies at the forefront of the discipline.
Medical Microbiology and Bacteriology
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Microbiology, covering clinical principles, evidence-based practice, and contemporary challenges in healthcare delivery and research.
Immunology and Vaccine Development
Year 1Semester 33 creditsCore
Immunology, exploring development theories, sustainable practices, and their application in addressing contemporary challenges in Kenya and beyond.
Molecular Diagnostics and Genomics
Year 2Semester 13 creditsCore
Molecular diagnostics, covering theoretical foundations, practical methodologies, and contemporary research developments relevant to doctoral study in this area.
Antimicrobial Resistance and Drug Discovery
Year 2Semester 23 creditsCore
AMR, covering theoretical foundations, practical methodologies, and contemporary research developments relevant to doctoral study in this area.
Research Methods in Tropical Medicine
Year 2Semester 33 creditsCore
Research methods, 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, providing a platform for doctoral candidates to present research findings, engage with peer feedback, and explore contemporary debates in the field.
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

Immunology and Vaccines
Research on immunology
Bacteriology
Research on bacterial infections
Virology
Research on viral diseases
Parasitology
Research on parasitic diseases

A day as a student

A typical day involves conducting infectious disease research, running molecular diagnostics in the laboratory, analysing epidemiological data, reviewing tropical medicine literature, attending seminars on infectious diseases, meeting with supervisors to discuss research progress, and engaging with KEMRI, CDC and WHO for research collaboration. Laboratory and fieldwork in disease-endemic areas is common.

The trade offs

In its favour

Kenya's disease burden creates strong demand
Access to KEMRI, CDC, WHO and icipe
Research contributes to disease control

Against it

UoN PhD is expensive (KSh 1,432,000 total)
Laboratory work with pathogens is risky
Fieldwork in disease-endemic areas is challenging

What it costs

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

What it costs, and where

Against 349 health sciences courses

Public200k to 432k

200k at Egerton University432k at University of Nairobi

Private144k to 288k

144k 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

UoN 432k, Egerton 200k/yr (medmicro.uonbi/egerton.ac.ke). KeMU 144k, Kabarak 288k/yr

HELB provides postgraduate loans. DAAD offers scholarships for postgraduate study. NACOSTI provides research grants. KEMRI and CDC offer research collaboration opportunities.

Funding options

HELB Postgraduate Loan
DAAD Kenya Scholarship
NACOSTI Research Grant

Scholarships

3 recorded

NACOSTI Research Grant
GrantKenyan
Science and technology researchers in Kenya
DAAD Kenya Scholarship
ScholarshipKenyan
Postgraduate students in Kenya
HELB Postgraduate Scholarship
LoanKsh 200,000Kenyan
Kenyan postgraduate students

Getting in

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

What you need

KCSE mean grade: Masters Degree
Alternative entry: At UoN: MSc from UoN or recognised institution. Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology. PhD in Tropical and Infectious Diseases, 3 years. Total KSh 1,432,000. Application fee KSh 4,000. At KEMRI Graduate School: MSc from JKUAT or recognised institution. Application fee KSh 3,500.

MSc in Medical Microbiology, Immunology, Tropical Medicine, Public Health, Veterinary Medicine or related field
Relevant Masters from recognised university

How you are assessed

3 components

Coursework
Continuous assessment30% of the mark
Assignments, laboratory projects and seminar presentations
Thesis Proposal Defence
Oral defence20% of the mark
Defence of research proposal before faculty panel
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 (Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, PhD in Tropical and Infectious Diseases, 3 years, total KSh 1,432,000, application fee KSh 4,000). KEMRI Graduate School offers related PhDs in collaboration with JKUAT (application fee KSh 3,500).

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

Public Health Specialist
High demandKsh 250,000 to Ksh 600,000
Disease control at Ministry of Health
Medical Microbiologist
High demandKsh 300,000 to Ksh 700,000
Microbiology at hospitals and labs
Infectious Disease Researcher
High demandKsh 300,000 to Ksh 700,000
Research at KEMRI and CDC
University Professor
High demandKsh 250,000 to Ksh 600,000
Teaching and research in medical departments

Graduate outcomes

Graduates pursue careers as university professors, infectious disease researchers, medical microbiologists and immunologists. They work at KEMRI, CDC, WHO, Ministry of Health and universities.

Where these fields lead

8 careers

Certifications

Industry links

Common misconceptions

Tropical and infectious diseases PhD is just about malaria.
The field covers tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, neglected tropical diseases, virology, bacteriology, immunology and emerging infections.
There is no demand for this PhD in Kenya.
Kenya's disease burden and KEMRI research create strong demand.
Tropical disease research is purely laboratory-based.
The programme uses epidemiology, clinical trials, field studies and molecular diagnostics.
Only medical doctors study this PhD.
The programme attracts microbiologists, immunologists, veterinarians and public health professionals.