Meru University of Science and Technology (MUST)

The idea of establishing a university in Meru dates back to the early 1960s when the Njuri Ncheke Council of Elders set aside 641 acres of land at Nchiru. Meru College of Technology (MECOTECH) admitted its first students in 1983, and in 2008 the government converted it into a constituent college of JKUAT. MUST was chartered on 1st March 2013 and serves over 12,000 students.

The university operates 11 schools including Agriculture and Food Science, Business and Economics, Computing and Informatics, Engineering and Architecture, Education, and Health Sciences. Its campus at Nchiru, near the Njuri Ncheke Shrine, connects it to the cultural heritage of the Ameru people.

Accredited by CUE and the Engineering Board of Kenya (EBK), MUST ranks 16th nationally. It was the first university in Kenya to receive ISO 9001:2015 certification, and its STEM-focused mandate supports Kenya's Vision 2030 industrialisation goals.

MUST emphasises research in agriculture, environmental conservation, and renewable energy, with the university's charter mandate specifically highlighting dryland agriculture and farming systems as a research priority. The School of Agriculture and Food Science conducts research on crop science, food security, and sustainable farming systems for semi-arid regions, leveraging the university's location in Meru's agricultural landscape. The School of Engineering and Architecture advances research on renewable energy technologies, water engineering, and infrastructure development, with EBK accreditation ensuring professional engineering standards. The School of Computing and Informatics investigates ICT for development, data science, and computational modelling. MUST has secured grants from the National Research Fund, JICA, and the African Development Bank, supporting research on energy, water, and environmental science in arid and semi-arid lands. The university's ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System ensures research quality assurance across all schools. Partnership with Egerton University (former mentor) and JICA supports collaborative research and faculty development. Research output increasingly informs agricultural practice, engineering standards, and technology policy across Meru County and the broader Mount Kenya region.

A C+ mean grade is the minimum for a Bachelor's degree; competitive programmes (medicine, engineering, law, nursing, architecture) require higher grades and specific KCSE subject clusters. Master's programmes require a relevant Bachelor's degree; PhD programmes a relevant Master's degree.