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Nairobi · KenyaFree to read
Private

Mount Kenya University (MKU)

Kenya's largest private university offering medicine, law, business, and education across multiple campuses.

County
Kiambu
Established
1996
Students
52,000
Employment rate
80%

The institution

Who they are, how big, and how they rank.

About

Established in 2008 and granted a charter in 2011, Mount Kenya University (MKU) is Kenya's largest private university by enrolment. Headquartered in Thika, Kiambu County, MKU serves over 50,000 students across campuses in Nairobi, Nakuru, Eldoret, Kisumu, Nkubu, and Meru, plus regional centres in Rwanda and Somaliland.

The university operates 12 schools including Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, Law, Business and Economics, Education, Pure and Applied Sciences, Computing and Informatics, and Engineering. MKU's School of Medicine is based at the Thika Level 5 Hospital, providing clinical training for medical students.

Accredited by CUE, MKU ranks 7th nationally. Its extensive campus network and open, distance and e-learning (ODEL) platform make it the most geographically accessible private university in Kenya.

The numbers

Annual fees
Ksh 60,000 to Ksh 200,000
Student to staff
1:20
Mode of study
Full-time, Part-time, Distance Learning
Charter status
Chartered
Chartered
2011
Scholarships
Offered

Research

Mku's directorate of research and development has secured grants worth ksh.120 million, supporting research across health sciences, business, and technology with a growing repository of publications in malaria detection, ai based assessment, and sme performance. the college of graduate studies and research operates dedicated research centres at the medical school and school of pharmacy, with active projects in pregnancy associated malaria, e assessment proctoring using ai, and business growth strategies for small enterprises. partnerships with the university of tartu (estonia) through erasmus+, daad (germany), leuphana university (germany), and cape peninsula university of technology (south africa) support faculty exchange and joint research. collaborations with zhejiang post and telecommunication college and nanjing zhongxing xinyada in china advance ict research. mku's e repository hosts hundreds of theses and publications, reflecting its growing research culture and commitment to community relevant innovation across kenya and the region.

Accredited by

  • Commission for University Education (CUE)
  • Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB)
  • Council of Legal Education (CLE)

What they teach

Faculties, departments and the programmes on offer.

Admission requirements

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.

Intakes

  • January
  • May
  • September

Schools and faculties

15 in total
  • College of Health Sciences

    Thika Main Campus

  • Medical School

    Thika Main Campus

  • School of Clinical Medicine

    Thika Main Campus

  • School of Public Health

    Thika Main Campus

  • School of Pharmacy

    Thika Main Campus

  • School of Nursing

    Thika Main Campus

  • School of Education

    Thika Main Campus

  • School of Pure and Applied Sciences

    Thika Main Campus

  • School of Computing and Informatics

    Thika Main Campus

  • School of Social Sciences

    Thika Main Campus

  • School of Engineering, Energy and the Built Environment

    Thika Main Campus

  • School of Business and Economics

    Thika Main Campus

  • School of Hospitality, Travel and Tourism Management

    Thika Main Campus

  • School of Law

    Parklands Law Campus

  • School of Postgraduate Studies

    Thika Main Campus

Campus and beyond

Where you would be, and who they are connected to.

Campuses

Main campus
Main Campus, Thika
  • Thika Main Campus

    Kiambu

    General Kago Road, Thika, 45 km from Nairobi

  • Nairobi Campus

    Nairobi

    MKU Towers and Union Towers, Moi Avenue, Nairobi

  • Parklands Law Campus

    Nairobi

    Parklands, Nairobi

  • Mombasa Campus

    Mombasa

    MKU Plaza, Nkrumah Road, Mombasa

  • Nakuru Campus

    Nakuru

    Great Rift Plaza, Kipchoge Keino Rd, Nakuru

  • Eldoret Campus

    Uasin Gishu

    Eldoret Town

  • Meru Campus

    Meru

    Opposite Meru County Assembly, Nkubu-Meru

  • Kakamega Campus

    Kakamega

    Kakamega Town

  • Kisii Campus

    Kisii

    Kisii Town

  • MKU Rwanda Campus

    Rwanda

    Kagarama, Kicukiro District, Kigali, Rwanda

  • Malindi Study Centre

    Kilifi

    Malindi

  • Kisumu Study Centre

    Kisumu

    Kisumu

  • Nyeri Study Centre

    Nyeri

    Nyeri

  • Kericho Study Centre

    Kericho

    Kericho

On campus

  • Main Library
  • Medical Laboratories
  • Pharmacy Labs
  • Sports Facilities
  • Student Hostels
  • Computer Labs

Notable alumni

  • Samuel Thuita (Kenya Ambassador to Israel)
  • Antony Ng'ang'a Mwaura (Chair, Kenya Rural Roads Authority)
  • Steve Thompson Magana (Media personality)
  • Gertrude Mbeyu Mwanyanje (Kilifi Woman Representative)
  • Lawrence Lorunyei Ekiru (Outstanding Alumni Award winner)
  • Jason Mundu (Country General Manager, Lancet Kenya)
  • Dr. Jimmy Mulu Wambua (Pioneer pharmacy graduate, practicing in USA)

International partnerships

8 institutions
  • Zhejiang Post and Telecommunication College (China)
  • Nanjing Zhongxing Xinyada (China)
  • University of Tartu (Estonia) - Erasmus+
  • DAAD (Germany)
  • Cape Peninsula University of Technology (South Africa)
  • Leuphana University (Germany)
  • Godfrey Okoye University (Nigeria)
  • University of Venda (South Africa)

Further reading

Keep this

Entry marks, intakes and fees at Mount Kenya University are restated each year. Save it and the app keeps this version, so you can see what changed when it does.