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 totalCollege 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
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.