Top 10 medical schools in Kenya in 2023

Medical School

Do medical sciences interest you?

Get to know more about the top 10 medical schools in Kenya in this guide.

We have based our selection on the following criteria (among others):

  • Teaching infrastructure (lecture halls, laboratories, cadavers, and more).
  • Lecturer-student ratio (you don’t want to attend overcrowded classes).
  • Quality of the faculty (Qualifications, experience, etc.)
  • Governance
  • Student affairs.
  • Patient load in each school’s teaching hospital.
  • Research and innovation and
  • Compliance with the set medical and dental training teaching standards and other guidelines.

Note that the ranking information is adopted from inspection reports of Medical and Dental Schools and Teaching Hospitals in Kenya.

The reports are prepared jointly by teams of technical health experts from all the EAC (East Africa Community) states and the respective National Medical and Dental Practitioners Regulatory Councils.

How important is medical school in Kenya?

The field of medicine is wide-ranging and offers many possibilities. This requires extensive research in the various medical courses, requirements, colleges, and universities that they offer in Kenya.

Most courses are offered from the certificate level, the diploma, the undergraduate degree, the master’s, and even the doctorate.

Depending on the subject chosen, a bachelor’s degree program can take four to six years and often ends with a research project. Public doctors in Kenya who spend six years at universities earn a basic salary of only $400 to $850 a month.

How Long Does It Take To Study Medicine In Kenya?

The duration of a bachelor of medicine program in Kenya is solely dependent on the intended university. For instance, the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery in Kenyatta school of Medicine degree program (MBChB) is a full-time program that takes six academic years of three trimesters each. All the courses in the program are core and must be successfully completed by the student before graduation.

Nonetheless, most medical programs in Kenya spans for six academic years.

Now let’s explore the best medical schools in Kenya available for you

Find below the top 10 medical schools at both the advanced and Diploma levels.

To point you in the right direction, the schools are described in brief and a link to the official school website is given.

Top 10 medical schools in Kenya – Advanced level  (i.e. Bachelors Degree and above)

In no particular order, the top 10 medical schools in Kenya are:

1.     Kenyatta University School of Medicine

KU was one of the first accredited medical universities and has an excellent faculty of medicine.

State of the art training infrastructure, superb student support, and good graduation rates make Kenyatta University Medical School a top choice.

In addition, students enjoy practical sessions from the adjacent Kenyatta University Teaching and Referral Hospital.

Official website


2.     Moi University School of Medicine (MUSOM )

Moi University Medical School was hived from the Faculty of Health Sciences in 2005 and has grown in leaps and bounds to become one of the top 10 medical schools in Kenya.

Indeed, the School later gave birth to the fast-growing School of Dentistry (SOD) and School of Nursing (SON).

The most recent offshoot from MUSOM is the Institute of Biomedical Informatics (IBMI).

MUSOM’s primary teaching Hospital is the popular Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH).

Official website


3.     University of Nairobi Medical School

The deeply-experienced faculty of health at the University of Nairobi Medical School has repeatedly won medical research awards and is among the leaders in medical innovations in Kenya.

This, combined with the exposure students get from Kenyatta National Referral Hospital- UoN’s School of Medicine designated teaching hospital- makes UoN a popular destination for surgery and dentistry students in Kenya.

Above all, they have met all the requirements for medical training as provided by the various authorities.

Official website

 

4.     Kenya Methodist University School of Medicine

KEMU is one of the few private universities in Kenya to meet the stringent requirements to offer medical sciences.

Indeed, KEMU offers a number of the most marketable medical courses in Kenya including the highly competitive bachelor of medicine and surgery course.

The highlights at KEMU is the great lecturers and a respectable collection of teaching facilities.

In short, you’ll be in good hands at Kenya Methodist University School of Medicine

Officialwebsite

 

5.     Mount Kenya University School of Medicine

Overall, Mount Kenya University (MKU) School of Medicine scores highly in all the areas under consideration and has even beaten renowned public medical schools including Kenya’s pioneer medical university, the University of Nairobi (UoN) in the past.

Unsurprisingly, MKU has grown to become Kenya’s largest private university and they don’t seem as if they’ll be stopping any time soon.

In fact, Mount Kenya University Medical School runs the largest anatomy laboratory at Thika Level 5 Hospital in partnership with Kiambu county government.

Official website

 

6.     Maseno University Medical School

Also, top performing is Maseno University School of Medicine.

The school is located at Siriba, next to Maseno town in Kisumu County and has been accredited by the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board to train health practitioners and help bridge the ever-growing demand for medical professionals in Kenya.

Pre-clinical teaching is conducted at the school’s ultra-modern laboratory facilities in Siriba while clinical clerkships are tackled at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) or Kisumu County Referral Hospital.

An average of 60 medical students graduates from Maseno each year.

Officialwebsite

 

7.     Kisii University School of Health Sciences

Also rated highly among public medical colleges is Kisii University’s School Of Health Sciences.

Here you can enroll for courses such as Medical Laboratory Sciences, Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Human Nutrition, Public Health, and Nursing.

The university’s primary focus is innovative and collaborative teaching along with vibrant research in health-related disciplines.

Official website

 

8.     Egerton University

Another safe bet if you’re planning to take courses like the bachelor of medicine and surgery in Kenya is Egerton University’s department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery.

Like its peers in the top ten list, you access outstanding learning infrastructure, expert staff, and a supportive training environment.

The department continues to expand rapidly and offers a Bachelor of Science (BSc.) course In Clinical Medicine too.

Official website

 

9.     Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology medical school

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT)’s School of Medicine has been excelling in teaching and research in medical sciences for a couple of years now.

The School is hosted by the College of Health Sciences at JKUAT’s Main campus in Juja and is well on the path to achieving its vision of becoming the best medical academic training centre thanks to its wide network of local and global collaborators.

For example, the school is currently partnering with KEMRI in teaching postgraduate trainees and research.

It also runs a medical staff exchange program with the University of Wales in Cardiff (UWIC).

It’s also worth noting that JKUAT is considered one of the best universities to study nursing in Kenya.

Official website


10.  Uzima University Medical School

The last private institution to make it to the list of Top 10 medical schools in Kenya is the Catholic Church-owned Uzima University College Medical School.

Started under the mentorship of CUEA (Catholic University of Eastern Africa), Uzima is now well established and specializes in teaching as well as research in both Medical and Biomedical sciences.

Two things we love most about Uzima: The 10 world-class laboratories and an Ultramodern Resource/learning centre.

Official website

 

Top 10 medical schools in Kenya – Certificate and Diploma Levels

For medical courses at the Certificate and Diploma Levels, KMTC (Kenya Medical Training College) is obviously the best in Kenya.

The other top-rated colleges are:

  • Equip Africa College of Medical and Health Sciences (owned by MKU)
  • Thika School of medical and health sciences
  • Kijabe College of Health Sciences (AIC Kijabe Medical College)
  • Outspan Medical College – Nyeri
  • Nyahururu Medical Training College
  • Nazareth medical college
  • Aga Khan University Medical College
  • Karen Hospital Medical Training College
  • Cicely McDonell College of Health Sciences

Approved Medical and Dental Schools in Kenya

Kenya

1.

University of Nairobi

Medical School

2.

Moi University

Medical School

3.

Kenyatta University

Medical School

4.

Egerton University

Medical School

5.

Kenya Methodist University

Medical School

6.

Maseno University

Medical School

7.

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology

Medical School

8.

Mount Kenya University

Medical School

9.

Uzima University

School of Medicine

10.

Maseno University

School of Medicine

11.

Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology

School of Medicine

12.

Kisii University

School of Medicine

1.

University of Nairobi

Dental School

2.

Moi University

Dental School

Approved medical schools that have been given reciprocal recognition at EAC Partner States:

Kenya

1

University of Nairobi

School of Medicine

2

University of Nairobi

School of Dentistry

3

Moi University

School of Medicine

4

Moi University

School of Dentistry

5

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology

College of Health Sciences

6

Kenyatta University

School of Health Sciences

7

Egerton University

Faculty of Health Sciences

8

Kenya Methodist University

School of Medicine

9

Mount Kenya University

School of Medicine

10

Maseno University

School of Medicine

11

Uzima University


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