The University of Nairobi (UoN) has regained its position as Kenya’s top university after outperforming Kenyatta University in four subject areas nationally.
This follows the release of the World University Rankings by Subject 2026 report by Times Higher Education, which evaluates universities across 11 major academic disciplines globally.
The report noted that Kenya led in five subject areas: Business and Economics, Life Sciences, Medical and Health, Physical Sciences, and Social Sciences.
Specifically, the University of Nairobi topped Business and Economics, Medical and Health, Physical Sciences, and Social Sciences, while Kenyatta University led in Life Sciences. Both universities remain the leading research institutions in the country.
Countrywide Rankings for Kenyan Universities
Medical and Health: University of Nairobi
Physical Sciences: University of Nairobi
Psychology: No Kenyan university ranked
Social Sciences: University of Nairobi (followed by Kenyatta University)
Arts and Humanities: No Kenyan university ranked
Business and Economics: University of Nairobi
Computer Science: No Kenyan university ranked
Education Studies: No Kenyan university ranked
Engineering: No Kenyan university ranked
Law: No Kenyan university ranked
Life Sciences: Kenyatta University (followed by University of Nairobi)
Global Rankings
Globally, universities from the United States and United Kingdom dominated. Key performers include:
Arts and Humanities: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Business and Economics: MIT
Computer Science: University of Oxford
Education Studies: Stanford University
Engineering: Harvard University
Law: Stanford University
Life Sciences: Harvard University
Medical and Health: University of Oxford
Physical Sciences: California Institute of
Technology (Caltech)
Psychology: University of Cambridge
Social Sciences: MIT
How the Rankings Are Determined
Times Higher Education uses a comprehensive methodology, combining reputation surveys and quantitative performance data.
Universities are evaluated on research output, citations per publication, publications per researcher, staff-to-student ratios, industry income, third-party research funding, patents, knowledge transfer, and degree of internationalisation.
Each indicator is weighted differently depending on the discipline to reflect academic cultures and research practices.
The latest rankings highlight Kenya’s growing academic competitiveness while showcasing the University of Nairobi’s strong performance across multiple disciplines.
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