Number of Students Enrolled for Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD Degrees in 2024 [LIST]

The Commission for University Education (CUE) has released detailed enrolment data showing how students were distributed across bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programmes in Kenyan universities during the 2024 academic year.

According to the CUE 2024/2025 University Statistics Report, total enrolment in degree programmes stood at 628,541 students, representing a 12 per cent increase from 559,191 recorded in 2023.

Public Chartered Universities enrolled the majority of students at 469,688 (74.7 per cent), followed by Private Chartered Universities with 144,236 students (23 per cent). The remaining students were enrolled in public and private constituent colleges and institutions operating under Letters of Interim Authority.

Among public universities, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology recorded the highest enrolment at 44,131 students, followed by the University of Nairobi with 41,174, Kenyatta University with 36,013, and Maseno University with 27,067.

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Collectively, these four institutions accounted for 148,385 students, representing over 31.7 per cent of Kenya’s total university enrolment. In the private university category, Mount Kenya University led with 30,448 students, followed by USIU-Africa (16,771), Kabarak University (13,379) and KCA University (12,527).

CUE outlines number of students enrolled for Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD degrees

Within this overall enrolment structure, bachelor’s degree programmes overwhelmingly dominated. CUE data shows that 577,345 students were enrolled at the undergraduate level in 2024. Of these, 320,439 were male and 256,906 female, indicating higher male participation at the bachelor’s level nationally.

Postgraduate enrolment remained comparatively low. Master’s programmes enrolled 40,959 students, comprising 22,166 men and 18,793 women. At the doctoral (PhD) level, enrolment stood at just 8,666 students, with 5,107 male and 3,559 female candidates.

An additional 1,461 students were enrolled in postgraduate diploma and certificate programmes, while 110 students were not disaggregated by gender.

CUE further reports that enrolment was heavily concentrated in undergraduate years, with 196,161 students in the first year, 155,365 in the second year, 103,593 in the third year, and 160,087 in the fourth year.

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Postgraduate years, in contrast, recorded much lower numbers: 6,682 students in the fifth year, 3,522 in the sixth year, and 2,129 in the seventh year, highlighting limited progression beyond undergraduate studies.

Recommendations

The Commission notes that the distribution of students by academic level shows a university system heavily skewed toward bachelor’s degree training, with master’s and doctoral programmes accounting for a small fraction of total enrolment, despite their importance to research capacity and academic staffing in the sector.

To address the gap, CUE recommended the establishment of structured PhD training pipelines, increased funding for staff development through the National Research Fund, and stronger supervision and mentorship frameworks to improve doctoral enrolment and completion rates.

The Commission said strengthening doctoral education is critical to improving research productivity, academic quality, and the long-term sustainability of Kenya’s university system.

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