The Council of Legal Education (CLE) has published a list of universities and institutions authorized to offer law degrees and diplomas in Kenya.
In a notice dated December 31, 2024, CLE Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Gitiri outlined four institutions licensed to offer Master’s degree programs, 18 providing bachelor’s degrees, and four offering diploma courses in law.
For each institution, the Council also included the validity status of their licenses, indicating the expected expiration dates for each program.
“Under the provisions of Sections 2, 8 (1) (b), 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 and 48 of the Legal Education Act Chapter 168 Laws of Kenya, the following are the ONLY licensed Legal Education Providers and Legal Education Programmes in Kenya as indicated under each respective cluster,” the notice reads.
For Master of Law program (LL.M.), CLE listed Strathmore University, Mount Kenya University (MKU), Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA), and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology (JKUAT) as the only licensed institutions.
CUE lists Universities allowed to offer Law degrees and diplomas
Strathmore Law School’s license, however, expired on November 19, 2024, and the institution has a pending application for a new license.
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According to CLE, the institution was audited on November 29, 2024, and is awaiting further inspection by the Council.
Kenyatta University also has a pending application for a new LL.M license and is awaiting further inspection by the Council after it was audited on November 27, 2024.
The LL.M. licenses for MKU, CUEA, and JKUAT- on the other hand- are valid until March 23, 2026, September 21, 2028, and June 20, 2028, respectively.
For Bachelor of Laws program (LL.B.) the council listed 18 institutions whose licenses are valid.
They include Africa Nazarene University, Chuka University, JKUAT, Moi University, University of Nairobi (UoN), Egerton University, Kabarak University, University of Embu and CUEA.
Others include Strathmore University, Maseno University, South Eastern University of Kenya, Riara University, Kenyatta University, Daystar University, Kisii University, MKU and UMMA University which offers LL.B. and Sharia.
Diploma in Law
At the same time, CUE listed four institutions whose licenses for diploma in law are valid.
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They include MKU, Kisii University, CUEA and the Kenya School of Law which offers Para Legal studies.
The list by CUE comes after the Kenya School of Law (KSL) closed applications for the Advocates Training Program (ATP) for the upcoming 2025/2026 Academic Year set to commence on February 10, 2025.
KSL had listed the eligibility criteria, highlighting that interested applicants admitted into the LL. B after December 2014 and those admitted before 2014 were eligible, provided they met listed requirements.
Applicants who are graduates of Kenyan universities or foreign universities and those who were admitted into the LL.B after 8th December 2014 were to have a mean grade of C (plus) in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Examination KCSE) or its equivalent.
Also, they must have attained a minimum of grade B (plain) in English Language or Kiswahili in their KCSE.
Candidates who had attained a minimum of two (2) principals and one (1) subsidiary totaling to an aggregate of ten (10) points in the Kenya Advanced Certificate of Education (KACE) or its equivalent, were eligible to apply.
The applicants also ought to have passed in the mandatory 16 core subjects as stipulated in the Second Schedule of the Legal Education Act, 2012.
On the other hand, the applicants ought to be holders of or be eligible for conferment of an LL.B degree from a university recognized in Kenya.
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