ITS Research Intelligence
Kenya University Research Rankings
Compare Kenya universities using recent research output, citation impact, growth and a transparent research-performance score.
Research landscape
The current ITS Research Intelligence dataset contains 56 index-ready universities in Kenya. Across those institutions, the average five-year research output is approximately 1,280 works and the average five-year citation count is approximately 3,825. The average publication-growth signal is 19.7%. These figures describe the institutions that pass the public quality gate; they are not intended to represent every tertiary institution in the country.
Country rankings are useful for benchmarking because they reduce some of the structural differences that make global comparisons difficult. They still should not be treated as a complete assessment of institutional quality: teaching, student outcomes, funding levels, research field mix and institutional mission are outside this research-performance score. The value of the page is in seeing who is producing research, how that activity is changing, and where citation visibility is concentrated.
Top research universities in Kenya
| Rank | University | Country | Score | 5-year works | 5-year citations | Growth |
|---|
| #1 | University of Nairobi | Kenya | 74.5 | 12,087 | 45,033 | -29.0% |
| #2 | Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology | Kenya | 68.3 | 7,136 | 19,766 | -25.5% |
| #3 | Kenyatta University | Kenya | 68.1 | 7,045 | 16,429 | -16.9% |
| #4 | Moi University | Kenya | 66.3 | 3,833 | 11,665 | -14.7% |
| #5 | Aga Khan University Nairobi | Kenya | 65.8 | 2,543 | 22,314 | 7.2% |
| #6 | Egerton University | Kenya | 63.4 | 2,325 | 8,984 | -13.7% |
| #7 | Maseno University | Kenya | 61.5 | 2,175 | 5,150 | 7.1% |
| #8 | Pwani University | Kenya | 60.1 | 1,590 | 4,661 | 41.1% |
| #9 | Strathmore University | Kenya | 58.7 | 1,495 | 3,558 | 26.4% |
| #10 | University of Embu | Kenya | 58.5 | 1,097 | 4,857 | 26.4% |
| #11 | Technical University of Kenya | Kenya | 58.3 | 1,394 | 6,700 | -10.2% |
| #12 | University of Eldoret | Kenya | 58.3 | 1,427 | 3,764 | 9.9% |
| #13 | Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology | Kenya | 58.1 | 1,579 | 4,978 | -6.2% |
| #14 | Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology | Kenya | 57.9 | 2,087 | 3,290 | -2.9% |
| #15 | Mount Kenya University | Kenya | 56.9 | 2,701 | 3,683 | -31.8% |
| #16 | United States International University Africa | Kenya | 55.9 | 702 | 2,554 | 72.3% |
| #17 | Chuka University | Kenya | 55.5 | 1,153 | 2,366 | 39.4% |
| #18 | Technical University of Mombasa | Kenya | 55.3 | 1,044 | 2,982 | -15.0% |
| #19 | Kisii University | Kenya | 54.5 | 1,498 | 2,429 | -1.2% |
| #20 | Catholic University of Eastern Africa | Kenya | 53.8 | 1,367 | 805 | 62.0% |
| #21 | Meru University of Science and Technology | Kenya | 53.7 | 939 | 1,758 | 12.9% |
| #22 | Maasai Mara University | Kenya | 53.7 | 708 | 1,420 | 47.5% |
| #23 | Daystar University | Kenya | 53.7 | 505 | 442 | 192.1% |
| #24 | Dedan Kimathi University of Technology | Kenya | 53.7 | 913 | 2,673 | -11.9% |
| #25 | South Eastern Kenya University | Kenya | 53.2 | 807 | 2,672 | -31.9% |
| #26 | Karatina University | Kenya | 52.6 | 484 | 2,064 | 28.0% |
| #27 | Africa International University | Kenya | 52.1 | 512 | 1,065 | 58.7% |
| #28 | Umma University | Kenya | 51.8 | 316 | 684 | 63.9% |
| #29 | Murang'a University of Technology | Kenya | 51.5 | 685 | 1,416 | 42.7% |
| #30 | Machakos University | Kenya | 50.8 | 455 | 1,271 | 40.4% |
| #31 | Great Lakes University of Kisumu | Kenya | 50.8 | 322 | 1,784 | -14.2% |
| #32 | University of Kabianga | Kenya | 50.6 | 491 | 885 | 48.5% |
| #33 | Kibabii University | Kenya | 49.9 | 800 | 690 | 75.1% |
| #34 | St. Paul's University | Kenya | 49.8 | 601 | 566 | 36.4% |
| #35 | Laikipia University | Kenya | 49.8 | 488 | 611 | 96.4% |
| #36 | Pan African University Institute for Basic Sciences, Technology and Innovation | Kenya | 49.6 | 382 | 3,125 | -62.2% |
| #37 | Kabarak University | Kenya | 49.5 | 913 | 872 | -0.5% |
| #38 | Kenya Methodist University | Kenya | 49.3 | 917 | 444 | 4.8% |
| #39 | Pan Africa Christian University | Kenya | 48.8 | 315 | 4,567 | -5.0% |
| #40 | Kenya Medical Training College | Kenya | 48.4 | 290 | 498 | 44.7% |
| #41 | KCA University | Kenya | 47.4 | 384 | 1,044 | 20.9% |
| #42 | Kirinyaga University | Kenya | 47.1 | 365 | 629 | 38.1% |
| #43 | Multimedia University of Kenya | Kenya | 46.8 | 335 | 622 | 38.7% |
| #44 | Amref International University | Kenya | 46.6 | 208 | 527 | 108.0% |
| #45 | Kaimosi Friends University | Kenya | 46.4 | 379 | 1,047 | -6.9% |
| #46 | Rongo University | Kenya | 45.6 | 403 | 283 | 29.4% |
| #47 | Tom Mboya University College | Kenya | 44.4 | 116 | 2,491 | -94.3% |
| #48 | National Defence College Kenya | Kenya | 40.2 | 167 | 93 | 163.9% |
| #49 | Adventist University of Africa | Kenya | 40.1 | 215 | 223 | -15.4% |
| #50 | Lukenya University | Kenya | 39.8 | 109 | 181 | 135.0% |
| #51 | Bomet University | Kenya | 39.7 | 134 | 757 | -76.2% |
| #52 | East African University | Kenya | 39.6 | 145 | 203 | -12.3% |
| #53 | Africa Nazarene University | Kenya | 38.7 | 184 | 131 | -19.5% |
| #54 | University of Eastern Africa, Baraton | Kenya | 38.6 | 139 | 137 | -16.4% |
| #55 | Zetech University | Kenya | 37.7 | 140 | 127 | 73.9% |
| #56 | Riara University | Kenya | 36.4 | 124 | 241 | -55.6% |
Transparent methodology
How ITS Research Score v2 is constructed
Every index-ready institution has a base score from recent output, citations, h-index, i10-index and publication growth. After deep enrichment completes, ITS Research Score v2 uses six dimensions: 25% output strength, 30% Research Impact Score, 20% Momentum Score, 10% international-collaboration share, 5% open-access share and 10% topic-diversity signal. Output and citation-scale terms are log-normalized to reduce domination by the largest universities.
Research Impact Score combines citation intensity, h-index, two-year mean citedness when available and i10 visibility. It is intentionally not called field-normalized impact. International collaboration is based on recent works with authors from more than one country. Research diversity is an entropy-based summary of the institution’s leading topic signals, not a department count.
These indicators assess research activity only. They do not measure teaching quality, student experience, employability, reputation, finances or accreditation. Missing data are left missing rather than fabricated.