Mount Kenya University

Mount Kenya University (MKU) is a private, multi-campus, chartered and ISO 9001:2015 Certified[2][3] university in Kenya. It was founded by Prof. Simon N. Gicharu. MKU is one of the largest private universities in the country, with a student body in excess of 52,000, as at September 2015.[1]

Mount Kenya University
MottoUnlocking Infinite Possibilities
TypePrivate university
Vice-ChancellorProf. Stanley Waudo, PhD
Academic staff
5,000+
Students52,000+ (2015)[1]
Location
Thika
,
Kenya
ColoursLight blue, light orange, and cream
NicknameMKU
AffiliationsIUCEA, ACU, UC-USA, NKU-USA
Sports25 teams
Websitewww.mku.ac.ke
Location of the university in Kenya
One of the university's campuses in Nakuru

Location

The main campus of MKU is located in Thika, approximately 47 kilometres (29 mi), by road, northeast of Nairobi, the capital and largest city in Kenya.[4] The coordinates of the university's main campus are 1°02'44.0"S, 37°04'54.0"E (-1.045559 37.081669).[5]

The university maintains campuses at the following locations, as of April, 2020.[6]

  • Thika (Main) Campus - General Kago Road, Thika
  • Mombasa Campus - MKU Plaza, Nkurumah Road, Mombasa
  • Nairobi Campus - MKU Towers and Union Towers, Nairobi
  • Parklands Law Campus
  • Open Distance and Electronic Learning (ODEL) Center - main campus
  • Nakuru Campus - Great Rift Plaza, opp Valley Hospital, Nakuru
  • Eldoret Campus - Eldoret
  • Meru Campus - Meru [opp Meru County Assembly]
  • MKU Rwanda Campus - Kagarama, Kicukiro, Kigali

MKU ODEL centres, marketing offices, and country offices
  • Kisumu ODEL Centre - Reliance Building, Oginga Odinga Road, Kisumu
  • Kericho ODEL Centre - Sinendet Plaza, Kericho
  • Malindi ODEL Centre - 2nd Floor, Noor Plaza, Malindi.
  • Nyeri office - MKU Plaza Nyeri
  • Kitale ODEL Centre - Kitale
  • Kakamega ODEL Centre - Kakamega
  • Kisii ODEL Centre - Gesonso, Kisii-Migori highway, Kisii
  • Isiolo Office, MKU Plaza, Isiolo
  • Garissa Office - Corner Plaza & Kenya Commercial Bank Building, Garissa
  • Hargeisa Office - Shacab Area (Former UNICEF Building), Hargeisa, Somaliland
  • Kampala, Uganda Office - Bombo Road, Kampala
  • Bujumbura, Burundi - Ground Floor, ABC Building, Avenue de l'Amitié, Bujumbura

History

The institution was founded in 1996 as Thika Institute of Technology. In 2000, the Institute developed into a commercial college offering management and computer training programmes. Later in the year the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology recognized the institute as a fully-fledged institution of higher learning and granted it a full registration approval. In 2005 the Institute became the 1st private institution in Kenya to be allowed to train pharmaceutical technologists by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board of the Kenya Ministry of Health.[7]

In 2006 the Commission for Higher Education (CHE) validated and approved the institute's request for collaboration with JKUAT to offer both diploma and degree programmes. After fulfilling all the requirements, the Commission for Higher Education issued MKU with the authority to establish a full-fledged privately funded university.[7] In 2011, the university was awarded a charter by the government of Kenya, upon the recommendation of the Commission of Higher Education.[2]

Academics

The university is organised into three colleges, 12 schools, and three institutes:[8]

Institutes
  • Institute of Security Studies, Justice and Ethics
  • Institute of Film, Creative and Performing Arts
  • Equip Africa Institute

Colleges
  • College of Graduate Studies and Research
  • College of Health Sciences
  • Equip College of Medical and Health Sciences

Schools
  • College of Health Sciences
    • Medical School
    • School of Pharmacy
    • School of Clinical Medicine
    • School of Nursing
    • School of Public Health
  • School of Business and Economics
  • School of Education
  • School of Engineering, Energy and the Built Environment
  • School of Pure and Applied Sciences
  • School of Social Sciences
  • School of Law[9]
  • School of Computing and Informatics

Sporting amenities

The university has ample sporting fields at its main campus and at the graduation pavilion located at Happy Valley Grounds. In addition to the open fields, the University has an indoor games arena, ultra-modern basket ball pitch, swimming pool, and entertainment halls where students can unwind.

Located at the centre of the students' side is a circular 3-storey building well known as the student centre. The student centre hosts a fully equipped gym which is commonly used for body building, pool table , dart, playstation studio, and other sporting facilities.

Mount Kenya University is at the frontline of honing students sporting activities, some of our alumni who performed well in sports include Rugby Player Martin Owira

Admissions

Mount Kenya University admits both government-sponsored students through the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) and also self-sponsored students.

The University also admits international students who either travel to pursue their studies in Kenya or enroll for E-learning through the Open Distance and Electronic Learning, where they study and submit Continuous Assessment Tests (CAT) online. Exams are issued from MKU Coordination office or the Kenya Embassy in their residing country.

Financial aid

Mount Kenya University students can get funding from Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), Constituency Development Fund, Scholarships example DAAD Scholarships for Postgraduate studies and donors. The university allows students to pay their fees on easy monthly installments (Pay as You Learn)

Mount Kenya University Foundation gives partial scholarships to needy students who are already enrolled at the university.

Memberships

Mount Kenya University is a member of the following associations:

  1. Inter-University Council for East Africa
  2. Association of Commonwealth Universities
  3. National Association of Private Universities of Kenya
  4. Kenya Association of Private Universities
  5. Association of African Universities
  6. Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business(AACSB)
  7. Association of African Business Schools (AABS)
  8. United Nation Academic Impact (UNAI)
  9. The Talloires Network

References
  1. Herbling, David (10 September 2015). "MKU's medical courses on the spot as Rwanda closes campus". Business Daily Africa. Nairobi. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  2. Obua, Fredrick (11 January 2011). "Mount Kenya University to receive charter". The Standard (Kenya). Nairobi. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  3. "Commission for University Education - Status Of Universities (Universities Authorized to Operate in Kenya) - Status Of Universities (Universities Authorized to Operate in Kenya)". www.cue.or.ke. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  4. GFC (24 March 2016). "Distance between Nairobi, Kenya and Mount Kenya University, Thika, Kenya". Globefeed.com (GFC). Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  5. Google (24 March 2016). "Location of Mount Kenya University Main Campus" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  6. MKU (24 March 2016). "Mount Kenya University Campuses". Thika: Mount Kenya University (MKU). Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  7. MKU (24 March 2016). "Mount Kenya University: Our History". Thika: Mount Kenya University (MKU). Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  8. MKU (24 March 2016). "Mount Kenya University: Academic Year 2015 - 2016 Prospectus" (PDF). Thika: Mount Kenya University (MKU). Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  9. Karanja, Faith (20 January 2016). "Mount Kenya University in court over Council for Legal Education accreditation". The Standard (Kenya). Nairobi. Retrieved 24 March 2016.

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