UoN beats KU as top university in Kenya in the latest global ranking
University of Nairobi has retained its position as Kenya’s leading university in the latest Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027
The University of Nairobi has retained its position as Kenya’s leading university in the latest Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027, despite being placed in the global 1,601 to 1,800 band.
According to the report, Kenyatta University followed, appearing in the 1,801-2,000 global band, with the two universities being the only Kenyan institutions assigned specific overall ranking bands.
Other Kenyan universities featured in the rankings as ‘Reporter’ institutions, meaning they were included in Times Higher Education’s database but were not assigned an overall global ranking band.
The institutions listed as Reporter universities included Kabarak University, Karatina University, Kibabii University, Laikipia University, Machakos University and Mount Kenya University.
The latest ranking released on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, covers 2,297 universities across 118 countries, making the 2027 edition the most extensive in Times Higher Education’s history.
According to the report, UoN recorded an overall score of between 24.2 and 27.1, with scores of 16.0 in teaching, 14.4 in research environment, 40.4 in research quality, 22.5 in industry and 48.2 in international outlook.
Kenyatta University recorded an overall score between 20.4 and 24.1, scoring 13.8 in teaching, 10.3 in research environment, 32.7 in research quality, 17.3 in industry and 54.9 in international outlook.
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The rankings placed Kenya’s leading universities below the highest-ranked institutions in sub-Saharan Africa, with South Africa’s University of Cape Town emerging as the region’s top-ranked university.
The University of Cape Town climbed to joint 147th globally from joint 164th in the previous edition, while the number of ranked universities from sub-Saharan Africa increased from 55 to 69.
The University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa also featured among the continent’s leading institutions, ranking 301st globally in the 2027 edition.
Globally, the University of Oxford retained the top position for the 11th consecutive year, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in second place, while Princeton University and Stanford University shared third position.
The University of Cambridge ranked fifth globally, followed by Harvard University in sixth place, with institutions from the United States and the United Kingdom continuing to dominate the top positions.
The report also highlighted the growing presence of Asian universities, with China’s Tsinghua University rising to 11th and the National University of Singapore to 15th, bringing the number of Asian universities in the global top 15 to three.
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