About Us

Brief History of Academic Division

The inception of the University of Nairobi is traced back to 1956, with the establishment of the Royal Technical College which admitted its first lot of A-level graduates for technical courses in April the same year. The Royal Technical College was transformed into the second University College in East Africa on 25th June, 1961 under the name Royal College Nairobi and was admitted into a special relations with the University of London whereupon it immediately began preparing students in the faculties of Arts, Science and Engineering for award degrees of the University of London. Meanwhile, students in other faculties such as the Faculty of Special Professional Studies (later renamed Faculty of Commerce) and Faculty of Architecture continued to offer diplomas for qualifications of professional bodies/ institutions. On 20th May 1964, the Royal College Nairobi was renamed University College Nairobi as a constituent college of inter-territorial, Federal University of East Africa, and henceforth the enrolled students were to study for degrees of the University of East Africa and not London as was the case before. In 1970, the University College Nairobi transformed into the first national university in Kenya and was renamed the University of Nairobi. In view of the rapid expansion and complexities in administration, the University underwent a major restructuring in 1983 resulting in decentralization of the administration, by creation of six (6) campus colleges headed by principals.

The following are the names and respective locations of the colleges:-

• College of Agriculture & Veterinary Sciences situated at Upper Kabete Campus

• College of Architecture & Engineering situated at the Main Campus

• College of Biological & Physical Sciences situated at Chiromo Campus

• College of Education & External Studies situated at Kikuyu Campus

• College of Health Sciences situated at the Kenyatta National Hospital Campus

• College of Humanities & Social Sciences situated at the Main Campus – Faculty of Arts; Parklands Campus-Faculty of Law; Lower Kabete Campus-Faculty of Commerce

The above colleges have since changed in a recent restructuring in the year 2021 to the following Faculties:

• Faculty of Agriculture

• Faculty of Built Environment

• Faculty of Business and Management Science

• Faculty of Education

• Faculty of Engineering

• Faculty of Health Sciences

• Faculty of Law

• Faculty of Science and Technology

• Faculty of Arts

• Faculty of Social Sciences

• Faculty of Veterinary Medicine

LOCATION OF ACADEMIC DIVISION UNITS

The Academic Division is responsible for strategic academic planning and higher education business intelligence for purposes of supporting data driven decision making and contributing to transformative ventures that lead to a world Class University committed to scholarly excellence.

Sections of the Academic Division are located as follows: