UoN Tops Times Higher Education Rankings by Subject

The University of Nairobi has been ranked in five subjects in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings by Subject 2026, retaining its position as Kenya's top-performing university. The University of Nairobi is the only institution in Kenya ranked across multiple subjects, solidifying its position as the country's leading comprehensive university.

The Times Higher Education rankings, a trusted global benchmark, evaluate over 2,300 universities across 11 subject areas using 18 performance indicators. The results solidify UoN’s standing as a multi-disciplinary research leader in the country.

The 2026 subject rankings reveal the University of Nairobi outperformed Kenyatta University (KU) in four of these subject areas: Business and Economics, Medical and Health, Physical Sciences, and Social Sciences. The two universities were tied in Life Sciences with an overall score of 23.4-29.1.  Only 2 universities in Kenya have been included in the 2026 Report. Inclusion is stringent, a university must first be ranked in the overall World University Rankings, then meet specific publication and academic staff thresholds for each subject. This ensures only actively researching institutions are compared.

The most notable improvement is in Social Sciences with a score of 26.6 – 31.6. UoN jumped from the 801-1000th in 2025 band into the 601-800th position globally. Its score for "Research Environment," which measures reputation, income, and productivity, more than doubled from 9.3 to 23.9. This area remains a key national strength for UoN, where it leads KU by a significant margin.

In Medical and Health (overall score: 28.2 -33), UoN maintained its global position in the 601-800th band and is the only Kenyan university featured in this subject. Its "Research Quality" score, reflecting citation impact and excellence, reached a high of 51.0.

A landmark achievement for 2026 is UoN’s first-ever appearance in the Business and Economics rankings, entering directly in the 801-1000th band. Its strongest pillar in this new category is Research Quality, scoring 38.1.

A key area of strength is Life Sciences, where UoN maintains its global standing in the 801-1000 band. With an overall score of 23.4, the university ties with Kenyatta University and Makerere University in this vital field. The scores show positive momentum, with improvements in Research Quality and Industry engagement, highlighting its role in agricultural, biological, and environmental research.

The rankings also highlight fields requiring focused investment. Kenyan universities, including UoN, were absent from six subject tables: Arts and Humanities, Computer Science, Education Studies, Engineering, Law, and Psychology. This points to a broader national need to build research volume and international collaboration in these disciplines.

Furthermore, UoN’s ranking in Physical Sciences experienced a decline, dropping from the 1000+ band in 2025 to 1251+ in 2026. While some underlying metrics like Research Environment improved by double from 6.8 in 2025 to 12.2 in 2026 and Research quality from 13.7 to 18.5, the overall score places it behind regional peers like Uganda’s Makerere University.

Regionally, East African universities face intense competition. South Africa’s University of Cape Town leads the continent with an overall score of 60.8, highlighting the performance gap with East African institutions. Within East Africa, Uganda’s Makerere University is a strong contender, outperforming UoN in Physical Sciences and holding a higher overall continental ranking.

Globally, the rankings remain dominated by institutions from the United States and United Kingdom, such as Harvard, MIT, Oxford, and Cambridge. This underscores the competitive landscape in which UoN is building its reputation.

Methodology: A Rigorous Benchmark

Universities are assessed across five core pillars: Teaching, Research Environment, Research Quality, Industry, and International Outlook. Crucially, the weight of these pillars is carefully adjusted for each subject to fairly reflect different academic cultures and publication practices.

The 2026 subject rankings paint a picture of a university on the rise, retaining its number 1 spot and making strategic inroads in key disciplines. The significant improvements in research environment and quality, particularly in Social Sciences and Medical fields, are commendable. The challenge now is to translate this momentum into stronger industry links, higher teaching scores, and expanded presence into currently unranked subjects. For Kenya and East Africa, the journey toward greater global academic impact continues, with the University of Nairobi poised to drive that progress.