Open University of Kenya

The Open University of Kenya offers undergraduate and graduate programs online. It is Kenya's first fully virtual university. It was awarded a Charter in 2023 by President William Ruto.
https://www.citizen.digital/news/students-to-pay-from-ksh105k-for-online-degrees-at-open-university-of-kenya-n326248

The university is also accredited by the Commission on University Education (CUE). The programs seem to be offered in a synchronous format, but this is worth querying. See the list of programs here:
https://ouk.ac.ke/ouk-programmes

Select programs and costs
Ph.D. in Business Management - total cost: KES 337,500 ($2,630).
Master's in Artificial Intelligence - total cost KES 187,500 ($1,460)
Bachelor's in Data Science - KES 105,000 per year ($817)

NOTE: Non-East Africans pay 10% more.

On another note, it's been a while since I was here. I guess the last time I was on here, I was traveling around the world. I spent a lot of time in Kenya. But I also completed my goal of visiting at least two countries on each continent. Australia and New Zealand were my last two countries, which I accomplished in December 2024! I went to over 20 countries

I left the tenure-track at the end of the 2023-24 AY and returned to my homeland, Jamaica, in June 2024. Happy I did considering what's going on in the U.S. today. I secured a position as an assistant professor in the criminology and criminal justice program at a local university. So, life is good!!

 

Good to read something from you!

 

Interesting find could very well be the cheapest PhD but when you click download brochure it doesn’t do anything. Wonder if it will be evaluated as equivalent to RA?

 

Good to see you! And thanks for posting

 

Congrats

 

With CUE accreditation and charter, I can't think of a reason it would not be considered RA-equivalent.

 

I had to evaluate my degrees in Jamaica. I skipped the MBA because getting transcripts from India is hard and costly ($50). Attached is my Ph.D. evaluation.

The only difference with the assessment summary for my M.S. and B.S. is stated below:

"Recognised qualification. May be considered for employment and further education purposes in Jamaica." The Ph.D. only says for employment purposes, which makes sense.

 

Can't argue with one bit of that!

 

This looks fascinating. But don't look at it transactionally. Instead, ask yourself if this is an institution you'd like to be a part of. Do you want to do research with these folks?

Also, I thought this was interesting:

With a strong emphasis on academic rigor and real-world application, the programme bridges the gap between theory and practice.

It would be interesting what they mean by this. I'm probably going to enter a professional doctoral program in the near future. If so, I will insist that I get to include theory as the basis for my practical research. Not a full-on PhD-style theory testing or theory-creating, but a theoretical basis for the professional project is vital, IMHO.

This programme (sp!) seems worth exploring, espeicially if you have a research topic in mind. (It looks like a British-style "big book" thesis without a "taught" portion. Natural, given Kenya's history.)

 

I reached out to see if I can get a brochure. Based on my experience exploring programs at Kenyan universities, their Ph.D. programs (Kenyatta, U of Nairobi, Catholic University, Kenya Methodist, and others) almost always have a taught portion (year 1) and thesis in years 2 & 3. Mount Kenya has some doctoral programs that are thesis only and it's specified it in their prospectus.

 

I think Kenya has no problem with 100% online programs. Kabarak University, which chrisjm18 has referred to before, has 100% online degree programs.

 

Just received their email:

"
Thank you for your email.

The Open University of Kenya is yet to offer a PhD programme in Economics.

Best regards
Brendah"

 

I would say yes since the taught portion in the traditional programs is offered face-to-face. However, for universities that are offering a distance/online program, it would not matter since it would be delivered online (e.g., Kabarak University).

For traditional on-campus Ph.D. programs, yes, it would make it impractical. Several universities offer master's degrees online. However, for doctoral programs, I can only think of Kabarak and Africa Nazarene University with online options. ANU would probably need more probing though because while they list three doctoral programs (Ph.D. Religion, Ph.D. Business, and DMin.) under ANU Online, when I download the brochure for the Ph.D. in Religion, it says "Mode of Study: Blended Learning. The doctoral programme is located in the School of Religion and Christian Ministry at the Ongata Rongai Main Campus of Africa Nazarene University, but there is a strong distance component." I find that sometimes in Africa, you have to contact them directly to clarify things because they may not explicitly state that the program is being offered online. Example: The M.A. in Counseling Psychology I was pursuing at Kenya Methodist was fully online, but I only knew this after I inquired because I was planning on doing face-to-face. The same is true for the counseling psych. program at the Catholic University of East Africa.

 

They don't have a Ph.D. in Economics. The website says Ph.D. in Business Management. I spoke to someone at OUK. She confirmed that their programs, including the Ph.D. in Business Management, are fully online and open to international students. She said students have the option of completing their coursework synchronously (which might not be practical for some based on timezone differences) or asynchronously. She said the lectures are recorded, so you can access them when convenient.

She said they are currently admitting students for the Ph.D. in Business Management, which will begin on March 30th. She said this is the first intake as it is a new program. I applied for the master's in cybersecurity and digital forensics over the weekend, which is also new. She said it's also starting March 30th. She told me to message her on WhatsApp so she can follow up on my application. I am skeptical about being admitted since Kenyan (and other African countries, e.g., SA) are very strict with their "relevant" degree for admission. I do not think they will consider criminal justice a relevant field for cybersecurity. I remember one of the lecturers at Kenya Methodist was baffled that I was admitted in the MA Counseling Psychology with a criminal justice degree LOL!

 

Any luck on the brochure?

 

Not yet. I will WhatsApp them and ask. WA seems to be the quickest way to reach them.

 

Thank you for the clarification! It seems Brendah wasn't very flexible in her response. Even though they don't offer a Ph.D. in Economics, perhaps we could explore similar programs like the Ph.D. in Business Management or others in related fields that the university currently offers. It's also good to know that their programs are fully online and open to international students — that makes it more accessible

 

The lady I spoke to said there is no brochure and referred me to the program page to read the program description. However, I told her I wanted to see the modules/courses required to complete the program. She said I will see the modules when I enroll. I told her that prospective students should be able to see the modules before they even enroll to know whether it's a potential good fit. Anyway, she said it's a new program and the website will be updated with the modules eventually.

Since I applied for the cybersecurity program, she said she will reach out to the program lead to get the module information for me.

 

She sounds like a kid riding the bus to school while writing a book report on a book she didn't read.