Kenya recorded a sharp decline in PhD graduates in 2025 even as the number of students completing master's degrees and postgraduate diplomas increased, according to the Commission for University Education (CUE).
The Universities Statistics Report 2025 shows that doctoral graduates fell from 1,022 in 2024 to 852 in 2025, a reduction of 170 graduates, or approximately 16.6 per cent. In contrast, master's graduates increased from 7,943 to 8,611, while postgraduate diploma graduates rose from 672 to 1,026 over the same period.
The contrasting figures highlight a shift in Kenya's postgraduate graduation trends, with growth at the master's level occurring alongside a decline in doctoral completions.
Women maintain a strong presence in postgraduate education
The report also documents changes in gender representation across the different academic qualifications. Male PhD graduates declined from 615 in 2024 to 472 in 2025, while female graduates fell from 407 to 380. Women consequently accounted for 44.6 per cent of all PhD graduates in 2025, narrowing the gender gap compared with the previous year.
At the master's level, women maintained a slight majority. They accounted for 3,993 graduates, representing 50.3 per cent of the total, in 2024. In 2025, their number increased to 4,362, equivalent to approximately 50.6 per cent of all master's graduates.
The figures show that women continued to graduate in numbers comparable to men at the master's level, although they remained underrepresented among PhD graduates. At the postgraduate diploma level, female representation increased from 40.2 per cent in 2024 to 49.4 per cent in 2025, bringing the distribution closer to gender parity.
Bachelor's degrees remain dominant
Despite the decline in PhD graduates, Kenya's overall university graduation numbers increased during the period under review. The number of graduates rose from 123,928 in 2024 to 124,912 in 2025, an increase of 984.
Bachelor's degrees accounted for 92.2 per cent of all graduates in 2024 and 91.6 per cent in 2025, remaining the dominant qualification across the university sector. The latest figures underline the substantial difference between undergraduate and postgraduate graduation numbers, and demonstrate that the increase in overall university graduates did not translate into growth across every qualification level. However, the report's graduation figures alone do not establish the reasons behind the decline in PhD completions or indicate whether the trend will continue.
Research capacity remains an important consideration
Doctoral graduates form part of the pool of highly qualified researchers, university lecturers and specialists contributing to knowledge production and professional training. The decline therefore places renewed attention on doctoral education and the need to track progression through Kenya's postgraduate system. Further information on enrolment, completion rates and the duration of doctoral studies would help establish whether the reduction reflects a broader trend or a change limited to the year under review.
The increase in master's graduates, meanwhile, demonstrates continued growth at that qualification level, although the statistics do not establish how many will proceed to doctoral studies. Kenya's higher education performance must ultimately be assessed through both the number of graduates produced and the quality and impact of their training and research.
For now, the CUE figures present a clear contrast: more Kenyans are graduating with master's degrees, but fewer are completing PhDs, a trend that warrants continued monitoring as the country develops its higher education and research capacity.
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