Kenya is in the process of transforming into a knowledge-based economy. The country has been building new universities to meet its growing needs for technology and science-based education.
Some of the courses expected to transform this country into this expected outlook are quite demanding. When it comes to the demand for a course, the institution offering the course is also a factor to be considered.
For instance, some universities in Kenya are considered strict compared to others. In this article, we present a list of 15 highly demanding courses in Kenya.
Highly demanding courses in Kenya are:
- Chemical engineering
- Electrical and electronics engineering
- Computer engineering
- Bachelor of medicine and surgery
- Pharmacy
- Dentistry
- Accounting
- Economics
- Entrepreneurial studies
- Computer programming
- Computer science
- Cyber security
- Architecture
- Quantity surveying
- Construction management
Highly Demanding Engineering Courses in Kenya
Chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is among the highly demanding courses in Kenya. The demand for this course is based on the fact that it is a course that incorporates different subjects. Therefore, for successful completion and certification in chemical engineering, a student needs to have mastered a diverse range of subjects. Before you make a decision to pursue this course in Kenya, you should ensure you have enough knowledge of physics and maths.
Chemical engineering degree involves a lot of maths, physics, and a high number of exams compared to other courses. Therefore, if you want to take chemical engineering at the university, your success will depend on these subjects and your focus level.
Electrical and electronics engineering
Electrical and electronics engineering is among the most marketable courses in Kenya. The high demand for this course is based on the fact that it involves a lot of practical work. Apart from practicals, the course involves a series of complicated mathematical calculations.
Physics is the core subject in electrical and electronics engineering. The core concepts in physics necessary for success in electrical and electronics engineering include ohm’s law, current, voltage, etc. Therefore, if you were not good in these sections from your high school physics, then you may need to consider a different course.
Computer engineering
Like other engineering courses, computer engineering involves a lot of maths, physics, and electronics which are crucial in ensuring you get certified with high scores. The course is very demanding and students continue to compete for limited spaces in this major.
Computer engineering involves a lot of programming, research, and designing. Therefore, it requires you to be creative and have the ability to think outside the box when solving problems. The degree also focuses on software development by incorporating different courses that relate to coding such as C++, Lua, etc.
Highly Demanding Health Courses in Kenya
Bachelor of medicine and surgery
Bachelor of medicine and surgery is one of the hotcake courses in Kenya. As a science-related course, medical students undertake many practicals during the course. The practicals are arduous and demand a lot of time, effort, and attention to detail.
Bachelor of medicine and surgery also involves several hours in hospitals where you get hands-on training on how patients are handled by medical professionals. When you visit most hospitals in Kenya, you will find medical students engaging in practicals and assisting doctors on various practicals. To be successful in this course, you need hands-on skills in science subjects especially biology and chemistry.
As a highly demanding course, medicine will take a lot of your time. If you are a person who enjoys a social life, then you may need to consider other courses. Taking bachelor of medicine and surgery means most of your time will be consumed doing practicals and other classes.
Pharmacy
Pharmacy requires students to be very passionate about science and research because it involves a lot of practicals. As one of the hardest courses in Kenya, pharmacy needs high knowledge of chemistry and biology.
The course is highly demanding because it involves a lot of practical work in which you get to test different drugs by first examining the structure, composition, etc. on paper before coming up with prescriptions for patients. To understand drugs and how they function in the human body, you need a mastery of chemical equations. You will have to write and balance many complex chemical equations in your pharmacy classes.
You also need to be very good at maths since most exams require you to calculate dosage measurements. To calculate these measurements, you will use fractions or percentages among other maths concepts.
Dentistry
Dentistry is a course considered one of the most demanding in Kenya. The course involves a lot of practical work where you get to practice dentistry on patients. In this course, you will develop your knowledge in biology as well as chemistry since most chemical reactions are used for different dental procedures such as teeth cleaning and root canal treatment among others.
If you want to take a dentistry course in Kenya, you need to have a lot of time and be passionate about the course. Students in Kenya spend most of their weekends doing research or visiting patients under supervision from dental practitioners.
Dentistry is both physically and mentally demanding. You will find dentists doing precise and tedious work in a tiny area with their hands. Moreover, their eyes are always focused on a small area through loupes for long periods of time. Due to this demand, you will need a strong back and neck.
Highly Demanding Business Courses in Kenya
Accounting
Accounting is designed to teach students how to manage and keep records of different transactions. It is a course that will introduce you to the basics of business such as how businesses operate, what makes them run smoothly or not, etc. The accounting major is one of the highly demanding courses in Kenya as it prepares students to become Certified Public Accountants (CPAs).
Accounting involves writing reports where students get to calculate totals for various organizations in Kenya. They also prepare summaries about the financial status of an organization using acquired knowledge in mathematics, finance, business management studies among other courses.
Accounting involves intense calculations that call for dedication among students. For instance, students calculate the depreciation of assets and other financial equations for different organizations. Additionally, to qualify as a CPA, you will need to excel in Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR), Regulation (REG), and Business Environment and Concepts (BEC). All these sections are highly demanding and will extra effort from you.
Economics
Mostly offered as a major in business studies, economics is one of the highly demanding courses in Kenya. Economics involves studying market behavior and how individuals make decisions involving resource allocations that affect others around them including their families or society at large. The course prepares students for careers such as financial analysts, economists, and consultants among others.
In Kenya, you will find that this course is very demanding as students have to go through a lot of mathematics such as calculus or statistics in order to understand market behavior. In addition, they learn about macroeconomics which covers topics like unemployment rates and inflation levels among other factors affecting an economy. Based on these requirements, you can gauge yourself to see if you can handle the demand of the course.
Entrepreneurial studies
Entrepreneurial studies is another demanding course in Kenya. Students enrolled for this course learn about business management which involves understanding how businesses work and how to manage different organizations.
Business management is what you will learn after enrolling in the entrepreneurial studies major. You will understand issues like marketing, finance, human resources among other factors that influence an organization’s growth. To be successful in entrepreneurial studies, you will need to have a high level of dedication towards your studies. The course is also undertaken alongside other courses like mathematics and accounting to get the most out of the curriculum.
Highly Demanding IT Courses in Kenya
Computer Programming
Computer programming is like learning a foreign language. It takes time to master a new language and this is how a computer programming course works. The course is a major in most computer engineering courses and prepares students for careers such as software engineers, web developers among others.
As one of the highly demanding courses in Kenya, computer programming introduces students to the language of computers which is quite complicated. Computers lack the inherent knowledge about the world as is the case with human beings. This is why students need to learn this new language in order to communicate with computers.
Some of the computer languages that students learn include C++, MATLAB, Python, Java among others. The course is very demanding as it requires you to go through a lot of mathematics and programming skills before understanding the language fully.
Computer Science
One of the highly demanding courses in Kenya, computer science involves studying how computers work at different levels. You will learn hardware design which forms the foundation of computers. Students will learn how to design different parts of a computer including the central processing unit or CPU, random access memory (RAM) among others. To excel in computer science, you will need computer programming and coding skills to understand how to communicate with computers.
Computing is an essential component of today’s world and this course helps you understand why it all began with computing devices. You will also learn about software development which covers designing programs that run on computers. Students are taught about different programming languages that they can use to develop programs for their organizations or even sell them online among other uses. All these course aspects require dedication on the part of students.
Cyber security
Cyber security involves protecting your information and computer systems from unauthorized access. The cyber security course will introduce you to the different tactics used by hackers to gain access into computers. Students enrolled for this course study topics like cryptography which involves hiding data through algorithms among other security practices that help protect their organization’s online presence.
If you want to enroll as a cyber security student in Kenya, you will need to develop the necessary skills in computer programming. Cyber security requires you to understand how computers work and what different pieces of code mean when it comes to accessing a system’s information. A lot of calculations are involved here, so you have to be good at maths.
Highly Demanding Building Courses in Kenya
Architecture
Architecture is not a walk in the park as many students think. The course is highly demanding and takes a lot of effort to excel in it. Students enrolled here study different aspects of buildings including their designs, environments among other factors that influence how people use them.
Architecture involves designing and drawing different structures like buildings and bridges. You have to be good in mathematics and physics as you will be dealing a lot with angles and elevations. You will also need to learn about building codes that regulate the construction of different buildings.
Architecture requires one to develop spatial awareness by looking at an object from different angles and imagining what it would look like after being built. Architecture students must be good in mathematics so they can solve problems relating to their projects efficiently.
Quantity surveying
Quantity surveying involves the estimation of the amount of resources needed to complete construction projects. Construction projects deal with diverse resources that require complex measurements. Therefore, complex mathematics like algebra and geometry skills are used in quantity surveying.
Students enrolled for this course study topics like construction materials, project management among other aspects of the industry. They also learn about different techniques that can be applied when measuring the resources needed to complete projects. For instance, they will learn how to use computer software or technical drawing tools which can help them give clients clear and accurate cost estimates.
Construction management
The construction management course is one of the most popular courses in Kenya because it opens up a lot of opportunities. This course helps people understand how to manage different construction projects from initial planning till completion and handover among other factors that need attention during this period.
Managing construction requires students to be hands-on as they will have to deal with physical resources like stones and bricks. They will learn how to read technical drawings and use software that helps them estimate the amount of resources needed for projects.
Construction management is rewarding as graduates can easily find jobs after completion of this course. They are also able to start their own construction companies where they manage all aspects of a project from planning till handover or even building new structures.
Wrapping Up
Highly demanding courses in Kenya require hands-on skills. Most of these courses involve a lot of calculations and physics aimed at making human life easy, secure, healthy, and efficient. However, if you decide to pursue one of these demanding courses, you will need to be ready for a lot of hard work as you study. You will have to sacrifice a lot of social time to conduct practicals that will equip you with the relevant hands-on skills for the successful execution of your career.