Study in Kenya. Updated November 2026. 5 min read.
Nairobi is where East Africa's news is made and filed. The region's largest newspaper groups are headquartered here, international news organizations base their East Africa correspondents here, and the United Nations runs its only headquarters in the global south from Gigiri, on the city's north side. For a journalism class, that means two weeks inside a working media capital: newsrooms, editors, foreign correspondents, regulators and a reporting project on a story Kenyan journalists are already covering.
In short: a journalism program in Kenya runs 10 to 14 days, mostly in Nairobi, with a field reporting trip at the end. Students visit newsrooms where editors agree, hear from foreign correspondents, pair with Kenyan journalism students and produce a reported piece. We design the program around your course, approach the hosts and run the logistics and safety. Below: learning outcomes, the media landscape by type, a two-week outline, ethics and accreditation, safety and cost.
Who it is for
- Journalism and mass communication schools running a short international reporting course
- Documentary, photojournalism and multimedia programs
- Communication, media studies and African studies courses
- Student newspapers and broadcast clubs with a faculty adviser
What students learn
- Kenya's media landscape: national newspaper and broadcast groups, digital outlets, and the reach of FM radio in Kenya's many languages
- Press freedom in practice: Article 34 of the 2010 Constitution protects media freedom, and students hear how journalists handle legal pressure, advertising power and the risks of covering protests
- Foreign correspondence: covering a vast region from one city, working with fixers fairly, and crediting local colleagues
- Reporting Africa without the clichés, using the Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina's satirical essay How to Write About Africa as the starting text
- Specialist beats that Nairobi does well: environment and wildlife, health, technology, urban life and the UN
- Field skills: interviewing across languages and cultures, informed consent, verification and fact-checking
Newsrooms and hosts, by type
Named organizations are examples of Nairobi's media world, not partners of ours. Newsroom visits depend on news days and editors' time; we request them for your group and confirm each one before it goes into the program.
| Type | Examples | What students do |
|---|---|---|
| Newspaper and broadcast groups | Nation Media Group, the Standard Group and national broadcasters | Newsroom visits and editors' sessions, where they agree |
| Foreign bureaus | International outlets whose East Africa correspondents are based in Nairobi | A panel on regional coverage, fixers and safety |
| The UN in Nairobi | The UN Office at Nairobi in Gigiri, home of UNEP and UN-Habitat | Briefings on covering environment and cities, where the visitor program allows |
| Regulators and press groups | The Media Council of Kenya and journalists' associations | Accreditation, the code of conduct and press freedom |
| Journalism schools | University journalism and media schools in Nairobi | Joint reporting teams with Kenyan students |
| Community and language radio | FM stations broadcasting in Kenyan languages | How most rural Kenyans get their news |
A sample two-week outline
| Day | Where | Learning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nairobi | Arrive at JKIA, transfer, welcome dinner |
| 2 | Nairobi | Orientation and safety briefing; a lecture on Kenya's media landscape; Kiswahili for interviews |
| 3 | Nairobi | Newsroom visits and an editors' session |
| 4 | Nairobi | Foreign correspondents panel; ethics of fixing and credit |
| 5 | Nairobi | The UN in Gigiri; story pitches; students paired with Kenyan journalism students |
| 6 to 8 | Nairobi | Reporting days in pairs, on approved topics such as city transport, music, mobile money or climate |
| 9 | Nairobi | Editing, fact-checking and a session with the Media Council on ethics |
| 10 | Nairobi | Presentations to a working editor; the 10-day version ends here |
| 11 to 13 | Naivasha or the Maasai Mara | Field reporting on flowers and the lake, or on conservation and tourism |
| 14 | Nairobi | Final edits and departure |
Ethics, accreditation and permits
Foreign journalists working in Kenya are accredited by the Media Council of Kenya. Whether students need accreditation depends on how and where their work will be published, so tell us early if pieces will run outside a class or campus outlet and we will check the current requirements with you. Academic research, such as interviews for a thesis or survey data, needs a NACOSTI research licence, from $300 for foreign undergraduates since October 1, 2026; our research permits page explains the process.
- Informed consent for every interview, explained in a language the source understands
- No photographs of children without a parent's consent, and no identifying images of vulnerable people
- No photography of police, military sites, State House or airports; drones need prior authorization
- Fixers and interpreters are paid fairly and credited by name if they wish
- Sources are never paid for interviews
- Kenyan partner students share bylines on joint work
Safety
Before you book, check the current U.S. State Department advisory for Kenya and confirm your travel insurance covers your route; many universities also need their own approval for international travel. Protests in Nairobi in 2024 and 2025 turned violent at times, so our rule is absolute: students do not cover protests, and if one starts near a reporting team, staff move the group out. Reporting pairs check in with our staff on a schedule, travel in our vehicles and are back at base before dark. Our school trip safety page sets out supervision, medical cover and the emergency plan.
What it costs
Faculty-led programs commonly run about $3,500 to $6,500 per student for two to four weeks on the ground, excluding international airfare. A Nairobi-based journalism program is toward the lower part of that range because it involves little internal travel; the field reporting trip and interpreter time are the main extras.
| Item | Guide figure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ground program, 2 to 4 weeks | About $3,500 to $6,500 per student | Lodging, meals, transport, host fees and staff |
| Interpreters and fixers | In the ground price | Paid at fair local rates |
| International flight | About $900 to $1,600 round trip | From New York; more in peak months |
| NACOSTI research licence | From $300 | Only for academic research |
| Kenya eTA and inbound health insurance | $30 plus $44 | Per traveler, before departure |
Next step
Send us your course goals, dates and numbers, and the kind of reporting you want students to produce. We reply with a draft program, the hosts we would approach and an itemized budget. Students can pay in full or monthly, with no deposit.
