Study in Kenya. Updated November 2026. 5 min read.
Kenya is where American students go to study public health in the field, wildlife ecology where the wildlife is, and Kiswahili in a homestay in Kisumu. It has English as an official language, strong universities, world-famous research stations, and a direct flight from New York. What a U.S. program needs on the ground is a Kenyan partner who handles the logistics, the safety and the local relationships, and speaks the language of American risk management.
That is the job we do. Kenya Experience is a collaboration of two U.S. companies: GCK Travel, which plans trips for schools, churches and institutions, and Roundtrip Safaris, which runs Kenya operations, vehicles, lodges and guides. We design and run faculty-led programs and high school trips, support semester and research programs with ground logistics, and run KESCA, our own summer academy. This page is the overview; the cards above lead to each program type.
Who this is for
- Study-abroad offices evaluating a Kenya provider for a faculty-led course or a short program
- Faculty members with a course idea who need a budget, a partner and an itinerary
- High school teachers taking a class abroad, and the parents who must say yes
- Individual students looking for a summer program, an internship placement or KESCA
Program types
| Program | Length | Who it suits | What we do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faculty-led course | 10 to 21 days | 10 to 25 students and one or two faculty | Design, partners, logistics, safety, on-the-ground staff |
| Semester program | A full term | Students enrolled through a university or provider | Ground logistics, excursions, safaris and emergency support |
| Summer internship | 4 to 10 weeks | Public health, conservation and business students | Arrival, housing, transport and check-ins around a placement |
| Research fieldwork | Varies | Graduate students and faculty | Vehicles, field camps, permits planning, park access |
| Service learning | 7 to 10 days | High schools, colleges, faith groups | Community-led projects with partner schools |
| KESCA | Academy plus 14 days in Kenya | Ages 16 to 34, mostly Kenyan-American | Our own program, developed with the University of Nairobi |
The ecosystem we fit into
Kenya is already one of Africa's most established study-abroad destinations. Directory sites such as GoOverseas list more than a dozen programs, and SIT runs a semester in Kisumu on global health and human rights, with homestays and an independent study project, plus a summer public-health internship. U.S. universities including Purdue, Rutgers, Seattle University, St. Lawrence, Oregon and Iowa have run recurring Kenya programs, some through providers. We are not trying to replace those programs. We are a Kenya-only ground partner for the institutions that want to build their own, or that need reliable logistics around an existing one.
Partners on the ground
Good programs in Kenya are built on Kenyan institutions. Depending on the subject, that means universities such as the University of Nairobi, Kenyatta University, Maseno, Moi, Strathmore and USIU-Africa; research stations such as the Mpala Research Centre in Laikipia; the Kenya Wildlife Service and community conservancies; and hospitals and county health departments. We match your course to the right hosts and guest lecturers and arrange the introductions. KESCA is developed with the University of Nairobi; for other programs, we confirm each partner in writing before it goes into your proposal.
What study-abroad offices ask us
- Standards: we plan to the Forum on Education Abroad's Standards of Good Practice and will walk your office through how each one is met
- Emergency response: every program has a written emergency action plan, a 24-hour contact in Kenya and a named contact in the U.S.
- The travel advisory: we review the current U.S. State Department advisory for Kenya against your route with your office, and confirm your insurance covers it
- Medical evacuation: we require evacuation cover, separate from Kenya's mandatory $44 inbound health insurance, and can arrange AMREF Flying Doctors membership
- Conduct: we agree conduct rules, alcohol policy and incident reporting with your office before departure, including Title IX reporting lines
- Credit: academic credit comes from your institution; we provide contact hours, site documentation and syllabus support
- Accessibility: tell us what students need and we will say honestly what Kenya's lodges, vehicles and sites can accommodate
What it costs
Faculty-led programs in Kenya commonly run about $3,500 to $6,500 per student for two to four weeks on the ground, excluding international airfare. Where your program lands in that range depends on length, group size, lodging standard, how much flying is involved and how many parks are visited. Students on school and university programs pay discounted park fees at the Maasai Mara and in Kenya Wildlife Service parks with a letter from their institution; at the Mara, students pay $50 a day at the time of writing, against $100 to $200 for adult visitors, and the ticketing office needs about two weeks' notice. We send an itemized budget with every proposal, so your office can see where each dollar goes.
| Cost item | Guide figure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ground program, 2 to 4 weeks | About $3,500 to $6,500 per student | Market range; we quote per program |
| International flight | About $900 to $1,600 round trip | From New York; peak months cost more |
| Kenya eTA | $30 | Every traveler, applied for online |
| Inbound health insurance | $44 plus fees | Mandatory since October 2026, bought on eCitizen |
| Maasai Mara student fee | $50 a day | With an institution letter and two weeks' notice |
How it works: the planning timeline
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| 12 months out | Course idea, learning outcomes, our proposal and budget |
| 9 months out | Institutional approval, risk review, student recruitment opens |
| 6 months out | Student deposits, group flights booked, partners confirmed |
| 3 months out | Pre-departure orientation, travel clinic visits, eTA and insurance |
| 1 month out | Final briefing, rooming list, emergency plan shared with families |
Heritage-linked programs
For HBCUs, Kenyan-American student associations and heritage-minded programs, we add Kenya's Pan-African history, the story of the Kenya Airlift that brought East African students to American colleges, and time with Kenyan university students. KESCA is built for exactly this audience, and our heritage travel page tells the history.
Start a conversation
Send us your course outline or your program idea, with likely dates and numbers. We reply with a draft itinerary, a partner plan and a per-student budget. Students and families can pay in full or monthly with no deposit.
