KUCCPS Cluster Point Requirements for Medicine and Health Science Degrees
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Aug 07, 2026 • Africa Admissions & Exams
Medicine, Pharmacy and Nursing sit in KUCCPS cluster subjects built from Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics and English or Kiswahili. Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery needed above 41.7 cluster points at every public university in the 2026/27 placement cycle, with Pharmacy just under 44 and Nursing from about 40.
🎓 University of Nairobi topped Medicine at 44.926 cluster points, Kenyatta University followed at 44.904
💵 Pharmacy needed 43.874 at University of Nairobi and 43.508 at Kenyatta University
🏠 Nursing cutoffs start lower, from around 40 cluster points at several public universities
⏱️ Cluster points come from your best KCSE grades in the subject group KUCCPS assigns to each course
Cluster subjects for medicine and health science courses
KUCCPS places every degree course in a cluster of KCSE subjects, and your cluster points come from a weighted formula applied to your grades in that group. For Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB), Pharmacy, and most other health science degrees, the cluster draws on Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and English or Kiswahili, according to KUCCPS cutoff reporting on Medicine placements .
Nursing uses a slightly different mix: Mathematics or Physics, English or Kiswahili, Chemistry, and Biology or Biological Science, based on cluster point reporting for Nursing programmes . You need at least a C+ mean grade in KCSE to qualify for degree placement through KUCCPS, and strong grades in the science subjects carry the most weight in your final cluster score.
Cutoff cluster points for Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery
The cutoff points below guided the 2026/27 placement of 2025 KCSE candidates and reflect the minimum cluster points the last admitted student scored during the 2024 KUCCPS cycle. Cutoffs shift every year with demand and each university's intake capacity, so treat these as a guide to how competitive a university runs, not a fixed target.
| University | Cluster points |
|---|---|
| University of Nairobi | 44.926 |
| Kenyatta University | 44.904 |
| JKUAT | 44.834 |
| Maseno University | 44.602 |
| Egerton University | 44.504 |
| Mount Kenya University | 44.504 |
| Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology | 44.160 |
| Kisii University | 44.149 |
| Technical University of Mombasa | 43.734 |
| Kenya Methodist University | 43.076 |
| Pwani University | 43.048 |
| Moi University | 42.066 |
| Uzima University | 41.734 |
Medicine sits among the most competitive KUCCPS courses every cycle, alongside Pharmacy, Engineering and Architecture, so even Moi and Uzima at the lower end of this table still need cluster points most other degree programmes never approach.
Cutoff cluster points for Pharmacy
Pharmacy sits close behind Medicine in competitiveness. University of Nairobi needed 43.874 cluster points and Kenyatta University needed 43.508 for the same intake cycle, per cluster point reporting for Pharmacy . Other universities offering the Bachelor of Pharmacy typically post cutoffs a few points lower, so check the current KUCCPS placement portal for the full list before you rank your choices.
Cutoff cluster points for Nursing and related health science degrees
Nursing cutoffs run lower than Medicine and Pharmacy, with a minimum weighted cluster point around 40 across public universities offering the Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Other health science degrees, such as Clinical Medicine, Nutrition and Dietetics, and Public Health, generally sit in a similar band, since they draw on the same science-heavy cluster subjects but attract fewer applicants than Medicine.
Exact cutoffs vary by university and by year, and KUCCPS publishes the confirmed list for each placement cycle on the student portal. Check your specific course code there, since a general course title like Nursing can cover several related codes with different cutoffs.
After placement: professional registration
Finishing an MBChB does not let you practice immediately. Graduates complete a mandatory one-year internship, then register with the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) to receive a practising licence. Pharmacy and Nursing graduates go through a parallel path with the Pharmacy and Poisons Board and the Nursing Council of Kenya, so factor licensing requirements into your choice of course alongside the cluster points.
How to improve your cluster points
Focus revision time on the specific cluster subjects for your target course rather than spreading effort evenly across all eight KCSE subjects.
Retake KCSE only after checking whether your target university accepts retake candidates for Medicine and Pharmacy, since some institutions restrict this.
Apply to more than one university in your KUCCPS choices, ranking a mix of high-cutoff and moderate-cutoff institutions to increase your chance of placement.
Check the KUCCPS portal directly each cycle for confirmed cutoffs, since points printed in news reports reflect the previous cycle and shift once new KCSE results come in.