Embu University achieved university status in 2016. It was founded in 1947 as an agricultural training school providing certificate-level qualifications. The university has retained its focus on teaching in agriculture.
As well as a school in agriculture there are also schools of law, pure and applied science, business and economics, education and social science, and nursing. There are also plans to introduce a local language curriculum over the next decade. A Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Institute, offering certificate and diploma-level courses, was opened in 2022.
The Green Innovation Centre, operating out of a building intended to be carbon-neutral, was created as a business incubator in July 2021.
International partners include Syracuse University in the US and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences