Veterinary training at Kabete started in 1942 leading to a diploma certificate. The diploma course offered excellent training, but the diplomates were only recognized as assistants to veterinary officers. Therefore, it was found necessary to start a degree programme in Veterinary Sciences, which was launched in July 1962. At the time, the Faculty was under the University of East Africa. In July 1970, the Faculty became part of The University of Nairobi.
The University of Nairobi grew over time and in 1985 the University was divided into six constituent Colleges: One of these Colleges is the College of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences to which the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and the Faculty of Agriculture belong. The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine comprises five teaching departments. These include the Pre-clinical Department namely; Department of Veterinary Anatomy and Physiology, situated at Chiromo Campus. The Department of Biochemistry offers services across many disciplines and administratively it belongs to the Faculty of Medicine. The other four departments are based in Upper Kabete Campus. These are the Department of Animal Production, Department of Veterinary Pathology, Microbiology and Parasitology, Department of Clinical Studies, and Department of Public Health, Pharmacology, and Toxicology. External funding played a key role in the initial infrastructure development. The Department of Veterinary Pathology, Microbiology and Parasitology was built with the help of USAID funds. Rockefeller Foundation provided physical facilities for all Pre-clinical Departments. The German government provided the funds to put up the Department of Clinical Studies while the Government of Norway provided funds to put up the Department of Animal Production and the Department of Public Health, Pharmacology and Toxicology.
Since its inception, the Faculty has continued to diversify it’s teaching in both undergraduate and postgraduate programs in the field of Veterinary Medicine, Biomedical Sciences and Wildlife Sciences. Initially only planned to train veterinarians, the Faculty now conducts two additional undergraduate degree programs namely Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Technology and Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Management and Related Options. In addition, the Faculty is running several postgraduate, diploma and certificate courses. This scenario calls for re-thinking of the operations of the Faculty to make them more cost-effective and realize savings. It is on this account that the Faculty found it necessary to develop a Strategic Plan that will steer it for the next ten years.