Kabale University is located on Plot 364 Block 3 Kikungiri Hill, in Kabale Municipality, about a kilometer off Kabale-Katuna-Kigali Highway.
The University was initially established as a not-for-profit community institution, owned by the people of Kigezi. The University opened its gates in 2002 to forty-two (42) students and presently has an enrolment of about 3500 coming from all parts of Uganda, and the neighboring countries of Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo (DRC) and South Sudan.
Kabale University currently has 60 academic programmes, 3253 students and 220 academic staff members which is about 20% of the approved staff establishment. Of the 56 academic programmes and majority of the programmes are in STEM.