Higher education in Somalia has become privatized in recent years. Due to this change, the institutions and universities found within Somalia have been ranked some of the best in Africa and, in some cases, the world.

The PhD is a doctoral degree, specifically called a "doctor of philosophy" degree. This is misleading because PhD holders are not necessarily philosophers (unless they earned their degree in philosophy!). That said, PhD recipients are able to engage in thought experiments, reason about problems, and solve problems in sophisticated ways.