He has been the chancellor of Gulu University, a public institution of higher education, since October 2014, replacing Martin Aliker.
[5] Kayanja holds a Bachelor of Science degree, awarded by the University of London in 1963.
[citation needed] In 1974 Kayanja was hired by Makerere University as a Professor, serving in that capacity until 1982.
He also served as Fellow and Visiting Professor at Wolfson College of the University Cambridge in the United Kingdom from 1982 until 1984.
[7] Kayanja has also worked in a number of institutions both inside and outside of Uganda; including: (a) Lecturer at the University of London in the United Kingdom (b) Associate professor at the University of Nairobi (c) Professor and dean at Makerere University (d) Chairman of the Uganda National Agricultural Research Organization (e) Chairman of the Uganda National Council for Higher Education.