The University of Kisangani was founded in 1963, by the Congo Protestant Council, a coalition of Protestant churches operating in the Congo.

Early critics accused the founders, a small group of American Protestant missionaries, of trying to create a counterweight to Belgian and Catholic Church influence in the new country.

The university did receive some funding from various Protestant groups, but the new Congolese government and the governments of West Germany and the Netherlands also contributed.

[2] In February 2019 it was reported that UNIKIS students had rioted and attacked academic staff and local authorities.

[3] There are eight faculties at the University: (in French) The University of Kisangani's page at Agence universitaire de la Francophonie