Ghanaian female genius who entered KNUST at 13 becomes youngest PhD student at US university

In December 2021, Ghana celebrated Ruth Ama Gyan-Darkwa after she graduated after studying Mathematics at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

Prior to her graduation, Ruth was adjudged the youngest person to gain admission into a university in the country at the age of 13 in 2017.

Two years after her first degree, the female prodigy has chalked another feat by becoming the Youngest Masters/PhD, Graduate Student at the University of New Mexico, at the age of 18.

Ruth who is pursuing a doctoral degree in electrical engineering at the US university has a dream of working with America’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) after her program.

Read GhanaWeb’s publication about Ruth Ama Gyan-Darkwa published in December 2021 below:

This young lady entered university at 13, completed at 17

Ruth Ama Gyan-Darkwa beat her older sister, Grace, to the age record when she got admitted into the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) at the age of 13 in 2017.

Today, she has just graduated after completing her studies in Mathematics.

The former student of the St. Louis Senior High School first came to the spotlight when she became the youngest ever student to be admitted at the KNUST and now, she is the youngest graduate from any university in Ghana to have completed school at 17.

Before SHS, she schooled at the Christ Our Hope International School and the Abraham Lincoln Junior High School in Kumasi.

In 2017, she appeared on The Lounge, hosted by Kwaku Sakyi-Addo, along with her sister and their father, Kwadwo Gyan-Darkwa, a Mathematics and Physics tutor at the Prempeh College.

“According to her, she passed her Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) at age 9, while in her first year at Justice International School in Kumasi. As a result, at the age of 10, she was accepted into St. Louis Senior High School to study General Science and successfully graduated in 2017,” a report by knust.edu.gh said.

Speaking with the portal, she also confessed to how not so rosy her journey has been, adding that although she had a very brilliant academic history, she experienced some uncertainties with her tertiary education, feeling quite nervous at times.

“I was able to overcome the many challenges because God saw me through, and I looked to him at all times. Also, I had my eyes focused on the end goal. Some of my course mates felt intimidated because they thought I was too brilliant. Others wondered if I was cut for the journey. All these brought me to the point of questioning my potential but found solace in how far I have come, the support I received and the future that awaits me,” she said.

Ruth plans to pursue a master’s degree and then later, a PhD.