The Makerere University
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY
Kampala, Uganda
Historical Background :
Established in 1922 as a humble technical school, Makerere University is one of the oldest and most prestigious Universities in Africa. In January of that year, the school opened its doors to 14 day students who began studying Carpentry, Building and Mechanics. The College soon began offering various other courses in Medical Care, Agriculture , Veterinary Sciences and Teacher Training. It expanded over the years to become a Center for Higher Education in East Africa in 1935. In 1937, the College started developing into an institution of higher education, offering post-school certificate courses. In 1949, it became a University College affiliated to the University College of London. In 1963 it became the University of East Africa, offering courses leading to general degrees of the University of London.
With the establishment of the University of East Africa on 29th June 1963, the special relationship with the University of London came to a close and degrees of the University of East Africa were instituted. On July 1, 1970, Makerere became an independent national university of the Republic of Uganda, offering undergraduate and postgraduate courses leading to its own awards.
Makerere University today :
Makerere University has twenty-two faculties, institutes and schools offering not only day but also evening and external study programmes to a student body of about 30,000 undergraduates and 3,000 postgraduates (both Ugandan and foreign). It is also a very active centre for research.
Makerere University has 36,878 resgistered students as of June 2009. Female students compose 44.3% of the total student population. Up to 5,000 students graduate from the University annually.
There are 3,155 International students at Makerere University, from over 10 countries in Africa and outside Africa, making up 8.6% of the students population.
Focus on Academic Units
Makerere has several academic units:
Faculties (Agriculture, Art, Computing & Information Technology, Economics & Mangament, Forestry & Nature Conservation, Law, Science, Social Sciences, Technology, Veterinary Medecine)
Institutes (Adult & Continuing Education, Environment & Natural Resources, Social Research, Statistics & Applied Economics, Public Health, East African Institute for higher education studies & development)
Centers (Child Health & Development Centre, Human rights & Peace Centre)
Schools (Business School, Education, Industrial & Fine Arts, Library and Information Science)
More information on the Makerere University website: http://www.mak.ac.ug/
