Following the release of its Direct Entry Scheme admission list, Gulu University has now published the official cut-off weights for privately sponsored students seeking admission for the 2026/2027 academic year — and as expected, the medical and pharmacy programmes set the highest bar.
The cut-off list, issued by the Office of the Academic Registrar under Dr. Jerry Bagaya, breaks down the minimum weighted points required for each of the university’s 41 programmes, separated into STEM and Non-STEM categories, with distinct thresholds for male and female applicants in the science-based courses.
The Most Competitive Courses
At the very top sits the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, which demanded a weight of 52.8 for male applicants and a striking 53.0 for female applicants — comfortably the toughest course to crack at the university.
Close behind was the Bachelor of Pharmacy, with cut-offs of 52.2 for males and 51.5 for females, cementing the health sciences as the most fiercely contested field.
Among the non-STEM programmes, the Bachelor of Laws stood head and shoulders above the rest, requiring a cut-off weight of 46.6 — far higher than any other humanities or business course on the list.
Where the Other Programmes Landed
For the majority of programmes, cut-off weights clustered in the lower-to-mid range, opening the door for a broad pool of applicants. Notable thresholds included:
- Bachelor of Quantitative Economics – 19.6
- Bachelor of Public Administration and Management (KPK) – 18.7
- Bachelor of Sports, Exercise and Health Science – 18.2
- Bachelor of Information and Communications Technology (GIW) – 17.6
- Bachelor of Science with Education (Mathematics and Economics) – 17.9
- Bachelor of Development Management (GDW) – 16.6
- Bachelor of Science Education (Biological) – 16.0
- Bachelor of Procurement and Supply Chain Management (GSM) – 16.0
- Bachelor of Business Administration (BBG) – 12.3
- Bachelor of Business Administration (BAK) – 11.2
In the STEM category, science-based courses showed interesting gender splits in their thresholds. The Bachelor of Applied Science (Physical), for instance, set a cut-off of 15.8 for males but a higher 23.8 for females, while the Bachelor of Science in Biosystems Engineering required 18.2 for males and 21.6 for females.
Why the Gender Split?
For applicants new to the system, the differing male and female cut-offs in STEM programmes reflect a long-standing affirmative-action approach in Ugandan higher education, where adjustments are applied to encourage broader participation and balance enrolment across science and technology fields.
What This Means for Applicants
The cut-off weights serve as the benchmark that separated those who made the admission list from those who narrowly missed out. For prospective students planning ahead, the figures offer a clear picture of how competitive each programme is — and where the real battles for places lie.
The headline takeaway is familiar but worth repeating: medicine, pharmacy, and law remain the hardest tickets at Gulu University, while a wide range of business, education, and development programmes offer more accessible entry points for students with solid but less stratospheric scores.
Admitted students can now proceed to access their admission letters, which became available from July 1, 2026, through their application portals and the respective faculties.
