One student scores a perfect 5.00. Males outnumber females nearly 2-to-1. And the School of Law is conspicuously absent — here is everything you need to know
The Office of the Academic Registrar at Makerere University has released the Diploma Holders Government Sponsorship Scheme admissions list for the 2026/2027 academic year, dated April 24, 2026. A total of 76 students have been recommended for admission across 9 colleges and schools — subject to verification of their diploma academic transcripts.
Under the scheme, diploma holders admitted on government sponsorship cannot exceed 5% of the intake capacity for any given degree programme — making these among the most competitive and limited slots in Uganda’s public university system.
Leading the entire list is Nakisanze Shonnar Roy (F, Mukono), admitted to the Bachelor of Business Administration at the Makerere University Business School with a score of 5.00 — the only student on the entire 76-person list to achieve a perfect diploma GPA. She is followed by Nadunga Tracy (Jinja, 4.92), Nadunga Merclina Joanita (Sironko, 4.92), and Chemonges Brian (Kapchorwa, 4.92), all in the same programme.
Of the 76 admitted students, approximately 46 are male (61%) and 30 are female (39%). The gender gap is most pronounced in technical programmes — in the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT), only one female was admitted across all programmes: Nayera Esther (Masaka) into Bachelor of Visual Communication, Design and Multimedia.
By contrast, the College of Health Sciences shows stronger female representation, with women admitted into MBChB, Dental Surgery, Pharmacy, Medical Radiography, Biomedical Engineering, Cytotechnology, and Nursing.
College of Health Sciences (CHS) — 13 students admitted across 10 health programmes including MBChB (4 students), Dental Surgery, Pharmacy, Medical Radiography, Environmental Health, Biomedical Engineering, Cytotechnology, Nursing, Optometry, and Biomedical Sciences.
College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences (CAES) — 12 students across programmes including Agriculture, Food Science, Agriculture Engineering, Agribusiness, Forestry, Tourism & Hospitality, Water & Irrigation Engineering, and Geographical Science.
College of Engineering, Design, Art & Technology (CEDAT) — 15 students across Architecture, Land Surveying, Electrical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Quantitative Surveying, Valuation, Fine Art, Industrial Design, Visual Communication, and Computer & Communications Engineering.
College of Business and Management Sciences (CBMS) — 5 students across Statistics, Economics, Commerce, Business Administration, and Population Studies.
College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS) — 3 students across Music, Applied Psychology, and Social Work.
College of Natural Sciences (CONAS) — 7 students across Physical Science, Biological Science, Economics, Industrial Chemistry, Fisheries & Aquaculture, Conservation Biology, and Biotechnology.
College of Computing and Information Sciences (COCIS) — 4 students across Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems & Technology, and Library & Information Science.
College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources & Bio-Security (COVAB) — 3 students across Veterinary Medicine, Biomedical Laboratory Technology, and Animal Production Technology.
Makerere University Business School (MUBS) — 14 students — the largest single college cohort — across Commerce, Business Administration, International Business, Leisure & Hotel Management, Entrepreneurship, Business Computing, Office & Information Management, and Procurement & Supply Chain Management.
Notably absent from the list is the School of Law, which carries a clear footnote: “Pending release of the Pre-Entry results.” Law diploma holders awaiting admission will have to wait for a separate announcement once those results are out.
The 76 admitted students come from a wide spread of districts across Uganda including Wakiso, Mukono, Arua, Jinja, Masaka, Rukungiri, Bushenyi, Kampala, Mbarara, Kole, Pakwach, Kasese, Luwero, Mityana, Amolatar, Kapchorwa, Mitooma, Kyankwanzi, Ibanda, Kaliro and many more — reflecting the national character of the scheme.
The Diploma Holders Government Sponsorship Scheme is one of the least publicised but most impactful pathways into Makerere University. It gives diploma graduates — many of whom took a technical or vocational route after secondary school — a direct route into a full degree programme at Uganda’s flagship university, fully funded by government.
The 5% cap per programme means the competition is intense and the slots are genuinely scarce. For the 76 students who made this list, it represents a second academic chapter that many thought would never come.
See full admission list below;
