List of Government Established Universities in Ghana that offer degree programmes is not so long when compared with the large number of private universities in the country.
There are over 80 Private Universities in Ghana, while only 10 Federal government Universities offer the same programmes.
List of Government Established Universities in Ghana
Although Ghana is proud of different universities, polytechnics, and colleges, below are ten (10) government established universities which are doing far well than their private counterparts in the country:
1. Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA)
Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) is a public co-educational university spread over four campuses namely: Accra, Tema, Kumasi, and Takoradi.
This government established university is made up of four schools, four research centers located at Greenhill in Accra, Ghana. The location of GIMPA, Greenhill, was named by Nicholas T. Clerk (1930 – 2012), the Rector of the Institute from 1977 to 1982.
The name, Greenhill, is a reference to the lush greenery and hilly topography of the main campus, as well as its location in Legon which was historically on the periphery of the Ghanaian capital, Accra.
Together with 200 state institutions, GIMPA successfully participated in a Public Sector Reform Programme under the auspices of the World Bank and became a self-financing institution as part of the National Institutional Reform Programme in 2001.
Although it was established as a public university by an Act of Parliament in 2004, the institute, as one among List of Government Established Universities in Ghana, was founded in 1961 by the Government of Ghana with assistance from the United Nations Special Fund Project and was initially called the Institute of Public Administration, a specialist training graduate school for civil servants in Ghana.
Today, GIMPA offers bachelor’s, master’s and executive master’s degree programmes in business administration, entrepreneurship, law, public administration, development management, governance, leadership and technology
The Fees structure of the school varies, depending on the courses of study.
2. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) is a university in Kumasi, Ashanti, Ghana. The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology is also a government university established in the country.
It is the largest university in the Kumasi Metropolis and in the Ashanti Region.
KNUST has its roots in the plans of the King Asantehene Agyeman Prempeh I to establish a university in Kumasi as part of his drive towards modernization of his Ashanti kingdom.
The university offers degree programmes in the:
- College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
- College of Health Sciences
- College of Humanities and Social Sciences
- College of Engineering
- College of Art and Built Environment
- College of Science
The Kumasi College of Technology admitted its first students to the engineering faculty in 1951/1952.
This made an Act of Parliament gave the university its legal basis as the Kumasi College of Technology in 1952.
Meanwhile, during this time, the college was affiliated to the University of London.
But in 1961, the college was granted full university status.[10]
In November 2019, KNUST was ranked as the best university in Ghana and West Africa by U.S News and World Report.
It was also ranked 14th in Africa and 706th in the world, with a global score of 42.4.
In November 2020 it was ranked the best for the second time by U.S News and World Report. This time it climbed 2 positions to be 12th best in Africa.
The Establishment of Distance Learning Centre
In the year 2005, the KNUST adopted distance learning as a viable complement to the conventional face-to-face system of education.
This decision was made to offer opportunity for people to pursue academic programmes with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, while still on full-time employment.
The Fees structure of the school varies, depending on the courses of study.
List of Government Established Universities in Ghana.
3. University of Education, Winneba (UEW)
The University of Education, Winneba (UEW) is a University in Winneba, Central Region of Ghana. It was established in 1992 by a government ordinance (PNDC Law 322).
Its main aim is to train teachers for the education system of Ghana and also charged with the responsibility of teacher education, thereby producing professional educators that will spearhead a new national vision of education.
This is aimed at redirecting Ghana’s efforts along the path of rapid economic and social development.
The university has twenty-nine academic departments, centres, and seven faculties.
It also has 18 distance education regional study centres throughout Ghana.
In addition to three campuses in Winneba where its administrative office is located, the University has other three extra campuses:
- The College of Technology Education – Kumasi Campus
- The College of Agriculture Education – Mampong Campus
- The College of Languages Education – Ajumako Campus
It is a multi-site university, having a total of six campuses: three at Winneba and one at Ajumako in the Central Region of Ghana, while the other two at Kumasi and Mampong respectively both in the Ashanti Region
The Fees structure of the school varies, depending on the courses of study.
4. University For Development Studies (UDS)
The University for Development Studies, Tamale was established in 1992 by the government of Ghana.
The vision did not come without a view to accelerating the development of the then 3 Northern Regions of Ghana (the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions).
President Jerry John Rawlings was a major player in its founding; he spent his prized money from World Food Prize of $50,000 as seed money for its founding as one among the List of Government Established Universities in Ghana.
It was set up as a multi-campus institution and is the fifth public university to be established in Ghana.
It has Four campuses in all, Eight Faculties, a Business School, one Medical School, one Graduate School, one Institute and three centres.The university operated on a trimestrial academic calendar.
The Eight Faculties in UDS
- Faculty of Planning and Land Management
- Faculty of Agriculture
- Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment
- School of Allied Health Sciences
- Faculty of Applied Sciences
- Faculty of Mathematical Sciences
- Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences
- Faculty of Integrated Development
- School of Medicine and Health Sciences
- Faculty of Education
- Faculty of Horticulture
The Fees structure of the school varies, depending on the courses of study.
5. University of Cape Coast (UCC)
The University of Cape Coast is a public collegiate research university located in Cape Coast, Ghana.
The university was established in 1962 out of a dire need for highly qualified and skilled manpower in education. Its major objective is to train graduate teachers for second cycle institutions such as teacher training colleges and technical institutions.
This is a mission statement that the two existing public universities at the time were unequipped to fulfil.
However, the government established university has since added to its functions the training of doctors and health care professionals, as well as education planners, administrators, legal professionals, and agriculturalists. UCC graduates include Ministers of State, High Commissioners, CEOs, and Members of Parliament. List of Government Established Universities in Ghana.
The university operates on two campuses: the Southern Campus (Old Site) and the Northern Campus (New Site). Two of the most important historical sites in Ghana, Elmina and Cape Coast Castle, are only a few kilometres from the university.
The University of Cape Coast is today organized into six colleges. Each college has different schools and departments under them as elaborated below:
- College of Agriculture & Natural Sciences [CANS]
- College of Distance Education [CoDE]
- College of Education Studies [CES]
- College of Humanities and Legal Studies [CHLS]
- College of Health & Allied Sciences [CoHAS]
- School of Graduate Studies and Research
The Fees structure of the school varies, depending on the courses of study.
6. University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR)
The University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR; French: Université de l’énergie et des ressources naturelles) is a public-funded government established university in Ghana, that was established by an Act of the Parliament of Ghana, Act 830, 2011 on December 31, 2011.
The University is a public funded national institution which seeks to provide leadership and management of energy and natural resources and be a centre of excellence in these critical areas
The University is a multi campus set-up and currently has three campuses located in Sunyani, Nsoatre and Dormaa Ahenkro.
The University has Seven Different Schools of Learning. They are:
- School of Engineering;
- School of Sciences;
- School of Geosciences;
- School of Agriculture and Technology;
- School of Natural Resources;
- School of Graduate Studies; and
- School of Management Sciences and Law
The University hopes to become a centre of excellence for the training of scientists and technologians for Ghana and beyond.
The Fees structure of the school varies, depending on the courses of study.
7. University of Ghana (UG)
The University of Ghana is the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities.
It was founded in 1948 in the British colony of the Gold Coast, as the University College of the Gold Coast and was originally an affiliate college of the University of London.
It was the latter that supervised its academic programs and awarded degrees until independence came in 1957 and the college was renamed the University College of Ghana, which later became the government established University of Ghana in 1961.
The Head of State usually acted as Chancellor of the University of Ghana until 1998. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah became its first Chancellor 1961.
Mrs. Mary Chinery-Hesse is the current Chancellor of the University since August 1, 2018.
The University of Ghana now has various schools, institutions, colleges and departments and has over 40,000 registered students.
Colleges in UG
Starting from the 2014/2015 academic year, the University of Ghana categorized all its schools and departments under four colleges, which are:
- College of Basic and Applied Sciences
- College of Humanities
- College of Education
- College of Health Sciences
Other Faculties
There are five faculties outside the above Colleges and they include:
- Faculty of Arts
- Faculty of Social Studies
- Faculty of Science
- Faculty of Law:
- Faculty of Engineering Sciences
The Fees structure of the school varies, depending on the courses of study.
List of Government Established Universities in Ghana.
8. University of Health and Allied Science (UHAS)
The University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) IS a public university located at Ho in the Volta Region of Ghana. UHAS is one of the youngest public universities in Ghana.
Its operation started in September 2012, when the first batch of 154 students were admitted
The university was established by an Act of Parliament(Act 828), which received presidential approval in December 2011.
It, however, started admitting students in the following year. The university is devoted to teaching, research and service in the Health Sciences.
The university has two campuses:
Ho campus – main and central administrative campus
Hohoe campus where the School of Public Health is located[5]
Schools
The university runs six schools and one institute with four centers:
- School of Basic and Biomedical Sciences
- School of Allied Health Sciences
- School of Nursing and Midwifery
- School of Public Health
- School of Pharmacy
- School of Medicine
Institute of Health Research
The Four Centers in UHAS
Center for Health Policy and Implementation Research (CHPIR)
Center for Malaria Research (CMR)
Center for Neglected Tropical Diseases Research (CNTDR)
Center for Non-communicable Diseases Research (CNCDR)
The Fees structure of the school varies, depending on the courses of study.
9. University of Mines and Technology (UMAT)
University Mines and Technology is also known as George Grant University of Mines and Technology on January 12, 2018 and in honour of Paa Grant.
Though it was first established as the Tarkwa Technical Institute in 1952, the university was later changed, before it bears the current name, to the Tarkwa School of Mines in 1961.
Began as a faculty of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in 1976, it was eventually elevated to a full fledged Government University status in November 2004 by act of Parliament (Act 677).
In 2008, the first batch of Students graduated in Tarkwa without going to KNUST for the ceremony.
The purpose of establishing UMaT is to help train manpower for the mining industry in Ghana. List of Government Established Universities in Ghana.
Faculties of Learning in UMaT
Faculty of Engineering
- The faculty of engineering has the following departments:
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- Department of Mechanical Engineering
- Department of Mathematics
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering
- Department of Renewable Energy Engineering
Faculty of Mineral Resources Technology
The faculty of mineral resources technology is the only such one in the West Africa sub-region for training high-level personnel in the mineral industry and continues to attract students from countries in the sub-region and across the Africa continent. The Faculty consists of six (6) Academic Departments which offer the four-year BSc programmes in:[7]
- Department of Geological Engineering
- Department of Geomatic Engineering
- Department of Mineral Engineering
- Department of Mining Engineering
- Department of Petroleum Engineering
- Department of Environmental and Safety Engineering
Faculty of Integrated Management Science
The Faculty of Integrated Management Science came into operations at the beginning of the 2017/2018 Academic Year. The Faculty consists of two academic departments, namely:
- Department of Technical Communication
- Department of Management Studies
The Fees structure of the school varies, depending on the courses of study.
10. University of Professional Studies (UPSA)
The University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) formerly known as Institute of Professional Studies (IPS), is a public university in Ghana.
The main campus is located in Accra. UPSA is the first university in Ghana to provide both academic and business professional education. The University of Professional Studies Act, 2012 (Act 850) changed the name of the Institute of Professional Studies to University of Professional Studies, Accra.
UPSA is nationally and internationally accredited by the National Accreditation Board and the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs.
The university was founded in 1965 as a private professional business education tuition provider and was taken over by government in 1978 by the Institute of Professional Studies Decree, 1978 (SMCD 200).
Programmes offered in UPSA
Undergraduate Programmes
Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations Management
Bachelor of Science in Accounting
Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance
Bachelor of Science in Business Economics
Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science
Bachelor of Business Administration
Bachelor of Science in Information Technology Management
Bachelor of Science in Marketing
Bachelor of Science in Real Estate Management and Finance
4-Year Bachelor of Laws (LLB)
3-Year Post First Degree Bachelor of Laws (LLB)
Diplomas
Diploma in Accounting
Diploma in Marketing
Diploma in Management
Diploma in Public Relations Management
Diploma in Information Technology Management
Professional Programmes in UPSA
Association Of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA) UK.
Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana (ICAG)
Chartered Institute Of Marketing, (CIM) UK.
Chartered Institute Of Management Accountants (CIMA) UK
Institute Of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) UK
Post Graduate Programmes in UPSA
- Master of Philosophy in Finance
- Master of Philosophy in Leadership
- Master of Business Administration in Accounting and Finance
- Master of Business Administration in Auditing
- Master of Business Administration in Corporate Governance
- Master of Business Administration in Internal Auditing
- Master of Business Administration in Marketing
- Master of Business Administration in Petroleum Accounting and Finance
- Master of Business Administration in Total Quality Management
- Master of Science in Leadership
Home economics programs
The Fees structure of the school varies, depending on the courses of study.
