LIST: Uganda’s 65 Best Universities and Institutes in 2026

Uganda’s best 65 universities and institutes in 2026 have been named. The list is based on ranking by Webometrics. 

Webometrics describes itself as a global university ranking platform meant to reflect the multidimensional performance of higher education institutions.

“Unlike traditional rankings focused solely on research, we evaluate universities based on their digital presence, academic influence, openness, and global visibility,” it explains on its official site.

“While we utilize various academic and web data sources, Webometrics[dot]org remains an independent, research-based initiative committed to transparency and non-commercial evaluation.”

With its mission of promoting open access, digital transparency, and scholarly visibility, Webometrics considers the web “not only [as] a reflection of a university’s academic output but also a vital channel for learning, research dissemination, and public engagement.”

However, it adds: “We do not rank websites, but universities. Web performance is a proxy for institutional impact in the real world.”

Regarding its ranking Indicators, Webometrics says it uses “a composite scoring model combining normalized indicators to ensure fair and balanced evaluation.”

These indicators include: visibility where it looks at “impact based on number of external referring domains” which takes up to 50 per cent.

It also looks at transparency, where it considers citations from top 310 cited researchers, excluding top 20 outliers, Google Scholar profiles. This indicator carries 10 per cent.

Webometrics also considers excellence, with focus on research papers in the top 10 per cent most cited (2019–2023). This indicator carries 40 per cent.

It also notes that it has discontinued the “presence” indicator as a way to “avoid duplication and manipulation.”

In general, Webometrics measures research and scholarly impact, academic openness and visibility, digital engagement and third-party references, as well as performance across all university missions, which are education, research, and public service.

It says it does not measure website design or user experience, visitor traffic or analytics, and marketing or advertising activity.

Also, Webometrics does not rank unaccredited or diploma-mill institutions, offline or unresponsive servers, conflicting or multiple central web domains, as well as institutions focused solely on non-higher education.

Makerere University, which ranks as 925th in the world is Uganda’s best university. It is also the oldest and largest higher learning institution.

In number two is Kampala International University (KIU), the best private university in Uganda and one owned by tycoon Hassan Basajjabalaba. KIU ranks as number 2,041 in the whole world.

In number three is Mbarara University of Science and Technology (Must), which is number 3,329 in the world. Must is followed by Uganda Management Institute, which is number 4532 worldwide; and Kyambogo University which is number 4688 in the whole world.

See full list showing the Ugandan rank and the international rank.

Ranking	World Rank	University
1	925	Makerere University
2	2041	Kampala International University
3	3329	Mbarara University of Science and Technology
4	4532	Uganda Management Institute
5	4688	Kyambogo University
6	5174	Uganda Martyrs University
7	5351	Gulu University
8	5924	Busitema University
9	7210	Kabale University
10	7722	Makerere University Business School
11	8282	Islamic University in Uganda
12	9262	Uganda Christian University
13	10700	Ndejje University
14	12196	Mountains of the Moon University
15	13042	Kumi University
16	13983	Uganda Technology and Management University UTAMU
17	14025	Nkumba University
18	14996	Clarke International University (International Health Sciences University)
19	15015	Lira University
20	15249	Bishop Stuart University
21	15777	Victoria University Kampala
22	16044	Muni University
23	16927	Bugema University
24	16927	International University of East Africa
25	17103	Cavendish University Uganda
26	18200	Kampala University
27	18873	Law Development Centre Kampala
28	19010	Muteesa I Royal University
29	19428	Uganda Institute of Information and Communications Technology
30	19668	Livingstone International University
31	19948	African Rural University
32	20297	ISBAT University Kampala
33	20780	University of Kisubi
34	20972	Soroti University
35	21204	St Lawrence University
36	22157	Africa Reformation Theological Seminary
37	22472	Uganda Pentecostal University
38	22564	Insurance Training College
39	22918	Nexus International University
40	22975	Metropolitan International University
41	23254	Uganda Institute of Banking and Financial Services UIBFS
42	23294	King Ceasor University
43	23865	Institute of Petroleum Studies Kampala
44	23879	Team University Kampala
45	23893	Ibanda University
46	24027	Ankole Western University
47	24077	Africa Renewal University
48	24265	Greenbridge School of Open Technologies
49	24354	All Saints University Lango
50	24376	University of The Sacred Heart Gulu
51	24493	Artfield Institute of Design Kampala
52	24567	Valley University of Science and Technology VUST
53	24747	Fins Medical University
54	25108	Glad Tidings Bible College
55	25152	Institute of Advanced Leadership Uganda
56	25364	Salaama Vocational Education Center
57	25392	Permanent Centre for Education
58	25669	Management and Accountancy Training Company Limited MAT Uganda
59	25686	Great Lakes Regional University
60	25737	Monaco Institute
61	25933	Kayiwa International University
62	25979	Mulago School of Nursing and Midwifery
63	26185	Equator University of Science and Technology EQUSaT
64	26983	Avance International University
65	27065	Kampala School of Health Sciences

You can watch more on this story HERE.

You can see the list of best secondary and primary schools in Uganda in 2026 Here, There and Over There.