Study in Uganda

AN OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFE TIME

Use your “gap” time to study at Mountains of the Moon University:

Mountains of the Moon University, located near the Equator, in a town called Fort Portal, in the western part of Uganda, is a fully fledged community university whose niche is “hands on experience,” and carrying out research that is especially connected with the African experience.

Students particularly from North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, the rest of Africa and the Middle East can join us for a semester or a year to study our courses and/or carry out research from an African perspective. Students interested can join in the first, second or third year, depending on the course units offered in any given year. Check our courses for more details.

Why you should study at MMU:

We are a community university: while away from home you will feel at home because of the conducive learning environment and the community’s hospitality and friendship. Although close to the Equator, the altitude provides a much more temperate climate than you would expect.

We provide quality education through our demand driven courses: When you join us, among other things, you can study Ethics, Principles of Management, African Development Studies, Communication skills and Information and Communications Technology; and also do a field placement, an exercise that will increase your skills and consequently make you more competitive than students elsewhere.

You will be exposed to community oriented research: You will be facilitated to conduct research in an area of your choice in a given community. The MMU staff will provide you with counsel and direction.

Emphasis of the University is on “hands on experience”: When you join MMU you will not simply acquire knowledge but more importantly you will implement that knowledge in view of improving the community’s life. Thus, as a student from overseas, you will be exposed to the African culture and African experience, but more importantly this exposure will catapult you in situations where you come face to face with reality.

The community around the university is safe and conducive to learning: Our library is electronically connected, thus enabling a student to access information on-line 24 hours.

While at MMU, you will be assisted to conduct research in the following areas: micro-finance, African Business models, Agro-Business, African philosophy, culture and religion, Modern African Thought, wildlife and nature conservation, issues of climatic changes, Environment, HIV/AIDS issues, Peace and Conflict resolution, Public Health and the community, and many more others.

If you are a student of Education, you may find it of interest to familiarize yourself with our pre-primary, primary and secondary education: In this area, you will be given an opportunity to work with our schools in Uganda; where you will have a participatory approach in the teaching and also be involved in action research. Comparing Uganda’s education system with your home country education system may be an interesting idea to explore.

If you are a student of Public Health, you will learn a lot about tropical diseases as well as their prevention. Direct involvement in the life of the community in health, water and sanitation may be of interest to you. You will be exposed to Uganda’s health system and the challenges it meets in addressing people’s health needs. With this exposure, you will:

Apply your knowledge of public health in identifying and solving health problems in the frame work of the existing financial, socio-cultural and political conditions.

Design, conduct, analyze and interpret results of relevant studies, projects and programs.

Initiate, plan, manage, monitor and evaluate interventions in public health.

Analyze the effects of cultural conditions of health and apply communication skills effectively to cause change.

Identify important environmental and occupational health problems and devise locally applicable/sustainable solutions

Are you interested in Tourism? How about Horticulture? If you are, read on: The growing tourism industry and high rate of urbanization in the region and beyond provides opportunities for students of Horticulture to engage in landscaping/gardening, beautifying and maintenance of leisure parks and sports facilities like golf courses.

Furthermore, since demand for vegetables, fruits and spices like vanilla is increasing both locally and internationally, there is also a shift in demand for natural as opposed to artificial foods and medicines/herbs. These new trends make Horticulture as an industry “the password” to poverty eradication and agricultural modernization. Farmers all over are increasingly faced with production constraints such as resource managing, crop pests and diseases, harvest and post harvest handling, and horticultural product marketing. Do you know that you could be part of the solution by attending a semester or a year and learning more about these challenges?

Other courses see the information on this very web.

When can you join?

Our academic year of 2009/10 will begin from August 10, 2009 and end on May 17, 2010. In other words, the first semester will begin on August 10, 2009 and end on December 21, 2009. The second semester will begin January 18, 2010 and end on May 17, 2010. Opting for MMU is a choice that will change your life for ever. For more details, check the courses on offer and our University calendar.

Reception and processing of applications forms of International students:

Applications forms are available at our web-site. After downloading, send them to our official e-mail address: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it After processing, you will be immediately informed by e-mail of the Admissions Board’s decision.

When to apply?

Since our first semester of every year begins in mid-August, applicants should apply by the end of April for consideration. The second semester of every academic year begins in January/February. Applicants intending to apply for this semester can apply by end of November of the previous year.

Mode of payment for application forms:

East Africans: $15
Comesa Nationals: $ 20
Rest of Africa: $ 25
Overseas (USA, Europe, Canada, Middle East, Japan etc): $ 30

SUPPORT SERVICES TO INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS/STAFF:

Hostels: Room and Board:

The university has identified safe and secure hostels for overseas students where a student can stay for $ 100 a month. Total cost for a year is $1200. Accommodation facilities will include: running water, electricity and security.

On average, three meals (breakfast, lunch and supper) can cost about 5 dollars. Thus in a month a student will spend about $150 which is about $ 1800 a year.

Health Services:

Fort Portal is a town served by a number of good hospitals such as Buhinga Government Referral Hospital, Virika Hospital, Kabarole Hospital and so many health centers and clinics in the vicinity. There is also a University clinic to cater for minor cases of students’ sickness.

Religious Services:

Mountains of the Moon University, because of its location within the Downtown area, has access to a number of worship places. The following are some of the key worship sites that are within the Downtown area: Seventh Day Adventist Church, St. Charles Lwanga Catholic Parish, St. John’s Cathedral (Anglican Church), the Pentecostal Church, the Christian Fellowship Church and the Downtown Mosque. There are also many Pentecostal churches that may serve the students’ spiritual needs.

Sports Facilities:

A healthy mind in a healthy body: Though Mountains of the Moon University does not have yet its own sports facilities, both male and female students are encouraged to participate in sports at Buhinga Stadium for football; and at Mountains of the Moon Hotel, Boma for swimming. Other sports activities such as netball and volleyball can be played at the Campus ground. Using these facilities, students will be able to engage in community inter-sport and as well as inter-university sports. With the opening of the Saaka campus, some of these facilities will be in place as early as the beginning of the next academic year (2009/10).

Academic Support Services: (e.g. Language instruction):

The official language in Uganda is English. Applicants who may require some instruction in English, our staff will be ready to provide this service. It is recommended therefore that the applicant arrives at the university at least 6 months in advance for this instruction. An applicant requiring English proficiency will be required to pay $ 600 for the six months’ course.

Leisure Facilities/Local tours:

Uganda is the “Pearl of Africa” because of its beauty and natural attraction, and indeed it is one of the beauties of the world; and the western region of the country where MMU is located is the main tourist destination in Uganda. As a student at MMU, you will be near beautiful places such as: Tooro Botanical Gardens, Rwenzori Mountains, Kibaale National Park, Mweya National Park, Semuliki National Park, Semliki Hot springs, Murchison’s Park and Bwindi National Park. Your studies can be punctuated with a visit to one or more of these places, indeed making the English axiom true: “business with pleasure.”

In Fort Portal town and its surroundings there is golf, squash, football, netball, swimming pool and of course wonderful hiking in the mountains. The town has a range of restaurants, pubs and discotheques.

Fees at Mountains of the Moon University:

Our fees are “pocket friendly” that applicants will find them convenient for their stay at MMU. Fees mainly refer to tuition, accommodation and feeding.

Tuition:

One credit hour will cost $ 100. Thus a course unit with 3 credit hours will cost $ 300. The average course load for an undergraduate student is 8 course units. Hence a student taking 8 course units will pay $ 2400 a semester. For a year, the cost will be $ 4800. The costs will vary with the number of course units one is taking.

Accommodation:

Accommodation will be provided at a cost of $ 100 per month. For a semester, the cost is $ 400. A candidate who may opt for two semesters (one academic year), the cost for accommodation will be $ 1200.

Board (feeding):

Kabarole District being a “food basket” for the country, food in this part of the region is rather affordable. On average, one can utilize $ 5 per day for food maintenance. In a month, one would spend about $ 150. In a year, the cost is $ 1800.

Therefore, a summary of the fees that you might require for your up-keep while at MMU (per year):

Tuition:                                                                                 $ 4800
Accommodation:                                                                     $ 1200
Boarding (feeding)                                                                  $ 1800

Total: $ 7800

Counseling services:

Though the University does not offer yet a course on Counseling, it does have counseling course units under the School of Education and Department of Public Health. Trained and experienced staff, who teach these courses, do offer free counseling services to students who may need them.