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University Directory · Sub-Saharan Africa

Top 5 universities in Uganda

The 5 leading universities and higher education institutions in Uganda, ordered by the citations their research has received. Part of the WAC University Directory.

5 institutions listed · data October 2026

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  1. 1

    Makerere University

    Kampala, Central Region, Uganda

    • 38,622 research works
    • 1.9 million citations
    • h-index 318
  2. 2

    Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST)

    Mbarara, Uganda

    • 6,432 research works
    • 233 thousand citations
    • h-index 158
  3. 3

    Kampala International University (KIU)

    Kampala, Uganda

    • 7,656 research works
    • 87 thousand citations
    • h-index 92
  4. 4

    Gulu University

    Gulu, Uganda

    • 2,934 research works
    • 58 thousand citations
    • h-index 97
  5. 5

    Busitema University

    Tororo, Eastern Region, Uganda

    • 2,658 research works
    • 35 thousand citations
    • h-index 68

Ordered by total research citations recorded in OpenAlex (October 2026). Works, citations and h-index are OpenAlex figures for the institution. How the list is made.

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About the directory

How institutions are chosen and ordered

The directory lists 1436 universities, colleges and higher education institutions in 199 countries and territories. In countries with 200 or more higher education institutions recorded in OpenAlex it lists the top 25; everywhere else, the top 5.

Institutions are ordered by the total number of citations their research has received, as recorded in OpenAlex, the open catalogue of the world’s research, with data taken in October 2026. This is a transparent, research-based order: it favours large research institutions and does not measure teaching quality, student experience or graduate outcomes. University systems are left out in favour of their campuses, and faculties or institutes are left out when their parent university is already listed. Names, cities and websites come from OpenAlex and the Research Organization Registry (ROR).

Being listed is not an endorsement, and listings are not paid for. Spotted a mistake? Send a correction.