Which Subjects Does Each Course Need? Entry Rules at Makerere, UNILAG and Cameroonian Schools

This guide uses admission documents from three systems, read on 15 October 2026, to show what each course names. It then shows how to count which subject combinations keep the most doors open. Requirements change each year, so use this to learn the pattern and take the final list from the institution.

Where the decision gets made

Uganda. Public universities weight each A-level subject as Essential (3), Relevant (2) or Desirable (1). The Essential subjects must be passed as a principal subject, and not more than two subjects count as Essential. A-level grades convert to A=6, B=5, C=4, D=3, E=2, O=1, F=0. The text is from the Makerere weighting system for 2019/2020 in the joint admissions document (Makerere, 2019/2020 weighting system). I could not find the 2026/27 table, so the rows below are an older snapshot. How the weights become a cut-off is in UCE and UACE explained.

Nigeria. UNILAG lists two separate subject sets for each course: five O-level credits, and the UTME subjects you sit. A mismatch in either can block you (UNILAG 2024/2025 admission requirements). JAMB points candidates to its IBASS checker, where you pick an institution and programme and the combination appears (JAMB IBASS).

Cameroon. The ministry of higher education issues a decision for each school’s entrance exam. These set out the diplomas allowed and, for GCE holders, the A-level subjects. I read two: the University of Buea’s Professional BSc in Biomedical Sciences (2022/2023) and the National Higher Polytechnic School of Maroua (2022/2023).

Named courses, named institutions

Subjects are as the documents state them. Read each row as a snapshot of that document’s year.

Sources: Makerere, weighting system. UNILAG, 2024/2025 requirements. Buea, MINESUP decision for Biomedical Sciences. Maroua, MINESUP decision for ENSP Maroua.

Four details in the table are easy to miss.

• UNILAG wants Further Mathematics at O-level for civil engineering and computer science. Many students first see that line in SS3.
• Law rejects some subjects. UNILAG does not accept Music, Fine Arts or Principles of Accounting for UTME, and accepts Economics or Commerce but not both.
• Makerere’s law course has a gate beyond A-level. Candidates must sit and pass its pre-entry exam after UNEB releases results.
• Computing is not always a maths course. Makerere’s Information Systems and Technology row asks for the two best of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Economics, Geography or Entrepreneurship, so it does not require Mathematics. The Software Engineering row requires Maths and Physics, plus credits in English and Mathematics at O-level.

A worked count: which combination keeps the most doors open

Take six Makerere courses from the 2019/20 table and look only at the Essential subjects. A combination keeps a door open if it contains the subjects named. LLB is open to any combination, since its two essential subjects can be any A-level subjects.

Now four three-subject combinations:

The count is only for these six rows and only for Essential subjects, so it is an illustration of the method, not a ranking of combinations. It shows two things. A science combination that drops Biology loses both health courses at once. And the combination that opens the most doors is the one that overlaps several Essential lists, which is why the method below asks you to write all the lists down.

If you are weighing Mathematics, note that it is Essential in Makerere’s civil engineering and computer science rows, relevant in the medicine row, and listed among the options in economics. It is not required for law. This is a pattern in these rows, not a universal rule.

Method: build your own table in an hour

1. List three or four courses, including one you are unsure about.
2. Open the institution’s own admission page or document, for the year you will apply. Not a forum or a screenshot.
3. Copy every named subject and every named grade into a table, one row per course.
4. For Nigeria, note the O-level list and the UTME list separately. For Uganda, mark which subjects are Essential. For Cameroon, note which diploma series and which GCE subjects the decision allows.
5. Count the subjects that appear on more than one row. Those are effectively compulsory for you.
6. Fill the remaining places with subjects you can sustain.
7. Ask your school which combinations it actually teaches.

Check also whether your results can be combined across sittings. Makerere’s rule in this document requires the principal passes at the same sitting. The Buea decision requires the five O-level subjects in one session. Resitting one weak subject may not help where the rule is single-sitting.

What this guide leaves out

Which careers pay, how long licensing takes and where jobs exist are separate questions. For routes that do not run through these entry tables, see trades worth learning. For the choice between courses, see choosing a university course. For what to do if the cut-off is missed, see what to do if you miss the cut-off. For the difference between O-level and A-level, see GCE O-level vs A-level.