Ranked by Times Higher Education as the Best University in Ghana.
The University of Cape Coast (UCC) is a public collegiate university located in the historic town of Cape Coast in the central region of Ghana.[2] The campus has a rare seafront and sits on a hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. It 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 a few kilometers away from its campus.
The University of Cape Coast was established in October 1962[3] as a university college in response to the country's dire need for highly qualified and skilled manpower in the education sector. Its original mandate was therefore to train graduate teachers for second cycle institutions, teacher training colleges and technical institutions,[4] a mission that the two existing public universities at the time were unequipped to fulfill.
On 1 October 1971, the college attained the status of a full and independent university, with the authority to confer its own degrees, diplomas and certificates by an Act of Parliament. Today, with the expansion of some of its faculties/schools and the diversification of programmes, the university has the capacity to meet the manpower needs of other ministries and industries in the country, besides that of the Ministry of Education.
The university has since added to its functions the training of doctors and health care professionals, business professionals, administrators, legal professionals, and agriculturalists such as agricultural extension agents. UCC graduates include Ministers of State, High Commissioners, CEOs, and Members of Parliament.
The University of Cape Coast was established in October 1962 as a university college and placed in a special relationship with the University of Ghana, Legon.
On 1 October 1971, the college attained the status of a full and independent University, with the authority to confer its own degrees, diplomas and certificates by an Act of Parliament.
The university was established out of a dire need for highly qualified and skilled manpower in education. Its original mandate was, therefore, to train graduate professional teachers for Ghana's second cycle institutions and the Ministry of Education in order to meet the manpower needs of the country's accelerated education programme at the time.
Today, with the expansion of some of its Faculties/Schools and the diversification of programmes, the university has the capacity to meet the manpower needs of other ministries and industries in the country, besides that of the Ministry of Education.
From an initial student enrollment of 155 in 1963, the University of Cape Coast now has a total student population of about 80,000.
The university started with two departments, namely: Arts and Science. These departments developed into Faculties in 1963. In order to achieve the set objectives, in 1964, the university created two more Faculties, namely: Education and Economics & Social Studies [now Faculty of Social Sciences].
The fifth faculty [School of Agriculture] was established in 1975.
The Faculty of Science was split into the Schools of Physical and Biological Sciences during the 2002←/2003 academic year while the Department of Business Studies was also elevated to the School of Business with effect from the 2003/2004 academic year. The Medical School and faculty of Law among others have been added. The university now trains doctors and health care professionals, as well as education planners, administrators, agriculturalists, Accountants, lawyers etc.
The University of Cape Coast (UCC) graduates include Ministers of State, High Commissioners, CEOs, and Members of Parliament.[5]
The Old Site Campus also known as the Southern Campus is located on high grounds, above the sea level, within the Apewosika and Kokoado communities in the Cape Coast metropolis. The strategic setting of the Old Site Campus within these two communities had increased socio-economic activities.
The Campus houses the University's Central Administration, the only female hall of residence, the Adehye Hall, the Atlantic Hall and Oguafo Hall .University Hospital, which provides quality health service to the student population and the general public is located in here.[6]
New Site Campus or Northern Campus, popularly known as "Science" is within a kilometer distance from Old Site is located near the Kwaprow and Amamoma communities. The Northern Campus came into being as a result of the growing number of students admitted into the University.
The Campus houses the only male hall of the University, Casley Hayford Hall, Kwame Nkrumah Hall, Valco Hall and the Campus Broadcasting Center. It is the location of the Science Complex Building therefore the popular name "Science".
University Garden and the University Zoo are also located in the New Site Campus of the University.[7]
From an initial student enrollment of 155 in 1963, the University of Cape Coast now has a total student population of 74,720. The breakdown is as follows: 18,949 regular undergraduate students, 1445 sandwich undergraduate students, 1014 regular postgraduate students, 2773 sandwich postgraduate students 48,989 distance undergraduate students and 1540 postgraduate distance students. The university admitted a total of 24,723 students into its various programs for the 2016/2017 academic year.[5]
From 2016/2017 academic year till date, the population of the university keeps on increasing each year. Currently, the school has a student population of 78,485 with 41,165 (52.40%) male and 37,320 (47.60%) female student population, which in total is exactly 2,765 more than what they had in the 2016/2017 academic year. The breakdown of the student population in the 2022/2023 academic year is as follows: there have 9 sandwich students who are the only ones offering certificate in their various programs with 2 of them being males and 7 females. 11,539 diploma offering students with 11,234 being distance students (5,271 males and 5,963 females) and 305 sandwich students (132 males and 173 females) . 60,406 undergraduates which entails of 23,537 regular students (13,072 males and 10,465 females), 16,260 distance students (8,324 males and 7,936 females), 1,241 sandwich students (561 males and 686 females) and 19,362 IOE sandwich students (9,937 males and 9,425 females). The population consists of 578 PhD students who are all regular students, with 372 males and 206 females. 305 PGDE students consisting of 71 distance students (29 males and 42 females) and 234 sandwich students (148 males and 86 females). 5,648 students doing their masters currently with 1,148 students being regular students(709 males and 439 females), 2,239 distance students (1,287 males and 952 females) and 2,261 sandwich students (1,321 males and 940 females).[8]
The governing body is known as the University Council and they consist of a Chairperson/Pro-Chancellor, Representative of Post-Graduate Students, Vice-Chancellor, three (3) Government Nominees, two (2) Representatives of Convocation, Representative of UTAG - UCC Branch, Representative of CHASS, Representative of TEWU of TUC, Representative of Alumni Association, Representative of Undergraduate Students, Representative of Post-Graduate Students, Representative of GTEC, Registrar, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Director of Finance and Council Secretariat, Office of the Registrar.[9]
The University of Cape Coast is today organized into six colleges. Each college has different faculties, schools and departments under them as elaborated below;
The School of Graduate Studies (SGS) of the University of Cape Coast came into being on 1 August 2008.[26] It began as a Committee on Higher Degrees, with a mandate to advise Senate on the university's graduate policy and recommend the award of scholarship for approval. In 1992, the Committee on Higher Degrees was transformed to a Board of Graduate Studies. This Board, a sub-committee of Academic Board was entrusted with responsibility for administering graduate education in the university, until its status was elevated to a school on 1 August 2008. The school has the mandate to co-ordinate graduate-level academic programmes for all colleges within the university. It also regulates and offers advice on graduate programmes of university colleges affiliated to the University of Cape Coast.
To achieve its vision and mission, the school has four-fold functions:
Draft regulations for all higher degrees with a view to ensuring that acceptable academic standards are maintained.
Receive reports and consider recommendations pertaining to higher degrees and graduate diplomas from Departmental and Faculty Committee of Graduate Studies.
Determine the results of higher degrees and graduate diplomas.
Make recommendations to the Academic Board for the award of higher degrees and graduate diplomas.
The university operates a two-semester system for its regular graduate programmes. The First Semester begins from August to December and Second Semester from January to May. The university awards Master of Arts (M.A.), Master of Science (MSc), Master of Education (MEd), Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.), Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.), Master of Commerce (M.Com.) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees in the various disciplines.
M.A./MEd/MSc programmes will normally consist of two semesters of course work (nine months) followed by a project or dissertation (three months).
The Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) programme will normally consist of two parts. Part I shall consist of two semesters of course work for full-time students and four semesters of course work for part-time students. Part II extends over 12-months and is for research and presentation of the thesis.
The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programme is essentially by research. The duration is between 3 and 4 years for full-time students and 4 and 5 years for part-time students.
The Office of International Relation (OIR), University of Cape Coast, formerly Center for International Education (CIE) was established to promote, support and coordinate all facets of international education activities in the university. These activities include international students and staff exchanges, research collaborations and publications, and information sharing, all aimed at enhancing the international image of the university.[28]
Over the years, the centre had fostered links with institutions of higher learning from the US, China, UK, Sweden, Germany, Liberia, Nigeria and Senegal, among others.
The centre offers specialized support services for inbound and outbound exchange students and staff on issues including, but not exclusive to, orientation, admission, enrollment, accommodation, pastoral care, pre-departure briefings and post-return debriefings for inbound and outbound exchange students and staff.[29]
FUNCTIONS
The centre:
Manages all matters and programmes relating to international education.
Serves as an advisory unit to all academic departments on exchanges and collaborations.
Serves as a service provider on campus to all international and visiting students, faculty members and staff.
Is responsible for the development of Memorandum of Understanding or partnership agreements with institutions in and outside Ghana.
Facilitates the exchange of staff, faculty and students of partner institutions and vice versa.
Organizes international workshops, seminars and conferences.
The University of Cape Coast runs an international student exchange programme with participants from Europe, North America, and other African countries. International students are fully integrated into student and campus life and receive full credit on successful completion of their studies at UCC.[28]
Alfred P. Addaquay, Ghanaian classical keyboardist, composer, arranger, conductor, choral director and singer
Emmanuel Addow-Obeng, Ghanaian academic, administrator and cleric. He was the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast and served as the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Central University of Ghana
Samuel Kobina Annim, government statistician and former associate professor of economics[41]
Yaw Ansong Jnr, physician-scientist, inventor, and entrepreneur
Juliet Asante, award-winning filmmaker, entrepreneur, activist, Huffington Post blogger, Aspen Global Leadership fellow, Legatum Institute fellow, alumnus of the Fortune 500/State Department Mentorship program, and Vital Voices Global leaders forum
Kojo Armah – Ghanaian lawyer, diplomat, and former member of parliament
Yvonne Nduom, a Ghanaian public figure known chiefly as the wife of the leader of the Progressive People's Party and is currently the Executive Chairperson of Coconut Grove Hotels
Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, a Ghanaian politician, lawyer, member of parliament and the Minister of Information in the administration of Nana Akufo-Addo
Eric Oduro Osae, a Ghanaian local governance expert, lawyer and chartered accountant who serves as the Director General of the Internal Audit Agency of Ghana.
William Quaitoo, a Ghanaian politician, and former Deputy Minister of Agriculture
