The Pan African University, a continental postgraduate institution of excellence, that offers full scholarships to the brightest of Africa’s masters and doctorate students has received over 10,000 applications for admission to its four institutes, against the slightly over 400 places available.
The university – owned by the African Union Commission – has received a total of 10,789 applicants for the 2021/22 call for applications from 53 member states of the union. The call which went out in June 2021 attracted 8,658 applicants for MA/MSc programs and 2,131 for PhD programs.
Information posted by the institution on its Facebook page showed that the applicants included 2,367 females ahead of release of shortlisted candidates in February.
“The number of applications has increased significantly over the past eight years”
“The number of applications received by the Pan African University has increased significantly over the past eight years,” the post noted. “The selection process (for 2021/22) is being finalised and is almost completed and notifications will be out very soon,” it added.
The PAU offers academic courses in priority areas, and during the academic year 2018/19, it received a record 13,408 applications from across the continent. This was against an admission capacity of 418 students only, making it a hugely popular institution.
However, the figures were even higher during the 2020/21 academic year, when the 14,007 applications were submitted.
The institution offers studies in 57 disciplines, including 29 masters and 16 PhD programs, and students are selected from all African countries and the African diaspora, with no more than 20% coming from a thematic campus host country. Gender and disability are important considerations.
It operates four thematic institutes which include the Institute of Water and Energy Sciences at the University of Tlemcen, Algeria, the Institute for Basic Sciences, Technology and Innovation at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Kenya, the Institute for Life and Earth Sciences, including health and agriculture, hosted by the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and the Institute of Governance, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Yaoundé II in Cameroon.
The African Union Commission pays tuition fees directly to relevant institutes, with students receiving a stipend to cover living expenses.
