The University of Maiduguri is a federal university in Maiduguri, Borno State, established in 1975. It is the largest federal university in the north-east with around 38,000 students, and its College of Medical Sciences is one of the strongest in northern Nigeria.
UNIMAID's general cut-off mark for 2026/2027 is 180, with course-specific cut-offs ranging from 180 (Agricultural Science) to 270 (Medicine and Surgery). Located in Maiduguri, Borno, University of Maiduguri is a federal university with 0 faculties and was founded in 1975.
What changed in the 2026 cycle
UNIMAID's 2026 admission window reflects a candidate pool that grew measurably stronger this cycle.
The institution's most competitive programmes are Medicine and Surgery (270), Pharmacy (240) and Veterinary Medicine (240). Medicine and Surgery sits at the ceiling for UNIMAID, with candidates scoring below 270 effectively shut out of that programme. On the other end, Public Administration (180), Physics (180) and Mathematics (180) offer the most accessible entry points at the institution.
Against 2025, the average climbed by 206.7 points, consistent with the stronger pool of high-scoring candidates JAMB recorded nationally.
2026 cut off marks at UNIMAID
| Course | Category | 2026 UTME | 2025 UTME | Change | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accounting | Management | 210 | - | 0 | - |
| Agricultural Science | Sciences | 180 | - | 0 | - |
| Architecture | Sciences | 200 | - | 0 | - |
| Biochemistry | Sciences | 200 | - | 0 | - |
| Biotechnology | Sciences | 190 | - | 0 | - |
| Chemistry | Sciences | 180 | - | 0 | - |
| Civil Engineering | Engineering | 220 | - | 0 | - |
| Computer Science | Sciences | 210 | - | 0 | - |
| Economics | Social Sciences | 200 | - | 0 | - |
| Electrical and Electronic Engineering | Engineering | 220 | - | 0 | - |
| English Language | Arts | 180 | - | 0 | - |
| International Relations | Social Sciences | 190 | - | 0 | - |
| Law | Law | 230 | - | 0 | - |
| Mass Communication | Arts | 200 | - | 0 | - |
| Mathematics | Sciences | 180 | - | 0 | - |
| Mechanical Engineering | Engineering | 220 | - | 0 | - |
| Medical Laboratory Science | Medical and Health | 230 | - | 0 | - |
| Medicine and Surgery | Medical and Health | 270 | - | 0 | - |
| Microbiology | Sciences | 200 | - | 0 | - |
| Nursing Science | Medical and Health | 230 | - | 0 | - |
| Pharmacy | Medical and Health | 240 | - | 0 | - |
| Physics | Sciences | 180 | - | 0 | - |
| Physiotherapy | Medical and Health | 220 | - | 0 | - |
| Political Science | Social Sciences | 190 | - | 0 | - |
| Public Administration | Social Sciences | 180 | - | 0 | - |
| Statistics | Sciences | 190 | - | 0 | - |
| Veterinary Medicine | Medical and Health | 240 | - | 0 | - |
Faculties and academic structure
UNIMAID runs 0 faculties and colleges between which its undergraduate programmes are spread, offering a focused academic structure built around its strongest disciplines.
Applications flow through individual departments inside each faculty. Each department sets its course-specific cut-off and screens its post-UTME pool, even when faculties share infrastructure.
How admission works at UNIMAID
UTME requirements. Every applicant to UNIMAID must meet two UTME floors: the JAMB national minimum of 150 and the institution's own general cut-off of 180. The third floor, the course-specific cut-off, is the one that actually decides admission for competitive programmes, with Medicine and Surgery requiring 270 this cycle. UTME subject combinations must match the chosen programme.
Post-UTME screening. UNIMAID runs a post-UTME or screening exercise for candidates who meet the institutional and course-specific cut-offs. The screening combines UTME, post-UTME and O'level grades into an aggregate that determines who is admitted from the eligible pool. Registration usually opens once JAMB releases UTME results and runs for a fixed window of two to three weeks.
The CAPS process. Once aggregates are calculated, UNIMAID uploads admission recommendations to the JAMB Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS). Candidates check their CAPS profile to find offers, accept or reject within the deadline and proceed to acceptance fee payment. Admission lists usually drop in waves rather than all at once, so the absence of an offer on the first list does not end your chances.
Acceptance and admission fees. After accepting on CAPS, the candidate has approximately four weeks to settle the acceptance fee through the UNIMAID portal. Missing this deadline forfeits the place. Acceptance and full session fees are billed separately, and federal institutions like UNIMAID have distinct fee structures that you should confirm on the official portal.
Matriculation and resumption. The academic year at UNIMAID usually opens in late September or early October, depending on the cycle. Registration runs through the first weeks of resumption, followed by matriculation. Late arrivals risk losing slots in oversubscribed courses or paying late-registration fines, so candidates should treat the resumption date as fixed.
Campus facilities
Students at UNIMAID have access to the standard set of Nigerian university facilities, plus institution-specific infrastructure tied to its strongest faculties.
UNIMAID's teaching hospital is the institution's most distinctive infrastructure, used for clinical postings by Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy students and for community medical service.
Student accommodation
Accommodation is one of the most-asked questions about UNIMAID, and the honest answer is that it sits across three layers: on-campus hostels, off-campus lodges and short-stay options for visiting families.
On-campus housing
UNIMAID provides on-campus hostels but the capacity is limited compared to the annual intake. Allocation usually runs as a annual lottery, with fresh-year students given some priority for the first session.
On-campus hostel fees at federal and state universities like UNIMAID run in the ₦15,000 to ₦40,000 range per session, billed separately from tuition. Hostel quality varies across blocks, and students sometimes share rooms with two to six others depending on the building.
Because hostel demand exceeds supply at most federal universities, many students treat the application as a backup plan rather than the default option, with off-campus arrangements organised in parallel.
Off-campus housing
Students who cannot secure on-campus accommodation typically rent off-campus around Nearby residential neighbourhoods around the campus. The Nigerian student term for this is a "lodge", which can mean anything from a shared self-contained room to a small apartment.
Off-campus session prices around UNIMAID vary widely with the specific lodge and the year it was last renovated. Visiting in person before paying a deposit is the standard precaution, since power, water and security all vary street by street.
Fresh-year students often share rooms or apartments with course-mates as a first-year strategy, with many moving to smaller-group or single accommodation in later years as friend groups settle and budgets allow.
For visiting parents
Visiting parents typically book hotels near the main campus gate. Federal university towns generally have a mix of basic and mid-range hotels at ₦15,000 to ₦40,000 per night, with higher options in the major cities such as Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.
Travel apps such as Booking.com and Hotels.ng list current options and rates, which we deliberately do not republish here because they change frequently.
School fees and cost of attendance
Tuition and session fees at UNIMAID, a federal university, sit broadly in the ₦0 - ₦0 per session band as of the 2026 cycle. The exact figure depends on the programme, with medical and engineering courses at the upper end and arts and education programmes at the lower.
Additional one-off costs
Beyond the headline session fee, fresh-intake students typically pay an acceptance fee, an ID card and matriculation fee, faculty and departmental dues, and (for science and engineering programmes) laboratory or studio fees billed by the department.
Add a budget for course materials, transport, lodging deposit if going off-campus, and miscellaneous administrative payments through the first semester. Year-one costs are almost always the highest in a four-year cycle because so much of the spend is one-off.
Funding options
Eligible Nigerian undergraduates can apply to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), which provides interest-free loans repayable after graduation and a grace period. UNIMAID also publishes its own scholarship schemes from time to time for high-performing intakes, and several state governments offer indigene-specific scholarships through the state scholarship board.
Watch the institution's scholarship page and your state's ministry of education portal during the admission window for current funding announcements - new schemes appear cycle to cycle.
About the campus
Located in Maiduguri, Borno State, UNIMAID is one of the established federal universities in the region. The institution serves Borno State and the surrounding region as the principal university option. It was founded in 1975 and has built a steady reputation for the programmes covered in this guide.
UNIMAID is organised into faculties or colleges that house related departments. The faculty structure is the route an undergraduate progresses through, and each faculty has its own administrative office to handle course registration, level coordination and graduation clearance.
Students at UNIMAID typically budget for accommodation, food, transport and academic materials as the four main categories. Accommodation is the biggest variable: hostel allocations are competitive and the off-campus market in Maiduguri ranges widely. Prospective candidates should investigate accommodation options as early as the acceptance fee stage.
Location and getting there
- 12-16 hours from Lagos and 5-10 hours from Abuja by road
- Inter-state coach services such as ABC Transport, GUO and the Young Shall Grow Motors operate routes to most state capitals. Flights are available to Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano and a handful of state airports.
University of Maiduguri is located in Maiduguri, Borno State, in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria.
For inter-state travel, most students rely on a mix of buses and shared taxis, with occasional flights for the bigger inter-zone moves.
Application calendar
Concrete dates for the 2026 cycle are still being confirmed by individual institutions and JAMB. The windows below reflect typical patterns for UNIMAID and the federal cycle as a whole.
- JAMB UTMEApril to May 2026National examination window for the 2026 admission cycle.
- Post-UTME / screeningLate July to mid-August 2026UNIMAID announces its exact dates after JAMB UTME results are released.
- First CAPS admission listAugust to September 2026Initial admission recommendations appear on CAPS after screening.
- Acceptance fee deadline4 weeks from offerConfirmed window for the 2026 cycle. Missing it forfeits the place.
- Resumption for fresh intakeLate September to mid-October 2026Matriculation follows resumption by a few weeks.
How UNIMAID compares to similar universities
Among federal universities of similar size and region, UNIMAID's 2026 average cut-off of 206.7 sits below peer institutions such as UNIJOS (209.6) and UNIUYO (210). This places UNIMAID in the accessible tier of universities for the 2026 cycle.
Across the 27 programmes covered, UNIMAID maps to 27/146 of the courses tracked in this guide. Candidates choosing between UNIMAID and a peer institution should compare the specific course cut-off, not just the institutional average, because course-level differences often outweigh institution-level ones.
Frequently asked questions
What JAMB UTME score do I need for UNIMAID?
To be considered for any programme at UNIMAID you need at least the institutional cut-off of 180, but a realistic target is higher: competitive courses such as Medicine and Surgery require 270 or above for 2026. Aim well clear of the general cut-off, because admission is ranked on the post-UTME aggregate, not the UTME score alone.
When does UNIMAID admission for 2026/2027 close?
UNIMAID does not publish a single fixed closing date far in advance; the admission window follows the national JAMB cycle, running from the release of UTME results through to the final admission list months later. Post-UTME registration closes much earlier, often within two to three weeks of opening. Treat the post-UTME deadline as the real cut-off and monitor the official UNIMAID portal for exact dates.
What is the post-UTME process at UNIMAID?
UNIMAID's post-UTME combines a screening exam with documents verification. The result is folded into an aggregate score along with the UTME and O'level grades. Post-UTME registration opens after JAMB UTME results are released and closes within two to three weeks.
Is UNIMAID a federal, state or private university?
UNIMAID is a federal university located in Maiduguri, Borno State. As a federal university, it is funded by the Nigerian government and admits candidates nationwide through JAMB.
How many undergraduate programmes does UNIMAID run?
This guide tracks 27 undergraduate programmes at UNIMAID, out of 146 courses covered nationally. The institution's official prospectus typically lists more, including programmes outside this guide's cut-off dataset. Use the course list on this page to see every UNIMAID programme with a 2026 cut-off.
How do I pay UNIMAID fees once admitted?
UNIMAID fee payments are made through the official institution portal, usually via a Remita or bank-integrated payment that generates a receipt for course registration. Avoid paying any fee through unofficial agents or third parties. The portal also confirms which charges are due at each stage, so rely on it rather than informal information.
What aggregate score does UNIMAID use to decide admission?
UNIMAID ranks candidates on an aggregate that combines the UTME score with the post-UTME or screening result, and at many institutions O'level grades as well. The common approach is to scale the UTME to 50% and the post-UTME to 50%, but the exact weighting is set by UNIMAID each cycle. Admission goes to the highest aggregates within the available places, so a strong UTME score alone does not guarantee a place.
Which courses are easiest to get into at UNIMAID?
The most accessible programmes at UNIMAID for 2026 are Public Administration (180), Physics (180) and Mathematics (180), which carry the institution's lowest cut-off marks. They are a realistic target for candidates whose UTME score clears the general cut-off of 180 but falls short of competitive courses such as Medicine and Surgery.
Does UNIMAID have a teaching hospital?
Yes. University of Maiduguri runs an affiliated teaching hospital used for clinical postings by Medicine, Nursing and allied-health students, and for community medical service. The teaching hospital is the largest single piece of infrastructure at the institution and a core part of its medical-school accreditation.
How much are school fees at UNIMAID?
Fee details for UNIMAID should be confirmed on the institution's official portal. Federal universities typically sit at ₦40,000-₦200,000 per session, state universities ₦80,000-₦400,000, and private universities materially higher.
What is UNIMAID most competitive course?
Medicine and Surgery carries the highest 2026 cut-off at UNIMAID at 270. It sits at the competitive ceiling for the institution; candidates scoring below that mark are effectively shut out of the programme and should plan a realistic second choice.
Does UNIMAID run a foundation or pre-degree programme?
Many Nigerian universities run a foundation, pre-degree or JUPEB programme that offers a route into 100 or 200 level, and UNIMAID may operate one depending on the cycle. These programmes are separate from the UTME route and have their own application and fees. If your UTME score falls short of the cut-off, check the official UNIMAID site for a current pre-degree or foundation intake before settling for a deferral.