Humanities & Social Sciences
CHUSS Presents the highest number of PhDs during the Mak 72 Graduation
The College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS) has presented the highest number of PhD graduands for the Makerere University 72nd Graduation that started on Monday 23rd to Friday 27th May 2022. Out of the 100 Doctorates across all colleges, CHUSS presented 25 PhDs.
This is the second time CHUSS is taking lead in the production of PhDs. During the 71st Graduation ceremony held from 17th to 21st, May 2021, the college presented 22 PhDs out of 108 Doctorates across all colleges, the highest of all.
On this fifth and last session of Makerere University’s 72nd Graduation Ceremony CHUSS also presented over 165 Masters and over 1,500 undergraduates. The college also presented 07 candidates for the Diploma in Stratery and Warfare.
“I congratulate the College of Humanities and Social Sciences on producing a record 25 Candidates for the conferment of the Doctor of Philosophy Degree,” The Vice Chancellor Makerere University Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe said.
A total of 12,474 graduands received degrees and diplomas of Makerere University during the 72nd graduation ceremony. Of these, 100 graduands graduated with PhDs, 1,236 with Masters degrees, 10,998 with Bachelor’s degrees and 140 with undergraduate and postgraduate diplomas. 52 % of the graduands were female and 48 % are male. Forty of the 100 PhD graduands and 492 of the 1,236 Masters graduands were female, representing 40% in each category.
The Chancellor’s remarks
Presiding over the ceremony, the Chancellor Makerere University, Prof Ezra Suruma thanked the Makerere University Council led by Mrs. Lorna Magara for their untiring efforts in supporting the administration to ensure the smooth functioning of the university. Prof Suruma also recognized the contributions of the Senate and the academic staff who have done so much to guide the graduands through the complexities of academic life.
The Chancellor acknowledged the contributions of various institutions and organizations towards the University notably, the Government of Uganda, staff, students, the development partners and religious leaders and all stakeholders, especially the parents, for the vital role played in supporting Makerere University to pursue its educational vision .
Prof. Suruma commended the graduands for enduring hardships that included mental stress, financial deprivation, social alienation and continuous intellectual harassment otherwise known as testing and examination adding that having survived all those hardships, Makerere University has awarded them survivors’ certificates to testify that they have been tested and found fully fit for tough duties anywhere in the world.
“I thank you very much for enduring and finishing what you came here to do. You have brought glory not only to yourselves but also to your loved ones, to your parents, to your friends and to God.
The world which you are now entering is filled with both old and new challenges. For example, the war between Russia and Ukraine has altered the global geopolitical environment. The prices of fuel have shot up dramatically, and many other commodity prices have also been affected. We now have to find solutions for survival in this new environment. I believe that we have to be more aggressive and creative in the face of this war. We need to change our economic system and even ideology, to respond to these new challenges”, the Professor advised.
Prof. Suruma told graduands that fortunately, there are also new opportunities such as the expansion of the East African Community to include the Democratic Republic of Congo that may be the most important market opportunity for Uganda since independence. He urged them to wake up and aggressively respond to this great opportunity.
The Chancellor noted that despite the severe limitations on employment imposed by the lack of capital and the cost of capital, there is need to intensify creativity to find ways to break these financial limitations and to realize that this challenge is a continuation of the African struggle for freedom. He added that colonialism has never ended but just continues in a new form hence the need to wake up to that challenge to set themselves free.
“Let us endeavor to stand firm on our principles even in the face of neocolonialism…
Fighting against slavery and colonialism and imperialism has never been easy. Each generation must wake up, define the problem and make its contribution to the solution. We must wake up and not fall asleep when our house is on fire”, The Chancellor stated.
Prof. Suruma reminded the congregation of the upcoming Uganda Martyrs celebrations who made stand for what they believed and paid with their lives stressing that as long as the challenges of poverty and injustice remain, there is no choice but to struggle for solutions for survival in our world.
He told the congregation that Uganda’s challenges range from the microeconomic struggle at the household level in the parish to the national and regional and international struggles for markets for coffee and oil and therefore need courage, commitment and organization to resolve these problems.
The Chancellor also stressed the need for everyone to ask God for wisdom to do what is right in the face of the hard challenges and thanking God for the gifts of time, education, of being alive where many have passed, the gift of a sound mind, the gift of eyes and hands and a strong heart and body.
The professor also advised graduands to extend a helping hand as they pass through this world, then their lives, gifts, will not be in vain, nor be wasted. This, he said is not all about doing big things, making news and getting applause but even small things matter.
“It is a big dark world out there. There is a desperate need for a helping hand. Please take your candle and shed some light wherever God has put you. You might not make the national or international headlines. But to those whom you give a helping hand you will be the most important headline of their life”, the Chancellor guided.
The Vice Chancellor’s Remarks
The Vice Chancellor Makerere University, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe said, despite the disruption caused by the COVID 19 Pandemic, the university council through the support and guidance of the university Council to push through and minimize the time lost, extending appreciation to staff and students for soldiering on in spite of the devastation and embracing the Open, Distance and e-learning.
The Vice Chancellor reported that the university has continued to grow her research capacity in line with the strategic plan (2020-2030) which seeks Makerere a fully research led university.
With more than 1,000 of our academic staff holding PhDs, Makerere is a formidable research institution currently ranked No. 2 in Africa as far as research is concerned. Globally Makerere University ranks to in collaborative research and in clinical research”, Prof Nawangwe said.
The Vice Chancellor said Makerere today competes favorably with any other top universities in the world as far as quality research is concerned due to heavy investments in human resource and infrastructure development by government and development partners.
Prof. Nawangwe reported that the College of Humanities and Social Sciences CHUSS has continued to strive for greater academic excellence, research and community service with several staff of CHUSS are involved in research and are part of international research networks.
Through CHUSS, the Vice Chancellor said, Makerere University secured USD 800,000 for archival research funded by the Mellon Foundation, USA. The project entitled: “Archiving, Memory and Method from the Global South”, is aimed at building the capacity of staff and students to study formal and non-formal archival repository institutions, community archiving and intangible archives such as folklore, dance, music and other oral forms.
Through these oral forms Prof. Nawangwe said the countries rich cultural history can be disseminated, preserved and handed down to the next generations. The project is also aimed at enhancing the teaching and learning in the humanities and social sciences.
“In our internationalization efforts, the university signed a Memorandum of understanding with Yunus Emre Institute of Turkey aimed at enhancing international communication and building strong relations with Turkey. By signing this protocol, Turkish language courses will start at Makerere University. Both Makerere and Yunus Emre Institute will be developing joint research, organizing joint academic, scientific and cultural events and, reviewing academic curricula”, Prof. Nawangwe read.
In addition, he said, collaborative efforts have been concluded to link Makerere University with Kyoto University, Japan through a program initiated by the Ministry of Education, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan known as, “ Innovative Africa: Educational Networking Programs for Human Resource development in Africa’s SDGs. This collaboration involve international exchange which is essential in enhancing knowledge and academic activities as we aspire to be a research-led University.
Relatedly, the Vice Chancellor said, the CHUSS launched a new Masters program in French Language Studies to build professional capacities in the mastery of the French Language, develop skills in the pedagogy of French and impart knowledge on the cultural and political relations of the Francophone world. The programme is hosted by the Department of European and Oriental Languages. In a nut shell, CHUSS has provided renewed leadership in the expansion of language capacities in African languages as well oriental languages. In this way Makerere becomes a leader in regional integration and development.
Prof. Nawangwe commended CHUSS for remarkably being active in the MAK@100 celebrations.
“One of the many activities in these celebrations was a biography recital in honour of “Zadok Adolu-Otojoka one of the highly celebrated icons of music education and professional music performance in Uganda and East Africa. He served as Head of Department of Music, Dance and Drama (now Performing Arts and Film) at Makerere University in the mid- to-late-1990s and was particularly famous for his charismatic conducting of the university anthem and the mesmerizing leadership of the academic procession during Makerere graduation ceremonies. This celebration of a living legend was very commendable and was highly appreciated by Zadok himself and the larger performing Arts fraternity”. The Vice Chancellor appreciated.
Prof. Nawangwe recognized the Government of Uganda for the release of UGX 21 billion for the reconstruction of the iconic main building. He also invited the congregation to participate in the celebrations to Mark the 100 years of service to humanity whose climax will be on 8th October 2022.
To the graduands as they leave Makerere University, the Vice Chancellor urged them to always be proud of their Alma Mater and be her good Ambassadors.
“Go and put to good use the knowledge you have received from one of the best universities in the world to change your communities, your country and humanity. Put your trust in God and honor your parents and opportunities will be opened for you. Do not forget the Gates of Makerere”. Prof. Nawangwe advised.
He also informed graduands that transcripts for graduands on 4 and 5-year programmes were ready for picking the following week and for those on 3-year programmes, transcripts will be ready for picking beginning the second week of June 2022.
On the morning of Friday, February 27, when the academic procession winds its way across Makerere University’s Freedom Square for the last day of the 76th Graduation Ceremony, Whitney Najjuka will walk into history with a number beside her name: 4.46.
At Makerere, that number means First Class Honours. It means the Vice Chancellor’s List. It means she graduates as the only First-Class student in Journalism and Communication this year. But numbers, as Whitney has learned, rarely tell the full story.
Born on March 27, 2002, in Nabbingo, Kyengera Town Council, to Margaret Kusemererwa and Fred Kasirye, dreamt she would do Law, one of the disciplines, prestigious, almost inevitable next steps for a student who had excelled in secondary school. She had done everything correctly. Studied hard. Scored well. Followed the script.
But Makerere University had other plans. She missed the pre-entry mark, but found her name under Journalism and Communication, another prestigious course offered by the Journalism and Communication Department at Makerere University.
Najjuka began her academic journey at Muto Primary School in Buwama, earning 8 aggregates in the Primary Leaving Examination, a performance that positioned her strongly for secondary school.
She would later join St. Lucia Hill School, Namagoma, where she earned 20 aggregates at O-Level and 17 points in History, Luganda, and Divinity at A-Level.
Missing her dream course, Law, felt at first, like a detour. But Whitney was encouraged by Sanyu Christopher, her uncle, and she settled for a government-sponsored slot in the Bachelor of Journalism and Communication at Makerere, which she had applied for before.
She entered uncertain. But she graduates transformed.
The Pivot That Became a Purpose
Whitney speaks of her early university days with candor. She did not arrive at the Department of Journalism and Communication with a burning childhood ambition to be a journalist, but because another door had closed.
Then, Social and Behavior Change Communication happened. Applied Strategic Communication happened. She began to see media not as headlines and microphones, but as architecture, shaping how societies think, argue, and act.
The turning point came in her third year. The Female Journalist Foundation published her story on Sexual Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and its emotional toll on survivors. What startled her was not its publication but the reaction. Comments flooded in. Debates ignited, especially about the role of men in combating GBV.
“I realized media doesn’t just report,” she says. “It frames how society views a crisis.”
Her voice, once tentative, had entered a national conversation.
The Discipline Behind 4.46
At Makerere University, a First Class CGPA is not built on brilliance alone but on ritual.
Whitney’s ritual began with showing up, on time, every time. She treated lectures as appointments with her future self. She refused to confine her learning to the syllabus. While attending workshops at the Aga Khan Graduate School of Media and Communication and obtaining external certifications, she sought and was open to mentorship through the Public Relations Association of Uganda (PRAU).
She wanted theory anchored in practice. And then there was the commute.
From Nabbingo, a hill in Wakiso District, some 18.6 km to Kampala, where the Makerere Main campus is situated, and back, nearly 20 hours a week dissolved into Kampala traffic. Two-hour journeys before 8:00 a.m. lectures. Dust. Noise. Headaches. She learned to manage energy the way others manage time. Fatigue became a tutor in resilience.
“I had to be intentional with every remaining hour,” she says. “Excuses were not an option.”
Learning to Practice Communication
If classrooms taught her analysis, presentations taught her courage. Pitching projects, defending research, and standing before peers quick to critique forced her to think on her feet. She was no longer simply studying communication; she was practicing it.
In 2024, the AGMES Fellowship at the Aga Khan Graduate School of Media and Communication pushed her further. She received funding to produce a capstone project on the mental impact of gender-based violence on survivors. She identified sources, conducted interviews, handled trauma with care, and worked with professional editors.
The Communication, she learned, is logistics and ethics as much as eloquence.
The Future She Sees
Whitney is optimistic about Uganda’s media landscape. The digital shift, she believes, has democratized influence. Young communicators are no longer confined to legacy newsrooms or offices.
Yet she sees a gap in the absence of structured research on sustainable, ethical, profitable independent media ventures in Uganda. Her ambition is not only to practice communication, but to study it. To produce data-backed frameworks that help young Ugandans transition from graduates to media entrepreneurs.
She wants to make the impact scalable.
What Remains
As the only First-Class graduate in her cohort, she is careful not to mythologize herself. “Success isn’t brilliance alone,” she says. “It’s a daily commitment when nobody is watching.”
Even before graduation, Whitney had stepped into the industry through a mentorship internship at Capital One Group (COG EA Ltd), a strategic marketing communications agency operating across East Africa.
At Capital One Group, we spoke to Paul Mwirigi Muriungi, the Managing Director and Head of Strategy, who spoke of Najjuka as a progressive and intentional young professional who approaches her work with curiosity, maturity, and responsibility.
“Her attitude is exemplary. She is teachable, receptive to feedback, and eager to grow. While technical skills can be taught, character, work ethic, and mindset determine long-term success, qualities that Whitney consistently demonstrates. Given her academic excellence and professional application, we believe she has a bright future both at Capital One Group and within the wider communications industry. She represents the kind of talent the profession needs: thoughtful, adaptable, and committed to excellence.
“We look forward to seeing her next chapter unfold,” says Mwirigi.
Najjuka’s gaze extends beyond her own trajectory. She speaks of what the Department could become. Furnished and equipped with industry-standard equipment, newsroom simulations, and deeper investment in data journalism as prayers. Her excellence is not self-congratulatory, but it is forward-looking.
“The University should support the Department to procure industry-standard equipment. Access to high-quality cameras, sound booths, and updated editing software like Adobe Creative Suite is critical to our learning environment,” she says.
Adding that, “We need a newsroom simulation, a physical or digital space where students work under real-time deadlines to produce content for the public. That would prepare us for industry and even strengthen the University’s own media platforms.”
In an era defined by metrics, algorithms, and digital traceability, data journalism is no longer a niche skill but a sine qua non of credible reporting. “There should also be more focus on data journalism and search engine optimization. These are no longer optional skills. Students would benefit immensely from stronger training in these areas.”
Dr. Aisha Nakiwala, the Head, Department of Journalism and Communication, says the faculty are very proud that she is graduating with a First Class—the only one in this year’s cohort.
“This achievement reflects not only exceptional intellectual ability but also discipline, resilience, and sustained dedication to the highest standards over four years. Graduating with first-class honors is no small feat; it requires consistent outstanding performance.
“Her accomplishment sets a powerful example for continuing students and reaffirms our department’s commitment to nurturing excellence. We are confident she will make meaningful contributions to the communication profession and society at large,” says Dr. Nakiwala.
On graduation day, applause will crest and recede. The gowns will fold back into wardrobes. The transcripts will be filed away in cabinets. But something quieter will endure; a young woman from Nabbingo who once missed her Law mark, who spent 20 hours a week on the road, who discovered that storytelling is power, and who now walks into Freedom Square not by accident, but by intention.
Life, as she has come to understand it, lives on.
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