Humanities & Social Sciences
Graduate Students Assured of Improved Learning Environment as Makerere Transforms into being Research-led
Graduate students at Makerere University have been assured that the university management is committed and has taken a deliberate decision to improve the graduate environment as the university transforms into research – led.
The students have also been assured that the University is committed to doubling graduate enrollment to improve its research profile and ranking on global scene.
The assurance was made by the Deputy Director in charge of Administration and Graduate Training Prof. Julius Kikooma while representing the Director DGRT during the 2023 Graduate orientation ceremony organized by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences in Yusuf Lule Auditorium on Friday 25th August 2023.
Kikooma reported that Makerere University and the Government of Uganda have been in negotiations with a donor who offered to build a five-storeyed Graduate School Complex.
The Directorate of Graduate Research and Training (DGRT) according to Kikooma discussed and approved the structural plan for the complex at the site of Afri-Child Centre near Lumumba Hall.
Kikooma welcomed CHUSS Graduate students and thanked them for choosing Makerere as the university of their second degree despite the over 50 universities in Uganda and the region.
“I give you confidence that you actually made the right choice. Makerere has made the deliberate choice that after making 100 years, it is going to put its resources together to become the choice of graduate training in the region. We have done so well in research and impacted society through a range of things.
Kikooma told students that they have come at time when the university has made a commitment and building the foundation to become the University of choice for graduate training.
“Makerere is aiming to be ranked the number one university in the continent-the commitment management has. We are confident that we are going to take that number one position in a not so far future and that number one position is going to almost singularly come from what we do with graduate training”
Prof. Kikooma shared the kind of visions that the university has about the future with the DGRT as drivers and graduate students as the foundation.
One of the curious things about DGRT mandate According to Kikooma is to provide the home for graduate students. Much attention Makerere has had in the last 100 years, according to Kikooma had been on undergraduate training where units had spent more time and developed more infrastructure and support.
The graduate students Kikooma reported, form the minority students and hovers between 12 to 15%, and the commitment of management is to double enrolment of graduate students who are going to be the foundation for the aspirations of Makerere in terms of research.
In terms of the policy provisions, Kikooma said it has been made clear that student’s research must be visible not to stay in the library as dissertations and theses, but easily accessible to communities outside .
One of the policy provisions is that for PhD students to start with, they must at least publish two papers before they graduate as a basis for uptake by the communities that need this information.
“Now that the university has said we want to pay attention specifically to you. Take that advantage. You will definitely reap a number of benefits. We are committed as a directorate to provide that hope.
Kikooma reported that the University is working with government and other partners to put up a structure specifically for housing graduate students, a commitment to handling graduate matters.
Kikooma also briefed students on cardinal university policies they should familiarize with to help them succeed in their academic journey. These include the Graduate Handbook 2013, the Guild Student Statute 2022 and the Students Guild constitution 2022.
The Principal CHUSS represented by Dr. Pamela Khanakwa congratulated the Graduate freshers for successfully being admitted to Makerere University Graduate School.
“We welcome you to the college and we are super excited that you chose not only Makerere University, but the College of Humanities and Social Sciences,” Your choice is of course, where the academic journey began for some of us. And where, of course, it also begins for you in Graduate School. And I’m very confident that from CHUSS, you can go anywhere in in the world,” she said.
Speaking from her experience when she joined in 1996 for an MA in History, Dr. Khanakwa said, she has moved on expressing hope that they too can be able to make the best use of all the resources in CHUSS and the university at large to accomplish their academic dreams.
“At CHUSS, we don’t just think, we think critically, we produce knowledge but we also have fun. So, as you begin your academic journey, here I argue you to concentrate on your academics, but also remember that there is life outside being in the library, writing the course works, writing exams, and of course eventually when you do your research and rate your dissertations.” Khanakwa advised.
Dr. Khanakwa assured students that they are in safe hands on reason that the staff at CHUSS are committed to do their best to support them to have the most rewarding academic experience.
“I want to assure you that we work as a team. We are here for you. We are here because of you. We are ready to support you in whatever possible way. We want you to be confident. We want you to be happy. So, if you encounter any issues that you need clarification, please do not hesitate to approach anyone of us and seek guidance”, she implored.
The orientation ceremony was graced by CHUSS members of management, school registrars, graduate coordinators, administrative staff and the student’s leadership as well as members from the university support units of Senate, DGRT among others.
Students were inducted on several academic matters including admission, fees payment and registration, the University academic calendar and change of program, as well as social issues including personal security, managing stress and relationships.
The College Registrar Vincent Abigaba underscored the role of registration that begins with enrolment especially in first year adding that they must be ready to interface with ICT and register onto the ACMIS system.
“To enroll you are simply informing university management that you are ready on campus to perform your academic duties.”
The Principal Register in the DGRT Prossy Nakayiki re-emphasized registration as key and urged students to maintain their application credentials and whoever has issues to visit the admission office.
Nakayiki advised students to visit the respective school registrars with original transcripts for verification and registration saying the subsequent registration for continuing students should be done online.
“Make sure you create a person file where you keep all your correspondences. You are not a student unless you are registered. Registration is done in the first six weeks of the semester” She said
Nakayiki guided students on matters of deferment, withdrawal from the program, refund of tuition fees and general challenges faced by graduate students and sexual harassment as a real vice.
Dr. Roscoe Kasujja from the CHUSS Mental Health department advised students on the need to manage their mental health. He said every human being is a candidate of getting psychological disorder when unstable.
“If you do not manage problems, mental health swings in. Humans are social beings, the people closest to us, cause us distress. You made a decision to come. You have to manage those relationships”.
Dr. Kasujja observed that most graduate students struggle with problems which have solutions.
“You have classmates, registrars, lectures etc. Until you have exhausted all options, do not be dramatic, eliminate that stress.
Master the art of managing 24 hours and don’t make your issue an emergency for others. For every one, the clock is ticking, as you are managing your time, know that others are struggling within the 24 hours”.
Kasujja observed that at times graduate students take themselves too serious advising that, they must know what is required of them to pass examinations, He advised them to find time to relax, not miss out on happiness, for they have chosen the best college.
“At the end of the day, let’s get personal. There is so much that will influence your life. Be responsible for your own life. Every being is human, don’t overwhelm them. They may need you to part them at their back. Master the art of listening and understand what others are going through,”
Speaking on ICT support services and graduate training at Makerere University, Dr. Mike Barongo urged students to activate their portals and in case of challenges seek support at the Directorate of ICT.
He re-emphasized the importance of enrollment and registration every semester and to be active on the system as the senate will use the data on the system to learn them for graduation, generate certificate and transcripts.
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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