UNILAG University

The University of Lagos (UNILAG) is a public, federal research university located in Akoka, Yaba, in the heart of Nigeria’s commercial capital. Founded in 1962 by an Act of the Federal Parliament, just two years after Nigeria gained independence from Britain, UNILAG is one of the country’s five “first generation” universities and remains one of its most influential institutions of higher learning.

UNILAG operates across three campuses in mainland Lagos. Its main 802-acre campus in Akoka is largely surrounded by the Lagos Lagoon and houses the majority of its faculties and halls of residence. A second campus is also in Yaba, while the College of Medicine sits at Idi-Araba in Surulere, adjacent to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). The university enrolls 48,680 students across 19 faculties and admits roughly 8,500 new undergraduates each year, with a competitive 11% acceptance rate.

Nicknamed “the University of First Choice and the Nation’s Pride,” UNILAG is widely regarded as one of Africa’s leading universities. In the 2026 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, it shared the top spot in Nigeria with the University of Ibadan in the 801–1000 global band. As a federal institution, UNILAG charges no tuition; obligatory fees for undergraduates fall between roughly ₦100,750 and ₦190,250 per academic session, depending on program type. In October 2022, Prof.