Historical Background

1969 to 1990, Technology is Birthed

A major structural change took place in July 1978 when the common course was reduced to three terms, becoming the equivalent of the first year. Examinations were then held at the end of each academic year. The fourth term of each year was devoted to industrial training. The programme instituted in 1978 remained virtually unchanged until December 1995 when a second major change took place in the Engineering Courses. It was resolved that admissions were to be direct into the three disciplines of Civil, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering. Three years later the department of Architecture was started in 1989, followed by that of surveying in 1990.The engineering programme duration lasted four years, divided into three parts – the Preliminary and Part I, which were common to all the students, lasting two years. Part II involved splitting of the students into the three disciplines also with a duration of two years.The Faculty of Technology was established in 1969 but it fully opened its doors in July 1970 with an intake of 26 students in the three traditional areas of Civil, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering at a time when the Uganda Government realised that industries needed more technical manpower than what was being produced, mainly from the University of Nairobi and abroad at that time.

1990 to 2010, The Faculty of Technology evolves

During the first 16 years of its existence, the progress of the Faculty was made possible by the unswerving support of UNDP-UNESCO project that provided expatriate staff, scholarships, laboratory equipment and text books. Since then, the Faculty has expanded and now boasts of six undergraduate departments, two sub-departments of Engineering Maths and Urban Planning and a fully fledged graduate programme. There were also plans in die pipeline to transform into a College of Engineering and Technology in order to foster the expansion and development of the Engineering options.In 1998 the University introduced a semester system which the Faculty of Engineering embraced. This was accompanied by diversification, redesign and introduction of a credit system. The semester system has continued to promote specialised training of technology students in their respective disciplines, namely, Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Surveying and Architecture.In 1990, the Faculty of Agriculture started a department of Agricultural Engineering, with an arrangement that their students spend their first two years in the Faculty of Technology, studying the same subjects with their Mechanical Engineering counterparts, an arrangement that still stands the test of time.

The College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology Today

At its special meeting held on 12th November 2010, the Makerere University Council approved the Senate recommendation to transform Makerere University into a collegiate university.

Established in 1922, Makerere University has grown over the years to become one of the leading universities in Africa. Before this decision was made, Makerere University had one Constituent College (the College of Health Sciences) and twenty two Faculties, Schools and Institutes offering day, evening and external study programmes to a student body of over 30,000 undergraduates and postgraduates. The University Council together with the University Senate observed that Makerere University had become too big to be managed at the Centre. There was a need to divide functions between the central administration of the university and viable constituent colleges. The transformation into a collegiate university has involved restructuring of the twenty two existing academic units into nine (9) constituent colleges and one (1) school.

Restructuring of the academic units into constituent colleges is aimed at improving service delivery, reducing the red tape in the management of the university’s affairs and enhancing quality in the core functions of the university.

The following nine (9) constituent colleges were established.

  1. College of Health Sciences (Established 1st December 2007 under the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act-Establishment of College of Health Sciences, Makerere University) Order 2008.
  2. College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
  3. College of Humanities and Social Sciences
  4. Colleges of Computing and Information Sciences
  5. College of Business and Management Sciences
  6. College of Education and External Studies
  7. College of Natural Sciences
  8. College of Engineering, Design, and Technology
  9. College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources & Bio-Security

The school is:

  1. School of Law