The University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) trains health professionals through its College of Health Sciences, which houses the medical and allied health programmes offered by the institution. Candidates researching admission for the 2026/2027 academic session need clarity on which medical courses UNILORIN offers, what it takes to gain admission into each one, and how much studying each course costs. This article addresses all three points directly.
Overview of the College of Health Sciences, UNILORIN
The College of Health Sciences is the arm of the University of Ilorin responsible for training students in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and related health disciplines. Unlike most other faculties at UNILORIN that operate from the university’s main campus, the College of Health Sciences runs its clinical training on a separate campus, closely linked with the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), where students undergo practical and clinical exposure alongside their theoretical coursework. This arrangement allows students in medical courses to interact with real patients and clinical cases from the early clinical years of their training onward.
The college groups its academic departments under two broad divisions: Basic Medical Sciences, which covers foundational disciplines such as Anatomy, Physiology, Chemical Pathology, Haematology, Microbiology and Parasitology, and Pharmacology; and Clinical Sciences, which covers Medicine, Surgery, Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Family Medicine, Anaesthesia, Radiology, Ophthalmology, and Otorhinolaryngology, among others.
List of Medical Courses Offered at UNILORIN
UNILORIN offers the following medical and health-related courses at the undergraduate level:
- Medicine and Surgery (MBBS/MBChB) — the core medical degree programme that trains students to become licensed medical doctors.
- Nursing Science — trains students to become registered professional nurses.
- Pharmacy (Doctor of Pharmacy/PharmD) — trains students to become licensed pharmacists.
- Physiotherapy — trains students in physical rehabilitation and movement-based therapy.
- Medical Laboratory Science — trains students to run diagnostic laboratory tests and analyses used in patient care.
- Optometry — trains students to examine, diagnose, and manage eye and vision conditions.
Each of these programmes runs for a different number of years depending on its curriculum structure, and each has its own set of subject and grade requirements at the point of admission.
Admission Requirements for Medical Courses
Admission into any undergraduate programme at UNILORIN, including the medical courses, follows the university’s general admission framework, with additional subject-specific conditions layered on top for health-related programmes. The general conditions that apply across board are as follows.
- Candidates must sit for the current Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and select UNILORIN as their first-choice institution.
- Candidates must possess credit passes in at least five subjects at SSCE, GCE, NECO, NABTEB, or an approved equivalent examination, and English Language must be one of the five credits.
- The five credits are ordinarily accepted from not more than two sittings.
- For Medicine and Surgery, Nursing Science, and Physiotherapy specifically, the five credits, which must include Mathematics and English Language, must come from a single sitting only. Candidates who combine results from two different examination sittings do not qualify for these three programmes, even if all other conditions are met.
Beyond the general framework, each medical course carries its own specific O’level subject combination and UTME subject requirement, summarised in the table below.
| Course | O’Level Subject Requirement | UTME Subjects | Sitting Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Surgery | English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology | Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English | One sitting only |
| Nursing Science | English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology | Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English | One sitting only |
| Physiotherapy | English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology | Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English | One sitting only |
| Pharmacy | English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology | Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English | Two sittings accepted |
| Medical Laboratory Science | English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology | Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English | Two sittings accepted |
| Optometry | English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology | Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English | Two sittings accepted |
Candidates seeking admission through Direct Entry into Pharmacy, for instance, need at least two A-Level passes in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, or a second class upper degree in a relevant basic science field such as Anatomy, Biochemistry, Physiology, Zoology, or Chemistry, along with a minimum aggregate score set by the university for that category of applicants. Direct Entry options exist for some medical courses but are generally more restrictive and competitive than the UTME route, since fewer slots are typically allocated to Direct Entry candidates each session.
Meeting the JAMB and O’level requirements only makes a candidate eligible to participate in the university’s post-UTME screening exercise; it does not guarantee admission. UNILORIN sets a general minimum cut-off mark for participation in its screening exercise, and departments then apply their own, usually higher, cut-off marks based on the competitiveness of the specific course and the number of available slots. Medicine and Surgery consistently carries one of the highest departmental cut-off marks at UNILORIN, often placed well above the scores required for many other courses in the university, reflecting how competitive admission into the programme is each year.
Duration of Medical Courses at UNILORIN
The length of training varies by programme:
- Medicine and Surgery typically runs for six academic years for UTME entry, covering pre-clinical and clinical training stages, with the possibility of a shorter duration for candidates admitted through Direct Entry with relevant prior qualifications.
- Pharmacy runs for five academic years under the Doctor of Pharmacy structure.
- Nursing Science typically runs for five academic years.
- Physiotherapy typically runs for five academic years.
- Medical Laboratory Science typically runs for five academic years.
- Optometry typically runs for six academic years.
Actual duration can be affected by academic calendar disruptions, strikes, or an individual student’s academic standing, so the figures above represent the standard programme length under an uninterrupted academic calendar.
School Fees for Medical Courses at UNILORIN
UNILORIN is a federal university, and like most federal universities in Nigeria, its official tuition component remains relatively low compared to private institutions. However, students in health-related courses pay more than students in other faculties because of the additional charges tied to laboratory use, clinical training, practicals, and departmental-specific levies. Health science students consistently fall into the highest fee bracket at UNILORIN, alongside students in Engineering and other lab-intensive disciplines.
The table below gives a general sense of the fee structure fresh (100 level) students in medical and health science courses should expect to pay per session, combining tuition, acceptance fee, and other compulsory charges such as ICT fee, medical fee, library fee, sports fee, and departmental dues.
| Course | Approximate Fresher Fee Range (₦) | Approximate Returning Student Fee Range (₦) |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Surgery | 130,000 – 250,000 | 60,000 – 100,000 |
| Pharmacy | 120,000 – 220,000 | 55,000 – 95,000 |
| Nursing Science | 100,000 – 200,000 | 50,000 – 90,000 |
| Physiotherapy | 100,000 – 200,000 | 50,000 – 90,000 |
| Medical Laboratory Science | 100,000 – 200,000 | 50,000 – 90,000 |
| Optometry | 100,000 – 200,000 | 50,000 – 90,000 |
These figures should be treated as a planning guide rather than a fixed, guaranteed amount, because UNILORIN reviews its fee schedule from one session to another, and different sources report slightly different figures depending on when the schedule was last updated. The safest way to confirm the exact amount payable for the 2026/2027 session is to check the UNILORIN student portal directly using a JAMB registration number (for freshers) or a matriculation number (for returning students), since the portal reflects the fee applicable to a student’s specific department and level in real time.
In addition to tuition, students in medical courses should budget separately for the following:
- Acceptance fee — a one-time, non-refundable payment made after receiving an admission offer, required before a candidate can proceed to pay school fees.
- Hostel accommodation — optional but common among freshers, with charges depending on the type of hostel and room arrangement chosen.
- Departmental practical and clinical charges — some medical courses carry extra charges tied to laboratory consumables, clinical postings, and uniform or kit requirements, especially from the clinical years onward.
- Late registration penalty — students who miss the official fee payment deadline are typically required to pay an additional penalty before they can complete registration.
How to Pay UNILORIN School Fees
Payment of school fees at UNILORIN follows a simple online process:
- Visit the official UNILORIN student portal.
- Log in using a JAMB registration number and password (for freshers) or a matriculation number and password (for returning students).
- Navigate to the school fees or payment section of the portal.
- Generate a Remita Retrieval Reference (RRR) number for the applicable fee.
- Complete payment using a bank card, USSD, or direct bank transfer referencing the generated RRR.
- Confirm that the payment reflects on the portal before proceeding to course registration.
Fresh students are generally advised to complete payment at least a week before the official registration period opens, since registration and examination eligibility are tied to confirmed fee payment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which medical courses does UNILORIN offer?
UNILORIN offers Medicine and Surgery, Nursing Science, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Medical Laboratory Science, and Optometry as its main medical and health-related undergraduate programmes.
Do all medical courses at UNILORIN require O’level results from a single sitting?
No. Only Medicine and Surgery, Nursing Science, and Physiotherapy require all five O’level credits, including Mathematics and English, to come from a single sitting. Pharmacy, Medical Laboratory Science, and Optometry accept credits obtained across two sittings.
Is Medicine and Surgery the most expensive medical course at UNILORIN?
Generally, yes. Medicine and Surgery tends to sit at the upper end of the fee range among UNILORIN’s medical courses because of its extended duration and the additional clinical training charges involved, although the gap between it and other health courses is not usually very wide.
Can a candidate gain admission into Medicine and Surgery through Direct Entry?
Direct Entry routes exist for some UNILORIN medical courses, such as Pharmacy, mainly for candidates with A-Level passes or a relevant first degree, but slots for Direct Entry are limited and admission remains competitive.
Where can a student confirm the exact school fees for the 2026/2027 session?
The most reliable source is the UNILORIN student portal, accessed with a JAMB registration number or matriculation number, since it reflects the current fee schedule tied to a student’s specific department and level.