Undergraduate Course Selection guidelines ( Visiting Special Admission Students only)
In order to choose classes, you can visit your University's Study Abroad/International office to look through course catalogues.
Course descriptions may also be found on the departmental links within each faculty site on the University of Ghana’s Website. For instance, for descriptions of English courses, enter www.ug.edu.gh, click the links: “Academics”; “Faculties”, “Faculty of Arts” “Department of English” and finally “Course Descriptions”
Humanities :
Selection of courses is predetermined by departments for regular students and occasional student course selection is pretty flexible. The following guidelines are useful to special admission students:
Subjects (Departments) in the Humanities divided into 8 groups as shown below:
GROUP I
GROUP II
GROUP III
GROUP IV
Sociology
Economics
Theatre Arts
Archaeology
Linguistics
Psychology
Geography
English
Social Work
Information Studies
Home Science
Mathematics
Music
GROUP V
GROUP VI
GROUP VII
GROUP VIII
History
Philosophy
Arabic
Statistics
Classics
Political Science
Spanish
Religions
Computer Science
Dance Studies
Swahili
French
Nursing
Accounting/ Management
Russian
Owing to time-table constraints, students are not permitted to choose more than one subject from the same group (e.g. a student who opts to pursue courses in Sociology is not allowed to select courses in Linguistics because both belong to Group I)
Special admission students are expected to satisfy the requirements of their institutions, but ensure they do not exceed the University of Ghana’s maximum of 21 credit hours per semester.
With the exception of practical and ancillary courses, all courses must be selected at one particular level (e.g. all L300 courses or all L400 courses).
In addition to the above, Special Admission Students may take course(s) from the School of Performing Arts and Institute of African Studies.
Students taking the course “major instruments” from Department of Music must state type of instrument being taken. Students must provide Office with accurate information on the courses taken and names of the corresponding lecturers on course sheet given; this facilitates the timely issuance of transcripts for special admission students.
Students who wish to exceed the maximum number of credit hours are required to seek prior approval from the Dean, Faculty of Arts or the Dean, Social Studies.
There is no restriction on the number of groups from which a special admission student may select courses. For instance, a student may decide to select courses in subjects from four of the eight groups or select all courses from only one subject.
Agriculture and Consumer Sciences, Engineering Sciences, Sciences :
Students with the requisite academic background can select courses in these areas. Most courses have a compulsory practical component.
Students who wish to pursue courses in these areas are advised to consult the faculties concerned to ascertain any restrictions. It is easier to select all courses from one faculty in this regard.
Students who select courses from a faculty under this category as well as other faculties in the Humanities may end up with conflicts during examinations. Business :
The Business School should be consulted directly to assist with course selection. Students who wish to pursue courses in the Business School are advised to select all their courses from the school so as to avoid conflicts.
Law :
The Faculty of Law should be contacted directly to help with course selection. Students with requisite knowledge in law can take courses in the faculty.
** Kindly refer to the University of Ghana Handbooks (Document type: PDF Size:4.37Mb) for information on regulations for the bachelor’s degree as well as courses offered in the University.
Coding and numbering of Courses All degree programmes have letter and number codes beginning with four letters signifying a department or subject, followed by a three-digit number in one of the following ranges:
Zero (0) for a course that is offered over both semesters (Aug to May/June)*
Odd (1, 3, 5, 7 or 9) for a course offered in the first semester (Fall ≈ Aug-Dec)*
Even (2, 4, 6 or 8) for a course offered in the second semester (Spring ≈ Jan-MayJune)*
One hour lecture per week for a semester, or
One hour tutorial per week for a semester, or
One practical session of two or three hours per week for a semester, or
Six hours of field work per week for a semester.
Example:
GEOG 417 Historical Geography of Africa 3 This is a fourth year 3-credit Geography course offered in the first semester of the academic year.
Add-Drop Deadline: Special Admission and Occasional students may add or drop courses until the deadline indicated in the academic calendar. Students under Institutional Programmes must return their course registration forms to their Programme Coordinators. Independent students (not under any Institutional Programmes) should return their forms to the International Programmes Office within two weeks after add-drop deadline. They must confirm their courses a week after returning their forms.
Lectures:
Style:
Lectures may take the form of class discussion and note dictation. Lecturers are very open to clarifying what they say if asked. Students should participate in the interactive sessions during tutorial periods.
Class sizes: Students should feel free to articulate their views during class discussions and tutorials classes. Average class size is about 300 students. However, some classes may be as large as 700 students (especially Humanities) and as few as 5 students (especially Sciences).
Evaluations: Difficulties faced during lectures or classes must be reported to the Head of department for action. The Dean, International Programmes will support recourse if asked. Students are encouraged to talk to lecturers or faculties about their academic challenges.
Attendance rules: Students must be prepared to study and attend all lectures. According to section 11.2 of the University regulations students who absent themselves from lectures, tutorials and practical classes for a cumulative total of 25% in any one semester will be deemed not to have satisfied the attendance requirements for the semester. Such a student will not be allowed to take examinations for the courses concerned and may be required to withdraw from the University. Lectures should be asked for permission to be away for classes.
Course Registration
Please ensure that you settle on courses you intend to undertake before the deadline for add-drop (see University calendar). Submit a correct course registration form with the appropriate course codes to the International Programmes Office before the deadline to ensure that you receive an accurate transcript.
Examinations: The University does not accept term papers or any arranged examinations in place of the University’s final examinations except in cases of inability to take exams due to severe illness. There is only one final examination to grade students. Note: some lecturers or faculties may give assignment or projects to students which would be added to the scores from the final examinations.
Special admissions students use yellow answer booklets during the examinations. They must also endorse attendance sheets from International Programmes Office at the examination venue for both practical and written examinations.
Students who fall ill should check in at the University hospital for their examinations. The office must be informed about admission into the hospital to arrange for examinations. Students can call the office’s emergency number: 0287299353 in case of such difficulties.
When booking for a date for departure flight, students should bear in mind that there may be changes in final examinations timetable. It is therefore recommended that departure date be at least a day after the end of final examinations.
Transcripts
Regular students may check their grades on the university website (click MIS Web). They may be issued with a transcript upon request from the Academic Affairs Directorate.
Transcripts are issued to special admission and occasional students within four weeks after examinations.
Note: A student who owes the University would not be issued a transcript. Independent students should provide the International Programmes Office their contacts for the transcripts to be sent.
