Addis Ababa University
አዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ
Ethiopia's oldest university, spread across a dozen Addis Ababa campuses plus a veterinary campus in Bishoftu.
- Founded
- 1950
- QS World Ranking
- 951-1000
- 2027 edition
- Campus
- Urban
About AAU
Addis Ababa University grew out of the University College of Addis Ababa, a two-year college opened on 20 March 1950. It became Haile Selassie I University in 1961, when Emperor Haile Selassie gave his Guenete Leul Palace to serve as the main campus, and took its present name in 1975. It is the oldest university in Ethiopia and, by its own description, the country's largest higher learning and research institution.
Teaching is organised into seven colleges and a School of Law: Business and Economics; Education and Language Studies; Health Sciences; Natural and Computational Sciences; Social Sciences, Art and Humanities (formed in 2025 by merging several older colleges); Technology and Built Environment; and Veterinary Medicine and Agriculture. Research institutes include the Institute of Ethiopian Studies, the Aklilu Lemma Institute of Health Research and the Institute for Peace and Security Studies. The campuses spread across Addis Ababa, from Sidist Kilo (the main campus and central administration) and the Arat Kilo Science Campus to Tikur Anbessa, home of the College of Health Sciences and its specialized hospital, with the veterinary college about 45 km away in Bishoftu.
AAU suits students who want Ethiopia's most established university and its links to government, medicine and research. Ethiopian applicants need a pass in the national entrance exam plus AAU's own Undergraduate Admission Test, and foreign applicants need their credentials evaluated by Ethiopia's Education and Training Authority.
ኵሎ አመክሩ ወዘሠናየ አጽንዑ
“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21), in Ge'ez” — university motto
Why students choose AAU
It is Ethiopia's oldest university, with more than 280,000 graduates since it opened in 1950, according to the university's own count (a January 2025 snapshot of its statistics).
The College of Health Sciences trains doctors, pharmacists and public health professionals next to Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital.
The Institute of Ethiopian Studies and its ethnological museum sit on the historic Sidist Kilo campus in Haile Selassie's former palace.
Specialist schools such as the Alle School of Fine Arts and Design (founded 1958), the Yared School of Music and a School of Journalism and Communication are part of the university.
Admissions
2026/27 (2019 E.C.) academic year
Selectivity
AAU does not publish an undergraduate acceptance rate. Ethiopian applicants need passing marks in the national higher education entrance examination and a pass in AAU's Undergraduate Admission Test (UAT); for Medicine, Dental Medicine and Pharmacy, only applicants in the top 25% on the entrance exam and the UAT go on to the schools' extra assessments.
Typical entry requirements
| Ethiopian Higher Education Entrance Examination (EHEEE) | Passing marks set by the Ministry of Education, plus a pass in the AAU Undergraduate Admission Test; extra assessments for Medicine, Dental Medicine, Pharmacy and the performing and visual arts |
|---|---|
| Foreign and non-resident applicants | Credentials evaluated for equivalence by the Ethiopian Education and Training Authority (ETA), plus the UAT or an accepted standardized test |
| TVET route (no entrance exam) | TVET diploma (10+3 or 10+4) with a level 4 Certificate of Competency, one year of work experience and a pass in the UAT |
| English language | AAU says IELTS or TOEFL results with the corresponding passing marks can be used instead of its own admission test, but it does not publish minimum scores on its admission pages. |
Deadlines
AAU announces undergraduate calls for applications and UAT dates on its website and admission portal each year; no dates for 2027 entry were published at the time of checking. For comparison, the 2026/27 graduate call opened in June 2026, with the Graduate Admission Test application window running from 6 June to 11 August 2026. Admission policy details come from archived copies of AAU's site data (December 2025); on 30 September 2026 the live site www.aau.edu.et loaded but its content is fetched from a data service that could not be reached, so nothing newer could be confirmed. Check www.aau.edu.et/admission for the current call.
How to apply
Apply online through the AAU admission portal during the call for applications, submitting your entrance exam results and personal details, then sit the Undergraduate Admission Test at a scheduled date. International applicants also provide an ETA equivalence letter, two copies of their educational documents, two passport photos, a letter from Ethiopia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs or their embassy, and a USD 40 application fee.
What admissions looks for
- Passing marks in the national higher education entrance examination (or an ETA-evaluated foreign equivalent).
- A passing mark in AAU's own Undergraduate Admission Test, or an accepted standardized test.
- For Medicine, Dental Medicine and Pharmacy, a top-25% result on the entrance exam and UAT, followed by the schools' own assessments.
- Program-specific requirements, such as minimum grades in certain subjects or extra entrance tests, posted on each program's page.
Tips for applying to AAU
- 1 Watch the AAU website and admission portal for the call for applications: UAT dates are announced through the portal once you have applied.
- 2 If you studied outside Ethiopia, get your credentials evaluated by the Education and Training Authority early; AAU requires the ETA letter.
- 3 If you are aiming for Medicine or Pharmacy, you need to place in the top quarter on both the entrance exam and the UAT just to reach the schools' extra assessments.
- 4 New regular students cannot change college or department until they have completed at least one semester, so choose your field carefully.
Costs & financial aid
2026-27 · figures in ETB
Regular Ethiopian undergraduates study under the government cost-sharing scheme; AAU does not publish tuition figures on its admission pages. Exchange students from partner universities often study under tuition-waiver agreements but pay their own living costs.
- USD 40 (undergraduate), USD 150 (graduate)
- International application fee
Academics
Academic calendar: Semesters (Ethiopian-calendar academic year, e.g. 2026/27 = 2019 E.C.)
Medicine (School of Medicine)
Taught in the College of Health Sciences next to Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, with entry limited to top-25% scorers who pass extra assessments.
Engineering (Addis Ababa Institute of Technology)
AAU's engineering and technology wing on the Amist Kilo campus, with six engineering schools.
Veterinary Medicine
The Bishoftu campus is home to Ethiopia's first dedicated veterinary higher education institution.
Fine Arts and Design
The Alle School of Fine Arts and Design, founded in 1958, offers undergraduate programs such as painting and printmaking and graduate programs in film production and fine arts.
Law (LLB)
The School of Law has trained many of Ethiopia's senior judges and lawyers, including a former Federal Supreme Court president.
Research
- The Institute of Ethiopian Studies researches and preserves Ethiopia's heritage and runs an ethnological museum.
- The Aklilu Lemma Institute of Health Research works on One Health, zoonotic diseases and environmental health risks.
- The Institute of Geophysics, Space Science and Astronomy monitors seismic, GNSS and atmospheric data.
- AAU reports 12,293 Scopus-indexed scholarly outputs since 2014 and more than 310,000 citations.
Schools & faculties
- College of Business and Economics
- College of Education and Language Studies
- College of Health Sciences
- College of Natural and Computational Sciences
- College of Social Sciences, Art and Humanities
- College of Technology and Built Environment
- College of Veterinary Medicine and Agriculture
- School of Law
Student life
Life at AAU depends heavily on your campus. The main Sidist Kilo campus, a leafy former palace ground, houses the central administration, the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library and the Institute of Ethiopian Studies; the Arat Kilo Science Campus is the oldest; Tikur Anbessa is dominated by the hospital; and the arts schools have their own sites for fine arts, music and theatre. First-year regular students take common courses such as Communicative English and Physical Fitness before moving into their departments.
- 13 campuses, 12 in Addis Ababa and one in Bishoftu.
- The Yared School of Music offers Classical and Jazz Performance degrees.
- The Abune Petros Campus has newsrooms and broadcast studios for the School of Journalism and Communication.
- The Business and Economics campus has its own dormitories.
Location
Addis Ababa is Ethiopia's capital, a highland city of several million people and the seat of the African Union. AAU's campuses are spread through the city, with the main Sidist Kilo campus in the north-central part, close to the Arat Kilo science campus, and the veterinary campus in Bishoftu, about 45 km away. The high altitude keeps temperatures mild year-round.
Nearest airport: Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD)
Notable alumni
- HD Hailemariam DesalegnPrime Minister of Ethiopia 2012-2018; bachelor's degree in civil engineering (1988)
- AA Abiy AhmedPrime Minister of Ethiopia since 2018; PhD from the Institute for Peace and Security Studies (2017)
- MA Meaza AshenafiLawyer and women's rights activist; President of the Federal Supreme Court 2018-2023; law graduate
- BM Birtukan MideksaFormer judge; chair of the National Election Board of Ethiopia 2018-2023; Bachelor of Laws
- ZA Zeresenay AlemsegedPaleoanthropologist at the University of Chicago; BSc in geology (1990)
- SK Segenet KelemuMolecular plant pathologist and science leader; bachelor's degree (1979)
- BZ Bahru ZewdeHistorian of modern Ethiopia; BA in history (1970) from Haile Selassie I University, as AAU was then called
- BS Bewketu SeyoumPoet and writer; studied psychology
Frequently asked questions
How do international students apply to Addis Ababa University?
You need your credentials evaluated for equivalence by Ethiopia's Education and Training Authority, then apply through the AAU admission portal with your documents, two passport photos, a letter from Ethiopia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs or your embassy, and a USD 40 undergraduate application fee.
Does Addis Ababa University have an entrance exam?
Yes. Besides the national entrance exam, applicants take AAU's Undergraduate Admission Test (UAT); its admission policy also accepts standardized tests such as IELTS, TOEFL, SAT or ACT with the corresponding passing marks. Medicine, Dental Medicine, Pharmacy and the arts add their own assessments.
What is AAU's acceptance rate?
AAU does not publish an acceptance rate. For Medicine, Dental Medicine and Pharmacy, only applicants in the top 25% on the entrance exam and UAT go on to the extra selection stage.
Where is Addis Ababa University ranked?
AAU is in the 951-1000 band of the QS World University Rankings 2027 and the 701-800 band of ARWU 2026. It is not listed in the THE World University Rankings 2026.
When does AAU open applications for 2027?
AAU announces calls for applications and admission test dates on its website and portal; 2027-entry undergraduate dates had not been published at the time of checking. The 2026/27 graduate call opened in June 2026.
Sources & methodology
Figures on this page were checked against official university publications, national application services and ranking publishers in September 2026. Each number is shown with the year or admissions cycle it describes. Always confirm deadlines and fees on the university's own website before applying.
- Addis Ababa University (official website)
- AAU admission policy: overview, undergraduate, graduate, special admissions, transfer and international students (site content API, archived 10 Dec 2025)
- AAU colleges (site content API, archived 15 Oct 2025)
- AAU research institutes (site content API, archived 15 Oct 2025)
- AAU campuses (site content API, archived 16 Jan 2025)
- AAU key statistics: graduates, Scopus outputs, citations (site content API, archived 16 Jan 2025)
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