The UNICAL cut off mark for the 2026/2027 session is 150. That is the score the University of Calabar asked for in its Post-UTME and Direct Entry screening notice, and it matches the national minimum JAMB set for universities at its 2026 policy meeting. With 150 or more in the 2026 UTME and UNICAL as your first choice (or a change of institution to UNICAL), you were eligible to apply.
What 150 does not tell you is the score that actually wins a place in your course. As of 24 October 2026, UNICAL has not published official departmental cut off marks for 2026/2027, and three programmes (Medicine and Surgery, Medical Laboratory Science and Dentistry) are not taking new students this session. Below you will find what is official, what comes from past sessions, how UNICAL ranks candidates, the subjects you need for the big courses, and the CAPS steps that decide whether an offer becomes your admission.
UNICAL cut off mark 2026/2027 at a glance
| Item | 2026/2027 position | Status |
|---|---|---|
| JAMB national minimum for universities | 150 | Official (JAMB policy meeting, May 2026) |
| UNICAL general cut off mark (to apply for screening) | 150 | Official (UNICAL screening notice, May 2026) |
| UNICAL departmental cut off marks | Not published | No official list as of 24 October 2026 |
| Medicine and Surgery, Medical Laboratory Science, Dentistry | No new admissions | Official (UNICAL Registrar, July 2026) |
| Post-UTME registration window | 1 June to 31 July 2026 | Closed |
| Screening fee | ₦2,000 | Official |
| Deadline for public universities to finish admission | 31 October 2026 | Official (JAMB) |
Keep two kinds of number apart as you read. The general cut off (150) is a gate: below it, UNICAL will not consider you at all. A departmental cut off is the lowest score or aggregate that was admitted into one course in one year, and it is set after screening, once the university sees how many people applied and how they performed. The first is announced before screening. The second, if it is released at all, comes after.
Medicine, Dentistry and Medical Laboratory Science: no 2026/2027 intake
On 24 July 2026, UNICAL’s Registrar, Dr (Mrs) Chukwuka Icha, announced that Medicine and Surgery, Medical Laboratory Science and Dentistry would not admit new students for the 2026/2027 session. The statement did not give a reason. Candidates who had chosen UNICAL for any of the three were told to go to a JAMB office and change institution before the end of July 2026.
Many cut off lists online still show a figure for these three courses this session. Those figures do not apply to a course that is not admitting. If you scored well and had your heart set on Medicine at UNICAL, the realistic choices now are an offer in a related course elsewhere, an offer UNICAL makes you in another programme through CAPS Transfer Approval, or sitting the 2027 UTME and watching for UNICAL’s next announcement. Dentistry already had a quota problem before this: in July 2025, the university said the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria had told it in 2022 to stop dentistry admissions after it admitted more students than its approved number.
UNICAL departmental cut off mark for all courses, by faculty
UNICAL has not released a 2026/2027 departmental list, and I could not find an official departmental list from any recent session on the university’s own channels. The pages ranking for this search give very different numbers for the same course: one lists Law at 240, another at 200, a third puts every course at 150. None of them points to a UNICAL document. So the table below gives you the one figure that is official for every course this year (150 to apply), plus the most recent full departmental list I could trace, which is from the 2019/2020 session.
Read the 2019/2020 column carefully. Those were merit cut offs under the old system, when UNICAL ran a written Post-UTME and took the average of your UTME score and your Post-UTME score. They are on the same 400 scale as JAMB, which is why some end in .5. They show how competitive each course was, not what you need this year. “Not listed” means the course did not appear on the circulated list.
Medical, allied health and basic medical sciences
| Course | 2026/2027 minimum to apply | 2019/2020 merit cut off (past session) |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Surgery | Not admitting in 2026/2027 | 292 |
| Dentistry | Not admitting in 2026/2027 | Not listed |
| Medical Laboratory Science | Not admitting in 2026/2027 | 252 |
| Nursing Science | 150 | 266 |
| Radiography | 150 | 256 |
| Public Health | 150 | 236 |
| Biochemistry | 150 | 232 |
| Human Physiology | 150 | 216 |
| Human Anatomy | 150 | 212 |
Law, Arts and Management Sciences
| Course | 2026/2027 minimum to apply | 2019/2020 merit cut off (past session) |
|---|---|---|
| Law | 150 | 276 |
| English and Literary Studies | 150 | 240 |
| Linguistics and Communication Studies | 150 | 232 |
| Linguistics | 150 | 200.5 |
| Accounting | 150 | 240 |
| Business Management | 150 | 232 |
| Banking and Finance | 150 | 212 |
Social Sciences
| Course | 2026/2027 minimum to apply | 2019/2020 merit cut off (past session) |
|---|---|---|
| Economics | 150 | 232.5 |
| Political Science | 150 | 232 |
| Public Administration | 150 | 232 |
| Sociology | 150 | 224 |
| Tourism Studies | 150 | 188 |
| Policy and Administrative Studies | 150 | 166.5 |
| Geography and Environmental Science | 150 | 166 |
Biological and Physical Sciences
| Course | 2026/2027 minimum to apply | 2019/2020 merit cut off (past session) |
|---|---|---|
| Microbiology | 150 | 220 |
| Computer Science | 150 | 212 |
| Genetics and Biotechnology | 150 | 197 |
| Science Laboratory Technology | 150 | 184 |
| Electronics and Computer Technology | 150 | 184 |
| Geology | 150 | 151 |
Education
| Course | 2026/2027 minimum to apply | 2019/2020 merit cut off (past session) |
|---|---|---|
| Education and English Language | 150 | 208 |
| Educational Management and Planning | 150 | 204 |
| Education and Political Science | 150 | 192 |
| Education and Biology | 150 | 188 |
| Business Education | 150 | 151.5 |
| Library and Information Science | 150 | 151 |
| Education and Social Studies | 150 | 149.5 |
| Education and Physics | 150 | 146 |
| Education and Economics | 150 | 142 |
| Education and History | 150 | 140 |
| Education and Religious Studies | 150 | 140 |
| Education and Chemistry | 150 | 139.5 |
| Adult Education | 150 | 138 |
| Education and Mathematics | 150 | 137 |
| Education and Geography | 150 | 136 |
| Education and French | 150 | 133 |
Faculties with no past departmental figure
UNICAL’s faculty directory also lists Agriculture, Forestry and Wildlife Resource Management, Engineering and Technology, Environmental Sciences, Oceanography and Pharmacy. Their courses (Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Forestry and Wildlife Management, Food Science and Technology, Architecture, Estate Management, Surveying and Geo-Informatics, Urban and Regional Planning and the rest) all carried the same 150 minimum to apply this session. I found no departmental figure for them that traces back to the university, so I have not put one here.
In past sessions a score near 150 was enough for some Education combinations. For Law, Nursing, Radiography, Accounting and the popular Social Sciences, the people admitted were well above 200. If you are planning for 2027, treat 150 as the entry ticket and aim for a UTME score in the mid 200s for any of the competitive courses.
Space is also tighter than it used to be. In April 2026, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Offiong Offiong, said UNICAL would no longer admit beyond the capacity its regulators approve, and he named Medicine, Pharmacy and Nursing as courses where applicants should not expect extra places. Fewer seats in a popular course usually means a higher score at the bottom of the list.
UNICAL Post-UTME cut off mark and screening 2026/2027
UNICAL announced its 2026/2027 Post-UTME and Direct Entry screening on 30 May 2026. The details below come from that notice as reported by the Guardian and other outlets.
| Detail | 2026/2027 screening |
|---|---|
| Post-UTME cut off mark | 150 in the 2026 UTME |
| Who could apply | Candidates with UNICAL as first choice, and candidates willing to change institution to UNICAL through JAMB; Direct Entry candidates |
| Registration opened | 1 June 2026 |
| Registration closed | 31 July 2026 |
| Screening fee | ₦2,000, non-refundable |
| Payment | Online only: ATM card, bank transfer or USSD (no scratch cards or e-transact PINs) |
| Medicine and Surgery | O’Level from one sitting only (later suspended for this session) |
| Disqualification | False declaration of UTME score, O’Level grades or state of origin |
The registration portal was online, and you had to validate your JAMB details, fill the form, pay and print your slip. The university warned that it would not take responsibility for applications that failed because of a wrong email address or a dead phone number, so a working email you can open yourself matters more than people think.
The window is closed now. If you did not register by 31 July 2026, you cannot be screened for UNICAL this session, whatever your score.
How UNICAL calculates your aggregate score
UNICAL has changed its method in recent years, and many guides still describe the old one. You will hear about two systems.
- The old written-test system: When UNICAL ran a Post-UTME aptitude test, your aggregate was your UTME score plus your Post-UTME score, divided by two. A candidate with 250 in JAMB and 230 in the Post-UTME had (250 + 230) ÷ 2 = 240. The 2019/2020 figures in the tables above are on this scale.
- The O’Level Point Tally system: For 2025/2026, UNICAL cancelled the aptitude test and said it would screen candidates with a Point Tally of their O’Level results instead, mainly to spare candidates the trip to Calabar. Each grade in your core and relevant subjects earns points, the points are added up, and candidates are ranked. Results are verified with the exam bodies.
The 2026/2027 notice, as reported, did not announce a written test date, and UNICAL has not published the point value of each grade or the exact weight it gives your UTME score against your O’Level points. Some websites print a percentage split for UNICAL. I could not find one in any UNICAL statement, so I would not plan around it.
Two things are certain. Your UTME score has to clear 150 and is the first thing that sorts you, and your O’Level grades in the five subjects your course needs now carry real weight in the ranking. An A1 or B2 in Chemistry is worth more to a Nursing applicant than a high mark in a subject Nursing does not ask for. If you are writing WAEC or NECO before your next UTME, that is the cheapest place to gain ground.
Merit, catchment and ELDS at UNICAL
UNICAL is a federal university, so it follows the federal admission guideline that JAMB describes: 45% of places on merit, 35% for catchment states and 20% for educationally less developed states (ELDS). In practice, a department fills its merit list first from the top scorers regardless of state, then fills the other two lists with the best candidates from the qualifying states. A candidate from a catchment or ELDS state can therefore be admitted with a lower score than the merit list required in the same course.
- Catchment: JAMB describes catchment states as generally the states closest to each federal institution. Cross River, UNICAL’s host state, is the obvious one. Third-party sites commonly add Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers, but UNICAL has not published its catchment list, so check with the admissions office before you count on it.
- ELDS: Lists reported in the national press include Cross River, Bayelsa, Rivers, Benue and Kogi, along with most northern states. JAMB itself says it does not determine which states count as ELDS. Cross River candidates appear on both lists, which helps them at UNICAL.
- State of origin: Your state on your JAMB profile is what counts. UNICAL warned that a false state of origin leads to disqualification, and clearance asks for a local government identification letter to prove it.
UTME subjects and O’Level requirements for top UNICAL courses
Use of English is compulsory in every UTME, so the subjects below are your other three. The UNICAL remarks come from the JAMB brochure entries for each course. Check your own course in the brochure on your JAMB e-Facility profile before you register, because a wrong combination cannot be fixed by a high score.
| Course | UTME subjects (plus English) | Five O’Level credits | UNICAL note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Surgery | Physics, Chemistry, Biology | English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology | One sitting only (CCMAS). Not admitting in 2026/2027. |
| Law | Literature in English, CRK, plus Government, History, Economics or another Arts or Social Science subject | Including English, Literature in English and Mathematics | UNICAL specifically asks for Literature and CRK in the UTME |
| Nursing Science | Physics, Chemistry, Biology | English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology | Direct Entry needs a nursing registration and two years’ experience |
| Computer Science | Mathematics, Physics, plus Chemistry, Biology or Economics | Including English, Mathematics, Physics and two other sciences | UNICAL limits the third subject to Chemistry, Biology or Economics |
| Pharmacy | Physics, Chemistry, Biology | English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology | General brochure rule; confirm UNICAL’s entry on your profile |
| Accounting | Economics, Mathematics, plus an Arts or Social Science subject | Including English, Mathematics and Economics | General brochure rule; confirm UNICAL’s entry on your profile |
For most courses UNICAL accepts O’Level results from no more than two sittings, with WAEC, NECO and NABTEB all acceptable. Medicine is the exception. Credit means C6 or better.
How to check your UNICAL admission status on JAMB CAPS
Reports from mid-September 2026 say UNICAL has begun releasing its 2026/2027 admissions, and every offer shows on JAMB CAPS. An offer is not yours until you accept it there.
Deadline
JAMB told public universities to finish 2026 admissions by 31 October 2026, and candidates have four weeks to accept or reject an offer. If UNICAL has offered you a place, respond on CAPS now.
- Get your profile code if you have lost access: text NIN followed by a space and your 11-digit NIN (for example, NIN 12345678901) to 55019 or 66019 from the phone number linked to your NIN. JAMB replies with your profile code.
- Log in: go to efacility.jamb.gov.ng with the email and password from your registration.
- Open CAPS: click Check Admission Status, choose 2026, then Access My CAPS. On a phone, switch your browser to Desktop site first.
- Check your O’Level: open the O’Level section and confirm your results show. UNICAL cannot move you forward without them. JAMB has allowed 2026 candidates to upload and verify results online since August 2026; a JAMB-accredited CBT centre can still do it for you.
- Read your status: open Admission Status. If you see a Transfer Approval, UNICAL is offering you a different course, and you must answer that first.
- Accept or reject: click Accept Admission once you have read the course name, or text ACCEPT to 55019 or 66019 from your registered line.
- Finish with UNICAL: print your JAMB admission letter (₦1,000 on the portal), then pay UNICAL’s acceptance fee on the university portal and follow its clearance instructions.
Our JAMB CAPS guide explains every status message, and the CAPS SMS guide covers what to do when the 55019 text fails.
Change of course or institution to or from UNICAL
Both are done on your JAMB e-Facility profile, and each attempt costs ₦2,500 plus any CBT centre service charge. For this session, though, timing has mostly settled the matter.
- Changing to UNICAL: this had to be done in time to register for screening, which closed on 31 July 2026. A change now will not get you screened for 2026/2027.
- Changing course within UNICAL: if UNICAL wants you in another course, it will send a Transfer Approval on CAPS. Accept it there. Ask the admissions office whether they also want a JAMB change of course before you pay for one.
- Leaving UNICAL: if your score will not reach your course, look for a university still admitting with a lower cut off. Public universities close on 31 October, private universities have until 30 November 2026.
Read JAMB change of course and the best time to do a change of institution before you pay.
Common mistakes UNICAL applicants make
- Treating 150 as a safe score: it lets you apply. For Law, Nursing or Accounting, past admissions sat far above it.
- Trusting one website’s departmental list: the lists in circulation contradict each other and none cites UNICAL. Plan with past figures, labelled as past.
- Applying for a suspended course: anyone who kept Medicine, Dentistry or Medical Laboratory Science at UNICAL for 2026/2027 cannot be admitted to it.
- Two sittings for Medicine: UNICAL wants one sitting for Medicine under CCMAS. Two sittings that are fine for Sociology will not do here.
- The wrong UTME combination: Law at UNICAL wants Literature and CRK. Computer Science limits the third subject. Check the brochure before registration day.
- No O’Level on CAPS: without your results on your JAMB profile, the university has nothing to admit you on.
- A cyber cafe email: UNICAL contacts you by email and phone. If you cannot open the email, you will miss messages.
- Accepting on CAPS and stopping there: the UNICAL acceptance fee and clearance are separate steps. You need all of them.
- Paying someone to “secure” admission: in April 2026 the Vice-Chancellor said UNICAL would not admit beyond approved capacity, rebuilt its admissions committee and asked the public to report anyone asking for money. Nobody can sell you a place on CAPS.
Planning for UNICAL in 2027
If you missed out this year, the next attempt starts with JAMB registration. Our guide on when JAMB 2027 registration starts tracks the dates. Here is how I would set up a UNICAL application from scratch:
- Pick the course with the cut off in mind: compare your realistic UTME score with the past figures above and decide early whether a high-demand course is worth the risk.
- Register with the right subjects and UNICAL first: make UNICAL your first choice at registration so you don’t have to pay for a change later.
- Fix your O’Level: five credits in the right subjects, in one sitting if you can manage it, and upload them to your JAMB profile as soon as they are out.
- Watch for the screening notice: in 2026 it came out at the end of May and registration ran through June and July.
- Check CAPS weekly from September: respond to any offer within the four weeks JAMB allows.
If you are also looking at a state university, our LASU cut off mark guide shows how a different aggregate system works.
UNICAL cut off mark: frequently asked questions
Is UNICAL admitting Medicine and Surgery for 2026/2027? No. UNICAL announced on 24 July 2026 that Medicine and Surgery, Medical Laboratory Science and Dentistry will not admit new students this session. It has not said when admission into them will resume.
Can I get admission into UNICAL with 160 in JAMB? A score of 160 cleared the 150 minimum, so you could be screened. Whether it is enough depends on your course and your O’Level grades: some Education courses have admitted scores in this range in the past, while Law, Nursing and Accounting have needed far more.
Does UNICAL accept two sittings? Yes for most courses, with a maximum of two sittings. Medicine and Surgery requires O’Level results from one sitting.
Is the UNICAL admission list for 2026/2027 out? Reports from mid-September 2026 say UNICAL has started releasing admissions. Check your status on JAMB CAPS, since that is where every genuine offer appears, and accept before 31 October 2026 where you can.
Sources and updates
The 150 cut off, screening dates, ₦2,000 fee, payment rules and one-sitting rule for Medicine come from UNICAL’s 2026/2027 Post-UTME notice signed by the Registrar, as reported by the Guardian on 30 May 2026 and by Legit.ng. The suspension of Medicine, Dentistry and Medical Laboratory Science comes from the Registrar’s statement reported by the Guardian on 24 July 2026 and CrossRiverWatch, and the earlier dentistry quota issue from TheCable’s July 2025 report. The national minimum of 150, the 31 October deadline and the four-week acceptance window come from JAMB’s 2026 policy meeting, as reported by the News Agency of Nigeria. The Vice-Chancellor’s comments on admission capacity were reported by Vanguard on 2 April 2026. The 2025/2026 Point Tally change was reported by Nigeria Education News in August 2025. The 45/35/20 quota comes from JAMB’s weekly bulletin. Subject requirements are from the JAMB brochure entries for each course, and the faculty list from UNICAL’s website at unical.edu.ng. The 2019/2020 departmental figures are from a list circulated as UNICAL’s merit cut offs for that session; I could not open the original university document, so treat them as a guide only. This page was checked on 24 October 2026 and will be updated when UNICAL releases a departmental list.
I am Jude Chinecherem, a final-year MBBS student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I know what it feels like to want an education your family cannot afford. When my parents could not pay for my schooling, I had to learn how to find scholarships and work the system out on my own, with nobody to guide me. I came out the other side, and now I share everything I learned so the next student does not have to figure it out alone. This is the advice I wish someone had given me back then.
