The UNN cut off mark for Plant Science and Biotechnology (the old Botany department) in 2026/2027 is 160 in the UTME. That is the general minimum the University of Nigeria, Nsukka set in its 2026/2027 screening notice for candidates who chose UNN first. UNN has not published a departmental cut off mark for Plant Science and Biotechnology for this session or for 2025/2026.
2027/2028 update: UNN cut-off marks usually stay the same from one year to the next, so the figures on this page are what 2027/2028 candidates should plan with. They come from the latest official notice (2026/2027). If the 2027/2028 notice changes anything, we will update this page.
This is one of the easier science courses to get into at UNN. In the 2025/2026 advert list the department still had 118 unfilled places. Below are the official figures, the entry requirements, a worked aggregate example, the score I would aim for, and the steps to apply and accept an offer.
UNN cut off mark for Plant Science and Biotechnology 2027/2028
| Item | Figure or rule | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum UTME score to apply for UNN screening | 160 (UNN as first choice) | Official: UNN Registrar’s notice, 13 July 2026 |
| UNN minimum declared at the JAMB 2026 policy meeting | 200 | Reported by Vanguard and News Central, 11 May 2026 |
| JAMB national minimum for universities | 150 | JAMB policy meeting, May 2026 |
| Departmental cut off for Plant Science and Biotechnology | Not published | No official figure for 2025/2026 or 2026/2027 |
| Unfilled places in the 2025/2026 advert list | 118 (vacancies, not a score) | UNN advert list as reprinted, October 2025 |
| Duration and campus | 4 years (3 for Direct Entry), Nsukka | Faculty of Biological Sciences |
| Safe target score (my advice) | 180 to 200 in the UTME | Advice, not a UNN figure |
The 200 in the table comes from JAMB’s 2026 policy meeting, where UNN’s declared minimum was reported as 200. UNN’s own notice, two months later, invited screening applications from 160. The safest reading: UNN accepts screening applications from 160, its institutional benchmark was 200, and competitive courses admit far above both. For a less crowded course like this one, a score between 160 and 200 still gets you screened.
Is Plant Science and Biotechnology the same as Botany at UNN?
Yes. The department began as the Department of Botany in the 1962/63 session, sharing the Dennett building with Zoology, and was renamed the Department of Plant Science and Biotechnology in 2013. Its first head was Professor H. Z. Naqui, a plant pathologist. Some admission websites and older documents still say Botany, but the course you choose on JAMB is the renamed one.
Cut off history and 2025/2026 vacancies
UNN has released no departmental cut off for Plant Science and Biotechnology. What it did publish in October 2025 was an advert (“shopping”) list of courses with places still unfilled after the main admission lists. That list is a better guide to competition here than any score you will find online.
| Session | UNN general minimum (UTME) | Plant Science and Biotechnology | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026/2027 | 160 to apply; 200 declared at the JAMB policy meeting | No departmental cut off published | UNN notice, 13 July 2026; Vanguard, 11 May 2026 |
| 2025/2026 | 160 (UTME) and 160 in screening for the advert window | No departmental cut off; 118 unfilled places in the advert list | UNN advert notice as reprinted by Myschool and Success Tonics, October 2025 |
A vacancy count is not a cut off. It means that after the main lists the department still had 118 seats, and UNN reopened them to candidates who had at least 160 in the UTME and 160 in screening. The 2025/2026 advert window ran from 20 to 24 October 2025 with a ₦10,000 processing fee, and anyone admitted through it could not change course that session. If you are in a similar position next year, watch for that notice.
Entry requirements for Plant Science and Biotechnology at UNN
UNN is not among the schools on the JAMB brochure page for Plant Science and Biotechnology that I could check, so the UTME combination below is JAMB’s usual one for the course. Confirm it on the JAMB e-brochure on your profile before you register.
| Requirement | What you need | Source |
|---|---|---|
| UTME subjects | Use of English, Biology, Chemistry, and one other science subject (Physics or Mathematics is the safe choice) | JAMB brochure, general entry (Myschool reprint) |
| O’level | Five credits: English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics | JAMB brochure, general entry |
| Sittings | Not more than two | Entry requirements page, Faculty of Biological Sciences |
| Direct Entry | Two A’level passes in Biology, Botany or Zoology and Chemistry or Physics (JAMB general); the faculty also lists HSC/GCE A’level principal passes in Biology and another science with a credit in Mathematics or Physics, a Diploma in Applied Biology, a relevant degree, and HND or NCE credit passes | JAMB brochure; Faculty of Biological Sciences entry requirements |
If you have only four of the five science credits, Physics is usually the gap. The faculty’s own page lists Mathematics or Physics, but the JAMB general entry names both, so I would not risk it. Sit Physics again before the screening window: UNN did not accept awaiting results for 2026/2027.
How UNN screening and the aggregate work
UNN’s 2026/2027 screening was an online registration. The notice mentioned no written or CBT test.
| Item | UNN 2026/2027 screening (official notice, 13 July 2026) |
|---|---|
| Who could apply | Candidates who chose UNN as first choice in the 2026 UTME and scored 160 or more; Direct Entry candidates who chose UNN first |
| Fees | ₦2,000 application plus ₦3,300 processing (₦5,300 in total), paid through Remita |
| Window | Opened Wednesday 15 July 2026, closed midnight Wednesday 5 August 2026 |
| O’level upload | To JAMB CAPS and the UNN portal by 5 August 2026 |
| Awaiting results | Not eligible: results had to be available |
| Age | Candidates under 16 by 30 September 2026 were told not to apply |
| Written test | None described in the notice; it was an online screening registration |
| Uploads | Birth certificate, LGA identification, testimonial, First School Leaving Certificate, JAMB result slip, O’level result(s), each under 100KB |
UNN has not published its aggregate formula. Education blogs commonly report 60% UTME plus 40% O’level, with four relevant subjects graded A1 = 100, B2 = 90, B3 = 80, C4 = 70, C5 = 60 and C6 = 50. Use this as a rough guide; it is not an official UNN formula.
Example: a Plant Science candidate with 186 in the UTME and B3 in Biology, C4 in Chemistry, C5 in English and B3 in Mathematics.
- O’level points: 80 + 70 + 60 + 80 = 290 out of 400
- UTME part: 186 × 0.6 = 111.6
- O’level part: 290 × 0.4 = 116
- Estimated aggregate: 111.6 + 116 = 227.6 out of 400
That is a modest profile. In a department with more seats than applicants, it can still be enough, which is why I place this course in the 180 to 200 band.
Admission odds: what score to aim for
Plant Science and Biotechnology is under-subscribed at UNN, going by the 2025/2026 advert list. Many candidates write Biology and Chemistry hoping for Medicine, Pharmacy or Biochemistry, and few put Plant Science first. That works in your favour if you choose it on purpose.
My advice, not a UNN figure: aim for 180 to 200 in the UTME with credits in all five sciences. Above 200, you should be in a good position on merit. Between 160 and 180, you can still be screened, and catchment, ELDS and the advert window give you more chances, but nothing is certain.
- Merit: the federal guideline usually quoted for federal universities is 45% of places on merit, filled from the top scorers in each course regardless of state. UNN has not published its own split.
- Catchment: about 35% under the same guideline. UNN’s catchment is generally understood to be the South-East states, but UNN has not published a list online, so confirm on JAMB CAPS or with the admissions office before you count on it.
- ELDS: about 20% for educationally less developed states. This is a federal designation and UNN does not publish its own list, so I will not name states here.
- State of origin: what counts is the state on your JAMB profile, backed by the LGA identification letter you upload during screening.
How to apply for Plant Science and Biotechnology at UNN
Deadline
JAMB told public universities to finish 2026 admissions on or before 31 October 2026, and candidates have four weeks to accept or reject an offer on CAPS. If UNN has offered you a place, respond now.
- Get your JAMB profile code: text NIN, a space and your 11-digit NIN (for example, NIN 12345678901) to 55019 or 66019 from the phone line linked to your NIN. JAMB replies with the profile code you use to register.
- Register for the UTME with the right subjects: pick Plant Science and Biotechnology at the University of Nigeria as your first choice. UNN only screens first-choice candidates, so a second-choice listing will not get you onto its portal.
- Upload your O’level to CAPS: do it at a JAMB-accredited CBT centre as soon as your WAEC or NECO result is out. In 2026 UNN wanted results on CAPS and on its own portal by the screening deadline.
- Register for UNN screening: go to unn.edu.ng, click UNN Portal, then Prospective Students and the screening form. Enter your JAMB registration number, generate and pay the Remita invoice, come back and enter the number again, fill in your personal and O’level details (centre and exam numbers), upload your documents, review, submit and print the acknowledgement slip. You cannot change your date of birth afterwards.
- Check CAPS: log in at efacility.jamb.gov.ng, click Check Admission Status, then Access my CAPS and Admission Status. If UNN has offered you a place, read the course name carefully before you click Accept.
- Finish with UNN: print your JAMB admission letter, then pay the UNN acceptance fee on the university portal and follow the clearance instructions. The fee has been reported as ₦25,000 by an education blog, but I could not find it in an official UNN notice, so confirm the figure on the portal before paying.
Our JAMB CAPS guide explains the admission statuses. If you were screened for another course and UNN moves you here, you will see a Transfer Approval on CAPS that you must accept first.
What you study in Plant Science and Biotechnology
The department’s listed scope runs from classical botany to laboratory biotechnology:
- Plant biology: morphology and taxonomy, anatomy, physiology, ecology, embryology and palynology (pollen study).
- Plant health: mycology, plant pathology, and plant virology and diagnostics.
- Genetics and biotechnology: cytology, genetics and plant breeding, plant molecular biology, genetic engineering, tissue culture and micropropagation, algal biotechnology and phytobioinformatics.
- Applied areas: pulp and paper technology, timber products, phytoremediation and erosion management, ethnomedicinal plants and mushroom technology.
- Final year: a seminar and a research project in one of the department’s stress areas.
UTME entrants study for four years and Direct Entry students for three, on the Nsukka campus. The department also runs combined honours with Biochemistry, Chemistry, and Zoology and Environmental Biology, and offers postgraduate degrees. I found no published NUC accreditation result for the programme; ask the department if you need it.
Careers and related courses at UNN
Graduates go into agricultural research institutes, seed and crop-improvement work, plant quarantine and agricultural inspection, environmental consulting and remediation, forestry and timber, herbal and natural-product research, mushroom and tissue-culture businesses, and science teaching. Biotechnology skills such as tissue culture and molecular work also lead to postgraduate study.
- Zoology and Environmental Biology: the animal-side counterpart, also under-subscribed in 2025/2026.
- Combined Biological Sciences: Plant Science with Biochemistry, Chemistry or Zoology.
- Biochemistry: more competitive, with more chemistry.
- Crop Science: the Faculty of Agriculture route if you prefer farming and crop production.
Biology carries much of the UTME weight for this course. The JAMB Biology syllabus lists the plant topics JAMB tests.
UNN cut off mark for Plant Science and Biotechnology: frequently asked questions
Is 180 enough for Plant Science and Biotechnology in UNN? It clears UNN’s 160 screening minimum, and in a department that had 118 unfilled places in 2025/2026 it gives you a fair chance with good O’level grades. UNN has not published a departmental cut off, so aim for 200 if you can.
Is Botany still offered in UNN? Botany is now called Plant Science and Biotechnology. The department was renamed in 2013, so choose that name on JAMB.
Can I get Plant Science through the UNN advert list? In 2025/2026, UNN advertised unfilled places in Plant Science and Bio-Technology to candidates with at least 160 in the UTME and 160 in screening, from 20 to 24 October 2025. Those admitted that way could not change course that session.
Can I use awaiting result for UNN post-UTME? No. UNN’s 2026/2027 notice said candidates awaiting results were not eligible, and results had to be on CAPS and the UNN portal by 5 August 2026.
Sources and updates
The 160 minimum, fees, dates, eligibility rules and portal steps come from UNN’s 2026/2027 screening notice signed by the Registrar on 13 July 2026. The 200 figure comes from Vanguard’s report of the JAMB 2026 policy meeting (11 May 2026), and the national 150 minimum, 31 October 2026 deadline and four-week acceptance window from the News Agency of Nigeria. The 118 vacancies, the advert window dates, the ₦10,000 fee and the no-change-of-course rule come from UNN’s 2025/2026 advert notice as reprinted by Myschool and Success Tonics (October 2025). The department’s history, scope and combined programmes come from the Department of Plant Science and Biotechnology website, and the sitting rule and Direct Entry routes from the Faculty of Biological Sciences website. UTME and O’level requirements come from the general JAMB brochure entry for Plant Science and Biotechnology as reprinted by Myschool. The aggregate method is a blog method (Studentship) and the ₦25,000 acceptance fee comes from O3schools; neither is official. Target scores and career examples are my own advice. Checked on 29 October 2026; this page will be updated if UNN publishes departmental cut off marks.
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.
