KAMPALA, UGANDA | 22 July 2025 — In a landmark decision welcomed by higher education institutions and psychology graduates nationwide, the Ministry of Public Service has reaffirmed the inclusion of several psychology degree programmes for recruitment into Uganda’s public service.
Following a formal request from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS), School of Psychology at Makerere University, the Ministry confirmed in a letter dated 15th July 2025 that graduates with degrees in Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Community Psychology, and the newly introduced Bachelor of Applied Psychology will now be eligible for a wide range of government positions.
The Permanent Secretary, through an official communication signed by Stephen Opio Kiror, noted that these qualifications are “relevant to a number of jobs in the Public Service including Human Resource, Community Service, Community Development, Management Services, and others,” and will also be considered for upcoming job categories where applicable.
This development follows a concern raised by Dr. Martin Baluku, Dean of the School of Psychology , who wrote to the Ministry on 2nd April 2025 after noticing that the aforementioned degrees were excluded from a draft of the Public Service Commission’s 2025 Graduate Recruitment advertisement. Dr. Baluku argued that the scope and competencies covered by the psychology programmes were directly aligned with several advertised positions, including Human Resource Officer, Community Service Officer, and Social Science Research Officer.
The Ministry’s response signifies a policy shift that not only validates the relevance of psychology in Uganda’s workforce development.
The Ministry has also indicated that the newly accredited Bachelor of Applied Psychology, which merges competencies from both Industrial and Organizational Psychology and Community Psychology, will be treated as a versatile qualification suitable for various public service roles, depending on graduates’ areas of specialization.
The updated recruitment guidelines are expected to reflect these changes in the forthcoming official Public Service Commission advertisement, which had earlier been leaked in draft form.
In his letter to the Ministry of Public Service Dr. Baluku indicated that Graduates from the Bachelor of Industrial and organizational Psychology programme have been trained to acquire a number of competencies including scientific and selection and recruitment of personnel; strategic human resources management and development; Administration and industrial –employee relations; Occupational health and safety; Human resource information systems and management; Organizational design, development and change management and Business and economic behavior. “Therefore, they qualify for jobs such as Research officer (Social Science Research) and Human Resource Officer, which are listed on pages 17 and 18 of the draft advertisement”, part of Baluku’s statement in the letter reads.
Graduates from the Bachelor of Community Psychology have been trained to be competent in areas including; Community Mental health and wellbeing; Medical and clinical psychology practice; Community programme development and management; Community and social change; Community research and action and children, adolescents and lifespan development. “ Therefore, they qualify for jobs such as community service officer which was listed on page 22 of the draft advertisement” Baluku wrote.
Bachelor of Applied Psychology is a new programme at Makerere University that has been accredited by the National Council for Science and Technology. It replaces and merges the Bachelor of Industrial and Organizational Psychology and Bachelor of Community Psychology. “Therefore graduates from this programme possess a diverse range of skills. They can perform in various roles including Human Resource Management, Community Service and Mental Health depending on the subfield in which the graduates majored”, Dean Baluku wrote.
Makerere University has welcomed the news as a victory for academic advocacy and evidence-based policymaking. The ministry’s decision affirms the real-world relevance of our Psychology programmes and underscores the value of mental health, community engagement, and organizational science in national development.
Congratulations, Dean and staff of the School of Psychology. You have won, so is CHUSS and Makerere University!
By Jane Anyango
Principal Communication Officer CHUSS.