University for Development Studies (UDS)

The University for Development Studies (UDS) is a premier public institution in Ghana, uniquely mandated to combine academic scholarship with community-based, practical training to accelerate development in Northern Ghana and beyond. UDS is celebrated for its "Third Trimester Practical Programme" (TTFPP), where students spend an entire term living in rural communities to identify and solve local developmental challenges. As of early 2026, the university is led by Vice-Chancellor Professor Seidu Al-hassan, a distinguished Agricultural Economist whose tenure has focused on expanding global research influence and student-led entrepreneurship. Under his leadership, UDS recently achieved a historic milestone, being crowned the 2025 World University Football Champions in China, while maintaining its status as one of Ghana's top-ranked universities for "Quality Teaching" and "International Outlook" according to the 2026 Times Higher Education rankings.