A Season of Triumph: How UDSM’s Graduation Redefined Excellence and Equity
The hill was alive again!
By Zamda George, CMU
From the morning glow of 18 November to the final cheers of 1 December 2025, the University of Dar es Salaam concluded a graduation season that felt less like an academic schedule and more like a national celebration.
It was a month in which legacy met innovation, ordinary names became historic, and the University reaffirmed its identity as a beacon of knowledge, resilience, and leadership in Tanzania. A total of 11,609 graduates crossed the stage across all clusters: 6,090 women and 5,519 men, placing women at 52.5 percent of the entire cohort.
This year’s ceremonies did more than confer degrees. They narrated a story – rich, layered, and deeply human – about who we are as a premier institution, how far we have journeyed, and the future we are shaping.
The opening cluster on 18 November was marked by a moment of honour that echoed across generations. Dr. Maria Josephine Kamm, a trailblazer in girls’ education and one of Tanzania’s most influential academic figures, received an Honorary Doctor of Letters.
Her acceptance was serene yet powerful, her message timeless: education must remain a right, not a privilege reserved for a few. Her recognition set a dignified tone, a reminder of how individual vision can elevate a nation’s educational conscience.
That same day, UDSM celebrated its brightest young scholars. Two students: Mr. Diocriss Damas Mtema from the College of Information and Communication Technologies (CoICT) and Mr. Frank John Kaswahili from the Institute of Kiswahili Studies (IKS), each earned a remarkable GPA of 4.8, placing them among the highest achievers in the University’s modern history.
Their achievements represented UDSM’s intellectual diversity, where engineering and humanities stand side by side, and brilliance speaks across disciplines.
When records fall: A new chapter for the School of Law
Just two days later, the third cluster delivered a story that few anticipated. After thirty-two years, the School of Law finally produced a First-Class LLB graduate, Ms. Mary Barney Laseko, marking the first such achievement since the last one was recorded three decades ago.
Her accomplishment was not just personal; it signaled a shift in the academic landscape of one of the University’s most demanding programmes.
Simultaneously, Ms. Cythia Edmund of the BA in Law Enforcement programme became the first First Class Honours graduate since the programme began nine years ago. These milestones underscored the evolving strength, discipline, and academic rigour within UDSM’s legal and law-enforcement studies.
The grand finale on 1 December 2025 belonged to postgraduate scholars: the thinkers, researchers and innovators whose work will shape Tanzania’s academic, scientific, and policy horizons for years to come.
139 doctorates for 2025
UDSM awarded 76 PhDs on the final day of graduation, bringing the total number of doctoral degrees conferred in 2025 to 139. These scholars represented a remarkable breadth of inquiry—spanning the environment, engineering, health sciences, innovation, social policy, the humanities, and more.
The figures spoke for themselves: 43 women and 96 men joined the ranks of doctoral achievers, reflecting both expanding access and deepening research excellence across the University.
This year’s academic arc stretched from the prestigious heights of honorary degrees to the rigorous demands of postgraduate and undergraduate study. In addition to the two Honorary Doctorates awarded during the graduation season, UDSM had earlier conferred an Honorary Doctor of Science degree honoris causa on the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina, in June 2025.
Coupled with the 139 new PhDs, among them 43 women shaping the future of scholarship, the University demonstrated achievement across every academic level. Master’s degrees added another 1,228 graduates, evenly balanced by gender and reflecting the growing depth of advanced studies at UDSM.
At the undergraduate level, the momentum was even more striking. The University awarded 9,970 Bachelor’s degrees, with women comprising 53.7 percent, a powerful milestone underscoring the steady rise of female participation in higher education.
Diplomas and certificates contributed an additional 228 graduates, completing the portrait of a university community that is expanding, diversifying, and continually redefining academic excellence. In every tier, the Class of 2025 embodied a story of progress—bold, inclusive, and unmistakably transformative.
As Vice Chancellor Prof. William A. L. Anangisye reminded the graduates, they now join “a rare class of thinkers whose work must confront society’s real problems,” urging them to carry the UDSM flag with courage, integrity, and a commitment to national progress.
A call for balance and opportunity
Throughout the season, one recurring theme rose above the applause: balance. With 53 percent of all graduates being female, this year marked a major stride in women’s educational advancement. Yet Chancellor H.E. Dr. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete delivered a heartfelt reminder that progress must be inclusive for all.
Reflecting on his own graduation fifty years earlier, when female graduates could be counted individually, he posed a thoughtful challenge: “We celebrate this milestone, but we must ask: where is the boy child? Our goal is not to reverse the imbalance but to ensure equal opportunity for all.”
A portrait of Tanzania’s future
Three weeks. Thousands of graduates. Countless dreams taking flight.
UDSM’s 2025 Graduation Season felt like a portrait of Tanzania’s future: vibrant, ambitious, and brimming with possibility. From honorary distinctions to historic first-class degrees, from record-setting research output to gender milestones, the ceremonies mirrored a nation determined to rise through knowledge.
As the Class of 2025 turned their tassels and embraced the promise of tomorrow, one truth resonated across Mlimani Hill: this was not merely an academic ritual. It was a celebration of potential, a reflection of collective progress, and a testament to the Tanzania we are all building – together.
Congratulations to the Class of 2025. May your journeys be as bold as the dreams that brought you here.