Lagos is home to two of Nigeria’s most recognized names in media education, and if you’re choosing between the University of Lagos and Lagos State University for Mass Communication, you’re choosing between two genuinely strong but differently structured programmes. This guide compares both directly, using their actual history and structure, so you can decide based on what fits you rather than name recognition alone.
Both schools carry real weight in Nigerian media training. UNILAG holds the historical claim as the pioneer of formal mass communication education in the country. LASU built something structurally unique: a full School of Communication split into specialized departments rather than a single catch-all department. Your choice should rest on which structure and training style suits where you want to go.
UNILAG: The Pioneer of Mass Communication Education in Nigeria
UNILAG’s Department of Mass Communication traces back to 1966, when the Federal Government, the United Nations Development Programme and UNESCO established it as an Institute of Mass Communication, built specifically to train journalists for the African subregion. It began as a diploma-awarding institute before transitioning into a full degree programme in 1968, and it moved into the Faculty of Social Sciences in 1974, where it operated for decades.
In June 2025, the university elevated the department into a standalone Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, a recognition of nearly six decades of continuous growth. The department’s alumni list includes Dele Olojede, Africa’s first Pulitzer Prize winner, and its most recent convocation produced 18 all-female first-class graduates and 12 PhD holders in a single cycle, a strong signal of the calibre of training it delivers.
LASU: A Dedicated School, Not Just a Department
LASU took a different structural approach. At the turn of the millennium, the Lagos State Government, the university Senate and management created the School of Communication, LASUSOC, as the first degree-awarding School of Communication in Nigeria rather than a single department. Until then, every other Nigerian university, including UNILAG, ran mass communication as one combined department.
LASUSOC organizes its training into three distinct departments: Journalism, Broadcasting, and Public Relations and Advertising. In 2017, the school added a Digital Media and Research Centre to extend its training into newer communication technologies. The School’s structure has produced notable alumni across Nigerian media and academia, including scholars who went on to lead communication programmes at international universities.
Structure and Specialization Compared
This is the clearest structural difference between the two. UNILAG trains students through one comprehensive faculty covering the whole field of mass communication, now expanded into a full faculty with broader departmental structure of its own. LASU splits training from the outset into three specialized departments, which means a LASU student effectively chooses a specialization track in Journalism, Broadcasting, or Public Relations and Advertising earlier and more formally than a typical mass communication student elsewhere.
If you already know you want to specialize early, for instance in broadcasting specifically rather than the broader field, LASU’s departmental split gives you more focused training sooner. If you’d rather study the full breadth of mass communication before specializing, UNILAG’s faculty-wide structure suits that better.
Practical Training Facilities
UNILAG’s training runs through real, functioning media platforms: Radio Unilag 103.1 FM, UnilagTV, the Unilag Sun Newspaper, and MassCope Magazine, all of which give broadcast and print students direct, hands-on production experience while serving the wider university community.
LASUSOC built its own practical edge around the Digital Media and Research Centre, established in 2017 to keep its training current with emerging communication technologies, alongside the departmental structure that gives broadcasting students a more concentrated practical track from early in their programme.
Academic Reputation and Standing
UNILAG carries over six decades of continuous standing as Nigeria’s pioneer mass communication training ground, reinforced by its recent elevation to full faculty status and a track record of producing nationally and internationally recognized media professionals.
LASU holds its own strong standing, having been ranked the second-best university in Nigeria by Times Higher Education in 2020, the only state university to make that ranking that year. LASUSOC itself has built a reputation as a serious training ground for media professionals in its own right, distinct from, but comparable to, UNILAG’s standing in the field.
Admission Requirements for Mass Communication
Both universities require broadly similar UTME subjects for Mass Communication: English Language, Literature in English, and two other relevant subjects, commonly drawn from Government, Christian Religious Studies, Islamic Religious Studies, History, or Economics, depending on the specific requirement each university publishes for the admission cycle. Your O’Level result should carry credits in English Language and Literature in English at minimum, alongside other relevant subjects. Confirm the exact combination each university requires before applying, since small differences exist between them.
How Competitive Is Each Programme
Mass Communication ranks among the more competitive courses at both universities, given how many applicants want a career in media, broadcasting or public relations. UNILAG’s national prestige and historical standing in the field generally draw heavier applicant numbers, which tends to push its departmental cut-off mark higher than LASU’s. LASU still attracts strong competition, particularly given its own reputation and Lagos location, but a given JAMB score typically goes slightly further there than at UNILAG for this course.
Federal vs State: What That Means for You
UNILAG is a federal university, while LASU is owned and funded by the Lagos State Government. This distinction matters for a few practical reasons. Federal universities draw applicants from across the country, which widens UNILAG’s competitive pool nationally. LASU, as a state university, may extend admission advantages to indigenes of Lagos State, so your state of origin can affect your realistic chances there in ways it won’t at UNILAG.
Which One Should You Choose
Choose UNILAG if you want the weight of Nigeria’s pioneering mass communication programme, a broad faculty-wide training structure, and direct access to long-running practical media platforms built over decades. Choose LASU if you want early specialization through its three-department structure, a programme built from the ground up for focused training in Journalism, Broadcasting, or Public Relations and Advertising, and a strong state university reputation reinforced by national rankings.
If you are a Lagos State indigene weighing cost and admission chances alongside programme quality, LASU’s structure and potential indigene advantage make it a genuinely strong option, not a consolation choice.
Common Mistakes Applicants Make
- Assuming UNILAG is automatically the better choice purely because it’s federal and older
- Overlooking LASU’s unique three-department structure, which can matter a great deal if you already know your specialization
- Ignoring their own JAMB score against each school’s typical competitiveness level
- Failing to confirm the current subject combination and O’Level requirement for either school before applying
- Not factoring in Lagos State indigene status when weighing LASU’s admission chances
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better for mass communication, UNILAG or LASU?
Neither is universally better. UNILAG offers historical depth, national prestige and a long-running faculty-wide training structure. LASU offers early specialization through three distinct departments and a strong reputation of its own, reinforced by national rankings.
Does LASU run mass communication as one department like most other universities?
No. LASU runs it as a full School of Communication split into three departments: Journalism, Broadcasting, and Public Relations and Advertising, a structure that was the first of its kind in Nigeria.
Is UNILAG more competitive to enter for mass communication than LASU?
Generally yes. UNILAG’s national prestige draws heavier applicant numbers, which tends to push its departmental cut-off mark higher than LASU’s for the same course.
What JAMB subjects do I need for mass communication?
Most universities require English Language, Literature in English, and two other relevant subjects such as Government, History, Economics, or Religious Studies, depending on the specific school’s published requirement.
Does being a Lagos State indigene help with LASU admission?
It can. As a state university, LASU may extend admission advantages to Lagos State indigenes, something that doesn’t apply at a federal university like UNILAG.
Conclusion
UNILAG and LASU both offer genuinely strong paths into mass communication, built on different strengths. UNILAG gives you historical weight, a pioneering legacy and decades of practical media infrastructure. LASU gives you a structurally unique, specialization-focused School of Communication with its own strong academic standing. Match your choice to whether you want broad training inside a historic faculty or focused, departmental specialization from the start, and confirm current admission requirements with whichever school you choose.