Comprehensive universityPrivate university, chartered by Government of Punjab

University of Central Punjab(UCP)

A private, HEC-recognised university in Johar Town, Lahore, chartered by the Government of Punjab, whose Faculty of Information Technology and Computer Science runs BS Computer Science, Software Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security and Data Science, plus four MS programmes and a PhD in Computer Science.

PrivateHEC recognisedAssociate, Bachelors, Masters, PhDFounded 2002

Campus cities

Lahore

Degree levels

AssociateBachelorsMastersPhD

Computing programmes

Entry tests

UCP Admission Test (undergraduate)UCP Admission Test (MS and PhD)

Where to apply

Admissions page Apply online Website LinkedIn

When admissions open

Fall, bachelors
read from Fall 2026
Official +1
Applications
June to September
Test
July
Classes start
September
Fall, masters
read from Fall 2026
Official
Applications
June to September
Test
July
Classes start
September
Spring, bachelors
read from Spring 2026
Official
Applications
December
Test
Not published
Classes start
Not published

Fall bachelors: UCP's approved Fall 2026 calendar: admissions opened Monday 1 June 2026. Phase I closed 9 July with the first admission test on 11 July (also Multan 25 July, Faisalabad 1 August, Gilgit-Baltistan 6 August). Phase II closed 7 August (test 11 August), Phase III closed 1 September (test 3 September) and Phase IV closed 15 September. Orientation ran 21 to 25 September and classes began Monday 28 September 2026.
Fall masters: The Fall 2026 calendar uses the same deadlines and admission tests for undergraduate and graduate programmes.
Spring bachelors: UCP announced Spring 2026 admissions as open on 4 December 2025. Its list included BS Computer Science, Software Engineering and Artificial Intelligence, but not BS Cyber Security or BS Data Science. MS Data Science and PhD Computer Science were also offered that Spring. Spring 2027 dates are not published yet.

These are the months each cycle has usually run, read from the cycle named beside them. Exact dates are announced by the university every year, so check the admissions page before you plan around them.

How admission works

1
Apply on the online admissions portal
Official +1
Online application
Sign up at online-admissions.ucp.edu.pk and fill the form; no printed form is needed. Pay the Rs 1,500 application processing fee; your test letter appears on the portal once it is verified (2 to 3 working days if paid at Al Baraka Bank).
2
Take the UCP Admission Test
Official +2
Entry test
Tests are separate by discipline. UCP publishes sample papers for each faculty, including one for the Faculty of Information Technology and Computer Science.
3
Interview (MS and PhD)
Official +2
Interview
MS and PhD applicants are interviewed by the Graduate Admission Committee. The interview is 30% of merit for both.
4
Check the merit list
Official
Merit list
Merit lists are published on UCP's admission site.
5
Pay the admission fee and first semester
Official +1
Fee and confirmation
A PKR 28,000 admission fee plus the semester's tuition, which UCP splits into two instalments. If the fee challan is not on the portal, visit the Student Service Centre to verify documents.

Entry tests they consider

UCP Admission Test (undergraduate)
University's own testOfficial +5
For bachelors
Required for every BS computing programme and worth 45% of merit. UCP does not publish a section breakdown; it publishes sample papers by faculty instead.
About this test
UCP Admission Test (MS and PhD)
University's own testOfficial +2
For masters, phd
MS Computer Science needs at least 50% on the UCP test, or 50% on the GRE or HAT General or an equivalent. PhD Computer Science needs 60% on the UCP test, or 60% on a GRE or HAT General equivalent from an HEC-accredited testing body. Graduate sample papers are published.
About this test

How merit is worked out

Bachelors (BS)

Matric / SSCOfficial +410%
Intermediate / HSSCOfficial +445%
Entry testOfficial +445%

Masters (MS or MPhil)

Previous academicsOfficial +320%
Entry testOfficial +350%
InterviewOfficial +330%

PhD

Previous academicsOfficial30%
Entry testOfficial40%
InterviewOfficial30%

Who can apply

Bachelors (BS)
Official +2
BS Computer Science and BS Cyber Security: at least 50% in intermediate or equivalent with Mathematics. Students without intermediate Mathematics must pass 6 credit hours of deficiency Mathematics in the first year.
Bachelors (BS)
Official +2
BS Software Engineering, BS Artificial Intelligence and BS Data Science: at least 50% in F.Sc. Pre-Engineering, Pre-Medical, ICS or A-Levels with Mathematics or equivalent. Pre-medical students take two extra Mathematics courses (6 credit hours) in the first year.
Masters (MS or MPhil)
Official +3
At least 2.00/4.00 CGPA or 50% (annual system) in BS Computer Science, Software Engineering or IT or equivalent for MS Computer Science and MS Software Engineering. MS Data Science and MS Artificial Intelligence also accept Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Statistics or Mathematics.
PhD
Official +1
At least 3.00/4.00 CGPA in MS Computer Science or equivalent, the admission test at 60% (or an HEC-accredited GRE or HAT General equivalent at 60%) and an interview.

Fees are for fiscal year 2026-27 and subject to annual revision. Admissions: admissions@ucp.edu.pk, +92-42-35880007 or (+92) 80-000-827 (9 am to 5 pm).

Computing programmes and course outlines

Course lists are copied from each programme page's outline and tentative study road map on ucp.edu.pk (read 2026-10-31). Labs, general education, electives shown only as slots, and the final year project are left out. UCP also offers ADP Computer Science and a post-ADP route into BS Computer Science, not listed here.

Bachelors (BS)

BS Computer ScienceOfficial +3

4 years133 credit hoursLahoreNCEAC accredited18 core courses listed

Eight semesters, at most seven years, minimum CGPA 2.0. The programme outline lists 133 credit hours: 35 general education, 50 computing core, 24 specialization electives, a 3 credit hour professional certification, 12 allied, a 3 credit hour internship and a 6 credit hour capstone project (the degree-award section of the same page says 132). Students without intermediate Mathematics take 6 credit hours of deficiency Mathematics in the first year. NCEAC's register lists it as accredited (February 2026, up to the Fall 2022 batch) for an intake of 500. A post-ADP entry route is also offered.

Core courses

Programming Fundamentals
Object Oriented Programming
Data Structures
Database Systems
Digital Logic Design
Computer Organization and Architecture
Software Engineering
Computer Networks
Operating Systems
Artificial Intelligence
Design and Analysis of Algorithms
Theory of Automata
Cloud Computing
Information Security
Discrete Structures
Calculus and Analytic Geometry
Linear Algebra
Probability & Statistics

Full scheme of studies

BS Software EngineeringOfficial +2

4 years132 credit hoursLahoreNCEAC accredited18 core courses listed

Eight semesters, at most seven years, minimum CGPA 2.0. 132 credit hours: 47 computing core, 18 domain core, 21 domain electives, 12 mathematics and supporting, 3 elective supporting and 31 general education. Pre-medical students take two extra Mathematics courses (6 credit hours) in the first year. NCEAC's register lists it as accredited (June 2025, up to the Fall 2022 batch) for an intake of 200.

Core courses

Programming Fundamentals
Object Oriented Programming
Data Structures
Database Systems
Digital Logic Design
Computer Organization & Assembly Language
Software Engineering
Operating Systems
Computer Networks
Information Security
Artificial Intelligence
Analysis of Algorithms
Software Requirement Engineering
Software Design and Architecture
Software Construction & Development
Software Project Management
Software Quality Engineering
Parallel & Distributed Computing

Full scheme of studies

BS Artificial IntelligenceOfficial +2

4 years132 credit hoursLahoreNCEAC accredited17 core courses listed

Eight semesters, at most seven years, minimum CGPA 2.0. 132 credit hours: 47 computing core, 18 domain core, 21 domain electives, 12 mathematics and supporting, 3 elective supporting and 31 general education. Pre-medical students take two extra Mathematics courses (6 credit hours) in the first year. NCEAC's register lists it as approved (September 2023) for an intake of 50; UCP's accreditation sheet lists it as accredited.

Core courses

Programming Fundamentals
Object Oriented Programming
Data Structures
Database Systems
Digital Logic Design
Computer Organization & Assembly Language
Operating Systems
Computer Networks
Information Security
Artificial Intelligence
Analysis of Algorithms
Programming for AI
Machine Learning
Artificial Neural Networks & Deep Learning
Computer Vision
Knowledge Representation & Reasoning
Parallel & Distributed Computing

Full scheme of studies

BS Cyber SecurityOfficial +2

4 years132 credit hoursLahoreNCEAC accredited18 core courses listed

Eight semesters, at most seven years, minimum CGPA 2.0. 132 credit hours: 47 computing core, 18 domain core, 21 domain electives, 12 mathematics and supporting, 3 elective supporting and 31 general education. Students without intermediate Mathematics take 6 credit hours of deficiency Mathematics in the first year. NCEAC's register lists it as approved (February 2025) for an intake of 50; UCP's accreditation sheet says accreditation is in process.

Core courses

Programming Fundamentals
Object Oriented Programming
Data Structures
Database Systems
Digital Logic Design
Computer Organization and Architecture
Computer Networks
Operating Systems
Artificial Intelligence
Introduction to Cyber Security
Network Security
Secure Software Design and Development
Malware Analysis and Reverse Engineering
Cryptography
Information Security Management
Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing
Cloud and Application Security
Digital Forensics and Incident Response

Full scheme of studies

BS Data ScienceOfficial +2

4 years132 credit hoursLahoreNCEAC accredited17 core courses listed

Eight semesters, at most seven years, minimum CGPA 2.0; summer may be used for internships or deficiency courses. 132 credit hours: 47 computing core, 18 domain core, 21 domain electives, 12 mathematics and supporting, 3 elective supporting and 31 general education. Pre-medical students take two extra Mathematics courses (6 credit hours) in the first year. NCEAC's register lists it as accredited (August 2026, up to the Fall 2022 batch) for an intake of 50.

Core courses

Programming Fundamentals
Object Oriented Programming
Data Structures
Database Systems
Digital Logic Design
Computer Organization & Assembly Language
Operating Systems
Computer Networks
Information Security
Artificial Intelligence
Analysis of Algorithms
Introduction to Data Science
Advanced Statistics
Data Warehousing & Business Intelligence
Data Visualization
Data Mining
Parallel & Distributed Computing

Full scheme of studies

Masters (MS or MPhil)

MS Computer ScienceOfficial

2 years30 credit hoursLahore5 core courses listed

30 credit hours: 12 core, 12 electives and 6 of thesis or additional courses, over four semesters. Applicants must have studied at least five of nine listed undergraduate courses (programming, data structures, operating systems, databases, algorithms, networks, automata, software engineering, assembly or architecture); the rest are taught at admission.

Core courses

Advanced Algorithms Analysis
Advanced Theory of Computation
Advanced Computer Architecture
Advanced Operating Systems
Theory of Programming Languages

Full scheme of studies

MS Software EngineeringOfficial

1.5 years30 credit hoursLahore3 core courses listed

30 credit hours over three semesters (two of coursework, one of thesis), at most four years, minimum CGPA 2.5: 9 core, 6 domain electives, 9 general electives and a 6 credit hour thesis. Electives shown are the domain electives; the list is non-exhaustive.

Core courses

Advanced Requirements Engineering
Advanced Software System Architecture
Software Testing and Quality Assurance

Electives

Software Measurement and MetricsComponent Based Software EngineeringAdvanced Formal MethodsAdvanced Human-Computer InteractionAgile Software Development MethodsEmpirical Software EngineeringAdvanced Software Project ManagementSoftware Engineering Methods

Full scheme of studies

MS Data ScienceOfficial

2 years30 credit hoursLahore4 core courses listed

30 credit hours over four semesters: 12 core, 6 specialization (any two of the four listed), 6 electives and 6 of thesis or additional courses. Students who have not taken programming fundamentals, data structures or algorithms, and database systems must take them during the MS.

Core courses

Statistical and Mathematical Methods for Data Science
Tools and Techniques in Data Science
Machine Learning
Research Methodology

Electives

Big Data AnalyticsDeep LearningNatural Language ProcessingDistributed Data Processing

Full scheme of studies

MS Artificial IntelligenceOfficial

1.5 years30 credit hoursLahore4 core courses listed

30 credit hours over three semesters (two of coursework, one of thesis), at most four years, minimum CGPA 2.5: 12 core, 12 electives and a 6 credit hour thesis. Offered in Fall and Spring.

Core courses

Techniques in Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning
Mathematical Foundation of AI
Research Methodology

Electives

Advance Data MiningAdvanced Human-Computer InteractionApplied Image ProcessingBiomedical Signal and Image ProcessingComputational IntelligenceConvex OptimizationExpert SystemsFuzzy SystemsNatural Language ProcessingPattern RecognitionStochastic Processes

Full scheme of studies

PhD

PhD Computer ScienceOfficial

48 credit hoursLahore

48 credit hours: 18 of elective coursework and 30 of thesis. Coursework takes 2 semesters (at most 3), the comprehensive exam by semester 3 (at most 4), synopsis by semester 4 (at most 6) and thesis submission by semester 6 (at most 14). Research areas include software systems and engineering, multimedia and communications, web and information systems, and computational business intelligence.

Full scheme of studies

Campuses

UCP campus, Johar Town
Main campus
Lahore, 1 - Khayaban-e-Jinnah Road, Johar Town, Lahore
Classes for all degree programmes run on weekdays, apart from the weekend MBA Executive and M.Phil. Media & Communication. Phone +92-42-35880007, (+92) 80-000-827 (9 am to 5 pm), info@ucp.edu.pk, admissions@ucp.edu.pk.
Official +2

What it costs

BS Computer Science
PKR 17k/credit hour
Bachelors · as of 2026
2026-27. First semester PKR 310,710; whole degree PKR 2,239,790 for 133 credit hours, including the admission fee.
Official +1
BS Software Engineering
PKR 16k/credit hour
Bachelors · as of 2026
2026-27. First semester PKR 265,900; whole degree PKR 2,121,520 for 132 credit hours, including the admission fee.
Official +1
BS Artificial Intelligence
PKR 17k/credit hour
Bachelors · as of 2026
2026-27. First semester PKR 277,450; whole degree PKR 2,223,160 for 132 credit hours, including the admission fee.
Official +1
BS Cyber Security
PKR 16k/credit hour
Bachelors · as of 2026
2026-27. First semester PKR 297,620; whole degree PKR 2,121,520 for 132 credit hours, including the admission fee.
Official +1
BS Data Science
PKR 16k/credit hour
Bachelors · as of 2026
2026-27. First semester PKR 265,900; whole degree PKR 2,121,520 for 132 credit hours, including the admission fee.
Official +1
MS Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data Science and Artificial Intelligence
PKR 15k/credit hour
Masters · as of 2026
2026-27, the same for all four. First semester PKR 163,000; whole degree PKR 478,000 for 30 credit hours, including the admission fee.
Official +4
PhD Computer Science
PKR 10k/credit hour
PhD · as of 2026
2026-27. First semester PKR 120,160; whole degree PKR 519,520 for 48 credit hours, including the admission fee. Scholarship rates do not apply.
Official +1
Admission fee (all programmes)
PKR 28k total
Bachelors · as of 2026
Charged once at admission, for BS, MS and PhD alike.
Official

Fees are read from published fee structures and change every year. They exclude hostel, transport and one-off admission charges unless the row says otherwise.

Scholarships and financial aid

Merit scholarship (BS computing programmes)
Tuition waiver by intermediate marks: 75% at 80% (continuation CGPA 3.7), 50% at 75% (CGPA 3.5) and 25% at 70% (CGPA 3.25). A 12.5% waiver at CGPA 3.00 or higher is awarded after admission, not at it. Policy applies from the Fall 2025 intake.
Official
Alumni scholarship (UCP graduates)
50% for an undergraduate CGPA of 3.50 (continuation 3.50) and 25% for 3.00 (continuation 3.0 to 3.49), with half the admission fee charged; 12.5% for a CGPA of 2.5 to 2.99, not available at admission.
Official
Need-based, legacy, educator and contingency scholarships
Need-based 25 to 100% on committee evaluation; legacy 25% for siblings of current students or children of UCP graduates; Educator Advancement Program 50% for serving teachers with at least 2 years' experience (graduate only); contingency 50% on the death of a father or guardian (undergraduate only). Each needs a continuation CGPA of 3.00.
Official

Companies that recruit from here

No sourced recruiter links yet. A career fair list, a campus drive announcement or an internship partner page is what puts a company here.

How to actually get in

Apply in an early phase. Fall 2026 ran in four phases from June to mid September, with the first test on 11 July.
The test is 45% of BS merit. Intermediate is another 45% and Matric 10%. Practise with the FoIT&CS sample papers on UCP's site.
Testing outside Lahore. Fall 2026 also held tests in Multan, Faisalabad and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Check the Spring list. BS Cyber Security and BS Data Science were not in UCP's Spring 2026 programme list.
Scholarships start at 70%. Intermediate marks of 70%, 75% and 80% earn 25%, 50% and 75% tuition waivers at admission.
Budget for the whole degree. UCP publishes total BS fees of about PKR 2.1 to 2.2 million including the PKR 28,000 admission fee.

About University of Central Punjab

The University of Central Punjab (UCP) is a private university in Johar Town, Lahore, chartered by the Government of Punjab and recognised by the Higher Education Commission. The HEC listing shows it as established in 2002.

Computing is taught in the Faculty of Information Technology and Computer Science. At bachelors level it offers BS Computer Science, BS Software Engineering, BS Artificial Intelligence, BS Cyber Security and BS Data Science, each a four-year, eight-semester degree. At graduate level it lists MS Computer Science, MS Software Engineering, MS Data Science, MS Artificial Intelligence and a PhD in Computer Science.

NCEAC's register lists BS Computer Science, BS Software Engineering and BS Data Science as accredited, and BS Artificial Intelligence and BS Cyber Security as approved. UCP's own accreditation sheet also lists BS Artificial Intelligence as accredited.

Admissions run in Fall and Spring through the online portal. Fall 2026 ran in four phases from June to September, with admission tests in Lahore and also in Multan, Faisalabad and Gilgit-Baltistan. The BS computing programmes ask for at least 50% in intermediate with Mathematics and the UCP Admission Test, and merit is worked out from Matric (10%), Intermediate (45%) and the test (45%).

Sources

HEC listing for University of Central Punjabread 2026-10-31
NCEAC accreditation status registerread 2026-10-31
UCP accreditation details (PDF)read 2026-10-31
UCP Faculty of Information Technology and Computer Scienceread 2026-10-31
UCP FAQsread 2026-10-31
UCP approved admissions calendar, Fall 2026 (PDF)read 2026-10-31
UCP Fall Admissions 2026 Opens: Apply via Online Portalread 2026-10-31
UCP Spring 2026 Admissions: Apply Now!read 2026-10-31
UCP offered programs, Fall 2026read 2026-10-31
UCP admission test sample papersread 2026-10-31
UCP merit listsread 2026-10-31
UCP fee structure, fiscal year 2026-27read 2026-10-31
UCP scholarships (policy from Fall 2025)read 2026-10-31
UCP BS Computer Science programme pageread 2026-10-31
UCP BS Software Engineering programme pageread 2026-10-31
UCP BS Artificial Intelligence programme pageread 2026-10-31
UCP BS Cyber Security programme pageread 2026-10-31
UCP BS Data Science programme pageread 2026-10-31
UCP MS Computer Science programme pageread 2026-10-31
UCP MS Software Engineering programme pageread 2026-10-31
UCP MS Data Science programme pageread 2026-10-31
UCP MS Artificial Intelligence programme pageread 2026-10-31
UCP PhD Computer Science programme pageread 2026-10-31

Whole profile last checked 2026-10-31.

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