There is nothing more frustrating than studying hard, sitting for JAMB, and then spending money on a university Post UTME form only to discover your score does not qualify you for the course you chose. That exact problem sends hundreds of candidates home disappointed every admission cycle at Taraba State University, Jalingo. The TSU cut off mark for all courses is the first number that decides whether your application moves forward or stops before it even reaches the screening stage, and yet most candidates do not check it before they apply.
The problem is straightforward. Many students discover too late that the general university minimum and the departmental cut off for competitive programmes like Engineering, Medical Laboratory Science, and Nursing are not the same number. Assuming they are is a costly mistake. This article gives you the complete, verified breakdown of the TSU cut off mark for all courses, explains how the scoring system works, walks you through what else you need beyond your JAMB score, and tells you exactly what to do if your score is not where it needs to be yet.
What Is the TSU Cut Off Mark for All Courses and How Does It Work?
Taraba State University, commonly called TSU or TASU, is a state-owned public university located in Jalingo, Taraba State. It was established in 2008 by the Taraba State Government under the motto “Harnessing Nature’s Gift” and is accredited by the National Universities Commission. The university offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes across multiple faculties including Agriculture, Arts, Education, Engineering, Science, and Social and Management Sciences.
The TSU cut off mark for all courses operates on two distinct levels, and understanding both levels is critical before you submit any application or spend money on a screening form.
The first level is the general JAMB cut off. For the 2026/2027 academic session, Taraba State University has announced 150 and above as the approved JAMB and Post UTME cut off mark. This is the minimum score that makes a candidate eligible to apply for the Post UTME screening exercise. It is the baseline entry requirement and does not on its own guarantee admission into any specific course.
The second level is the departmental cut off. The TSU cut off mark for all courses starts at a general minimum of 140 in JAMB for Agriculture and Arts programmes, with departmental cut offs ranging up to 180 for Medical Laboratory Science and Engineering courses. This means that while the general university threshold determines your eligibility for screening, your specific course has its own score requirement that sits above that baseline for competitive programmes.
TSU JAMB cut off marks by department create a tiered structure where different programmes require different levels of preparation and performance. Understanding your tier before you register for any screening exercise is not optional. It is essential.
Two misunderstandings are extremely common among candidates researching this topic and both are worth addressing directly.
Misunderstanding 1: “The cut off at TSU is one number for every course.” This is the most dangerous assumption a candidate can make. While the general university threshold provides a baseline, competitive programmes like Engineering, Medical Laboratory Science, and Nursing Science carry their own higher departmental minimums. A candidate with a JAMB score of 155 who applies for Engineering at TSU will not make the departmental cut, while the same score would qualify them for Agriculture or Arts programmes.
Misunderstanding 2: “TSU is easy to get into because it is a state university.” The popularity of TSU in northeastern Nigeria means that competitive programmes receive more applicants than available spaces every session. This is precisely why departmental cut off marks exist. The more applicants a programme receives relative to available spaces, the more important it becomes to exceed the minimum rather than simply meet it. Clearing a cut off score gets you into the queue. Your aggregate ranking within that queue determines whether you receive an offer.
TSU Cut Off Mark for All Courses: Complete Faculty by Faculty Breakdown
Here is the comprehensive breakdown of the TSU cut off mark for all courses across every faculty at Taraba State University, drawn from the most recent verified session data.
Faculty of Science and Health Sciences
Medical Laboratory Science requires a departmental minimum JAMB score of 180. Nursing Science also falls within the higher tier at the university and requires candidates to present stronger JAMB scores compared to general science programmes. Other science courses including Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, and Statistics operate at the general threshold of 140 to 150. For the current 2026/2027 session where the general minimum is confirmed at 150, all science candidates must clear that baseline before their applications are reviewed.
Candidates applying for health-related programmes at TSU should aim to score well above the published minimum because competition for limited health science spaces is consistent every year. A score that barely clears the threshold is likely to place you at the bottom of the candidate ranking for these programmes.
Faculty of Engineering
Engineering at TSU carries a departmental minimum of 180. This includes all engineering disciplines available at the university. Engineering sits at the highest departmental tier in the institution alongside Medical Laboratory Science. Candidates who score between 150 and 179 and apply for Engineering will clear the general university threshold but fail the Engineering departmental cut off.
This distinction matters enormously. Clearing 150 earns you the right to participate in screening for most programmes. But for Engineering, the departmental minimum of 180 is the first filter, and it must be satisfied before your Post UTME performance or O’Level result is even considered.
Faculty of Agriculture
Agriculture is one of the most accessible faculties at TSU from a score perspective. The departmental minimum for Agriculture courses sits at the general baseline of 140 to 150. This covers Agronomy, Animal Science, and Agricultural Economics and Extension. TSU’s location in Taraba State, a region where agriculture is a major economic activity, means Agriculture programmes at the university are well-aligned with real career pathways in the region.
Faculty of Arts
Arts courses at TSU operate at the general minimum of 140 to 150. This faculty covers History and Archaeology, Language and Linguistics, and related humanities disciplines. Arts programmes are accessible from a score perspective, but they attract candidates from across the region and competition for available spaces remains real. Strong Post UTME performance after clearing the minimum score is important in every faculty, including Arts.
Faculty of Education
Education courses at TSU cover a wide range of teaching-focused programmes. All Education programmes operate at the general minimum threshold. This faculty serves candidates interested in classroom instruction and educational development careers. Education degrees at TSU are NUC-accredited and carry the same professional recognition as education programmes at other Nigerian universities.
Faculty of Social and Management Sciences
This faculty covers Political Science, Sociology, Economics, Mass Communication, Business Administration, Public Administration, and Accounting. All of these programmes operate at the general university minimum. Mass Communication and Business Administration attract particularly high application volumes, making aggregate score performance important even at the same entry threshold.
Note on Law and Medicine: As of the most recently verified data, TSU does not offer a Law or Medicine and Surgery programme in its current undergraduate course list. Candidates specifically looking for Law should confirm directly with TSU whether the programme has been introduced, or should consider nearby institutions that do offer it. This is an important point to verify rather than assume.
How the TSU Aggregate Score Is Calculated and Why It Matters
Knowing the TSU cut off mark for all courses tells you whether your JAMB score is sufficient to apply. But your aggregate score is what determines whether you actually receive an admission offer. Understanding how TSU calculates aggregate scores lets you know exactly where you stand in the competition before results are even released.
TSU uses a combination of your JAMB score and your Post UTME score to produce an aggregate. The formula divides your JAMB score by 8 and divides your Post UTME score by 2. Adding the two results produces your final aggregate.
Here is a concrete example. A candidate applies for Engineering with a JAMB score of 200 and scores 65 in the Post UTME. Dividing 200 by 8 gives 25. Dividing 65 by 2 gives 32.5. The aggregate is 57.5.
A second example: a candidate applies for the same programme with a JAMB score of 220 and scores 75 in the Post UTME. Dividing 220 by 8 gives 27.5. Dividing 75 by 2 gives 37.5. The aggregate is 65.
Both candidates cleared the Engineering departmental minimum of 180. But the second candidate’s aggregate of 65 puts them significantly ahead of the first candidate’s 57.5. In a department with 40 available spaces and 200 eligible applicants, an aggregate gap of 7.5 points is often the margin between admitted and not admitted.
This calculation makes it clear that clearing the cut off is not enough. Your preparation needs to target both a strong JAMB score and strong Post UTME performance. Neither part compensates entirely for weakness in the other.
TSU school fees for undergraduate programmes are among the most affordable at any Nigerian university. The school fees at NSUK range roughly from ₦65,100 to ₦103,000 for new students. TSU’s fees are structured similarly as a state university and represent one of the more cost-accessible university options available to candidates in northeastern Nigeria.
O’Level Requirements and JAMB Subject Combination at TSU
The TSU cut off mark for all courses works alongside O’Level requirements and the correct JAMB subject combination. Missing either of these two conditions disqualifies an application before the score is ever reviewed.
Candidates must possess at least five O’Level credits, including English Language and Mathematics, in no more than two sittings. These five credits must be in subjects that align with the specific course the candidate is applying for. English Language and Mathematics are compulsory across virtually every programme. The three remaining required subjects depend on the faculty and course.
For Engineering courses, Physics, Mathematics, and Chemistry are standard O’Level and JAMB subject requirements. For Science courses, Biology and Chemistry are typically required alongside Mathematics and English. For Agriculture courses, Biology, Chemistry, and a relevant science subject make up the required combination. For Arts, Education, and Social Science courses, relevant humanities or commercial subjects apply depending on the specific programme.
Your four JAMB UTME subjects must also match what your chosen course requires. Many candidates quietly disqualify themselves by registering the wrong JAMB subject combination during UTME registration. This check happens before your JAMB score is even considered. A candidate who registered Economics instead of Physics for an Engineering course will be rejected at the subject combination verification stage regardless of how strong their score is.
For Direct Entry candidates, TSU accepts NCE, National Diploma, HND, or A-Level qualifications in subjects relevant to the chosen programme. Direct Entry candidates bypass the JAMB UTME route and are assessed based on their prior qualifications.
An important policy to confirm before applying: candidates must have chosen Taraba State University as their first choice of institution during UTME registration, or must be willing to do a change of institution, replacing their initial first choice with Taraba State University. Applying as a second choice at TSU without completing a change of institution significantly weakens your admission position. Confirm your JAMB first choice status before proceeding with any form purchase.
What to Do If Your Score Falls Below the TSU Cut Off Mark for Your Course
Understanding the TSU cut off mark for all courses is most useful when it helps you make a strategic decision rather than a reactive one. If your JAMB score falls short of the departmental minimum for your target programme, here are the realistic steps to take.
Step 1: Identify which courses your score actually qualifies for. If you scored 165 and applied for Engineering at TSU where the minimum is 180, your application for Engineering will not succeed. But 165 comfortably clears the general threshold of 150 for Agriculture, Arts, Education, and Social and Management Sciences. Applying for a course your score supports this cycle keeps you in university and on track.
Step 2: Focus your Post UTME preparation on scoring as high as possible. Every point you earn in the Post UTME screening directly feeds into your aggregate. Candidates who clear the cut off for their course and score 80 or above in the Post UTME rank far ahead of candidates who scored exactly at the minimum and only managed 50 in the screening. TSU Post UTME past questions are available online and practicing with them directly improves your screening performance.
Step 3: If Engineering or Medical Laboratory Science is your non-negotiable target, build toward a score of 180 and above. This gap is closeable. A JAMB improvement from 155 to 185 takes roughly four to five months of consistent daily preparation focused on your four UTME subjects. Students who score 180 and above consistently report starting preparation at least five months before the exam. Starting eight weeks before the exam rarely produces a 30-point improvement.
Step 4: Monitor the official TSU portal for supplementary admission forms. TSU periodically releases supplementary forms for courses with remaining spaces after the main admission list. TSU also has supplementary forms for candidates who did not meet the minimum cut off point for their department. Staying updated on the official TSU portal ensures you never miss a second opportunity.
Quick Pre-Application Checklist for TSU Candidates
Before you purchase any TSU Post UTME form or submit any application, confirm every item on this list:
- Does your JAMB score meet the specific departmental minimum for your chosen course at TSU?
- Is your score 180 or above if you are applying for Engineering or Medical Laboratory Science?
- Did you register TSU as your first choice institution in JAMB or have you completed a change of institution?
- Is your JAMB subject combination correct for your chosen course?
- Do you have at least five O’Level credit passes including English and Mathematics in not more than two sittings?
- Are your O’Level results uploaded to JAMB CAPS?
- Are you ready to prepare seriously for the TSU Post UTME screening exercise?
Seven yes answers confirm you are fully prepared. Any no means there is a specific gap to fix before you spend money on a form that will not produce a result.
Conclusion: Use the Right Score Before You Apply
The TSU cut off mark for all courses is not a single number. It is a structured system where the general JAMB threshold of 150 applies to Agriculture, Arts, Education, and Social and Management Sciences, while competitive programmes like Engineering and Medical Laboratory Science require a departmental minimum of 180. Every candidate must know which level applies to their chosen course before they apply.
The TSU cut off mark for all courses is designed to ensure that only candidates who are academically prepared for their chosen programme receive admission. It is not a barrier for its own sake. It is a filter that protects both students and the university’s academic standards.
Meeting the minimum gets you into the screening queue. Your aggregate score, built from your JAMB and Post UTME performance combined, determines where in that queue you rank. Aim for scores well above the minimum. Prepare for Post UTME as seriously as you prepared for JAMB. And confirm your O’Level combination and JAMB first choice status are both correct before you commit any money to the process.
For the most current and official TSU admission information including screening dates and Post UTME form sale announcements, visit the official TSU portal at tsuniversity.edu.ng and check regularly throughout the admission season.