It caters to students primarily from Uganda and neighboring South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

[1] The university's main campus is located in the western part of the city of Gulu, adjacent to the offices and studios of Radio Pacis Gulu, approximately 5.5 kilometres (3 mi), by road, west of the city centre.

[3] In 2016, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gulu donated land, measuring 51 acres (21 ha) for expansion of the university.

Courses in Information and communications technology and Counseling psychology were selected to start with, due to the high levels of suicide, alcohol and drug abuse, as a result of twenty years of the Lord's Resistance Army insurgency.

Immediate challenges include the lack of adequate student accommodation near the current lecture rooms.