Outcry about deplorable content and quality of university education in Uganda is widespread. Yet, studies about the
same are rare. This paper explored the extent of institutional autonomy in the determination of content and quality of
university education in Uganda. The political model of university governance was the guiding theory. Findings
revealed that the government, the National Council for Higher Education, and universities determine the content and
quality of university education. We conclude that partial institutional autonomy is inherent in the determination of
content and quality of university education in Uganda. However, we recommend that universities should be accorded
more institutional autonomy in order to achieve better content and quality of education suitable for national
development.