Imagine it you‘ve just arrived at UDSM, you‘ve just unpacked and someone in your faculty office says you can not register your courses without going on a site named ARIS 3. Nobody informs you what it is, what its URL is and what your password should be.
Sound familiar? It is one of the most heard complaints from first year students of the University of Dar es Salaam in every single semester.
The guide takes you through everything there is to know about ARIS 3 UDSM – what it is, signing up, logging in, what you‘ll find when you log in, and troubleshooting. The University of Dar es Salaam has more than 35000 students scattered over different campuses and they all log on to the portal at least once.
Table of Contents
Quick Summary
- ARIS 3 is UDSM’s official academic portal — full name is Academic Registration Information System, version 3.
- Students log in using their registration number as the username at aris3.udsm.ac.tz.
- Enroll courses, make payment, check grades, order transcripts, apply for accommodation most of these can be done without a visit to the office.
- New students must sign up before they can log in. The portal won’t let you through without an account.
- Forgot your password? Hit ‘Forgot Password?’ on the login page and follow four steps to get back in.
So What Is ARIS 3, Really?
ARIS 3 — short for Academic Registration Information System, version 3 — is the online platform UDSM uses to manage everything to do with your academic life. Registration, fee payments, grades, transcripts, accommodation applications. It’s all in there.
Before the system existed, students had to physically go from office to office for most of these things. Queue at the registration desk. Queue at the finance office. Queue again somewhere else. ARIS 3 brought most of those tasks online, which saves a serious amount of time.
The portal is at aris3.udsm.ac.tz and stays open around the clock. You don’t need to be on campus to use it.
Who Is ARIS 3 Built For?
Three groups use the system, and the experience is slightly different for each one.
Students
ARIS 3 is used by undergraduates and postgraduates all the way through their course. Your student registration number serves as your ARIS 3 username – this is the same number that is on your letter of offer. You’ll use this account for pretty much everything academic.
Staff
Academic and administrative staff have their own side of the system at aris3.udsm.ac.tz/staff. The HR office loads staff data into the system beforehand, so creating a staff account is a bit different from what students do.
Hybrid Users
Some people at UDSM are both a student and a staff member at the same time — maybe a master’s student who also lectures part-time. The system handles this with a hybrid account. One login, and you can switch between your student and staff roles without signing out and back in again.
Creating Your ARIS 3 Account for the First Time
This is where a lot of people get stuck. You can’t log in without an account, and the account doesn’t get created automatically for you — you have to do it yourself. Here’s how.
If You’re a Student
- Open your browser and go to aris3.udsm.ac.tz.
- Click the Sign Up button on the login page.
- When asked for your account type, choose Student Account.
- In the search field, type your full registration number — exactly as it appears on your admission letter. Not partial, not approximate. The exact number.
- Your name, phone number, and email should load automatically. These come directly from the Admissions Office records. Check them. If anything looks wrong — especially your phone number or email — stop and contact the ARIS Coordinator before continuing.
- Your registration number gets set as your username automatically. You don’t choose this.
- Create a password. Make it something you won’t forget but that’s still hard to guess — a mix of letters, numbers, and at least one symbol is a good idea.
- Double-check your mobile number before you save. You’ll need it if you ever have to recover your account.
- Save everything, go back to the login page, and sign in.
What if you don‘t find your name? It means your data hasn‘t been loaded yet from the Admissions Office. Don’t try to work around this or create the account anyway. Go to the ARIS Coordinator’s office — they’ll tell you when it’s ready.
If You’re a Staff Member
- On the staff login page, click Sign Up.
- Choose Staff Account as your account type.
- Start typing your surname — at least three letters — and your name should appear in a list below the field.
- Select your name and complete the rest of the form.
Name not showing? Your details from HR haven’t been loaded yet. Check with the HR office first.
Logging In to ARIS 3 UDSM
For students, the login page is at aris3.udsm.ac.tz, type in your registration number and your password then press Login.
Staff log in through aris3.udsm.ac.tz/staff using the credentials they set up during account creation.
When you are logged in, this is what you will first see your dashboard. It lists upcoming deadlines, new grade entries, department announcements from your professors and a few other items based on where exactly you are in the semester. Worth checking regularly, not just when you need to get something done.
What Can You Actually Do on ARIS 3?
Quite a lot, honestly. Here’s a rundown:
| Feature | What It Covers |
| Course Registration | Select and confirm your units each semester. You can check prerequisites and see your weekly timetable here too. |
| Fee Payments | Generate a control number for any fee type, then pay via mobile money or bank. More on this below. |
| Grade Tracking | View marks from assignments, tests, and final exams. Your running GPA is shown here as well. |
| Transcript Requests | Submit an official transcript request and track where it stands. |
| Accommodation | Apply for on-campus housing through the portal — no need to visit the accommodation office in person. |
| Profile Updates | Change your phone number, email, or other personal details. |
| Academic Progress | See which courses you’ve completed, what’s still outstanding, and what’s recommended for next semester. |
How Fee Payments Work on ARIS 3
ARIS 3 handles payments for tuition, registration, examinations, NHIF (medical cover), accommodation, caution money, DARUSO fees, graduation, transcripts, lost ID cards, and several others.
The process goes like this:
- Log in to your ARIS 3 account.
- Click My Payment.
- Tick the fee items you want to pay and fill in the amount.
- Click Save Request Control Number.
- Find the control number you were just given and then make a payment it through M-Pesa, Airtel Money, Tigo Pesa, TTCL Pesa or any bank branch.
“The most common mistake people make: jumping directly into the mobi money app without having generated the control number from ARIS 3. That one will not work. You have to generate the control number first.”
Requesting a Transcript
This is one of the few tasks in ARIS 3 that still has some steps involving work offline. Here‘s how it works from end to end:
- Log in and go to Academic, then My Transcript Requests.
- Click Add New Request. Enter how many copies you need and your delivery address.
- Save the request and note down the control number it gives you.
- Pay the transcript fee using that control number.
- Download the Transcript Request Form, complete it, then attach any supporting documentation as necessary.
- Submit the form in person at the Sisal House Building (the building that used to be called the School of Education Building). If you genuinely can’t go in, email the documents to the Registrar’s office as an alternative.
How to Get Back Into Your Account If You’ve Forgotten Your Password
This happens to everyone at some point. The recovery process is four steps and usually takes just a few minutes.
- On the login page, click Forgot Password?
- Enter the email address and phone number that are linked to your ARIS 3 account. They need to match exactly what was registered — format and all.
- Perform steps 2-4 on screen. When the system authenticates you it will allow you to change your password.
“Otherwise, if the failure is caused by a mismatched email address or phone number, the contact informations in the system are out of date; then you have to go to the ARIS Coordinator‘s office to correct this before the password recovery proceeds properly.”
Problems People Run Into — and How to Fix Them
Most issues with ARIS 3 aren’t actually system errors. They’re usually small things that are easy to sort once you know what’s causing them.
| Problem | What To Do |
| Registration number doesn’t appear during sign-up | The Admissions Office hasn’t uploaded your data yet. Contact the ARIS Coordinator — don’t try to proceed without your name in the system. |
| Forgotten password | Use the Forgot Password? link and complete the four-step process on the login page. |
| Portal won’t load at all | Try a different browser first (Chrome or Firefox are best). Clear your cache. Check if UDSM has posted a maintenance notice. |
| Email or phone doesn’t work for recovery | Your registered details may be wrong or outdated. Go to the ARIS Coordinator’s office to get them corrected, then attempt recovery again. |
| Staff name missing during sign-up | Your HR data isn’t in the system yet. Contact HR’s office directly before trying again. |
| Fee payment not reflecting in your account | Wait up to 24 hours. If it still hasn’t appeared, bring your payment receipt to the Finance Office. |
A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Start
- Don’t leave course registration to the last day. The portal gets slow under heavy load near deadlines, and you don’t want to be caught in that.
- Save or screenshot every payment confirmation you get. If a payment dispute comes up later, that’s your proof.
- You may want to update your contact information by editing your Profile should a change occur in your phone number or your e-mail. Outdated details are the number one reason password recovery fails.
- Chrome and Firefox handle the portal best. Other browsers can cause formatting issues and the occasional broken button.
- First-years try to get your account ready and register for your courses as soon as possible. The sooner the better, things only get more difficult as time passes.
Quick Answers to Common Questions
What does ARIS 3 actually stand for?
Academic Registration Information System, version 3. It’s the main online system at UDSM for handling student and staff academic records.
Where do I go to log in?
Students: aris3.udsm.ac.tz — Staff: aris3.udsm.ac.tz/staff
What’s my username?
For students, it’s your UDSM student registration number — the one from your admission letter. For staff, it’s whatever username you set up when you created your account.
Can I use ARIS 3 on my phone?
Yes. Just open it in your cell browser. It runs on both chrome for Android and Safari on iPhone (Iphone only runs if you don‘t want to download from the market)
Which payment methods work for fees?
M-Pesa, Airtel Money, Tigo Pesa, and TTCL Pesa are all supported. You can also pay at a bank. In every case, you generate the control number from ARIS 3 first.
My name didn’t come up when I tried to sign up. What do I do?
It means your data from the Admissions or HR office hasn’t been uploaded yet. Contact the ARIS Coordinator‘s office. It won‘t work if you try to set up an account with no name in the system.
Is the portal available at all hours?
Generally, yes. The overall occasional maintenance window can bring it down for a short while, but UDSM generally notifies this in advance. Should it unexpectedly go down just wait a few minutes and try again.
Bottom Line
ARIS 3 UDSM is one of those systems that feels confusing at first and then becomes second nature after a week or two. The hard part is usually just getting your account set up and knowing where to go for each task.
The advice that saves the most headaches? Establish your account early, ensure your contact information is accurate and review your dashboard at the start of each semester, rather than after a problem has occurred.
Head to aris3.udsm.ac.tz now, get your ARIS 3 UDSM account sorted, and confirm your registration is complete for this academic year.
