Akwa Ibom State University is a multi-campus institution, with two campuses located in the central and southern parts of the State. The Main Campus is in the southern or coastal part, mostly within Mkpat Enin L.G.A., but also including Eastern Obolo, Onna and Ibeno L.G.As. The northern upland part of the Main Campus is situated at Ikot Akpaden between Eket and Ikot Abasi, on Nigeria's East-West Highway. This highway runs across the Niger Delta from Calabar in the East through Eket, Ikot Abasi, Port Harcourt, Warri and Benin, to Lagos on the Western coast of the country. 

The Main Campus at Mkpat Enin extends from the East-West Highway to the Atlantic Ocean shoreline, totaling about 4,600 hectares, with 180 hectares of gently rolling, well-drained tableland which provides the high ground that is ideal for the physical development of the University. The rest of the southern part is a degraded wetland - water-logged and flooded with mangrove swamp and tidal creeks. The Main Campus stretches over a distance of 12km from the highway to the shoreline and is 4km wide.

The Obio Akpa Campus is the second site, meant for the Faculties of Agriculture, Social and Management Sciences. The campus has a sub-urban setting, adjoining Abak town and is within 15 minutes' drive from Uyo. Its topography is undulatory with gentle hills and slopes which gives it a unique scene.

The first phase of the Main Campus occupies an area of about 7 hectres. There are academic blocks for lectures, laboratories, engineering workshops, a large central cafeteria for 500 students, and an auditorium of similar capacity, a library building (with e - book library sections), male and female hostels, a medical Centre and a sports arena. This campus has about 2km of tarred road network with concrete sidewalks and effective drainage.

 Electricity is provided by both the public electricity supply (PHCN) and 2 No. 500KVA standby generators. A mini water works of 100,000 litres serviced by 2 No. water boreholes provides the water needs of the campus.

The Obio Akpa Campus, being an old site of a tertiary institution, already has roads that were paved since the 1950s when the campus began as a British colonial agricultural experimental station. Buildings already exist to be used by the Faculties of Agriculture and Management Sciences. There are academic, administrative blocks and laboratories. It also has large demonstration farms for palm oil, rubber, fisheries, and small/large ruminants.