BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN ETHNOBOTANY AND MEDICINAL PLANT SCIENCE WITH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT)
Introduction
In line with the Government of Kenya Philosophy to provide Equitable and affordable health care system of the highest possible standards in order to attain the Sustainable Development Goals and Kenya’s Vision for Industrialization by 2030, the Department of botany has developed this degree programme to respond to the growing market in the use of traditional knowledge, medicinal plants and natural products, which needs professional expertise to support its quality, analysis and development. The ethnobotany and Medicinal Plant Science BSc. programme is meant to equip students for future careers in the pharmaceutical, phytopharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and cosmeceutical industries by acquiring skills in quality assurance of herbal medicine.
Programme Courses
YEAR ONE SEMESTER ONE
|
Course Code |
Course title |
|
SBE 101 |
Introductory Ethnobotany |
|
SBT 101 |
Plant Structure and Function |
|
SBT 103 |
Introductory Plant Systematics |
|
SCH 101 |
Basic Physical Chemistry |
|
SCH 103 |
Basic Organic Chemistry |
|
AEN 105 |
Communication skills I |
|
ASA 105: |
Introduction to Ethnology |
|
UCI 101 |
Foundations of Information Technology |
|
UCI 103 |
Word Processing and Design of Presentations |
|
Total |
- YEAR ONE SEMESTER TWO
|
Course code |
Course title |
|
SBE 102 |
Indigenous People and Plant World |
|
SBE 104 |
Introduction to Anthropology and Ethnography of african societies |
|
SBT 102 |
Survey of the Plant Kingdom |
|
SBT 104 |
Fundamentals of Ecology and Conservation |
|
ASA 104: |
Cultural Anthropology |
|
PHT 112 |
HIV &AIDS Determinants, Prevention and Management |
|
UCI 102 |
Computer Communication System |
|
UCI 104 |
Data manipulation and analysis using spread sheet |
YEAR TWO SEMESTER ONE
|
Course code |
Course title |
|
SBE 201 |
Applied Ethnobotany I |
|
SBE 203 |
Systematics of Ethnobotanical Plants |
|
SBE 205 |
Principles of Biodiversity Conservation |
|
SBT 201 |
Gymnosperm and Angiosperm Taxonomy |
|
SBT 203 |
Economic Botany |
|
SBT 205 |
Plant Ecology and Environmental Science |
|
UCI 201 |
The Internet and World Wide Web |
|
UCI 203 |
Desktop Publishing Techniques |
YEAR TWO SEMESTER TWO
|
Course code |
Course title |
|
SBE 202 |
Tissue Culture Techniques |
|
SBE 204 |
Biodiversity Conservation |
|
SBE 206 |
Ecological Anthropology |
|
SBE 208 |
Laboratory Research Methods |
|
SBT 204 |
Introductory Biochemistry and Genetics |
|
ASA 206 |
Legal Anthropology |
|
UCI 202 |
Computer Based Information Systems |
|
UCI 204 |
Relational Database Management Systems |
- YEAR THREE SEMESTER ONE
|
Course code |
Course title |
|
SBT 303 |
Microbiology I |
|
SBE 301 |
Ethnobotany 1 |
|
SBE 303 |
Taxonomy and Evolution of Plants |
|
SBE 305 |
Ethnobotanical Chemistry |
|
SBT 307 |
Mycology I |
|
ASSA 307 |
Medical Anthropology |
|
UCI 301 |
Management of Information Technology Projects |
|
UCI 303 |
Multimedia and Graphic Systems and Applications |
- YEAR THREE SEMESTER TWO
|
Course code |
Course title |
|
SBE 302 |
Medicinal Plants and Raw Materials |
|
SBE 304 |
Medical Mycology |
|
SBE 306 |
Research Methods in Ethnobotany |
|
SBE 308 |
Biometrics |
|
SBE 310 |
Applied Ethnobotany 2 |
|
SBE 312 |
Ethnobotany In Nutrition And Culture |
|
UCI 302 |
Electronic commerce |
|
UCI 304 |
Statistical data analysis |
YEAR THREE SEMESTER THREE
|
SBE 313 |
Industrial Attachment |
YEAR FOUR SEMESTER ONE
|
Course code |
Course title |
|
SBT 403 |
Biosystematics and Palynology |
|
SBT 407 |
Mycology II |
|
SBE 401 |
Seed Ecology and Plant Propagation |
|
SBE 403 |
Plant Geography and Remote Sensing |
|
SBE 413 |
Research Project –Proposal writing |
|
ABA 413 |
Entrepreneurship and Small business Management |
|
UCI 401 |
Social and Professional issues in IT |
|
UCI 403 |
Information and System Security |
- YEAR FOUR SEMESTER TWO
|
Course code |
Course title |
|
SBE 402 |
Biodiversity & Bio-prospecting |
|
SBE 404 |
Herbs and Spices |
|
SBE 406 |
Herbal Medical Systems |
|
SBE 408 |
Traditional Medicine and Poisonous Plants |
|
SBE 410 |
Standardization and Quality Assurance of Natural Products |
|
SBE 414 |
Research project –Project implementation |
|
UCI 402 |
Human Computer Interaction |
|
UCI 404 |
Special Topics in Contemporary ICTs |
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
- Maseno University common undergraduate admission requirements shall apply.
- Candidates should have passed with grade C+ in biology and C in chemistry, geography, agriculture and physics or mathematics at KCSE level. Those with at least two principal passes and one subsidiary in relevant subjects at A-level are eligible.
- Candidates with credit pass at ordinary Diploma in biological sciences, relevant field or degree in forestry or microbiology are eligible.
PROGRAMME DURATION
The program shall normally take eight (8) academic semesters with an additional one semester for industrial attachment.
PROGRAMME STRUCTURE
- In the first year and second years of study, a candidate shall take the courses outlined herein. Special exemptions may however be awarded where a candidate has taken equivalent courses elsewhere as may be the case with transfer of students.
- The multidisciplinary nature of the programme requires students to have a foundation in a number of conventional disciplines which are offered during the duration of the programme. The multi-disciplinary nature of Ethnobotany and Medicinal Plant Science necessitates that in a given academic year the candidates will take a minimum of 16 course units and a maximum of 18 course units, exclusive of industrial attachment.
- There will be a session in between 3rd and 4th year during which students will go for industrial attachment for 10 weeks that is equivalent to 2 course units.
- There will be an independent student’s research project conducted in the fourth year that is worth 2 course units.
- Selection of elective courses shall be done in consultation with the department and will be taken only in addition to core courses.
- During each semester, a student will be required to take 2 courses from the computer department as prescribed.