MBARARA UNIVERSITY OF COMPUTER AND TECHNOLOGY.
Mbarara University of Science and Technology also known as MUST lies on the banks of the scenic meandering Rwizi River a tributary of Lake Victoria in Mbarara Municipality along the Kabale highway, 286 kilometers, southwest of Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. As one of the main Rivers in the region, the Rwizi is a source of water for thousands of local people and their livestock.
Snaking through the famous hills of southwestern Uganda, the Rwizi was always a beautiful river that brought pride to the people in the area due to its sky blue waters and the purposes they served. Today the Rwizi’s waters are brown because of sedimentation.
MUST is a thriving residential campus and community where Students live in ‘villages’. On campus are two halls of residence popularly referred to as the Gents and Ladies flats. The rest of the student population live around the University campus in private but accredited hostel facilities by the Dean of Students office in collaboration with the Mbarara District Police station.
Learning and living are intimately intertwined at MUST. Extra Curricular activities, professional student associations and clubs, performances, forums and sports and games beckon students as well as the communities around the University. The Student Government known as the Guild Government is a melting pot of young and ambitious leaders who seek for democratic mandate and offer leadership on behalf of the student population. The Students’ Guild mission is to improve the quality of student’s life at the university, both academically and socially by addressing student needs and concerns, providing financial structure for student clubs and organisations and representing the student body in a professional manner.
There are also a number of well-known and established student activities, such as KinaMUST, cultural gala, bazaar, freshmen and fresh women ball that add to the unique tradition and experience of being a student at MUST.
MUST is a public university also accredited by the National Council for Higher Education in Uganda. Over the years it has won acclaimed national and international recognition for best practices in outreach and community relations from Association of Commonwealth Universities, European Union, Civil Society of Uganda, produces the best development workers and health care professionals.
Academic Units.
Faculty of Medicine.
Faculty of Medicine began in 1989 offering one programme Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery(MBChB) with a humble number of 43 students and 5 teaching staff this was when the National Resistance council passed a Statute establishing Mbarara University of Science and Technology(MUST).
The faculty is headed by the Dean, and the Faculty Board. The Faculty Board is composed of Heads of Departments who head the department that constitute the faculty and the Dean chairs all the Faculty Board meetings. The faculty Board is responsible for policy formulation, decision making and implementation at the faculty level. It is also responsible for the co-ordinations, management and implementation of various programs in the Faculty through departments as faculty committees .
There are over 100 academic staff involved in teaching both the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and in research. Undergraduate
- Masters of Medicine in Internal Medicine
- Masters of Medicine in Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Masters of Medicine in Pediatrics
- Master of Medicine in Surgery
- Master of Science in Pharmacology
- Master of science in Medical Microbiology
- Master of Public Health started- in 2012
- Master of Plastic and Reconstructive surgery started- in 2012
Contacts and Addresses.
The Faculty of Science – Background
The Faculty of Science was established in July 1995 with three departments:
• Educational Foundation and Psychology
• Mathematics
• Physics
The above departments offer two year masters program by course work and dissertation. In 1998 the departments of Biology and Chemistry were established to complete the entire spectrum of basic sciences. In October, the certifcate and diploma in Science Laboratory Technology programs were started.
These programs aimed at addressing the critical needs of skills and expertise in general laboratory practice.
Faculty Objectices:
To train science teachers in response to the acute shortage of science teachers country wide
To contribute to the development of technical skills at both national and international level by stimulating interests in the study of science subjects
To develop relevant human resource for re-awakening and sustaining local interest in science
To contribute to knowledge through cutting-edge research projects in basic and applied sciences
Institute of interdisciplinary studies and research.
Background
The Institute of Interdisciplinary Training and Research (IITR) was approved by the University Council on 17th May 2013.
The establishment of IITR to replace the Faculty of Development Studies provides an opportunity to shift from a discipline specific arrangement to a more incorporating and flexible arrangement that is important in the advancement of fundamental understanding of community multifaceted problems and abilities to contribute to agendas needed to address them.
In addition, the formation of an Institute is based on the growing competences among the academic staff at the former Faculty of Development Studies in inter-disciplinary training and research through local and international networks. IITR is positioned to champion the integration of perspectives of the different disciplines at MUST.
IITR has 16 members of the academic staff and 04 administrative/support staff. In terms of capacity building, 31% (05) members of the academic staff have completed their PhD training and 69% are Masters Degree holders.
Undergraduate Programmes
The Institute will in 2013/2014 roll-out two new programmes as well as continuing to train the last batch of the Bachelor of Development Studies programme and in 2014/2015, IITR will start two new undergraduate programmes and the other two will be rolled out in 2014/2015:
- Bachelor of Planning and Community Development (2013/2014)
- Bachelor of Gender and Women’s Health (2013/2014)
- Bachelor of Livelihoods and Farm Production Support Systems (2014/2015)
- Bachelor of Environment and Sustainability (2014/2015)
Post graduate studies
IITR is prioritizing post graduate studies as a strategy of building its research capacity. The following are the Institute’s post graduate programmes which inform research thematic areas:
- Masters of Arts in Development Studies
- Masters of Arts in Local Governance and Planning
- Master of Arts in Conflict and Inclusive Development
- Post Graduate Diploma in Criminology
- Post Graduate Diploma in Project Planning and Management
- PhD – Interdisciplinary Studies
Institute of Computer Science.
Background
The distinctiveness of IMS is its focus on meeting the management needs of local and public and private organizations within the dynamic global economy. Building on MUST’s core commitment to training, research and outreach programs, the Institute of Management Sciences at MUST is and strives to be a complete global management hub, educating the world as well as innovating for the world through training and research.
The IMS’s core themes center on interdisciplinary clusters in management, globalization, innovation, agribusiness, food security and entrepreneurship, with focus on specific sectors and issues salient for Africa in particular. The focus of the institute aligns with emerging trends, MUST interests and priorities for growth.
Current Academic Programs
The academic programs currently offered in the IMS and those proposed are all directed to the practical human resource needs at National, Regional and International levels.
They include:
- Bachelor of Business Administration
- Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance
- Masters of Business Administration (MBA)
- Doctoral of Philosophy (PhD) by research.
- BSc. In Economics (proposed for 2014/2015 academic year)
- BSc. Procurement and Supplies Chain Management (proposed for 2014/2015 academic year).
Faculty of Applied Science and Technology.
Institute of Tropical Forest conservation.
Established in 1991, the Institute of Tropical Forest Conservation (ITFC) is a post-graduate research institute of Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST). ITFC is located on the edge of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP or ‘Bwindi’ for short), a UNESCO World Heritage site in South West Uganda. This area has numerous endemic species and half the world’s mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla berengei) which have attracted a valuable tourist trade trough gorilla trekking and other related activities. The wider region is poor and densely populated (about 500 people/km2) with people mainly dependent on subsistence agriculture. Forest cover stops abruptly at the park boundary.
