Bachelor of Science Agriculture

Admission Requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Agriculture
Candidates must have obtained the minimum University and School admission requirements.
The following shall be eligible for registration for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Agriculture in the Department of Water and Agricultural Resource Management:
a)    Holders of Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) with mean grade of C+ or equivalent with passes at C plain or above in Biology or Biological Sciences/C + (plus) in Agriculture; C (plain) in Chemistry and C (plain) in any one of the following subjects: Physics, Physical Sciences, Mathematics or Geography
b)    Holders of KCSE mean Grade of C- or equivalent plus a Diploma in a relevant field from an institution recognized by the Senate.
c)    Holders of ‘O’ level Division II or equivalent plus, a Diploma in a relevant field from an institution recognized by the Senate
d)    Holders of ‘A’ level with two Principal Passes or equivalent in Biology and any one of the following subjects: Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Geography or Agriculture.
e)    Holders of KCSE mean Grade of C plain or equivalent plus a Diploma in Biological Sciences or related sciences from an institution recognized by the senate.
f)    Holders of a higher national Diploma in Biological Sciences or related sciences from an institution recognized by the Senate.
g)    Holders of a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences or related sciences from an institution recognized by the senate
h)    Equivalent qualifications to the above from institutions recognized by the Senate

Duration of Study
Four (4) academic years

Expected Learning Outcomes
General Programme Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the program students will be able to:
a)    Demonstrate an understanding of fundamental agricultural principles.
b)    Acquire proficiency in production, value addition and marketing of agricultural products
c)    Set up and run sustainable agricultural enterprises,
d)    Apply and effectively communicate scientific reasoning and data analysis in both written and oral forums.

Specialization Learning Outcomes
Crop Science Major
The objective of this major is to produce graduates with the knowledge and skills to effectively address all aspects of crop management, crop improvement and postharvest handling. On completion, the Crop Science Major programme graduates will have the competence to:
a)    Contribute to enhanced crop productivity through good husbandry, research and extension
b)    Enhance promotion of technology application and advancement in agricultural production
c)    Contribute to setting up and running of crop production and value addition enterprises.


Crop Protection Major
The objective of this major is to produce graduates with knowledge and skills to effectively address all aspects of crop protection and integrated pest management. On completion, the Crop Protection Major programme graduates will have the competence to:
a)    Offer advisory services in the design and execution of crop protection strategies
b)    Address all aspects of safe use, handling, disposal and evaluation of pesticides.
c)    Contribute to setting up and running of crop protection enterprises.

Animal Science Major
The objective of this major is to produce graduates with knowledge and skills to effectively address all aspects of livestock management, livestock improvement and value addition. On completion, the Animal Science Major programme graduates will have the competence to:
a)    Effectively address all aspects of livestock development from a multidisciplinary point of view;
b)    Promote sustainable livestock production in all agro-ecological zones;
c)    Contribute to setting up and running of livestock products enterprises;

Career prospects
The University of Embu aims to train Agriculturist who will work in industry and academia.
Course Requirements
a)    Each semester shall consist of 15 teaching weeks inclusive of teaching and examinations, while the third semester shall be eight weeks.
b)    A learner is required to attend at least two thirds of the total number of lectures in a unit in order to be allowed to sit for the end of semester examination in a given unit of the programme.
c)    The lecturer shall ensure the programme course(s) are delivered in a manner that learning takes place and in line with the University requirements for teaching, assessment and evaluation of a unit.
d)    A candidate for B.Sc. Agriculture shall participate and complete course work and practical assignments that may be applicable to the programme. Admission to the examination at the end of the semester shall be based on satisfactory completion of such requirements.
e)    Any student who fails to attain the pass mark in:
a)    Less than 40% of the units taken in an academic year shall be required to retake the failed units when next offered.
b)    Between 40% and 75% of the units taken in an academic year shall be required to repeat the year.
c)    More than 75% of the units taken in an academic year shall be discontinued.
f)    A student who fails to attain a pass mark in a retake examination, shall on recommendation of the school board and approval by Senate be allowed to retake the failed unit only once. Grading of retake examinations shall be similar to that of ordinary examinations as specified in respective programmes.
g)    A student will not be allowed to proceed to the subsequent year of study without clearing retakes in the previous year. For instance, a second year student with retakes in the first year will not be allowed to proceed to the third year of study.
h)    A student who fails after the second retake will be required to repeat the year and shall not be allowed to register for the next year of study until they have passed in all the pending retake units.
i)    A student shall be allowed to repeat a year of study ONLY ONCE.
j)    A repeating student in any academic year who fails to attain the pass mark in any of the failed courses shall on recommendation of the School Board and approval by Senate, be discontinued from the degree programme.
k)    The lecturer is obliged to interpret and implement the curriculum and check student class attendance.
l)    In the third and fourth years of study, each student will be required to take courses in any of the following Three majors: Animal production and nutrition, Crop Protection or Crop Science. The majors shall be taken after completion of the second-year level courses.
m)    Each candidate shall be required to undertake field practice (attachment) after completion of the second semester of the third year of study. The field attachment will be equivalent of 315 hours.

Bachelor of Science Agriculture Courses/Unit Distribution Table

Third year (Crop Science Major)

Fourth year (Crop Protection Major)

Fourth year (Animal Science Major)

Graduation Requirements
i)    To qualify for the award of a degree, a candidate for the Bachelor of Science in Agriculture degree shall take a minimum of fifty eight (57) units during the four years of study.
ii)    A candidate may be allowed, on requisition, to graduate with a maximum of one failed unit. The unit shall be non-core unit.
iii)    The degree award and classification shall be based on the average score of all the units taken in the programme.

Award of Degree
a)    The degree award and classification shall be based on the average score of all the fifty-eight (58) units taken in the programme.
b)    The degree award shall be Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with options indicated as follows:
i)    Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (Crop Science Major)
ii)    Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (Crop Protection Major)
iii)    Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (Animal Science Major)

Classification of Degrees
A candidate who qualifies for Award of the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Agriculture shall be placed in one of the classes as follows:
i)    First Class Honours                                    70% - 100%    
ii)    Second Class Honours (Upper Division)        60% - 69%
iii)    Second Class Honours (Lower Division)       50% - 59%
iv)    Pass                                                     40% - 49%