Doctor of Philosophy in Agronomy

    1. The programme shall take a minimum of three academic years and a maximum of six academic years.
    1. Each academic year shall consist of two (2) semesters of 15 weeks each.
    1. The Doctor of Philosophy in Agronomy shall be offered by course work, examinations, research and a thesis.
    2. The programme shall consist of five (5) compulsory taught course units and a thesis.
    3. A course unit shall be defined as 60 instructional hours comprising lectures, seminars, term papers and independent desktop research.
    4. The research and thesis component of the programme shall be equivalent to 18 course units which is equivalent to 1080 Hours.
    1. A candidate shall carry out supervised thesis research, for a minimum period of two academic years, and a maximum of four academic years, culminating in a Doctoral thesis.

      SCHEDULE OF INTAKE

      Students are admitted once every year usually in September with exception of variation that may be caused by unforeseen circumstances. Applications are, however, received all year round and are processed for yearly admission.

    1. Holders of a Master’s degree in Agronomy or related plant sciences from the University of Nairobi or any other institution recognized by Senate
    2. In addition, the applicant shall hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture related disciplines from the University of Nairobi or any other institution recognized by Senate.
    3. The applicant must be able to produce evidence of adequate academic background in the discipline and capacity to carry out original research by submitting a research concept note on the proposed topic of study.
    4. The concept note shall include a brief statement of the problem, research objectives, research hypothesis, brief literature review, summary of proposed methodology, expected outputs, work plan and key references.
    5. Applicants from non-English speaking countries must produce evidence of proficiency in spoken and written English language.

    Application for admission to Doctor of Philosophy degree programmes

    Visit: https://application.uonbi.ac.ke/

    Attachment opportunities

    • National and international research organizations such as KALRO, ICIPE, ILRI-Beca, CIMMYT
    • Public and private universities
    • National and County government ministries
    • Non-Governmental Organizations

    Career Prospects/ Opportunities

    • Researchers in national and international research organizations such as KALRO and CGIAR centres
    • Policy makers in government agriculture sector ministries
    • Trainers in Agricultural tertiary technical and academic institutions
    •  
    • National and international regulatory institutions such as the FAO, IPPC, KEPHIS, KEBS, PCPB
    • Pest and Disease control experts/ consultants
    • Researchers and policy makers in agro-chemical industries/ Pesticide efficacy testing
    • Non-Governmental Organizations
    • Entrepreneurial self-employment in agricultural production
     

    Item

    Year 1

    Year 2

    Year 3

    TOTAL

    1

    Registration

    4,500

    4,500

    4,500

    9,000

    2

    Tuition (KES 25,000/ unit)

    200,000

    225,000

    175,000

    600,000

    3

    Examination

    6,000

    -

     

    6,000

    4

    Thesis Supervision

    100,000

    100,000

    100,000

    300,000

    5

    Thesis Examination

    -

    -

    50,000

    50,000

    6

    Laboratory and field fee

    132,000

    132,000

    132,000

    396,000

    7

    ICT services

    7,000

    7,000

    7,000

    21,000

    8

    Library

    5,000

    5,000

    5,000

    15,000

    9

    ID Card

    1,000

    1,000

    1,000

    3,000

    10

    Caution money (Refundable)

    5,000

    -

    -

    5,000

    11

    Medical fee

    6,500

    6,500

    6,500

    19,500

    12

    Activity Fee

    2,000

    2,000

    2,000

    6,000

    13

    Student organization

    1,000

    1,000

    1,000

    3,000

     

    Total

    470,000

    484,000

    484,000

    1,438,000

     

    Application Information

     

    Online applications are accepted all year round at: https://application.uonbi.ac.ke/index.php

    The following documents are required to be uploaded during the online application:

    1. KCSE/ O-level certificate
    2. Certified copies of undergraduate certificate and transcripts
    3. Applicants with KCSE C (plain) to attach certified copies of a diploma from KNEC in addition to those stated in 1&2
    4. Applicants with KCSE C- (minus) to attach certified copies of a certificate and a diploma from KNEC in addition to those stated in 1&2
    5. Certified copies of masters degree and transcripts
    6. PhD proposal

    International applicants are required to attach:

    1. Documents certified by the university attended
    2. Evidence of accreditation status of the university attended
    3. Proof of English proficiency
    4. Translated documents into English for applicants from non-English speaking countries

     

    Mode of Delivery

    The PhD degree programme in Agronomy is delivered through face-to-face, blended learning and Open, Distance and Electronic Learning (ODeL) modes of delivery. The ODeL mode of delivery shall only apply for the taught course units, except the Graduate seminars. The main modes of instruction will be via face-to-face and electronic interactions as lectures, seminars and guided research. The blended learning mode of delivery combines face-to-face and online learning approaches.

    Contacts of Support Persons

    Prof. Josiah Kinama

    Contacts: +254 20 4916020, e-mail: dept-pscp@uonbi.ac.ke

    Prof. James Muthomi

    Contacts: +254 20 4916020, e-mail: dept-pscp@uonbi.ac.ke