South Eastern Kenya University (SEKU) is a public university in the eastern province of Kenya specifically located in Kitui County off the Kitui-Machakos Highway at Kwa-Vonza. This university was established as the Ukambani Agricultural Institute and later as a constituent college of the University of Nairobi under the name South Eastern University College (SEUCO). Recently it was given a charter and became a fully-fledged university changing to its current name.
SEKU offers different programmes in terms of certificate, Diploma, Undergraduate and Post-graduate in which they are incorporated to different centres schools and departments in the university. The major courses emphasized in this university majorly dwell on water and hydrology, dry land agriculture, minerals and resources manifestation and mining which are available in the area near the university. The programmes are practical and are directly applied in the surrounding environment as well as provide direct participation in academics. For instance, SEKU is the leading institution in making of water purification devices which are distributed to the neighboring people and inhabitants of the area in form of low-ceramic water filters.
Courses offered by South Eastern Kenya University:
Due to the surrounding environment of the university, the major programmes emphasized are Actuarial Sciences, Dry land Agriculture, Energy studies, Mining, Mineral resources, Water studies and Environmental Management. These programmes offered are grouped into the different schools and department and each of these group offer Diploma, Undergraduate and Post graduate programmes and they include;
1. School of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences consists of:
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Department of Dry land agriculture offering B.sc in Agriculture, Horticulture, Dry land Agriculture and Masters in Agronomy, Diploma in Apiculture, Crop protection and Horticulture and craft certificate in General Agriculture.
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Department of Range and Wildlife Services which offers B.sc and Diploma in Range management, Dry land Animal science and Masters in Livestock Production systems. They also offer a Diploma in Animal Health and Production.
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Department in Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness which is the only department in SEKU offering only a Masters in Agricultural Resource Management with no degree or diploma programmes.
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Department of Food Science and Technology offers Diploma course in Food science and Technology and a Bachelor in Food, Nutrition and Dietetics.
2. School of Earth Sciences do not consist of departments but offers only two courses which are B.sc in Geology and B.sc in Meteorology
3. School of Environmental and Natural Resource Management offers B.sc in Environmental Conservation and Natural Resources Management, B.sc in Management of Agro- Ecosystem and Environment, B.sc in Environmental Management, B.sc and Diploma in Forestry and Certificate in Environmental Impact Assessment and Audit.
4. School of Water Resources Science and Technology which offer Diploma in Hydrology, B.sc in Hydrology and Water Resources Management, Fisheries Management and Aquaculture Technology and M.sc in Water Resources and Waste water Planning and Management.
Through these schools and department that SEKU has established, the surrounding environments have benefited from the university as the practical programmes such as water resource conservation do their practical in the water resources around their area thereby end up purifying these water resources for the good of the inhabitants.
