About the School

The School of Pure and Applied Sciences (SPAS) is among the first schools to be created after the launch of the University in 2007. The School offer programmes at Diploma, Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral levels in five (5) Departments:

Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology
Department of Biological Sciences
Department of Chemistry
Department of Mathematics and Computer Sciences
Department of Physics

In addition, the School services Diploma and Degree programmes in the Schools of Environmental Sciences, Education, Health and Human Sciences, Agriculture and Agribusiness among others. In line with the University’s Strategic Plan to be a Centre of excellence for research in the areas of Fisheries, Marine Sciences and Oceanography, the School of Pure and Applied Sciences has designed fit for purpose programmes to address these niche areas as part of the effort to enable the community to engage, and invest in the “Blue Economy”. The School has also reviewed its academic programmes in line with the expected transition to the Competency Based Curricula (CBC). The School is in the process of launching the following niche programmes;

Bachelor of Science in Conservation Biology
Bachelor of Science in Energy and Environment Technology
Bachelor of Science in Oceanography
Bachelor of Science in Cyber Security and Forensics?

The full list of programmes offered at the School and the university can be found here (hyperlink).

The School has several postgraduate programmes including MSc Bioinformatics, MSc Immunology and MSc. Fisheries among others, which are funded under collaborative programmes; MSc Bioinformatics is supported by the National Institutes of Health (USA) through establishment of the Eastern Africa Network for Bioinformatics Training (EANBiT), the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), the Kenya Medical Research Institute – Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP), the Biosciences Eastern and Central Africa (BecA) and Uganda Virology Research Institute (UVRI). The MSc Immunology is supported by the Initiative to Develop African Research Leaders (IDeAL) programme through the Kenya Medical Research Institute – Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP), while the research for MSc. Fisheries Candidates receives support from the Western Indian Ocean Marine Sciences Association (WIOMSA) and various projects including WorldBank Funded Fisheries Projects (including KCDP, KEMFSED) among others.

Other notable research and training partners and collaborators include at the regional and international level include:

Universities

University of Glasgow, UK
University College Dublin (UCD) Ireland
University of Örebro, Sweden
Technical University of Denmark
Technical University of Munich, Germany
University of Nottingham, UK
University of Georgia, USA
University of Milano – Bicocca, Italy
University of Wageningen, The Netherlands

Research Institutes

National Research Fund (NRF), Kenya
KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP)
Kenya Marine & Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI)
International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe, Kenya)
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT, Kenya)
Centre for Genomic Regulation (Spain)
Wildlife Research and Training Institute WRTI

NGOs, CBOs and Others

Coastal Oceans Research and Development in the Indian Ocean (CORDIO) East Africa, Mombasa, Kenya
Galana Wildlife Conservancy, Galana, Kenya
Wildlife Conservation Society, Mombasa Kenya
Watamu Marine Association, Watamu Kenya
Kwetu Training Centre, Mtwapa Kenya
Olive Ridley Turtle Project, Diani, Kenya