Internal Links

The Department of Music and Dance falls under the School or Humanities and Social Sciences. The courses we offer in Music service students in other departments. For instance, our programmes link with departments of Physical Education, Sociology, Mathematics, History and Anthropology, Education, Computers, Fine Arts and other areas.

External Links

Our department has forged linkages with various external institutions. These include:Nesna University (Norway), Volda University (Norway), Kyambogo University (Uganda), The German Embassy (Kenya), The American Embassy (Kenya), The Finish Embassy (Kenya), Goithe Institute (Kenya),Polish Embassy (Kenya),Mainz University (Germany), IPAL (Institute of Performing Arts Limited (Kenya) and the University of Ghana (Ghana).

Research Activities

Staff and students in Music and Dance department conduct research in various aspects of music. These include: African Music, Ethnomusicology, Music Education, Music Composition.

Academic Staff Specialisation

The Department of Music and Dance has well qualified staff of 24 professionals. Their specialisations include: Music History, Music Composition, Music Performance, African Music and Ethnomusicology, Music Research.

Specialty and Branding

The department has earned international recognition. This recognition is due to the fact that this is one of the few Music Departments in Africa, which offers a wide variety of programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. We have continued to update our programmes to reflect current market needs. We make sure that our students are well prepared for the opportunities that currently exists in the job market and that the degrees we offer enable them to compete effectively for various job opportunities in the market.

Undergraduate Programmes

We offer the following undergraduate programmes: Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Arts Music, and Bachelor of Education Arts (Music). Students taking Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education Arts combine Music with other subject areas. Those taking Bachelor of Music are full time music students.

We also offer Certificate in Music and Diploma for students who would like to prepare for degree programmes.

Study Mode and Duration

The department offers regular courses and school based programmes at undergraduate level. All these programmes take four years (8 semesters) to complete Students take University examinations at the end of every semester.

Postgraduate Programmes

The department offers the following programmes at postgraduate level: Master of Musical Arts in Performance' Master of Arts (Musicology), Master of Music Education, Master of Arts in African Music, Master of Arts in Ethnomusicology, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D), Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA).

Study Mode and Duration

The Masters programmes take atleast two academic years to complete and Ph.D programmes take between three to four years for full time candidates and four to six years for part time candidates. Both Masters and Ph.D Programmes include extensive research in various aspects of music. For Masters Programme students take coursework, examinations and thesis or coursework, examinations and project. Those admitted for Ph.D are expected to develop proposal and conduct research in various aspects of music

Resources

The resources that are available in the department include a resource room containing various music equipment and books, a computer lab in which students are instructed on the use computers for music composition. The department also has a wide variety of music instruments for African and western music.

Students Profile

Most of our students are fresh from High School and are admitted through Joint Admissions Board (JAB) or through the Self-Sponsored Programme (SSP). We also admit Primary and High School teachers who attend their classes during vacations. Currently we have about 90 undergraduate students, 30 postgraduate students and about 80 School Based Students.

We have a fair balance in terms of gender with the number of females and males students in the department almost equal.

Student Destinations

Various opportunities exist in the job market for graduates from the Department of Music and Dance. The students who take Bachelor of Education (Arts) degree with Music Option mostly end up in teaching professions in both Private and Government Secondary Schools. The rest of our students join various private organizations and Parastatals as Music educators, Managers, Technicians, Sales People and so on. In the Private sectors employment opportunities exist for our music students in areas such as Church Organisations as Music Directors, Cultural Institutions, Hotel Industries, Banks and other Parastatal organizations as Music Trainers, Music Publishing Industry, Music Production Industry and Music Performance Sector as professional performing artists.

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