Research Activities

Academic Staff and Specialisation
The Department has a team of 23 teaching staff made up of one full Professor, two Associate Professors, five Senior Lecturers all PhD holders, ten Lecturers (eight PhD holders) and five Tutorial Fellows currently undertaking their PhD studies. The Department also has an adjunct Professor. The staff have specializations in the following areas; Agricultural Geography, Climatology, Biogeography, Environment and Society, Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing, Marketing, Geomorphology, Hydrology & Water Resources, Population, Settlement Geography, Tourism/Resource Management, Transport Geography, Urban Climatology and Urban Planning/Settlements.
The Department also has a team on non-teaching staff which includes Cartographer, Meteorologist; and a Secretariat team of three.

• Prof. Christopher A. Shisanya
• Prof. Leonard Musyoka Kisovi
• Prof. Joy Obando
• Dr. George Lukoye Makokha
• Dr. Ishmail O. Mahiri
• Dr. Philomena Wairimu Muiruri
• Dr. Shadrack Murimi Kiana
• Dr. Peter Mahende Sinda
• Dr. Joseph Mahiri
• Dr. Anthony N. Macharia
• Dr. Kennedy Obiero
• Dr. Francis Omweri Onsongo
• Dr. Thomas N. Kibutu
• Dr. Raphael Kweyu
• Dr. Calvine Kayi
• Dr.Mary Makokha
• Mr. David Osebe Magiya
• Dr. Jackson Masua Musau
• Dr. James Ndwiga Kathuri
• Dr. Susan Wanjiru Mbuthia
  

   

Structure Of Units For All Levels In Geography Department       

Masters Concept Paper Template  

Possible Subject Combinations 

Third Year & Fourth Year Number of Units 

Bachelor of Science(120) 

Bachelo of Education(E35 & E37)  

Bachelor of Arts(Co1)   

Bachelor of arts Geography     
Programme In Geography Of Marketing           
Programme In Population And Settlement Geography             
Programme In Urban And Regional Planning             
Master Of Biogeography          
Master Of Climatology          
Master Of Geomorphology         
Master Of Science In Hydrology And Water Resources           
Master Of Science In Integrated Watershed Management            
Masters Arts And Science Geography          
Masters In Agricultural Geography           
Masters Programme In Economic And Industrial Geography            
Masters Programme In Transport Geography            
Master Thesis            
PHD Thesis           
Masters In Geography          
Ph.D Programme(Geography)           

Undergraduate Programmes

1. Physical Geography: Climatology, Geomorphology, Applied Geomorphology, Fluvial Geomorphology, Synoptic Climatology, Applied Climatology, Biogeography, Advanced Biogeography, Hydrology And Water Resources, Rock Materials And Structure, Medical Geography, Geography Of Energy And Soil Geography.
2. Human Geography: Population Geography, Rural Development, Settlement Geography, Geography Of Development, Geographic Thought, Agricultural Geography, Economic Geography, Geography Of Marketing, Transport Geography, Political Geography, Industrial Geography, Geography Of Tourism, Geography Of Poverty, Historical Geography ,Urban Geography Regional Planning And Urban Geography.
3. Regional Geography: Geography Of East Africa And Geography Of Africa.
4. Geographical Techniques: Cartography, Remote Sensing, Geographical Information Systems (Gis), Surveying, Field Work, Air Photo Interpretation, Statistics And Quantitative Techniques
5. Cross-Cutting Units: Geography Of Natural Hazards, Arid And Semi Arid Lands, Environmental Conservation, Spatial Organization And Research Paper.

Postgraduate Programme
The Department Offers Postgraduate Programmes At Masters And Doctoral Levels. Msc And Ma Programmes Are Designed To Take A Maximum Of 2 Years While The Phd Programmes Take A Minimum Of 3 Years. The Msc And Ma Degrees Consist Of Coursework, Examination And Thesis, While Phd Is By Thesis Only.
Master Of Science Geography
The Areas Of Specialization Include:
Biogeography
Climatology
Geomorphology
Medical Geography
Master Of Arts Geography
The Areas Of Specialization Include:

• Agricultural Geography
• Biogeography
• Climatology
• Economic And Industrial Geography
• Geomorphology
• Geography Of Marketing
• Medical Geography
• Population And Settlement Geography
• Transport Geography
• Urban And Regional Planning

Master Of Science In Hydrology And Water Resources
The Msc In Hydrology And Water Resources Is An Amalgamation Of Results Concepts And Theories Adopted From A Multitude Of Basic Sciences And Applied Disciplines And May Be Applied By A Variety Of Specialists From Diverse Backgrounds Including Statisticians, Physicists And Civil Engineers.
Master Of Science In Integrated Watershed Management
Msc (Iwm) Lays Emphasis On Combining Knowledge From Various Disciplines In A Practical Oriented Setting, In Order To Achieve Sustainable Socio Economic And Ecological Development Of Watersheds Through A Multi-Disciplinary Approach. The Mission Of Iwm Masters Programme Is To Train Personnel Based On Skills Of Holistic Thinking And Decision Making In Order To Analyse Problems, Carry Out Research, Develop Strategies And Achieve Appropriate Solutions.
Phd Programme
The Doctor Of Philosophy (Phd) Programme In Geography Follows Any Of The Masters Programmes.The Four Phd Programmes Follow On From The Four Masters Degree Programmes:-

• Phd Geography Science (Area Of Specialization)
• Phd Geography Arts (Area Of Specialization)
• Phd (Hydrology And Water Resources)
• Phd (Integrated Watershed Management)

Research Activities
Climate Change, Catchments, Hydrological Processes and Water Resources, Water Resources aspects, Droughts and Floods, HIV/AIDS and Aging, Food security, Sediment and erosion processes, Hydrogeomorphological studies. Risk Management and conservation in semi arid zones. Integration of maize markets; Equipment are available for field work. The Department maintains a data base of climate data and satellite images and a number of statistical software for research. Our focus is on geographical aspects of natural and human resources as desired in industry and society.

Student Fieldwork
Fieldwork forms a very important component of Geography and it is a requirement. Various field activities are carried out by the students which form part of the degree. At undergraduate level, all Geography students participate in AGE 300:
At Masters level

Students measuring river discharge in Thiririka River, in Kiambu County as part of AGE 867 Watershed Evaluation	Students recording pH for Theta Dam, in Kiambu County as part of AGE 867: Watershed Evaluation

• Workshop in London on Pathways to Resilience in Semi arid Economies

On 16th February, 2015, Raphael Kweyu a Tutorial Fellow in the Department, presented a paper entitled ‘Evaluating Climate Variability Adaptation Projects; lessons drawn from Kenya’s Arid and Semi Arid Lands (ASAL)’ at a workshop at the London School of Economics, UK. The workshop was organised by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) under the Pathways to Resilience in Semi-arid Economies (PRISE) program. He also shared his experiences and presented the Department of Geography on 25 March, 2015.

Mr. Kweyu (left) with fellow PRISE workshop participants in London in February 2015.

• Integrated Watershed Management Research & Development Capacity Building Workshop in Cape Town

Masters students from the Department Ms. Rose Julius and Mr. Mawuli Asempah (in the middle) who participated in the workshop from 27th - 30th May 2015

Linkages and Collaboration
The department collaborates with the following several local and international institutions and organizations in the areas of teaching, curriculum development, research, staff, students’ exchanges and community service.

• Makerere University
• Free University, Berlin (FU
• University of Bonn
• University of Dar es Salaam

Potential Employers

• Government Ministries
• County Governments
• Schools, Colleges and Universities
• Research Institutions
• Non-governmental organizations
• Parastatals