Entry Requirements For Biochemistry:

For the Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry, the courses offered extend over a period of three years for direct-entry students, and four years for students who gain admission through the entrance examination.

Direct-entry candidates are required to have obtained the General certificate of Education at Advanced level, or the higher School Certificate at Principal Level, in Chemistry and Biology, or Plant Science and Biotechnology or Zoology and Environmental Biology plus credits in either Mathematics or Physics in the West African School Certificate, or its equivalent. Entrance examination candidates must have passed at credit level in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, English Language and Mathematics in the West African School Certificate, or its equivalent. Students from other departments who wish to take courses in Biology, Chemistry and Elementary Mathematics in the West African School Certificate, or attained a similar standard at an equivalent examination.

Candidates with the following diploma certificates may be considered for admission by direct entry: The Nigerian Certificate in Education (NCE); three-year diploma of College of technology and Polytechnics (HND) and the Interim joint Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination (Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria).

Academic Programmes (B.Sc. Degree)

Stress Area

Courses in the programme are grouped into nine stress areas as follows:

General Biochemistry

Molecular Biology and Biotechnology

Tissue Biochemistry

Physical Biochemistry

Nutritional Biochemistry

Metabolism

Plant Biochemistry

Pharmacological Biochemistry

Biochemical Methods

Seminar/Project

Entry Requirements For Microbiology

  • UTME Entry Requirements

Candidates who have satisfied the minimum university requirements for admission are required to obtain credit level passes in English language, Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics in the West African School Certificate (WASC)/General Certificate of Education (GCE)/Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSSCE), National Examination Council (NECO) or any other acceptable equivalent certificate.

  • Direct-Entry Requirements

Candidates are required to obtain passes at Higher School Certificate or GCE A/L in Chemistry and Biology or Chemistry and Zoology or Chemistry and Botany in addition to the UTME Entry requirements.

Stress Areas

Foundational Courses in Microbiology                                      –           0

Environmental Microbiology                                                     –           1

Food/Industrial Microbiology                                                    –           2

Medical Microbiology                                                              –           3

Students’ Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES)             –           5

Seminar                                                                                   –           8

Project                                                                                    –           9

Job Opportunities

Students, on successful graduation, can take up careers such as lecturing and/or research in universities, polytechnics and biomedical research centres. They can find employment opportunities in some government agencies such as centres for disease control, Food and Drug Administration agencies, water corporations, waste management agencies, environmental control and protection agencies, environmental impact assessment agencies and other quality control agencies.

Graduates can also find employment in a variety of industrial (e.g. food/pharmaceutical industries) establishments as well as in medical, public health, agricultural and veterinary laboratories. Opportunities also exist for graduates in the fermentation industries as represented by the breweries, alcohol distilleries, as well soft drink and fruit juice production industries.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS FOR PLANT SCIENCE AND BIOTECHNOLOGY

UME Entry Requirement

For the Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) Honours degree in Plant Science and Biotechnology, the courses offered extend over a period of 4 years for students who gain admission through UTME and 3 years for direct entry students. In addition to the University minimum entry requirements, both categories of students (entrance and direct) are expected to obtain credit passes in Biology, Chemistry,  Mathematics, Physics and English Language in the West African School Certificate Examination or G.C.E. ‘O’ level or N.E.C.O or any other acceptable equivalent qualification, at not more than two sittings.

Direct Entry Requirement

The courses offered for direct entry students extend over a period of 3 years. Direct entry students are also expected to obtain passes at ‘principal’ level in the Higher School Certificate (H.S.C) Examination or G.C.E. ‘A’ level or its equivalent in Chemistry and Biology or Botany or Zoology.

Candidates with the following diploma certificates may be considered for admission by direct entry: The Nigerian Certificate in Education (NCE); Higher National Diploma (HND) of College of Technology and Polytechnics or any other relevant degree qualification.

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

  • Students graduating from the Department of Plant Science and Biotechnology may choose careers in research and/or pedagogy in Colleges, Universities and Research Institutions, Government, Agriculture, Forestry, Criminal Investigation  Institutions, Biotechnology Research Centres, Conservation and Wild-life Management, Wood Technology and Industries, such as Sugar, Rubber, Paper Pulp, Fertilizer and Oil (Vegetable and Mineral), Petroleum Refinery, etc.
  • Apart from these areas, graduates of the department will find it easy to employ themselves, with little financial support in the areas of Mushroom production; Floriculture, hedging and landscaping using indigenous and exotic hedge plants; establishment of orchards and plantations for food and raw material production; macro-propagation of many economic tree crops; off season vegetable and fruit production and preservation; production of seedless fruits; establishment of germplasm companies; beekeeping for honey and synergy in  crop productivity.
  • Other areas of self employment include formulation and marketing of Herbal soaps, identification, naming, preservation and use of medicinal plants for health care delivery through refining of unacceptable crude practices by indigenous people; organic horticulture through composting; production of phytoplankton for biofuels and feeding of animals especially fishes; recycling of waste products; construction of bioreactors for energy production for households; production of fruit juices from assorted fruits and their combinations etc.

 

STRESS AREAS

General Plant Science and Biotechnology                                                       0

Plant Morphology and Taxonomy/Biosystematics                                          1

Plant Anatomy                                                                                                2

Plant Physiology                                                                                             3

Mycology                                                                                                        4

Plant Genetics and Molecular Biology                                                            5

Plant Ecology & Economic Botany                                                                 6

Plant Biotechnology                                                                                        7

Seminar                                                                                                           8

Project                                                                                                            9

Entry Requirements For Zoology & Environmental Biology

  1. UME Entry Requirements: Five O level credit passes at not more than two sitting to include Biology, English Language, Mathematics or Physics and Chemistry are mandatory; at School Certificate or its equivalent are acceptable.
  1. Direct-Entry Requirements: Principal level passes at HSC or GCE A/L in Biology or Zoology and one other Science subject plus a credit pass in Mathematics or Physics in School Certificate or its equivalent; Diploma in Applied Biology from recognized institutions plus 4 credit level passes including Chemistry and Biology and a credit pass in English Language in School Certificate or its equivalent. A degree in relevant fields plus UME requirements, HND and NCE credit pass are acceptable.

Job Opportunities

Graduates of Zoology and Environmental Biology can find employment in different specialized sectors of the national and global economy. Relatively few of these sectors include; medical and biomedical sector such as hospitals, clinic, public health facilities, pharmaceutical companies, diseases vectors control departments, World Health Organization and medical and biomedical research institutions etc, for professional in public health and parasitology, entomology, animal biotechnology and physiology.

In agricultural establishments, pest control and crop protection units, aquaculture facilities, Institute of Marine and Oceanographic Research, Institute of Freshwater Fish Research, Institute of Topical Agriculture, fisheries unit of Ministry of Agriculture, veterinary clinics, snailry, laboratory /small animal production facilities, Food and Agricultural Organization, Food and Drugs Administration Agencies etc for professional entomologist, fisheries scientist, aquaculturist, animal biotechnologist and hydrobiologist.

Urban and municipal waste management, sewage management, sanitation projects, pollution and Environmental Protection Agencies, environmental impact assessment facilities, wild life and games resorts, zoological parks, biodiversity prospecting projects, museums of natural history and petrochemical industries (Oil and Gas industries) etc, for ecologist, hydrobiologist, mammalogist, environmental biologist, conservationist, animal biotechnologist etc.

They can also find work in industries such as breweries, feed production, food processing and educational facilities as auxiliary teachers, and in agricultural and commercial banks as bankers.

Stress Areas

The stress areas of the Department are as follows:

  • General Zoology
  • Physiology
  • Parasitology
  • Entomology
  • Fisheries Biology
  • Animal Ecology
  • Project

CURRICULUM OF MOLECULAR GENETICS

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