Postgraduate Diploma in African and Development Studies (PGDADS)

Philosophy:
The development question has always been a nagging question and shall likely remain so in the next one hundred years, at least in Africa. It has been approached from all sorts of viewpoints and has also been (and still is being) tied with, especially, third world leadership. Amidst the crises of a historical explanations and approaches, the concept of ‘development’ has gradually descended from its lofty position and sagged into confusion. And as far as the masses of the people are concerned on the African continent, the term, intellectually speaking, is becoming redundant.
This explains the necessity of mounting a course of this nature to serve as part of the general bulwark to articulate and disseminate appropriate knowledge of the subject matter. Needless to say that the ensemble of the concept and practice of development are part and parcel of the socio-historical progression of man and his society from the remotest periods imaginable down to the present experiences.
The philosophy underlying this course, therefore, is the effort to address both the practical as well as the theoretical needs of development cutting across national, regional and continental levels. This cannot but be appreciated as desirable. The scope encapsulates both past and contemporary issues and is meant for civil servants, NGOs, academics and related groups.

Aim and Objectives

To equip students with knowledge, analytical skills and conceptual understanding of the concept of development.

The objectives are to:

• clearly identify the real problems in the development question and to show how to overcome or minimize them to the barest minimum level.

• encourage stakeholders in development question to appreciate and implement the real policies of development.
• through a proper explication of the phenomenon encourage self-reliance in the developing countries of Africa.
• sensitize NGOs into acquiring enhanced information and higher theoretical explanations for better results in their activities of development.
• educate the citizenry with proper knowledge of enhanced resource use as well as the preservation of their environments.

Admission Requirements

• Five O’level credits which must include English Language.
• A minimum of 3rd Class degree in a related field
• HND with minimum of lower credit
• In addition to i-iii above, a candidate must satisfy the University’s requirement for matriculation.

Any other qualification acceptable to the Board of Postgraduate School and Senate of the University.

 Mode of Study:
The PGDADS programme which will be on part-time basis and shall be by both research and course work comprising of 30 units of taught courses and 6 units of Research Project. The minimum units for graduation shall be 36 while maximum is 40.

Duration of the Programme:

• Full-time Postgraduate Diploma programme shall run for a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 24 calendar months.
• Part-time Postgraduate Diploma programme shall run for a minimum of 24 and a maximum of 36 calendar months
• No extension shall be granted to any candidate save in circumstances

Tuition fees:  
As may be determined by the University from time to time.

Career Opportunities
At the end of the programme, graduates could:

• Work as a senior civil servant at local, state and federal levels.
• Work as NGO managers.
• iii.    Serve as development and African studies tutors and related groups
• Be freelance consultants for international organizations.

Areas of Specialization: None

     Requirements for Graduation:
A candidate must pass a minimum of 36 credit units and a maximum of 40 credit units as follows:

• Minimum of 18 credit units of core courses
• Minimum of 12 credit units of elective courses
• 6 credit units of Research Project
• The candidate must also satisfy all other academic regulations as stated in the Postgraduate guidelines of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.