Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

Title of the Programme

Course Code and Overview

The Course code for the Programme is J25. The Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering programme’s philosophy is ethical Engineers sustainably responding to agricultural, environmental and technological needs of the society.

Programme Objectives

Explain concepts that demonstrate an in-depth understanding of engineering in soil mechanics, Agricultural/biosystem structures, fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, mechanics of machines, irrigation and drainage, agricultural power and machinery, agricultural production and processing systems.
Relate with/in various industries due to their exposure to various Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering thematic areas, attachment and internships, and exposure to Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering mentors and technical leads.
Create engineering products and systems to sustainably solve societal problem related to the engineering in Agriculture and Biological systems
Formulate an independent research study and opportunities that cultivate lifelong learning skills and nourish creative talents.

Justification/Rationale of the Programme

With new and arising global environmental challenges leading to shrinking biodiversity, there is an urgent need in Engineering to redress the existing “Biosystems related to agriculture”. The adoption of integrated and novel engineering approaches that cut across various disciplines is inevitable in this context to spur research and development, while still maintaining the fundamental core principles of conventional engineering sciences. The core of this is resource capacitation through training of specialized - inter and multi- disciplinary experts to achieve the relevant objectives towards development at national, regional and global scales. In Kenya, such a novel idea is important for the realization of Vision 2030 by tackling the immediate and critical challenges related to food and food security, resource allocation and distribution, environmental protection and development, gender mainstreaming amongst others, in the awakening advent of an increasing population and demands, droughts, climate change and variability.

Entry Requirements:

Admission Requirements for the Proposed Programme.
For KCSE Candidates, the basic admission requirement shall be the minimum requirement set for entry into the Public Universities and in addition candidates are expected to have their clusters as shown below:

Mathematics: B+

Physics: B

Chemistry: B

English: B-

Geography/Biology: B

National Diploma holders in Agricultural Engineering, Civil Engineering, Building Construction or Water Engineering and Mechanical engineering from National Polytechnics and other recognized institutions.

Regulations on credit transfer

Higher Diploma or Equivalent

A candidate with at least a credit pass in the Higher Diploma shall be eligible for admission into the programme corresponding to his/her area of Higher Diploma qualification. A qualified Higher Diploma applicant shall normally be admitted into the second year of study or given equivalent credit transfer.

Basic University Diploma or Ordinary Diploma or Equivalent

A candidate with at least a credit pass in the Ordinary Diploma or University Basic Diploma (lasting at least 3 academic years) and who in additional had attained at least a C (Plain) for mean aggregate and C+ (Plus) in Mathematics and Physics at the KCSE shall be eligible for admission into the programme corresponding to his/her area of diploma qualification. A qualified diploma applicant shall normally be admitted in to the second year of study or given equivalent credit transfers.

Mode and Structure of Delivery of the Programme

This is a full time programme that will be delivered through:

Face to Face lectures
Blended Learning
Participative class discussions
Individual and group presentations
Laboratories and workshops
Compulsory attachment periods (both internal and external)

To qualify for the B.Sc. degree award thus, the candidate will be required to have taken a minimum of 80 units. To facilitate hands on practical experiences, B.Sc. Engineering students shall have a third semester in second, third and fourth years in conformity with the requirements of the Engineering Board of Kenya (EBK). A semester shall consist of 16 weeks, 2 of which for examination. The teaching hours for each course shall be two hours of lecture, one hour for tutorials and three hour of laboratory work where required.

Duration of the Programme

The programme shall cover a minimum of five academic years, with all subjects taught in units including practicals. Each candidate is required to take a minimum of 16 units per academic years.

Curriculum Highlights:

Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering programme is designed with a view to effectively empower its graduates across a broad range of engineering activities seeking practical solutions to the societal problems. The programme has been designed from carefully selected specialized courses within the conventional Engineering fields, and includes key areas revolving around agriculture and food production, meteorology and climate change, geography and environmental management, limnology and biological disciplines. Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering degree programme incorporates specialties’ in the following options in its fifth year of study: (1) Farm Power and Energy Engineering (2) Soil, Water and Environmental Engineering, and (3) Biosystems Structures and Agricultural Processes Engineering. In developing these programs, wide consultations have been made across various engineering curricula that grant the relevant degree programmes. This program is thus benchmarked against similar programs offered by other leading Universities, nationally and internationally. Further considerations, and provisions, have also been made for accreditation requirements by the Engineers Board of Kenya (EBK), Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK) and other practicing professional bodies within the commonwealth region. It is anticipated that graduates of this programme will be well equipped with an integrated systems approach to tackle new and arising societal, research and market demands in the broader field of Engineering.

Career Opportunities

Agricultural sector both national government and counties.
Water sector - water supply and sanitation, Irrigation sector , environmental sector, Research institute dealing agricultural issues, Agricultural processing sector, Farm power and machinery sector and renewable energy.

Tuition and Fee Structure:

Full Time; Fees ksh.275,400= Digital ksh.275,400, Non East Africans ksh.344,250 p.a

Why choose this Programme at KU?

With agriculture being the mainstay of the Kenyan economy and contributing directly and indirectly 52 percent of the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP), there is a dire need to embrace technology reducing the over reliance on unskilled/semi-skilled labor that accounts for over 40 percent of the total population and over 70 percent of the rural people. This can only be achieved by invocation of technology, innovation and inventions. The need for this programme has continued to be recognized through the various global, regional and national initiatives. The Sustainable Developments Goals (SDG#1- end poverty, SDG#2- No hunger, SDG#6- clean water & sanitation), the African Union Agenda 2063, and the National Government’s Big 4 agenda, are the latest policy shifts that promotes the intensification of agricultural value chain through technological innovation and inventions realized through the Programme.