Postgraduate Programmes in Agriculture

The Faculty offers postgraduate level training leading to M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees with or without course work options. The duration of a M.Sc. degree is normally two years after award of a relevant B.Sc. Degree from NUL or any recognized Institution while the Ph.D. degree normally takes three years after the award of the M.Sc. degree.

In order to be considered for admission into the M.Sc. degree programmes, candidates must have achieved a minimum of a pass in the Second Class Second Division at the B.Sc. (Agriculture) Degree Examinations of NUL or in possession of an equivalent qualification recognized by NUL. Candidates for the Ph.D. degree must have a minimum of M.Sc. Degree from NUL or any recognized institution. These minimum levels are in addition to any requirements specified by respective programmes in their handbooks for postgraduate studies.

The M.Sc. and Ph.D. programmes in the Department of Agriculture and Rural Sociology are aimed at training graduates in the following competencies:

Formulating and analyzing government agricultural policies; Formulating and implementing agricultural investment and production alternatives and strategies; Formulating and evaluating agricultural trade and marketing policies;  Planning and Management of Extension and Agricultural projects; Resource persons and facilitators in Rural development efforts; Tutors and lecturers in the agricultural training; Staff in adult education programmes with focus on agricultural development; and Community development officers both in the Government and Non-government organisations.

A candidate for admission to the Master’s degree in Agricultural Economics or Agricultural Extension, shall either hold a B.Sc. agricultural degree or Honours degree in any agricultural discipline which is deemed equivalent to the agricultural degree offered by the National University of Lesotho.

Candidates who have a second class, second division degree and above or the equivalent shall be considered for admission.

Candidates with pass degree can be considered for admission if there is proof of academic potential through extensive Candidates with field work, research experience and additional training (e.g. Postgraduate diploma)

The Ph.D. programme shall mainly be by research and thesis. But a candidate may be required to take one or more postgraduate courses appropriate to the subject area, as prescribed by the Supervisory Committee.

3.1 Candidates shall be registered for Masters degree in Agricultural Economics or agricultural Extension by coursework study followed by research leading to a dissertation.

The duration of registration shall be as stipulated by the Faculty of Agriculture, but it shall not be less than one year.

Candidates who fail to complete their dissertations within the specified period may apply for extension as stipulated in the faculty regulations.

Failure to complete the programmes within the specified periods shall lead to discontinuation from study unless applications for extension have been approved by the relevant University authorities.

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See Faculty General Regulations

CSM 1.0           Minimum admission requirements

1.1    To be considered or admission into the Master’s (M.Sc.) Degree Programme, a candidate must normally hold a First Class or Second Class Honours Degree (or equivalent) in Agriculture or in Biological Sciences from a recognised University/Institution. in addition, the candidate must have achieved a mean equivalent to at least Second Class second Division (60%) in the courses relevant to the area in which the candidate intends to executive his/her M.Sc. Degree Research Project.

1.2    In exceptional cases, a candidate with a Third Class/Pass Honours Degree may be considered for admission into the Master’s programme, provided that, among other things:

a)       he/she has earned a mean of not less than the equivalent of a Second Class First Division (B) in the courses relevant to the area in which his/her M.Sc. Degree Research Project is to be executed, and, furthermore,

b)      he/she has productively worked for a minimum of three (3) uninterrupted years in a relevant area of Crop Production/Crop Science.

1.3    Candidates with other categories of qualification or/and relevant experience, which are acceptable to the National University of Lesotho, shall also be considered for admission.

1.4    The under-listed categories of candidates, if admitted into the M.Sc. Programme, may need to take remedial courses, the type and number of which shall be determined by the Department.

a)       Candidates who earned their B.Sc. Honours (Agriculture) degrees from Universities other than the National University of Lesotho.

b)      Candidates whose honours degrees are in biological sciences.

c)       Candidates who obtained their B.Sc. Honours degrees more than five (5) years before their admission into the Department.

d)      Candidates with other, but acceptable, qualifications as in (c) above.

1.5    Grades scored in remedial courses shall not count towards the calculation of the Overall Weighted Mean (OWM) of the M.Sc. coursework.

CSD 1.0            Minimum Admission Requirements

1.1    In order to be considered for admission into the Ph.D. Programme, the prospective candidate must hold a good Master’s degree or its recognised equivalent (with course work and thesis) in the relevant area of Crop Production/Crop Science or Biological Sciences, and earned from the National University of Lesotho or from a university approved by the National University of Lesotho.

1.2    The following categories of candidates shall be required to take remedial courses, the type and number of which shall be determined by the Department.

a)       Candidates with Master’s Degrees from other places other than the Crop Science Department of the National University of Lesotho, and who have not met the M.Sc. Coursework requirement of the Department.

b)      Candidates who obtained their Master’s Degrees more than 5 years before their admission into the Ph.D. Programme of the Department

Admission requirements for M.Sc. Soil Science

The post-graduate programme in the department of Soil Science and resource Conservation, Faculty of Agriculture (FOAM), is guided by the regulations and procedures set down by the Board of Post-graduate Studies of the University as well as the FOAM requirements.

In addition to the above requirements applicants for the M.Sc. Degree in Soil Science should have at least a 2^nd Division (B.Sc. Degree) in Soil Science, Agriculture and related disciplines from a recognized University. Post-graduate students from Biological Sciences and fields other than Forestry and Agriculture will be required to satisfy pre-requisites to the post-graduate course in Soil Science. This programme will normally be by course work and thesis. However, graduates with at least a 2^nd class Honours (Upper Division) in Soil Science from NUL or a recognised university may be given credit for some required courses.

3.2 Fields of Specialization

a)             Soil Conservation and Land Management

b)            Soil Survey, Land Evaluation and Land Use

c)             Soil Fertility Management

d)            Soil Chemistry

e)             Soil Physics

In addition to the regulations and procedures set down by the Board of Post-Graduate Studies of the University as well as the FOAM requirements, applicants for the Ph.D. degree should have at least an M.Sc., M.Phil or equivalent degree in Soil Science or related field from a recognized university with a B. average pass in Soil Science Courses.

The programme will emphasize three key areas of specialization:

a)             Land resources inventory-survey, classification, mapping and land evaluation including land use.

b)            Land management-soil and water resource management, soil and water conservation and irrigation management.

c)             Soil fertility evaluation and management.

In addition, to the above key areas of emphasis which are critical to the agricultural development of the Lesotho, students should be able to choose their research topic from the following areas:

i)               Soil physics and agricultural meteorology

ii)             Soil chemistry and clay mineralogy

iii)            Soil microbiology and biochemistry

iv)           Plant nutrition

v)             Environment and land management