The Department of Mass Communication was started in the University of Maiduguri in 1983 in the Faculty of Arts. It started with four academic staff with Dr. Callix Udofia, a Senior Lecturer as the pioneer head. In its first year in 1983, fifty students were admitted. Additional six students were admitted through the Direct Entry in the Second Year pushing the population of the pioneer students to fifty-six. With time, the Department has developed into a nationally-recognised 2 centre of media studies in Nigeria. This is attested to by the current ranking of the Department by the National Universities Commission (NUC) as the fourth among all Mass Communication Departments in the country. To date, over one thousand first degree holders have graduated from the Department. Similarly, over four hundred holders of ordinary diploma certificates have been trained in the Department. Enrolment into the Department has continued to rise annually. Similarly, the academic programmes of the Department have expanded to include postgraduate studies leading to the award of M. A. (currently M. Sc.), and PhD degrees. The curriculum of the Bachelor of Arts degree was reviewed in 1993 and 2011 respectively to update and introduce new courses in line with the NUC minimum academic standard and UNESCO recommended curriculum and structure. The department now teaches courses leading to the award of B.Sc. (Hons) Mass Communication. Philosophy and Objectives of the Department: The Department was established to address the needs of the country through the training and development of communications and media professionals particularly in the University’s immediate surrounding areas and even neighbouring countries like Republics of Chad, Cameroon and Niger. The mission of the programme is to train communication scholars and professionals with wide liberal arts education to contribute to the process of development in the context of a globalizing world. The specific objectives of the programme are: a) To train professionals who are critically grounded in communications theory, professional and research skills in the public and private sectors. b) To train specialists and professionals in contemporary journalism, media management, public relations, advertising and photojournalism who understand and are equipped to serve in a developing economy like Nigeria’s. c) To undertake research in various areas of communication in the immediate and distant environments of the University. d) To train all-round communication professionals who understand the complex relationships between the various units of society and the institutions of Mass Communications. e) To raise and sustain the professional status of Journalism and other communication fields in NigeriaWith this in mind, the Faculty of Engineering in the University of Maiduguri was established on 1st October 1983 with three Departments, namely Civil and Water Resources Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. However, the enrollment of students into the new Faculty commenced a year later, that is, in 1984/85 session. The Department of Agricultural and Environmental Resources Engineering, (formerly known as Agricultural Technology and Agricultural Engineering), which had been operational in the Faculty of Agriculture since 1977, was transferred to
.jpg)
