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Short Profile of Department |
Dire Dawa University on
its inauguration, established a full- fledged department of Geography and
Environmental Studies as an Academic Unit starting
from 2005 under the college of Social Sciences and Humanities. The
vision of the
department is to
be a center
of academic and
research excellences in Geography and
Environmental Studies and
contribute positive roles
to the overall
socio-economic development of the country. The department of Geography and Environmental Studies began
its Academic responsibility by training of
teachers (Bachelor of Education Degree) in three years
undergraduate program. In 2009
and 2013 the department has actively participated in the national undergraduate curriculum development and
revisions organized by Ministry of Education and offer a
degree in Bachelor Art in Geography and Environmental Studies. The department
has been implementing harmonized curriculum for its undergraduate Students
in light of
the current human
power requirement in
the market and
the need of considering environmental issues as the
major concern of the department. Since its establishment
the department has contributed a lot by providing competent graduates to the
market. Based on informal communication it has maintained with its graduates,
the department has identified that majority of the graduates are serving the nation in various professions (being
employed as teachers in secondary schools
and universities, as
GIS and RS
experts, in many
governmental and non-governmental institutions, and some of them
have created their own private business). Now a days we are at a time when
computers are widely used to acquire and process geo-data, store, retrieve
and manage spatial information. Geographic Information System (GIS) including
Remote Sensing (RS) technologies emerged as one of the main tools of spatial
analysis and graphical presentation in geographical studies. This is a new development
to the field of Geography. Environmental issues such as climate change;
desertification & global warming, and environmental degradation are
important issues of these days. All the above
issues are the big concerns of the department and addressed by the courses
offered in the department of Geography and Environmental Studies. Currently, the department of Geography and
Environmental Studies is running undergraduate programs in the regular and
summer educational modalities. The department has also launched master’s
degree program in Disaster Risk Management, Urban and Regional Development
Planning, and Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing since 2016 in
both regular and extension programs. It also offers postgraduate programs in
Geography and Environmental Studies for summer in-service trainees. |
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Message of Department Head |
Message of Department Head Kefelegn Chernet Welcome to the
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies. This is one of the
departments in College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Dire Dawa University.
The department is located at the Block 34, College
of Social Sciences and Humanities building, at 2nd floor, Room 30.
The department has 17 members of staff comprising Assistant Professors,
Lecturers, Laboratory technician and Secretariat. A significant number of
highly trained and skilled professionals that the department has produced
throughout the years have continued to play a key role in the country growth
and development. The department strives to be a research and training center at
national level. Our primary goal of both our undergraduate and graduate
programs is to train students to be critical spatial thinkers and using
geographic theories and approaches to tackle problems that facing our societies.
Currently we have excellent facilities (classrooms, teaching materials) with multidisciplinary
professions (more Assistant professors and Senior lecturers) and two well-equipped
computer laboratories for undergraduate and graduate programs practical
courses of GIS and Remote Sensing. So, to be academically qualified person
and critical thinker, to have good global outlook, to increase your employability
skills and to be a competent citizen please select and join our department. The
department offers the following, undergraduate and postgraduate programs as
part of its role in research and community services: Undergraduate Programmes BA in Geography and Environmental Studies BEd
in Geography and Environmental Studies Postgraduate
MA/MSc Programmes MA in Disaster Risk Management MA in Urban
and Regional Development Planning MSc in Geographic Information System and
Remote Sensing MA in Geography and Environmental studies
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