The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Namibia is a dynamic and unique grouping of disciplines and subjects of study which provides education to students in the social sciences, humanities and the arts. We have over 85 full time teaching staff, about 20 part-time staff, and around 2000 students. Among the permanent staff members around 50% have PhDs and most of the rest have Masters Degrees. The Faculty has a strong research outlook and publishes its own peer reviewed journal called Journal for Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences.
The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences is made up six broad departments: Geography, History and Environmental Studies; Human Sciences; Information and Communication Studies; Language and Literature Studies; Sociology; Visual and Performing Arts. Each of the departments has several programmes and disciplines under its umbrella.
The Faculty offers a 4-year BA Arts degree programme, 7 professional degree programmes, 5 diploma programmes, and a taught masters programmes focusing on psychology, English Studies, and Gender and Development Studies. The faculty also offers various research postgraduate programmes, including a Master of Arts by research and a PhD by research. The bachelor's degree programme has an interdisciplinary foundation and starts on a broad base which ultimately focusses on a main major and minor major. Our graduates have a range of skills that they can utilize to do well in a variety of fields in both the public and private sector.
The Faculty's goal is to improve its reputation as a leading centre of humanities and social science education and research in Southern Africa. The faculty has identified six strategic areas for research, teaching and community engagement, as part of the 5 year development plan, namely: the Namibian environment, historical development and tourism and climate change; Development management; The arts and society; Productivity and quality of life in Namibia; and Namibia's transition to a knowledge based society.
Large number of students from the Faculties of Education and Science are also enrolled in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Our stakeholder advisory committee system provides a vital system to monitor the relevance and quality of our programmes to the outside world. Together with our stakeholders, students, and alumni we form a strong team which is determined to build on the achievements of this young institution, created in 1992, after the independence of Namibia in 1990.
