Welcome to the Department of International Relations. It has the oldest International Relations program in Africa, East Africa, and Kenya. It is known for its excellence in teaching and research. It has fifteen full-time faculty members and a number of adjunct faculty, most of whom are practitioners, giving students the much-needed innovative blend of theory and practice. It is the flagship department in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. It hosts the largest number of students in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
The department has three degree levels: Bachelors (BA), Masters (MA), and Doctoral (PhD). Students in all these levels concentrate in one of the following areas: Diplomacy and Foreign Policy, Peace and Conflict Studies, and Development Studies. Our courses are varied and diverse within these concentrations. Some of them include: Refugee Studies, Gender and International Relations, US-Africa Relations, African International Relations, Contemporary Political Philosophy, and Conflict, Security and Development.
Our faculty teach, conduct research, and publish in all of the above concentrations. They have extensive global, regional, and national networks with universities and organizations. These are demonstrated in their participation in grants, fellowships, conferences, exchanges, and workshops in Kenya, the region, and globally. Our faculty work very closely with students in programs such as the Harvard International Model United Nations, the International Model African Union, and the Oxford Consortium for Human Rights.
It is an exciting time to join the Department because students (both BA and MA) take field study courses that allow them learn experientially through site visits nationally, regionally and globally. Students visit countries such as Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, the US, Europe, and many others. MA and PhD students have the opportunity to do research and collaborate with renowned scholars in areas such as security, diplomacy and foreign policy, peace and conflict, and development studies.
Our students get employed by government agencies, intergovernmental organizations, transnational corporations, and international non-governmental organization as well as civil society organizations in general. Students who prefer pursuing further studies receive entry into prestigious universities abroad.
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Dr. Moses Onyango,
Assistant Professor of Political Studies,
Chair, International Relations (IR) Department
