Candidates with at least a lower second degree in Botany, Botany combined with Zoology or any other relevant subjects like Geography, Chemistry, Forestry, Agriculture (crop science) and Environmental Science from a recognized University may be admitted to the course. Eligible candidates may be government or privately sponsored.

1. Student Capacity

The optimum number of students per year is 25 (5 students per each area of specialization i.e. Genetics (Molecular Biology); Natural Resources Ecology and Conservation; Plant Taxonomy & Biosystematics; Microbiology & Plant Pathology; and Plant Physiology).

STRUCTURE OF THE PROGRAMME

1. The programme shall run on a semester system consisting of four semesters. Each semester shall last 17 weeks, 15 of which are for instruction (lectures/tutorials/seminars/practicals), etc. One week is for registration and the other for examinations. Each course will be divided into course units. A course unit is defined as one contact hour per week per semester. One hour of lecture, tutorial or seminar is one contact hour; two hours of practical or field work are equivalent to one contact hour.
2. Students will be required to have both theoretical and practical experiences during all the course units.
3. The Curriculum shall be divided into two parts. Semesters I and II will constitute the first year (Part I). At the end of Semester II there is a Recess Term during which students will finalize the preparation of research proposals. The third and fourth semesters will form the second year (Part II) in which candidates will do research and submit dissertations at the end of the year.

Course Work:

These are done in the first semester of first year. These courses are offered jointly with the Department of Zoology.

Summary of Part A Programme

SEMESTER I : CORE COURSES

Course Code	Course Title	LH	PH	CH	CU	Changes
BOZ 7101	Biostatistics	15	60	45	3	Change of course title
BOZ 7102	Natural Resources and Landscape Processes	30	30	45	3	change of course title and content
BOZ 7105	Communication Skills	15	30	30	2	current
ZOO 7106	Advanced Principles of Project Planning and Management	15	30	30	2	new
ZOO 7107	Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing (GIS/RS)	30	30	45	3	current
	TOTAL	105	180	195	13

Courses in the old programmme

Course Code	Course Title	Changes
BOZ 7103	Field Course (2CU)	deleted
BOT 7104	Natural Resources Law (3CU)	deleted

SEMESTER II (ELECTIVE COURSES)

Summary of Part B Programme

A student will be required to choose only one area of specialization from the following elective course:

1. Molecular Biology and Genetics (change of name from Genetics)
2. Natural Resources Ecology and Conservation
3. Plant Taxonomy and Biosystematics
4. Mycology, Seed and Plant Pathology
5. Advanced Plant Physiology

It is planned that students who are deficient or have interests in some special field may be required to take collateral courses to strengthen their standing. These may include Plant Breeding, Plant Stress Physiology, Cell Biology, Plant Biotechnology, Plant Cell and Tissue Culture. These courses are normally offered in the Department of Botany as some of the final year options at undergraduate level.

B1: MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND GENETICS

Course Code	Course Title	LH	PH	CH	CU	CHANGES
BOT 7201	Cell and Molecular Genetics	20	20	30	2	Change of code from BOT 7202
BOT 7202	Genetic Engineering	20	20	30	2	New course
BOT 7203	Cytogenetics	20	20	30	2	Change of code from BOT 7204
BOT 7204	Population & Evolutionary Genetics	30	30	45	3	Change of title and code from BOT 7205
BOT 7205	Advanced Plant Molecular Biology	20	20	30	2	New course
BOT 7206	Ecological Genetics	20	20	30	2	current
	TOTAL	125	170	210	13

Courses in the old programme

Course No.	Course Units	Changes
BOT 7201 (611): Basic Genetics	2	Deleted
BOT 7203 (613): Microbial Genetics	2	Deleted
BOT 7205 (615): Population Genetics	3	Deleted
BOT 7207 (617): Mutation Genetics	2	Deleted

B.2 NATURAL RESOURCES ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION

Course Code	Course Title	LH	PH	CH	CU	Changes
BOT 7207	Renewable Natural Resources Ecology	20	20	30	2	Change of title and code from BOT 7208
BOT 7208	Rangeland Ecology and Management	20	20	30	2	Change of code from BOT 7209
BOT 7209	The Tropical Rain Forest as Climax Vegetation	25	10	30	2	Change of code from BOT 7210 and CU from 3
BOT 7210	Natural Resource Conservation and Management	25	10	30	3	Change of code from BOT 7211 and CU from 2
BOT 7211	Research, Experimentation and Survey Sampling	20	20	30	3	Change of code from BOT 7213 and CU from 2
BOT 7217	Field and Herbarium Techniques	30	30	45	3
	TOTAL	140	80	180	15

Courses in the old programme

Course No.	Changes
BOT 7212 (625): Island Biogeography: Implication to Conservation Biology	Deleted
BOT 7214 (627): Laboratory and Field Methods in Plant Ecology	Deleted

B.3 PLANT TAXONOMY AND BIOSYSTEMATICS

Course Code	Course Title	LH	PH	CH	CU	Changes
BOT 7212	Development and Systems of Classification	30	-	30	2	Change of code from BOT 7214
BOT 7213	Classification and Identification Methods	20	50	45	3	Change of code from BOT 7215 and Cu from 2
BOT 7214	Nomenclature: The Taxonomic Structure	25	10	30	2	Change of code from BOT 7216
BOT 7215	Elements of Applied Plant Taxonomy	35	20	45	3	New course
BOT 7216	Taxonomic Techniques and Facilities	20	20	30	2	New course
BOT 7217	Field and Herbarium Techniques	30	30	45	3	New course
	TOTALS	170	110	225	15

Courses in the old programme

Course No.	Changes
BOT 7216 (633): Nomenclature: The Taxonomic Structure	deleted
BOT 7217 (634): General Ethnobotany: Medicinal and Poisonous Plants	deleted
BOT 7218 (635): Facilities (ways and Means and data	deleted
BOT 7219 (636): Practical Training and Assignments	deleted
BOT 7221 (637): Project Work	deleted

B.4 MICROBIOLOGY AND PLANT PATHOLOGY

Course Code	Course Title	LH	PH	CH	CU	Changes
BOT 7218	Principles of Plant Pathology	20	20	30	2	New course
BOT 7219	Biology and Systematics of Fungi and Bacteria	35	20	45	3	New course
BOT 7220	The Physiology of Fungi and Bacteria	20	20	30	2	New course
BOT 7221	Advanced Plant Virology	20	20	30	2	Change of code from BOT 7222 ant title from Viruses
BOT 7222	Applied Microbiology and Biosafety	35	20	45	3	Change of code from BOT 7226 ant title from Applied Microbiology
BOT 7223	Compendium of Diseases of major Crops in Uganda and Crop Epidemics	15	30	45	2	New course & modification of former BOT 7225
BOT 7224	Food Microbiology	20	30	45	3	New course
		165	160	270	17

Courses in the old programme

Course No.	Course Units
BOT 7221 (641): The Prokaryotes	2
BOT 7223 (643): Fungi (Mycota)	2
BOT 7224 (644): Microorganisms in their Environment	2
BOT 7225 (654): Phytopathology	3
BOT 7227 (645): Research Project	2

B.5 PLANT PHYSIOLOGY

Course Code	Course Title	LH	PH	CH	CU	Changes
BOT 7225	Mineral Nutrition in Plants	20	20	30	2	Change of code from BOT 7228 and CU from 3
BOT 7226	Plant Water Relations	20	20	30	2	Change of code from BOT 7229
BOT 7227	Stress Physiology	20	20	30	2	Change of code from BOT 7230
BOT 7228	Plant Growth and Development	20	20	30	2	Change of code from BOT 7231 and CU from 3
BOT 7229	Physiology of Growth and Crop Yield	20	20	30	2	Change of code from BOT 7232
BOT 7230	Plant Energetics	20	20	30	2	Change of code from BOT 7233 and CU from 3
BOT 7231	Plant Tissue Culture	10	40	30	2	New course
	TOTALS	130	160	210	14

NOTE: A detailed syllabus of the courses (7101 – 7231) is attached in Section 9.

YEAR TWO: DISSERTATION

Activity Period

Production of Research Proposal Recess Term of Year 1

Research and Production of Dissertation Semesters III & IV

EXAMINATION REGULATIONS

Progressive Assessment (PA)

Progressive Assessment shall consist of test(s), practicals, assignments, seminar presentation, etc. done during the courses. Progressive Assessment will contribute 40% of the total mark for each course unit.

Course Work Examination Scheme

At the end of each semester there will be a written examination in each of the courses offered during the semester. The examination score will contribute 60% (and PA 40%) of the final mark for the course. A pass mark in any course is of at least 50%.

Grading System

1. Each course shall be graded out of a maximum of 100 marks and assigned appropriate letter grades and grade point average as follows:

Marks (%)	Letter grade	Grade Point	Interpretation
90 - 100	A+	5.0	Exceptional
80 - 89	A	5.0	Excellent
75 – 79.9	B+	4.5	Very good
70 – 74.9	B	4.0	Good
65 – 69.9	C+	3.5	Fairly good
60 – 64.9	C	3.0	Pass
55 – 59.9	D+	2.5	Marginal fail
50 – 54.9	D	2.0	Clear fail
45 – 49.9	E	1.5	Bad Fail
40 – 44.9	E-	1.0	Qualified fail
Below 40	F	0	Qualified fail

(b) The pass grade point per course shall be 3.0

Progression through the course

Progression through the course shall be assessed in three ways:

(a) Normal Progression

This occurs when a student passes all courses taken.

(b) Probationary

This is a warning stage and occurs if:

1. A student obtains a grade point average (GPA) or a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of less than 3.0.

Probation is removed when either of the conditions in (a) or (b) no longer holds.

(c) Discontinuation

A student shall be discontinued from the programme if he/she obtains one of the following conditions:

1. Getting a GP of less than 3 on 3 consecutive occasions for the same core course.
2. Getting a CGPA of less than 3 on 3 consecutive occasions.

Re-taking a course

A student may re-take any course when it is offered again in order to pass it if the student had failed it before.

Research and Dissertation

1. This comprises of an acceptable research project of original nature based on the relevant areas of specialization leading to the submission of a dissertation. Both the research proposal and dissertation must conform to the University regulations. The research project will be undertaken in the second year of the programme (the third and fourth semesters).
2. A candidate shall be required to develop/produce and present an acceptable research proposal during the Recess Term.
3. A candidate must do the research and work on the dissertation in Semesters III and IV and submit the dissertation at the end of the Semester IV.
4. The dissertation shall be marked pass or fail.
5. A candidate with a dissertation requiring minor corrections will be required to resubmit a corrected version within 3 months.
6. A candidate with a failed dissertation will be required to resubmit within 6 months.

AWARD OF THE DEGREE

1. The degree of Master of Science in Botany shall be awarded to a candidate who successfully completes all parts of the course. The degree of Master of Science in Botany shall be awarded without classification; however the Academic Transcript shall be graded as follows:
2. A terminal Postgraduate Diploma will be awarded to a candidate who passes all coursework (part-I) but fails or fails to do the dissertation.

Marks (%)	Letter grade	Grade Point
90 - 100	A+	5.0
80 - 89	A	5.0
75 – 79.9	B+	4.5
70 – 74.9	B	4.0
65 – 69.9	C+	3.5
60 – 64.9	C	3.0
55 – 59.9	D+	2.5
50 – 54.9	D	2.0
45 – 49.9	E	1.5
40 – 44.9	E-	1.0
Below 40	F	0

DETAILED SYLLABUSES

Part I (i) First Semester (Compulsory courses):

FIRST SEMESTER (COMPULSORY COURSES):

COURSE NAME: BIOSTATISTICS [CU = 3]

COURSE CODE: BOZ 7101

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The course introduces the students to methods of data collection, analysis and interpretation.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

• By the end of the course students should be able to:
• Select an appropriate statistical test to test a hypothesis
• Design an experimental study