The Department of Plant Sciences, Microbiology and Biotechnology formerly the Department of Botany is part of the College of Natural Sciences. The Department is mandated to teach and carry out research in the scientific and related disciplines to Plant Sciences evolution, classification, function, heredity, propagation, utilization, environmental relationships, conservation of plants, fungi, bacteria and algae relevant to national development to mention but afew.

Currently the department runs undergraduate and graduate programmes up to Ph.D. level.

At Undergraduate level, the department runs four teaching programmesB.Sc. (Botany), B.Sc. in    Ethnobotany and B.Sc. in Conservation Biology (BCB) and B.Sc. in Biotechnology. Some of the courses are run jointly with Department of Zoology, Aquaculture and Fisheries particularly Bsc in Conservation Biology (BCB). The Department also has an active Herbarium and Botanic Gardenfor teaching and research but also provides community service to the general public, industrial sector, Government institutions, teaching institutions (Primary to Tertiary), as well as international community.

BSc. in Biotechnology

Through the World Bank funding under the auspices of the Millennium Science Initiative (MSI) Department of Plant Sciences, Microbiology and Biotechnology successfully applied and secured funding to start a new undergraduate degree programme leading to an award of a BSc in Biotechnology. This degree programme evolved out of the need to train scientists equipped with the relevant skills in Biotechnology to address the contemporary needs for achieving the objectives of the Millennium development goals. Students who enroll for this course are exposed to cutting edge technologies and are able to conduct hands on practicals in the state of the art Research laboratory.