Credit Hours - 3

This course delves into the application of the study of plant anatomy. The course will discuss the following broad areas: plant identification in biological research and social issues, classification and phylogeny; plant pathology, food adulterations and contaminations, dendrochronology, ecological plant anatomy, crime scene detection and animal feeding habits. The use of plant anatomy in the study of pharmacognosy will be emphasized.

Credit Hours - 3

The course aims at equipping students with knowledge on the relationship between freshwater organisms and their physical environments. It includes analysis of the chemical composition of these environments, with consideration given to waste management and water purification processes. The course will also introduce students to important freshwater plant groups and their biology

Credit Hours - 3

This course is designed to broaden students’ knowledge of the molecular approach to the study of genetics. The following areas will be highlighted: classical and modern concepts in molecular genetics, molecular nature of genes, gene function and methods in molecular genetics. The course will emphasize the application of these concepts in gene manipulation of bacteria, plants and animals in research. 

Credit Hours - 3

This course is designed to treat students to the elements and principles of plant breeding. Practical breeding methods for cowpea and maize will be emphasized. Application of introductory quantitative genetics to plant breeding will be discussed. Cytological methods in breeding will also be emphasized. The importance of plant breeding to society will be treated

Credit Hours - 2

The course introduces students to various viruses in animals, humans and plants of economic and health importance. Emphasis will be on classification scheme of animal and plant viruses and virus replication in host-plant interactions. The course will expose students to the following viruses of health importance: herpes viruses, hepatitis virus, rhabdoviruses, arboviruses, influenza virus, poxviruses, human immunodeficiency / HIV / AIDS virus, Ebola virus, etc.  The students will be introduced to viral diseases of economic crops, e.g., cocoa swollen shoot virus, tobacco mosaic virus, potato mosaic virus. The economic importance of emerging viral diseases will be discussed.

Credit Hours - 3

In this course students will study the science of spores, pollen grains and fossil plant remains. There will be emphasis on the development, structure, viability and methods of study of spores and pollen. There will be practical microscopy study of spore and pollen structures. An aspect of the course will discuss the applications of spores, pollen grains and fossils in oil and gas exploration, health, and agriculture.

Credit Hours - 3

This course will present and synthesize ideas and concepts central to tropical wetland ecology. It covers geomorphology, hydrology, geochemistry, limnology, human uses and wetland management. The course also covers topics such as principles of wetland ecology and dynamics. It will emphasize aspects of wetland structure and function of riverine, mangrove and coastal wetland systems. The interrelationships of the climatic, soil and vegetation types will be explored. Human impacts on the tropical environment will be examined.

Credit Hours - 3

This course will focus on how plants are affected by their interaction with their physical, chemical and biotic environment. It will also examine how plants detect changes in their environment and how they cope with these changes. The course will emphasise topics such as growth, developmental and environmental physiology, plant responses to abiotic stress including impact of water deficit and salinity on transport across plant membranes and dynamics of growth. There will be a detailed coverage of flowering and fruiting, regulation of organ longevity, senescence and programmed cell death.

Credit Hours - 3

This course introduces students to the history of plant pathology, causes of plant diseases, phenomenon of infection, disease triangle and tetrahedron. The course will also train students in disease forecasting and progress curves. Students will be taught the different forms of plant pathogens and the mechanism of host resistance to infection. Emphasis will be on bacterial, fungal, nematode and viral diseases of some selected economic crops and their control methods. The course will provide students with the opportunity to study quarantine regulations; economic implications of pre- and post-harvest pathology and Integrated Pest Management strategies.

Credit Hours - 3

The course explores the various aspects of plant reproductive biology such as floral diversity and sex of plants, sexual and asexual reproduction, and agents and mechanisms of pollination. The course will examine the different types of breeding systems found in flowering plants and their impacts on species diversity, systematics and conservation. In order to understand the mechanism of gene flow between different species, the course will examine the processes of hybridization, introgression and polyploidy in flowering plants. The course will continue with dispersal of seeds and fruits in flowering plants and the ecological and physiological factors that influence the dispersal.

Credit Hours - 6

Students will carry out a supervised research project and will be guided through the research process: selecting a research topic, identifying the problem to be investigated, determining the objectives of the study, reviewing literature on the topic, collecting field and/or experimental data, analysing and interpreting data, and reporting the research findings scientifically. Students would be expected to submit three soft-bound copies of the dissertation with a light green cover for assessment. 

Credit Hours - 3

This course deals with the structure and life of microorganisms within different water bodies (springs, rivers, lakes and seas) and their role in the cycling of elements in water and sediments. The course also explores the various factors that influence aquatic microorganisms and microbial associations in an aquatic environment. Students will gain an understanding of the relationship between micro-organisms and aquatic plants and animals, the behaviour of terrestrial forms in aquatic environments, and the economic significance of aquatic microorganisms. The causes of aquatic pollution and the management approaches will also be discussed.

Credit Hours - 3

This course deals with life in the marine environment with emphasis on marine flora, their distribution, ecology and adaptations. The course will also cover marine phytoplankton biology, taxonomy and ecology, including temporal and spatial changes in relation to physico-chemical and biological factors.

Credit Hours - 3

The course provides quantitative description of plant growth, phyllotaxy and leaf development. It will expose students to experimental observation of growth and development in some selected plants. Emphasis will be placed on development and differentiation of the cell wall, vascular system and reproductive structures of seed plants, as well as the systematic anatomy of useful plant products such as fibres, seeds, latex, and osmophores.

Credit Hours - 3

This course provides an opportunity for students to fully understand the relationship in ecosystem conservation and sustainable management of watersheds or river basins. A holistic overview of watershed or river basin problems, as well as prospects and provisions for sustainable watershed management, will be given through lectures, seminars, field trips and article reviews.

Credit Hours - 3

This course will equip students with the requisite skills for identifying common plant taxa (families, genera and species) in Ghana and the rest of West Africa. Emphasis will be on taxonomy, morphology, anatomy, ecology and evolutionary relationships within and among the plant groups. Plant collections and storage techniques as well as digitization and imaging of herbarium specimens will be covered.

Credit Hours - 3

This course is designed to deepen students’ knowledge and understanding of the concepts in population and biometrical genetics. The course will discuss concepts of evolutionary factors in relation with the genetic structure of populations. The course will also demonstrate how the phenotypic covariance between related individuals provides information on the relative importance of genetic and environmental factors in influencing quantitative traits. Emphasis will be placed on the applications of population and biometrical genetics in animal and plant breeding.

Credit Hours - 3

This course introduces students to the scope of environmental microbiology and the role of microorganisms in the environment. It examines microbial contributions to biogeochemical cycling of major elements and highlights the significance of microbial interactions, including chemical warfare among microbial populations. Students will explore the applications of microorganisms in bioremediation, particularly in the petroleum and mining industries. The course also covers the activity of luminescent bacteria, the role of bacteria and fungi in bio-deterioration, and their contributions to decomposition and overall ecosystem functioning. 

Credit Hours - 2

This course explores the fundamental philosophical and ethical considerations in the application of scientific and medical discoveries in relation to humans. It covers the national biosafety framework and administrative guidelines, and regulations governing the movement and commercial release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and other regulated materials. Students will gain an in-depth understanding of GMOs, the status of existing biosafety programs, and best practices for the safe use of living modified organisms. The course also introduces key principles of public participation, information sharing, and access to justice in biosafety decision-making. Relevant legislation and legal instruments related to biosafety, as well as the ethical dimensions of scientific advancements will be discussed.

Credit Hours - 3

The course aims at broadening students’ understanding of the application of quantitative methods in biological research. The concept of the role of quantitative methods as a tool in biological research will be emphasized. The course will also involve hands-on training in qualitative and quantitative field and laboratory data documentation and management. Biological applications of the principles and elements of selected topics in mathematics and statistics will be treated. 

Credit Hours - 3

This course explores some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges and highlights the role of various institutions and legal frameworks in protecting and managing the environment. Topics to be treated include the essential principles of environmental governance, sources and effects of environmental pollution, measures for mitigating and adapting to the impacts of climate change, principles of environmental impact assessment and Ghana’s Environmental Policy.

Credit Hours - 3

This course will focus on the quantitative approaches to vegetation classification and analysis. Topics to be covered include field survey techniques (collection of samples for the herbarium, field notes, photography); sampling methods; accuracy and significance tests; species diversity indices; spatial arrangement of organisms; association analysis; ordination and other classificatory analyses. Interpretation of taxonomic and ecological data by multivariate methods will also be treated

Credit Hours - 3

This course describes and gives an insight into the building blocks of plant hormones that regulate the speed of growth of individual plant parts and integrate them into the form that we recognise as plants. The course will highlight methods of plant hormone analysis which will include the principles of extraction, separation methods (based on factors such as polarity, ionic nature, size and shape of molecule) as well as isolation, identification and quantification methods. Students will also be introduced to the various pathways (e.g., shikimate pathway) leading to the production of auxins and aromatic secondary metabolites. Methods for determining the sequence of amino acids in proteins will be discussed.

Credit Hours - 3

This course offers detailed knowledge of contemporary issues in the sustainable use of tropical plant diversity. The course discusses the components of important tropical ecosystems that provide plant genetic resources for industry, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and ecotourism. Important protocols and policies related to bioprospecting and international trade, such as the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS), the Biosafety Protocol, and the World Trade Organization (WTO) provisions for the protection of biodiversity will be covered.

Credit Hours - 3

This course is designed to broaden students’ knowledge of plant taxonomy. The course will discuss taxonomic characters with emphasis on their sources and uses.  Students will be treated to theoretical and practical chemotaxonomy. Modern methods in assessing relationships in plant groups and numerical taxonomy and cladistics will be discussed. 

Credit Hours - 1

Language for Scientists II is designed to help students to acquire translation skills to be able to translate scientific French materials into English. Students will therefore be: (i) taken through relevant scientific terms in French and (ii) given a number of French scientific materials for translation into English with the use of dictionaries and other teaching and learning tools.

Credit Hours - 2

This course is designed to treat the economic importance of plants and their contribution to industrial development. The course therefore provides an opportunity to students to study economically important plants used for food and beverages, fibre and textiles, medicines, timber and biofuel. In this course there will be a shift from the formal botany of the plants to their production and socio-economic aspects.

Credit Hours - 3

The course focuses on the basic metabolic processes, i.e., photosynthesis and respiration, at the cell level. Molecular and ultra-structures of organelles and other cellular structures such as the plant cell wall, mitochondria, chloroplast and vacuoles that allow efficiency of these metabolic processes would be highlighted. The molecular building blocks, polymerization and kinetics of polymerization of some selected biomolecules to form cell ultra-structures would be covered.

Credit Hours - 1

The course is designed to enable students to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of evolutionary biology. The course will emphasize discussions on the basic evolutionary concepts such as natural selection, the genetics of the evolutionary process, the genetics of populations, the origin of life on earth, the mechanisms of speciation, the impact of geologic forces on evolution, and human evolution.