Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), commonly known as UST, Tech or Kwame Tech, is a

public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

located in

Kumasi Kumasi is a city and the capital of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is the second largest city in the country, with a population of 443,981 as of the 2021 census. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region ...

Ashanti region The Ashanti Region is located in the southern part of Ghana and is the third largest of Regions of Ghana, 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of and making up 10.2 percent of the total land area of Ghana. It is the List of ...

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. The university focuses on science and technology. It is the second public university established in the country, as well as the largest university in the

Ashanti Region The Ashanti Region is located in the southern part of Ghana and is the third largest of Regions of Ghana, 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of and making up 10.2 percent of the total land area of Ghana. It is the List of ...

. KNUST has its roots in the plans of Agyeman Prempeh I, a ruler of the Ashanti Kingdom, to establish a university in

as part of his drive towards modernization of his Ashanti kingdom. This plan never came to fruition due to the clash between

British empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

expansion and the desire of King Prempeh I to preserve his Ashanti kingdom's independence. However, his younger brother and successor, King Asantehene Agyeman Prempeh II, upon ascending to the

Golden Stool The Golden Stool ( Ashanti-; full title, Sika Dwa Kofi "the Golden Stool born on a Friday") is the royal and divine throne of kings of the Asante people and the ultimate symbol of power in Asante. According to legend, Okomfo Anokye, High Priest ...

in the year 1935, continued with this vision. Events in the Gold Coast in the 1940s played into his hands. First, there was the establishment of the University College of the Gold Coast. Secondly, there were the

1948 Accra riots The Accra riots started on 28 February 1948 in Accra, the capital of the then British colony of the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast (present-day Ghana). A protest march by unarmed ex-servicemen who were agitating for their benefits as vet ...

and the consequent Watson Commission report, which recommended that a university of sciences be established in

. Thus, in 1949, the dream of the Prempehs became a reality when building started on what was to be called the Kumasi College of Technology. The Kumasi College of Technology offered admission to its first students to the engineering faculty in 1951 (however, those students started academic work in 1952), and an Act of Parliament gave the university its legal basis as the

Kumasi College of Technology Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), commonly known as UST, Tech or Kwame Tech, is a public university located in Kumasi, Ashanti region, Ghana. The university focuses on science and technology. It is the second public uni ...

in 1952. The nucleus of the college was formed from 200 teacher training students transferred from

Achimota College Achimota School ( /ɑːtʃimoʊtɑː/ ), formerly Prince of Wales College and School at Achimota, later Achimota College, now nicknamed Motown, is a co-educational boarding school located at Achimota in Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana. The school ...

in the

Greater Accra Region The Greater Accra Region has the smallest area of Ghana's Regions of Ghana, 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of 3,245 square kilometres. This is 1.4 per cent of the total land area of Ghana. It is the List of Ghanaian re ...

. The college was affiliated to the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. In 1961, the college was granted full university status. The university covers a total land area of . The main campus which is about seven square miles in area, is about to the east of Kumasi, the

al capital.

History

Early history

The Kumasi College of Technology opened officially on 22 January 1952 with 200 teacher training students transferred from

Achimota Achimota ( ), is a town in the Accra Metropolitan District, a district of the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Achimota means "speak no name" in the Ga language. In pre-colonial Ghana, its forbidden forest was a "silent" refuge for runaway slaves ...

, to form the nucleus of the new college. In October 1952, the School of

Engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

and the Department of Commerce were established and the first students were admitted. A Pharmacy Department was established in January 1953, with the transfer of the former School of Pharmacy from

Korle Bu Teaching Hospital Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) is a public teaching hospital established in 1923 and located in the Ablekuma South District in the Accra Metropolitan District of the Greater Accra Region, Ghana. It is the only public tertiary hospital in th ...

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

, to the college. The department ran a two-year comprehensive course in

Pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

leading to the award of the Pharmacy Board Certificate. A Department of Agriculture was opened in the same year to provide ad hoc courses of varying duration, from a few terms to three years, for the Ministry of Agriculture. A Department of General Studies was instituted to prepare students for the Higher School Certificate Examinations in Science and Arts subjects and to give instruction in subjects as requested by the other departments. From 1952 to 1955, th
School of Engineering
prepared students for professional qualifications only. In 1955, the school embarked on courses leading to the

Bachelor of Engineering External Degree Examinations. In 1957, the School of Architecture, Town Planning and Building was inaugurated. Its first students were admitted in January 1958, for professional course. As the college expanded, it was decided to make the Kumasi College of Technology a purely science and technology institution. In pursuit of this policy, the Teacher Training College, with the exception of the Art School, was transferred in January 1958, to the Winneba Training College; in 1959 the Commerce Department was transferred to Achimota to form the nucleus of the present School of Administration of the

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It is the oldest public university in the country. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the British colony of the Gold Coast ...

, Legon. In December 1960, the

Government of Ghana The Government of Ghana was created as a parliamentary democracy, followed by alternating military and civilian governments in Ghana. In January 1993, military government gave way to the Fourth Republic after presidential and parliamentary elect ...

appointed a University Commission to advise it on the development of university education, in connection with the proposal to transform the University College of Ghana and the Kumasi College of Technology into an independent University of Ghana. Following the report of the commission which came out early 1961, the government decided to establish two independent universities in Kumasi and

Legon Legon , a suburb of the Ghanaian city Accra, is situated about north-east of the city center in the Ayawaso West Municipal District, a district in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Legon is home to the main campus of the University of Ghana. ...

, Accra. The Kumasi College of Technology was thus transformed, under the supervision of R. P. Baffour, into a full-fledged university, and named Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology by an Act of

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

on 22 August 1961. The name honours

Kwame Nkrumah Francis Kwame Nkrumah (, 21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast from 1952 until 1957, when it gained ...

, the first prime minister and later

president of Ghana The president of the Republic of Ghana is the elected head of state and head of government of Ghana, as well as commander-in-chief of the Ghana Armed Forces. The current president of Ghana is John Mahama, who won the 2024 presidential elect ...

. In January 1966, Marr Grounds, an American/Australian artist then living in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, took up an appointment as lecturer in architecture for two years, before moving to the

University of Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning The Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning, also known as The University of Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning, formerly the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning, is a constituent body of the University of Sy ...

in 1968. The name was changed to University of Science and Technology after the coup of 24 February 1966. The University of Science and Technology was officially inaugurated on Wednesday, 20 November 1961. However, another act of Parliament (Act 559 of 1998) changed the name back to its original version, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi.

Campuses

Kumasi Campus

The

campus is the main campus of the university. It is about seven square miles in area and about to the east of

. It houses the Central Administration and other important facilities.

Obuasi Campus

The

Obuasi Obuasi is a gold mining town and is the capital of the Obuasi Municipal District in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It lies in the southern part of the Obuasi Municipal and is located about from Kumasi. As of 2012, the town has a population of 1 ...

campus was officially commissioned on 4 November 2020 despite its inception in the year 2019. It runs 15

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

programmes, which include seven Engineering programmes, four Business Administration programmes, three Allied Health Sciences programmes and one Science programme.

Organization and administration

Principal officers

KNUST main entrance with Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park

The principal officers of the university are the chancellor, chairman of the University Council and vice-chancellor. As of 2018, the position of chancellor was held by the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.

Governing body

Governance is carried out by the

University Council A university council may be the executive body of a university's governance system, an advisory body to the university president, or something in between in authority. In the United Kingdom and many other countries, the council is responsible for a ...

, primarily through the Academic Board, which is responsible for: * formulating and carrying out the academic policy of the university * devising and regulating the courses of instruction and study, and supervising research * regulating the conduct of examinations and the award of degrees, diplomas and certificates * advising the University Council on the admission of students and the award of scholarships * reporting on such matters as may be referred to it by the University Council

Student participation in university administration

Students through the KNUST Students' Representative Council (KNUST SRC) participate in the administration of the university through their representatives serving on the University Council, Academic Board, the Welfare Services Board, Faculty and Departmental Boards, Residence Committee, Library Committee and on the Hall Councils. The council operates with a budget that is primarily dispensed to student organizations, but it also funds social events and student initiatives. As the sole representative student government, the KNUST SRC provides student services like most student unions and also performs advocacy on behalf of the student body.

Collegiate system

KNUST has, since January 2005, transformed from its previous centralized system of administration into a decentralized

collegiate university A collegiate university is a university where functions are divided between a central administration and a number of constituent colleges. Historically, the first collegiate university was the University of Paris and its first college was the Coll ...

. Under this system, the faculties have been condensed into six colleges. The university had been administered on the faculty-based system. This led to administrative difficulties as new faculties and institutes were created to meet the ever-growing academic pursuits of students. To solve this problem, a collegiate system was officially adopted on 29 November 2004. On 5 April 2005, the pioneering provosts were inducted and invested into office at the Great Hall of the KNUST. The colleges are semi-autonomous, which means that they are given the power to largely run on their own without much dependence on the central administration for financial support. A college registrar, finance officer and librarian assist the provosts. Under them are the faculties, centres and institutes, headed by deans and directors. As heads of the colleges, the provosts provide academic and administrative leadership for the colleges and oversee their overall running..

Housing and accommodation

There are numerous KNUST approved

hostels A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...

, mostly in close proximity to the main campus. Students of all financial backgrounds have their accommodation needs catered for. There are six halls of residence at the Kumasi campus, each administered by a hall council consisting of senior and junior members. There are few hostels on campus like the GUSSS hostels, Brunei, and Tek credit hostel. The executive head is the hall master, who is assisted by a senior tutor. There is a hall bursar and other supporting staff.

Halls of residence

* University Hall (Katanga) * Unity Hall (Conti) * Independence Hall * Queens Hall * Republic Hall * Africa Hall

Hostels

About 60% of the student population is non-resident. There are private hostels around the campus and in Kumasi for students who, as a result of the limited facilities/rooms, could not be admitted as resident students. Apart from these private-owned hostels, the university management have also made some efforts to solve this accommodation issue. In response to that, some hostels have also been built right on campus. These are: * The Impact Building: This was funded by the Mastercard foundation and serves as a secretariat for Mastercard scholars on campus. Some of the rooms are occupied by these scholars whereas some of the rooms are used for temporary leasing on a daily basis earning income for its management. * The GUSSS Hostels: These hostels are popularly referred to as Brunei on campus. They have five buildings in total. These are Old and New Brunei, Complex, Baby Brunei and Hall 7. * The Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Hostel: Also referred to as SRC Hostel on campus. This was also built through the efforts of the school's SRC. There are facilities on campus where non-resident students can rest between lectures and study before they leave for their homes and hostels. In January 2014, the top floor of the Crystal Rose Hostel caught fire while most students were on vacation. The cause of the fire is still not known.

International students

There is a large multinational international community at KNUST as a result of the high standards of education. There is an international student association that sees to the interests of foreign students such as accommodation, orientation and campus tours.

Academics

Since the 2010/11 academic year, some of the colleges operate a two-tier system, while others maintain their three-tier system.

College of Agriculture and Natural Resources CANR

* Faculty of Agriculture ** Department of

Agricultural Economics Agricultural economics is an applied field of economics concerned with the application of economic theory in optimizing the production and distribution of food and fiber products. Agricultural economics began as a branch of economics that specif ...

Agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...

and Extension ** Department of

Animal Sciences Animal science is described as "studying the biology of animals that are under the control of humankind". It can also be described as the production and management of farm animals. Historically, the degree was called animal husbandry and the ...

** Department of

Crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. In other words, a crop is a plant or plant product that is grown for a specific purpose such as food, Fiber, fibre, or fuel. When plants of the same spe ...

and

Soil Sciences Soil science is the study of soil as a natural resource on the surface of the Earth including soil formation, classification and mapping; physical, chemical, biological, and fertility properties of soils; and these properties in relation t ...

** Department of

Horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

* Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources ** Department of

Agroforestry Agroforestry (also known as agro-sylviculture or forest farming) is a land use management system that integrates trees with crops or pasture. It combines agricultural and forestry technologies. As a polyculture system, an agroforestry system c ...

** Department of

Fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farm ...

and

Watershed Management Watershed management is the study of the relevant characteristics of a watershed aimed at the sustainable distribution of its resources and the process of creating and implementing plans, programs and projects to sustain and enhance watershed f ...

** Department of

Silviculture Silviculture is the practice of controlling the growth, composition/structure, as well as quality of forests to meet values and needs, specifically timber production. The name comes from the Latin ('forest') and ('growing'). The study of forests ...

and

Forest Management Forest management is a branch of forestry concerned with overall administrative, legal, economic, and social aspects, as well as scientific and technical aspects, such as silviculture, forest protection, and forest regulation. This includes man ...

** Department of Wildlife and Range Management ** Department of

Wood Science Wood science is the scientific field which predominantly studies and investigates elements associated with the formation, the physical and chemical composition, and the macro- and microstructure of wood as a bio-based and lignocellulosic materi ...

and

Technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

* Faculty of Forest Resources Technology ** Department of

Ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

and Forest Recreation ** Department of

Land Reclamation Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lake ...

and Rehabilitation ** Department of

Social Forestry Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

** Department of

Wood Processing Wood processing is an engineering discipline in the wood industry comprising the production of forest products, such as pulp and paper, construction materials, and tall oil. Paper engineering is a subfield of wood processing. The major wo ...

and

Marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

College of Health Sciences

* Faculty of Allied Health Sciences ** Department of

Medical Diagnostics Medical diagnosis (abbreviated Dx, Dx, or Ds) is the process of determining which disease or condition explains a person's symptoms and signs. It is most often referred to as a diagnosis with the medical context being implicit. The information r ...

** Department of

Medical Imaging Medical imaging is the technique and process of imaging the interior of a body for clinical analysis and medical intervention, as well as visual representation of the function of some organs or tissues (physiology). Medical imaging seeks to revea ...

** Department of Physiotherapy and Sports Science * Faculty of

and

Pharmaceutical Sciences Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links healt ...

**Department of

Pharmaceutical Chemistry Medicinal or pharmaceutical chemistry is a scientific discipline at the intersection of chemistry and pharmacy involved with drug design, designing and developing pharmaceutical medication, drugs. Medicinal chemistry involves the identification, ...

**Department of

Pharmacology Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur betwee ...

**Department of

Pharmacognosy Pharmacognosy is the interdisciplinary scientific study of natural drugs and bioactive compounds from plants, animals, and minerals—originally focused on identifying crude drugs but now expanded to molecular, chemical, ecological, and medicin ...

**Department of

Pharmacy Practice Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

**Department of

Pharmaceutics Pharmaceutics is the discipline of pharmacy that deals with the process of turning a new chemical entity (NCE) or an existing drug into a medication to be used safely and effectively by patients. The patients could be either humans or animals. Ph ...

**Department of

Herbal Medicine Herbal medicine (also called herbalism, phytomedicine or phytotherapy) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. Scientific evidence for the effectiveness of many herbal treatments ...

*School of

Dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the Human tooth, teeth, gums, and Human mouth, mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, dis ...

*School of

Medical Sciences Medicine is the science and practice of caring for patients, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

*School of

Veterinary Medicine Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, medical diagnosis, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in non-human animals. The scope of veterinary medicine is wide, covering all a ...

*School of

Nursing Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

and

Midwifery Midwifery is the health science and health profession that deals with pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period (including care of the newborn), in addition to the sexual and reproductive health of women throughout their lives. In many cou ...

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Faculty of Law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...

* Faculty of

Social Sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...

** Department of

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

** Department of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

** Department of

Geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

and

Rural Development Rural development is the process of improving the quality of life, quality of life and economic well-being of people living in rural areas, often relatively isolated and sparsely populated areas. Often, rural regions have experienced rural povert ...

** Department of

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

and

Political Studies Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and laws ...

** Department of

Modern Languages A modern language is any human language that is currently in use as a native language. The term is used in language education to distinguish between languages which are used for day-to-day communication (such as French and German) and dead clas ...

currently called the department of Language and Communication Sciences. ** Department of

Religious Studies Religious studies, also known as religiology or the study of religion, is the study of religion from a historical or scientific perspective. There is no consensus on what qualifies as ''religion'' and definition of religion, its definition is h ...

** Department of

Sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

and

Social Work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

* School of Business ** Department of Supply Chain and Information Systems. ** Department of Marketing and Corporate Strategy ** Department of Human Resource and Organizational Development. ** Department of Accounting and Finance Colleges under the two-tier system (Provost/Head of Department):

College of Art and Built Environment

:The College of Art and Built Environment formerly known as College of Architecture and Planning came into existence in January 2005 as part of the restructuring of the University into a Collegiate System. In the restructuring, the Faculty of Environmental and Development studies (FEDS) and the Institute of Land Management and Development (ILMAD) were merged to form the College. FEDS comprised three teaching departments: Department of Architecture, department of Building Technology and Department of Housing and Planning Research. ILMAD comprised two departments, Department of Land Economy and the Land Resources Centre. The college currently comprises two faculties, ten teaching departments and one research institute: :* Department of

Communication Design Communication design is a mixed discipline between design and information-development concerned with how media communicate with people. A communication design approach is concerned with developing the message and aesthetics in media. It also crea ...

:* Department of General Art Studies :* Department of Painting and Sculpture :* Department of Integrated Rural Art/Industry :* Department of

Industrial Art Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advance of the manufactu ...

:*Department of Educational Innovations in Science and Technology :* Department of Publishing Studies :* Department of

Architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

:* Department of Building Technology :* Department of

Land Economy In economics, land comprises all naturally occurring resources as well as geographic land. Examples include particular geographical locations, mineral deposits, forests, fish stocks, atmospheric quality, geostationary orbits, and portions of t ...

:* Department of Planning :* Centre for Settlements Studies :* Centre for Land Studies

College of Engineering

:* Department of Agricultural Engineering :* Department of

Aerospace Engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

:* Department of

Chemical Engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...

:* Department of

Civil Engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

:* Department of

Computer Engineering Computer engineering (CE, CoE, or CpE) is a branch of engineering specialized in developing computer hardware and software. It integrates several fields of electrical engineering, electronics engineering and computer science. Computer engi ...

:* Department of

Electrical Engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

Electronic Engineering Electronic engineering is a sub-discipline of electrical engineering that emerged in the early 20th century and is distinguished by the additional use of active components such as semiconductor devices to amplify and control electric current flo ...

Telecommunication Engineering Telecommunications engineering is a subfield of electronics engineering which seeks to design and devise systems of communication at a distance. The work ranges from basic circuit design to strategic mass developments. A telecommunication engin ...

:* Department of Geological Engineering :* Department of

Geodetic Engineering Geodesy or geodetics is the science of measuring and representing the geometry, gravity, and spatial orientation of the Earth in temporally varying 3D. It is called planetary geodesy when studying other astronomical bodies, such as planets o ...

:* Department of

Geomatic Engineering Geomatics is defined in the ISO/TC 211 series of standards as the "discipline concerned with the collection, distribution, storage, analysis, processing, presentation of geographic data or geographic information". Under another definition, it ...

:* Department of

Materials Engineering Materials science is an Interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary field of researching and discovering materials. Materials engineering is an engineering field of finding uses for materials in other fields and industries. The intellectual origi ...

:* Department of

Mechanical Engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

:* Department of

Petroleum Engineering Petroleum engineering is a field of engineering concerned with the activities related to the production of hydrocarbons, which can be either crude oil or natural gas or both. Exploration and production are deemed to fall within the ''upstrea ...

College of Science

Source: :The following is the list of departments under the college of science, KNUST. :* Department of

Biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

and

Biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

:* Department of

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

:* Department of

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

:* Department of Environmental Science :* Department of Food Science and Technology :* Department of

Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

:* Department of Optometry and Visual Science :* Department of

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

:* Department of Theoretical and

Applied Biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of ...

:* Department of

Statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a s ...

and

Actuarial Sciences Actuarial science is the discipline that applies mathematics, mathematical and statistics, statistical methods to Risk assessment, assess risk in insurance, pension, finance, investment and other industries and professions. Actuary, Actuaries a ...

:* Department of

Meteorology Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agricultur ...

and

Climate Science Climatology (from Greek , ''klima'', "slope"; and , '' -logia'') or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. Climate concerns the atmospher ...

Institute of Distance Learning

In the year 2005, KNUST adopted

Distance Learning Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...

as a viable complement to the conventional face-to-face system of education. This decision was made to offer opportunity for people to pursue academic programmes with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, while still on full-time employment. In October 2007, the Academic Board changed the status of the Faculty of Distance Learning to the Institute of Distance Learning.

Library and digital resources

The KNUST Library provides information in electronic and print formats to staff and students mainly to support teaching, learning and research in science and technology for national development. It is a depository library for all materials published in

and for international institutions and organisations like the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

and other

United Nations Agencies The United Nations System consists of the United Nations' six principal bodies (the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the United Nations Se ...

. Digital services are available through the Open Educational Resource (OER) as well as the DSpace repository. * The

Open educational resources Open educational resources (OER) are Instructional materials, teaching, learning, and research materials intentionally created and Free license, licensed to be free for the end user to own, share, and in most cases, modify. The term "OER" descr ...

(OER) component of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology fosters collaboration on curricula, course materials, and content; generates connections between disciplines, teachers, and learners; and inspires use of educational materials in a more effective way. * KNUST Online Repository is the university's digital repository. Data for the repository is still being added.

Affiliated institutions

* Accra Institute of Technology * Akim State University College *

All Nations University College All Nations University was founded by Rev. Dr. Samuel Donkor in Ghana. It began with 37 students in October 2002 and has now expanded to over 2000 students. It became an accredited university college in Ghana in October 2002. The university is a ...

* Central University College * Kaaf University College * DataLink University College(DLUC) *

Garden City University College The Garden City University College (GCUC) is one of the private universities in Ghana. It is located at Kenyase in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region. It was established in 2001 as the College of Information Technology and Management Systems. The col ...

Ghana Telecom University College Ghana Communication Technology University (GCTU) is a public university in Accra, Ghana founded in 2005. The school was formerly known as Ghana Technology University College and Ghana Telecom University College. The change in name to Ghana Comm ...

Ho Polytechnic Ho Technical University, formerly Ho Polytechnic, is a public tertiary institution in the Volta Region of Ghana. The Polytechnic started in 1968 as a technical institute with the primary goal of providing pre-technical education. By 1972, the Ins ...

* Osei Tutu II Institute for Advanced ICT Studies * Regent University College * Spiritan Institute / Spiritan University College In December 2019, an agreement was signed between the Gambian government and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology to set up Science, Technology and Engineering University in

The Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

. In the accord, the administrative and teaching faculties will be set up, coached by and affiliated to KNUST.

Research centres

* Bureau of Integrated

Research and Development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as OKB, experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage ...

* Centre for Biodiversity Utilisation and Development (CBUD) * Centre for Cultural and

African Studies African studies is the study of Africa, especially the continent's cultures and societies (as opposed to its geology, geography, zoology, etc.). The field includes the study of Africa's History of Africa, history (pre-colonial, Colonisation of Af ...

* Centre for Human Studies * Dairy/Beef Research Station * The Brew-Hammond Energy Centre, College Of Engineering * Kumasi Center For Collaborative Research (KCCR) in collaboration with the German

Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (Bernhard-Nocht-Institut für Tropenmedizin) (BNITM) in Hamburg is Germany's largest institution for tropical medicine, with a workforce of about 250 people in Hamburg. It is member of the Leibniz- ...

* National Institute for

Mathematical Sciences The Mathematical Sciences are a group of areas of study that includes, in addition to mathematics, those academic disciplines that are primarily mathematical in nature but may not be universally considered subfields of mathematics proper. Statisti ...

(NIMS) * Technology Consultancy Centre (TCC) * Laboratory For Interdisciplinary Statistical Analysis (LISA) * Regional Water and Environmental Sanitation Centre, Kumasi (RWESCK) * Centre for Settlement Studies * Regional Transport Research and Education Centre, Kumasi (TRECK)

Media

Radio

Focus FM (94.3 FM) is the university's official radio station. Among its notable programmes are ''Morning Show'', ''Drive Time'', ''Teknokrat'' and ''Community Watch''.

About Focus FM

Focus FM is a network radio positioned on campus of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi. It was established in the year 2000 A.D. The stakeholders are the UNIVERSITY, Student Representative Counsel and the Graduate Student Association of Ghana. The center targets for the status quo of the station is to inform, teach and entertain the whole college network and the encompassing communities. The important supply of investment is from students’ contribution into Focus FM improvement account.

How Focus FM Is Defined

Focus FM is focused not only to participate in the activities of the community, but in addition to allow the university to take part in the life of the station. This is why it is differentiated from other commercial and state radio – neither of which is seeks public participation, except when it suits them to do so. Focus FM offers democratic access to the activity of programme making itself rather than being communicated at, people are offered the opportunity to communicate themselves.

Finance

Focus FM is a not-for-profit station. It secures its income from; Focus FM Development Fund, a form of commercial Sponsorship focused at serving the community, and a range of community / listener supported fundraisers.

Ghanaian Journalists Who Trained At Focus FM

* Nana Kwadwo Jantuah * Edward Oppong Marfo * Kwame Adinkra *

Kojo Akoto Boateng Kojo Akoto Boateng (born 29 December 1986) is a Ghanaian media personality, broadcaster, and event host. He is currently a member of the Joy FM morning show team, where he contributes to the station’s current affairs and lifestyle programming ...

* Louis Kwame Sakyiamah (Lexis Bill) * Anita Kuma *

Television

TEK TV is the official television station of the university.

Awards and recognition

In 2023, the university was ranked by Times Higher Education as the number destination for quality education globally. This recognition was in alignment the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 4). In November 2019, KNUST was ranked as the best

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

and

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

by ''U.S. News & World Report'' and still holds the record in 2020. It was also ranked 14th in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and 706th in the world, with a global score of 42.4. KNUST was the first university in

to have won the 2018, 2019 and 2020 Pan African Universities Debate Championship consecutively. KNUST is the first university in

to win the Ghana national rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition. The university has also won the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition a record three consecutive times. In December 2020 KNUST became the first university in

to have won the Pan African Universities Debating Championship for 3 consecutive times.

Department of Food Science and Technology

In December 2024, the West Africa Competitiveness Programme (WACOMP), through

UNIDO The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (French: Organisation des Nations unies pour le développement industriel; French/Spanish acronym: ONUDI) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in ...

and EU funding, enabled KNUST's Food Science and Technology Laboratory to become the first public university in Ghana accredited with ISO/IEC 17025:2017, providing SMEs with reliable food testing services.

Notable people

Notable alumni

UN Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

and

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

Laureate

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder a ...

had a part of his education at KNUST * Kwaku Aning and

Hackman Owusu-Agyeman Hackman Owusu-Agyemang (born 22 November 1941) is a Ghanaian politician and former member of Parliament for New Juaben North constituency of the eastern region of Ghana. He is a member of the 3rd parliament of the 4th republic of Ghana and a ...

are other diplomats who graduated from KNUST *

Aliu Mahama Alhaji Aliu Mahama (3 March 1946 – 16 November 2012) was a Ghanaian engineer and politician who was Vice-President of Ghana from 7 January 2001 to 7 January 2009. A member of the New Patriotic Party, he was Ghana's first Muslim Vice-Preside ...

Vice-president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

from 2001 to 2008, studied at KNUST *

Edward Kwame Wiredu Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

, former

Chief Justice of Ghana The chief justice of Ghana is the highest-ranking judge of the Supreme Court of Ghana. The chief justice is also the head of the Judiciary of Ghana and is responsible for its administration and supervision. In order of state precedence, the chief ...

, was also a student at KNUST *

Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings (born 17 November 1948) is a Ghanaian politician and the widow of former President Jerry Rawlings. She was First Lady of Ghana from 4 June 1979 to 24 September 1979 and from 31 December 1981 to 7 January 2001. In 20 ...

, former

first lady of Ghana First Lady of Ghana is the title of the wife of a sitting president of Ghana. The current First Lady, first lady is Lordina Mahama, who has held the position since 2025. They are not officially given salaries but the Ghanaian first and second lad ...

Samira Bawumia Samira Bawumia (née Ramadan) (born 20 August 1980) is a Ghanaian politician who served as the Second Lady of Ghana from 2017 to 2025. She is married to former Vice-President of Ghana, Mahamudu Bawumia. She received the Ghanaian Women Associati ...

, former second lady of

(2017–2025) * Thomas Mensah, former

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of GNPC and

chemical engineer A chemical engineer is a professional equipped with the knowledge of chemistry and other basic sciences who works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of Product (chemistry), products and deals with ...

graduated from KNUST College of Engineering * Alex Mould,

of Ghana Gas * Benjamin Asante * Charles Darku, former

of Tullow Ghana Limited *

Amma Darko Amma Darko (born 1956) is a Ghanaian novelist. She won The Golden Baobab Prize for one of her novels. She has published seven novels in total. Life and writing She was born in Koforidua, Ghana, and grew up in Accra. She studied in Kumasi, whe ...

, the novelist attended KNUST *

Chris Attoh Chris Attoh (born Christopher Keith Nii Attoh; May 17, 1979) is a Ghanaian actor, film director, on-air personality, television presenter and producer. He is best known as "Kwame Mensah" in Nigerian soap opera ''Tinsel''. Education He attended ...

, actor attended KNUST * Nana Otuo Siriboe, the Juabenhene who is also Chairman of Council of State *

King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II (born Kelvin Nii Tackie Abia; 2 August 1971) is the Gã Mantse of the Ga-Adangbe people, enstooled on 9 May 2020. Early life and education King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II was born as Kelvin Nii Tackie Abia in Accra on 2 Au ...

Gã Mantse Gã Mantse is the title of the Ghanaian king of the Gã State in southern part of Ghana, where the Ga-Adangbe people dwell with Accra as the capital city. The Ga-Dangbe, Gã-Daŋbɛ, Ga-Dangme, or GaDangme are an ethnic group in Ghana, Togo and B ...

of the

Ga-Adangbe The Ga-Dangbe, Ga-Dangme, Ga-Adangme or Ga-Adangbe are an ethnic group in Ghana, Togo and Benin. The Ga or Gan and Dangbe or Dangme people are grouped as part of the Ga–Dangme languages, Ga–Dangme Ethnolinguistics, ethnolinguistic group. The ...

people and President of the Ga Traditional Council * Ernest Aryeetey,

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and former

Vice Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth countr ...

of the

graduated from the institution * Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Senior Minister graduated from the institution *

Pamela Mbabazi Pamela Kasabiiti Mbabazi (born 6 April 1969) is a Ugandan university professor, academic, and academic administrator, who currently serves as the Chairperson of the National Planning Authority of Uganda. She was installed in that position in Apr ...

, Chairperson of the Uganda Planning Authority was also a student at KNUST.

Notable academics

Francis Allotey Francis Kofi Ampenyin Allotey (9 August 1932 – 2 November 2017) was a Ghanaian mathematical physicist. Together with Daniel Afedzi Akyeampong, he became the first Ghanaian to obtain a doctorate in mathematical sciences, earned in 1966. Earl ...

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

Aba Andam Professor Aba A. Bentil Andam (born 1948) is a Ghanaian particle physics, particle physicist who was President of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences from 2017 to 2019. She is the first Ghanaian female physicist. Early life and education Aba A ...

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

* Ablade Glover,

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

* Marr Grounds, American / Australian artist and lecturer in architecture in 1966–7 * Thomas Mensah,

* Letitia Obeng, research scientist

Student Leadership

Student Representative Council.

Yvonne Osei Adobea emerged victorious in the SRC presidential elections at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) on 26 July 2023. This historic win marked the first time a female had assumed leadership of the Student's Representative Council at KNUST in its 71-year history. She was succeeded by Kane Nana Francis in 2024.

College associations.

Students in KNUST are represented in at various management levels. Apart from the Student Representative Council which is the ultimate student representative body, there are other bodies at each college in KNUST. The

College of Science A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary school ...

is represented by the Science Students' Association (SCISA). The

College of Engineering Engineering education is the activity of teaching knowledge and principles to the professional practice of engineering. It includes an initial education ( Dip.Eng.)and (B.Eng.) or ( M.Eng.), and any advanced education and specializations tha ...

is represented by Ghana Association of Engineering Students (GESA).

References

External links

*
Universities of Ghana Overseas Office

Students Representative Council
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kwame Nkrumah University Of Science And Technology 1952 establishments in Gold Coast (British colony) Ashanti Empire Education in Kumasi Forestry education National universities Public universities and colleges Universities and colleges established in 1952 Universities in Ghana