Overview

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES AT GLANCE

The College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS) is one of the six (6) colleges of the University of Rwanda (UR) as established in 2013 (Law n^o38 of 23/09/2013).

Our mission is to deliver quality education and develop innovative teaching, research and services to community that are addressing societal needs at national, regional and international level. This is in line with the Sustainable Development Goal 4 : quality education, and Rwanda’s aspiration to become a knowledge based economy. Therefore, the CASS is committed to building an environment that is ‘inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’ by attracting highly qualified people of all backgrounds to become part of our exciting family as either students or staff.

The CASS is comprised of four schools (School of Arts and Languages, School of Journalism and Communication, School of Governance and School of Law), four centres (Centre for Language Enhancement (CLE), Centre for Gender Studies (CGS), Centre for Conflict Management (CCM), and Centre for Legal Aid (CLAM)) and a Radio Station – Radio Salus (not discussed in this report). The CASS Head Office is located at Huye Campus but it operates on six campuses (Huye, Gikondo, Remera, Gako, Musanze and Nyakinama), and it has staff from the Centre for Language Enhancement on all campuses of the University of Rwanda. 

Faculty and Staff of CASS

The staff of the College of Arts and Social Sciences is composed of 2 Full Professors, 7 Associate Professors, 21 Senior Lecturers, 56 Lecturers, 59 Lecturers and 35 Tutorial Assistants as shown below :

Academic staff

Administrative staff

The Administrative staff serving Huye Campus under the CASS is 83, based in different departments and units, 55 of which are males while 28 are females as shown below :

The CASS offers 1 Advanced Diploma, 14 Bachelor’s degree, 7 Master’s programmes, Mphil and PhD programmes by research in all disciplines under the College, and 1 PhD by Course work in Peace, Conflict and Security Studies.

Students Population – past 5 years

Chart

Current CASS Registered Students (2019/2020)

In the past 5 years, the CASS has graduated 2795 number of students (undergraduate and postgraduate combined) out of whom 635 (22.72%) are female and 2160 (77.28%) are male. Until 2017, the CASS has been running 4-years undergraduate degree programs, but in the academic year 2017-2018, the College started restructuring all programs into a 3 year undergraduate degree programs with the exception of the Bachelor of Laws (LLB) offered at the School of Law – LLB is still 4 years. 

It is important to point out that the above statistics clearly show that the CASS has a very small number of students and the number continues to decrease. This is partly due to the limited (or lack of) government scholarships for students undertaking studies in arts, social sciences, languages and other fields of humanities. Meanwhile, the College is taking some measures to deal with this continued decrease in the number of students, we are currently undertaking a repackaging of all undergraduate programs in the School of Arts and Languages and the School of Governance into a combination of major and minor studies. This will supplement students’ career path, and it is hoped that implementing those changes might increase the attractiveness of those degrees.

The following are specific details concerning Schools and Centres under the College of Arts and Social Sciences (UR-CASS).

Research Centers

– Center for Conflict Management (CCM)
 – Center for Gender, Culture and Development (CGCD)

- Centre for Language Enhancement (UR CLE)

- Center for Teaching and Learning Enhancement(CTLE)

Community Service Centers

– Radio Salus
– Center for Legal Aid and Mediation

Vision
To be a leading University that develops highly enterprising graduates prepared and dedicated to building a more just and sustainable society locally, nationally and globally, with appropriate innovations that advance quality of life.

Mission
To support the development of Rwanda by discovering and advancing knowledge, committed to the highest standards of academic excellence , where students are prepared for lives of service, leadership and solutions.

Objectives (to include) :
Develop interdisciplinary, problem-based academic programmes aligned with Rwanda’s development needs.
Integrate IT-based resources from around the world.
Ensure students have the leadership, entrepreneurship and management skills needed to create employment.
Prepare students for service to their communities and country through applied service learning programmes nationally and internationally
Create applied, evidence-driven, research centres focused on problem solving, aligned with Rwanda’s development needs.
Develop continuous education programs for upgrading skills and knowledge.