This assessment by PositiveNaija aims to provide a reliable guide on the overall standard of Nigerian universities offering sociology and anthropology as academic courses and degrees.
This inaugural assessment is a part of a periodic monitoring by PositiveNaija on selected disciplines/courses offered by Nigerian universities, which largely constitute the core areas of the work done on PositiveNaija with the aim of promoting the culture of impactful scholarship and academic excellence in the Nigerian educational sector.
The core disciplines/courses include:
- Anthropology and Sociology
- International Relations, Studies and Diplomacy
- History
- Law
- Mass Communication (Journalism and Media Studies, Public Relations, etc.)
- Philosophy
The study of sociology and anthropology and the respective application of both disciplines are important in understanding distinct cultures; evolution of peoples and societies; assessing the influence of human actions.
“A culture is a total way of life. It embraces what people ate and what they wore; the way they walked; the manner in which they treated death and greeted the newborn.”
– Walter Rodney
This assessment on the quality of Nigerian universities offering sociology and anthropology as academic courses and degrees is hinged on certain parameters or factors.
- Factor 1: Accreditation
Indicator: Accreditation report by the National Universities Commission of Nigeria (NUC).
Source: NUC website
This factor takes into consideration the qualifying elements for the courses of sociology and anthropology: library strength; physical and technological infrastructure; number and quality of relevant staff; etc.
Thus, in this assessment of recommended universities (undergraduate), only universities with full accreditation (not interim or denied) have been provided.
- Factor 2: Quality of Education
Indicator: The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2021.
Source: THE World University Rankings website
This factor takes into consideration the ranking of the best universities in Nigeria offering sociology and anthropology: Teaching (the learning environment); Research (volume, income and reputation); Citations (research influence); International outlook (staff, students and research); and Industry income (knowledge transfer).
Thus, in this assessment of recommended universities, only the best universities in Nigeria according to the THE World University ranking are featured.
The recommended Nigerian universities have also been listed in the order of their performance in the The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2021.
Reference: U.S. News & World Report L.P. | QS World University Rankings
- Factor 3: Job employability
Indicator: Most employable Nigerian universities
Source: The Nigerian Graduate Report 2018 by Stutern.
This factor will be recorded in percent as stated in the report of the source relied on.
- Factor 4: Accessible information relevant about the Faculty.
Indicator and source: Online – website of the respective university/faculty
This factor takes into consideration information available on the following: curriculum; names and contact of the faculty (email and/or phone number); profile/CV and contact of staff and management; number of total sociology and anthropology students; seminars, conferences, research; tuition and other relevant fees; internet safety of the website; etc.
This factor will be recorded as “Available”, “Good” and “Excellent” accordingly.
| 2020 Report Last updated on 2nd of October 2020. | ||
| Universities | Job employability | Accessible information |
| University of Ibadan (UI) | 61.76% | Good |
| Lagos State University (LASU) | 58.49% | – |
| University of Lagos (UNILAG) | 58.13% | Available |
| Covenant University (CU) | 83.70% | Good |
| University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN/ UNEC) | 68.18% | Good |
| Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) | 59.30% | Good |
*This assessment was first written by Toju Micheal Ogbe on the 19th of September, 2020.
*A review and update of the assessment will be done periodically.
*If you have information or data that could be relevant in improving this assessment, please comment or write to us at positivenaija@yahoo.com and we will update the article accordingly.