THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF

ZANZIBAR
Catalyst of Social Changes

http://www.suza.ac.tz

Despite being historically acknowledged as the regional
source of knowledge and inspiration, Zanzibar did not have
any institution of higher learning up to the late 1990s. Since
its independence Zanzibar relied on external institutions; largely in mainland Tanzania, to develop its
professionals. The idea to establish the State Univeristy of Zanzibar (SUZA) was first conceived by
the 5
th
President of Zanzibar, Dr. Salmin Amour Juma due to the then emerging needs of critical mass
of qualified human capital deemed necessary to spur Zanzibars socio-economic development. SUZA
was officially inaugurated by the 6
th
President, Dr. Amani A. Karume in 2001. As the only public
university in Zanzibar, SUZA sprout as an important engine for transforming the country into a
middle-class economy.
SUZA has recently undergone tremendous reforms aimed at re-positioning itself to be a world class
university highly reputed for quality programs delivery and research undertake. The new vision of
SUZA, i.e., to be the preffered higher education institution of learning and research in the region,
builds upon HE, President of Zanzibar, Dr. Mohamed Ali Sheins vision to transform Zanzibar into a
regional center of excellence in higher education. Thanks to strong ongoing support from Zanzibar
Government and various donors, SUZA is emerging as one of the fastest growing universities in the
region. The students enrolment has exponentially increased, by almost 300%, in the past three years
and in times when most universities in the country struggle to admit just enough students.
Additionally, the number of programs has increased by more than 400%, from 7 programs in 2011 to
30 programs in 2014/2015. We have seen a paralleled increase in the number of newly employed
academic and administrate staff.
SUZAs mission is to offer quality and broadly relevant education and research in order to develop a
knowledge-based society that can tackle the challenges of 21st century and beyond. Recent rapid
increase in the number of programs is necessary to support governments interventions towards
achieving its strategy for economic development (MKUZA). As such, the new programs at SUZA
have been identified from relevant priority areas such as Medicine and Health, Tourism,
Environmental Sciences, Computing and Information Technologies, and Swahili Studies. Currently,
SUZA is composed of five schools namely, School of Natural and Social Sciences, School of
Education, School of Kiswahili and
Foreign Languages, School of
Continuing and Professional Education,
and School of Health and Medical
Sciences.

In its recent reforms, SUZA has
identified focus priority areas for
learning and research through which we
aim to establish regional and global
leadership in teaching and scholastic
contribution in the medium and long
terms. The primary priority areas include

Environmental Sciences and Natural Resources, Oceanography, Swahili Studies, Quality Education,
whereas secondary priority areas are multi-disciplinary in nature which Remote Sensing and GIS,
Instructional Technology, and Natural Language Processing.

There are two newly established research centers at SUZA, which were established to leverage on the
existing opportunities in the country and institutional capacity to support relevant interventions for
strategy for countrys development through research undertake. The centers are Tropical Research
Centre for Oceanography, Environment and Natural Resources (TROCEN) and Global Centre
for Kiswahili Studies and Advancement (GCKSA).

It is well-known that Zanzibar is a birth
place of Swahili language. As such, SUZA
envisions to be the Oxford of Kiswahili.
The objective is to initiate and support
programs that will advocate for world-wide
interest in learning and using the language.
In addition to GCKSA, various strategies are
in place to ensure that SUZA demonstrates
its inherent leadership in teaching and
research in Swahili studies. We have a wide
range of Swahili language programs
designed to attract students of diverse
requirements coming from world over.
SUZA has been receiving over 300 foreign
students a year who have been coming to
learn Kiswahili through specially tailored
immersive programs. We have the first taught PhD and MA programs in Kiswahili delivered in
Swahili language by Zanzibari diaspora from various countries, in addition to programs at Bachelors
and Diploma levels. We are in the process of developing a new Bachelors program in Teaching
Kiswahili as a Second Language (TKSOL) -- one of its kind in the world.

SUZA development plan stipulates further expansion of the university establishment with the same
aim of supporting national development agenda through emerging areas. New schools in the pipeline
include Schools of Petroleum Engineering, Tourism and Hospitality Management, Business studies,
and Computing, Communications and Media. In addition, plans are underway to establish an Institute
of Policy Studies and Research as demanded by the University Act.

At SUZA, we recognize that we live in a global village where physical boundaries are increasingly
blurred, and in some cases are disappearing. We understand the need to develop global citizens who
understand and tolerate cultural diversities and who cherish co-existence. Such 21
st
century skills are
required for our graduates to successfully navigate and adapt in an increasingly complex and a very
competitive world. As such, we understand our limitations in developing higher education institutions
and recognize the need to engage and partner with worlds most experienced institutions as a strategy
to reach our vision and realize our mission. As a result, the number of international partners at SUZA
has been rapidly growing. SUZA is now a member international associations such as ACU, IIE,
IAUP, and is also a member of regional associations such as SARUA, IUCEA, AICAD. Recently,
SUZA has been attracting a number of prominent political leaders during their official visits to
Zanzibar recent examples are The Prime Minister of Finland, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of
Republic of Turkey. This is a manifestation of recognition of the importance of SUZA in Zanzibars
development agenda, and Tanzania at large.

Programmes Offered at SUZA, 2014/2015
Postgraduate PhD in Kiswahili

Programmes Masters of Arts in Kiswahili
Masters of Science in Chemistry
Masters of Science in Environmental Science
Masters in Business Administration (MBA) Evening programme
in collaboration with ESAMI
Undergraduate
Programmes
Education:
Bachelor of Arts with Education
Bachelor of Kiswahili with Education
Bachelor of Science with Education
Bachelor of Science and IT with Education

Social Sciences:
Bachelor of Arts in Geography & Environmental Studies
Bachelor of Arts in History
Bachelor of Arts in Tourism Management and Marketing

Computer Science & IT:
Bachelor of Information Technology Application & Management
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science

Medical & Health Sciences:
Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health
Doctor of Medicine
Diploma and
Certificate
Programmes
Education:
Diploma in Languages with Education
Diploma in Science with Education
Diploma in Inclusive and Special Needs Education
Diploma in Educational Leadership and Management
Diploma in Physical Education and Sports Sciences

Social Sciences:
Diploma in Social Work
Diploma in Heritage Management & Tourism
Diploma in Library & Information Studies
Certificate in Librarianship & Information Studies

Computer Science & IT:
Diploma in Computer Science
Diploma in Information Technology
Certificate in Computing Technology