Department of Molecular Biology & Biotechnology

The Department of Botany and Zoology at the University of Cape Coast, which includes the Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, was restructured to form the School of Biological Sciences. This resulted in the introduction of the BSc. degree program in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology in the 2002/2003 academic year. The Department has since been successful in producing high-quality graduates who are contributing to society as scientists in various fields, including academia, agriculture, and medicine, both in Ghana and abroad.

 To keep up with emerging trends in agriculture, industry, and health, BSc. program in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology was reviewed to develop a demand-driven undergraduate program with contemporary technologies and innovations that will positively impact agriculture, industry, health, education, and society as a whole. First, recent advances in the field have been incorporated into the program to fulfil the department's mission of training and building human capacity. Second, the program now starts at Level 200 instead of Level 300 to allow more time to cover Molecular Biology and Biotechnology topics. Two new courses were introduced at Level 200 to support this change.

 Third, feedback from students over the years has been taken into account, resulting in the introduction of a course in Developmental Biology and the revision and expansion of the course descriptions in “Medical Biotechnology” and “Tissue Culture Technology,” among others. Fourth, two new laboratory courses have been added at Level 300 to enhance the practical components of courses and enable students to acquire more hands-on skills. Finally, a course in Entrepreneurship and Business Development was introduced to equip students with relevant knowledge and skills for self-employment and private or public employment. This is important, as the advent of genetically modified organisms has raised some ethical and safety issues that require increased knowledge and skills to properly advise the government and policymakers.