University of Livingstonia

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The University of Livingstonia (UNILIA) is a university located in Livingstonia, Malawi. It was founded in 2003 and has grown to over 2,000 students located in three campuses. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is accredited by the National Council of Higher Education. The main campus is the Laws Campus in Livingstonia, which is at Khondowe plateau in Rumphi District Smaller campuses are the Ekwendeni Campus, which is at Ekwendeni Mission Station in Mzimba District^[1]

The vision for the university was created by Robert Laws. Robert Laws FRGS FRSGS (1851–1934) was a Scottish missionary who headed the Livingstonia mission in the Nyasaland Protectorate (now Malawi) for more than 50 years. The mission played a crucial role in educating Africans during the colonial era. It emphasized skills with which the pupils could become self-sufficient in trade, agriculture or industry as opposed to working as subordinates to European settlers. Dr Laws was of the view that basic education alone was not sufficient to stir socioeconomic development of the people in Africa. This is the reason why he decided to establish an institution of higher learning at Khondowe, which was training teachers, medical students, artisans and ministerial students. The Church of Central Africa Presbyterian Synod Livingstonia has over the years carried on the vision and aspirations of Dr Laws, in the provision of education, health and other social services to the people of Malawi and beyond its borders. The Church of Central Africa Presbyterian, Livingstonia Synod formally launched the first private university in Malawi, known as the University of Livingstonia on 27 August 2003. Former Centralia College President Henry Kirk, a retired educator with 42 years of experience, was the first vice chancellor of the school.^[2] The first academic programs to be offered by the university were Bachelor of Education in Humanities and Bachelor of Education in Science. Later on, more programs were added. The first graduate programs were offered in 2017.^[3]

The first Campus of University of Livingstonia was in the same buildings of Overtuon Institute at Khondowe. There, the school facilities included a church, classrooms, hospitals, medical school, houses, piped water and first grid electricity in Central Africa. The schools that were built catered for students from different parts of the country, and neighboring countries, such as Zambia and Tanzania.^[2]

• Bachelor of Education in Science and Humanities
• Bachelor of Education in Information
• Communication and Technology (ICT)
• Bachelor of Science in Environmental Management
• Bachelor of Science in Public Health
• Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering
• Bachelor of Science in Food Security and Nutrition
• Bachelor of Social Science in Development Studies
• Bachelor of Social Science in Human Rights
• Bachelor of Theology and Bachelor of Arts in Theology and Development

• Master of Arts in Theology and Religious Studies,
• Master of Arts in Theology and Gender Studies and
• Master of Arts in Theology and Development Studies.

• List of universities in Malawi
• Education in Malawi

• Campuses
• UNILIA Offers Graduate Programs