Ph.D. in Land Policy and Governance

1. Rationale of the Program

Land is a fundamental resource in any society with far reaching social, cultural and economic implication. It is the source of life itself and the foundation of all forms of human activity; from it we obtain the food we eat, the shelter we need, the space to work, and the room to relax. Its control and use has far-reaching implications on how a society is organized and informs on how the means of production and exchange are regulated. It also determines households' ability to produce their subsistence and generate marketable surplus, their social and economic status, their incentive to exert non observable effort and make investments, and often also their ability to access financial markets or to arrange for smoothing of consumption and income. It is thus logical that whoever controls land has an upper-hand in most of the matters in the society. 

Moreover, land is not only the earth that people walk on. It is fundamentally the way people think about place (Williamson et al., 2010). The development of society as a dynamic and continuous process has in fact a resilient impact on the nature of relationship between mankind and land and on the way people think about land. Thus, land administration as profession and discipline has emerged or was introduced to manage the rapport between society and land. The intellectual roots of the discipline in the management of people-to-land relationships are much older and have been part of civilizations for millennia (Williamson et al., 2010). Since people to land relationship in any society are not stable but are continually evolving, the functions and components of land administration systems are also evolving and changing every time driven by the development of land markets and the idea of sustainable development (Williamson, 2005; Molen, 2002; Ting and Williamson, 1999). 

Currently, sustainable development is the major policy justification for evolution of land administration systems in addition to development of land markets and information technology. Thus, the changes in people-to-land relationships came about because of pressures on the environment caused by population increases and  rapid urbanization, use and misuse of resources, reorganization of national states and advancement of information technology (Williamson et al., 2010;Ting and Williamson, 1999). As a result, sustainability theory now underpins the policy objectives of many countries and land administration is becoming a very crucial tool to achieve sustainable development. 

As it is pointed out in the Bathurst Declaration on Land Administration for Sustainable Development (1999), the relationship between land and people has resulted in degradation of land due to unsustainable land use practices; lack of land for suitable urban development; lack of security of tenure (which in many societies impacts most severely on women and children); inequitable access to land by indigenous peoples and minority groups and women; increasing vulnerability to disaster; destruction of bio-diversity; lack of adequate planning and of effective Land Administration and Management; tensions between environmental conservation and development; and impact of market forces on traditional economies and tenures. 

Land in Ethiopia, like that of other countries is a basic and scarce community resource which has not been managed and used properly due to lack of well trained professional in the area of land governance and policy. Despite the groundbreaking achievements recorded in the expansion of B.Sc. and M.Sc. training programs in land administration, there is no Ph.D. training program on land policy and governance matters. Thus, land issues in Ethiopia seek higher level experts who would be engaged in policy formulation, teaching and research in universities and colleges, and lead and organize land related activities at various levels of the land administration institutions. Given the growing demand for land administration/governance and the challenges that lie ahead, opening PhD program in land governance and policy is an overdue. The rapidly growing economy, and the continuous population growth along with the inelastic nature of land have induced a very strong pressure and demand on land and this indeed requires highly qualified land administration experts who can be involved in:

▪              Land governance and policy formulation;

▪              Teaching and research in universities and other research institutions; 

▪              Leading and organizing land issues at various levels of the land administration systems. 

However, PhD program in land policy and governance has not been lunched in Ethiopia so far.  The reality on the ground shows that many teaching staffs in the Institute of Land Administration in Bahir Dar University as well as in other Universities and government and non-governmental organizations that have MA/MSc/LLM/M.Phil. in land related fields need to be upgraded.    Moreover, the government’s efforts to enhance the country’s economy makes it  essential to carry out policy reforms on the rural and urban land administration and this demands professional inputs. There is however a mismatch between the demand for high level professionals and access to PhD level training in the country. Considering this gap through analysis of policy frames and experiential encounters with the different stakeholders, the Institute of Land Administration of Bahir Dar University, as the pioneer and leading institute in the area of land administration having competent and qualified staff has to take measures to fill this national gap.  The move to address the national agenda is line with the vision of Bahir Dar University which is stated as becoming one of the ten premier research universities in Africa by 2025.  To achieve this goal, expanding PhD programs that reinforce engagement of academics staff as well as students in research activities becomes a priority. The launching of the PhD program in land policy and governance at BDU is therefore a timely and a rational institutional development intervention.  Although ILA has the professional and technical expertise to run the program efforts will be made to establish strong links with experienced international institutions that are engaged in similar academic programs.   

2. Overall Objectives of the Program

The Institute of Land Administration in Bahir Dar University was established with the broader objectives of producing adequately trained, qualified and competent professionals equipped with the required knowledge, skill and attitude in the field of land administration and management in accordance with the country’s need of trained human power. Accordingly, this program is primarily intended to produce high level land related academicians and researchers, land policy formulators and advisors, and managers of land administration institutions. The launching of this program is also intended to enhance the employment and use of innovative tools and skills in a bid to solve contemporary land administration issues in land administration institutions at federal and regional level. More specifically, this PhD program is anticipated to capacitate graduates who can:

▪              Apply the knowledge and skill they have acquired from the PhD program to solve contemporary societal problems in land policy and governance;

▪              Create innovative land governance tools that can modernize existing land administration systems;

▪              Contribute in capacitating the man power of private and public sectors in the field of land administration and management;

▪              Produce and disseminate scientific research outputs that have national and regional significance;

▪              Assist in land policy formulation, evaluation and implementation programs of the government;

▪              Lead land related institutions and projects at national and international level;

▪              Consult policy makers, private sector, international organs and others working on land related areas.

▪              Conduct original research on various land related problems and contribute to fill knowledge gaps in the area of land policy and governance at national, regional and global level.

3. Profile of the Program

3.1. Admission Requirements

An applicant for admission to the PhD in Land Policy and Governance should meet the following academic requirements:

1.           Applicants with MA/MSc/LL,M/MPhil in land administration and management, land economics, natural resource economics, environmental economics, development economics, real estate development and management, environmental law, development studies, urban and regional planning, urban development and management, geomatics (GIS & Surveying), geography, natural resource management, agriculture economics and other land related fields can be enrolled in the program;

2.           Applicants must have scored a minimum of 3.00 CGPA at the MA/MSc/LL,M/MPhil level; 

3.           Applicants must have scored a minimum of ‘Good’ pass or its equivalent in their master      thesis;

4.           Applicants have to prepare and submit synopsis that shall be screened by a committee of professors in the university.

5.           A Motivation letter, 

6.           Two recommendation letters,

7.           Additionally, as per the national policy of Ethiopia, applicants are expected to qualify National Graduate Admission Test (NGAT) for in-country applicants and IELTS and TOEFL or other equivalently recognized English Language proficiency tests for international applicants.

3.2. Duration of Study

The duration of the program shall be 4 years. The program has both course work and research work.  

4. List of Courses

The courses for the PhD program are composed of compulsory and elective courses. To complete the PhD program, the candidate should be required to take all compulsory courses (which is equivalent to 18 credit hours) and at least two elective courses (which is equivalent to 6 credit hours).

4.1. Compulsory Courses and Dissertation

4.2. Elective Courses

The PhD candidate is required to choose and take three elective courses (6 Cr. Hrs.) which are relevant and related to his/her dissertation. 

4.3. Course Breakdown

Three elective courses shall be chosen and taken by the Ph.D. student in the 1st semester of year II.   

Note: The TBAs in course code of elective courses will be substituted by course codes of the respective selected elective courses.