Welcome to the Department of History, Political Science, and Development Studies (HPD). The Department is one of the largest academic units in the College, with 40 academic members of staff with diverse specialisations. Currently, the Department has 18 PhD holders on post; 8 others are at different stages of their PhD studies; and the rest are Assistant Lecturers and Tutorial Assistants. As the name implies, HPD is a multidisciplinary department that hosts three academic units, namely History, Political Science, and Public Administration and Development Studies, as well as the Centre for Social and Political Research (CSPR). We offer 26 undergraduate courses in Political Science, Public Administration, History, Archaeology, and Development Studies. We also offer three graduate programmes: Master of Arts in Public Administration (an evening programme), Master of Arts with Education (History Stream), and Master of Arts in Development Evaluation.

1. History Unit
This Unit offers a range of courses at both undergraduate and graduate levels. The Unit has 14 members of academic staff, 8 of whom are PhD holders and 3 are on PhD studies. One member holds a Master’s degree, and 2 hold a first degree. Areas of teaching and research include History of Tanzania, History of East Africa, History of West Africa, Gender and Culture, History of South Africa, History of North Africa, War and Gender, Medical History, Traditional Healing and Globalisation, and Archaeology, to name but a few.
2. Political Science and Public Administration Unit
This Unit offers a range of courses at both undergraduate and graduate levels. PSPA Unit has a diverse workforce of 17 academic staff members, 5 of whom are PhD holders and 4 are on PhD studies. The rest are either Master’s degree holders or are about to finish their Master’s degree. Broad areas of teaching and research include Political Science, Public Administration, Party Politics, Human Resource Management, Human Resource Development, Public Policy, Governance, Human Rights, democracy and elections, African Political Thought, Crowdsourcing, to name but a few.
3. Development Studies Unit
This Unit offers courses to undergraduate students across the College. Currently, the Unit has 9 members of academic staff, 5 of whom are PhD holders and 2 are on PhD studies. The remaining 2 members are Master’s degree holders. Areas of teaching and research include Development Perspectives, Pan-Africanism, Ethics and Corruption, Public Health, Development Financing, Development Monitoring and Evaluation, Rural Transformation and Globalisation, Urbanisation and Urban Planning, Governance, to name but a few.