Established as a degree-granting college, Prof. Amos C. Sawyer College of Social Sciences and Humanities (formerly College) has a global reputation, while the image of the college has been rebranded and serves as a flagship college of the University of Liberia. Our graduates, especially the honorees, are indeed “academic stars”, they have demonstrated their ability to perform, achieve and meaningfully excel in scholastic activities, evidenced by achieving high grades and superior performance.
Since 1862, the college has traditionally served students pursuing a full, four-year undergraduate bachelor’s degrees in the most exceedingly respected professional academic disciplines. The College assists students to stay in the institution and realize their full potential and pays close attention to the progression of students from admission to graduation.
In spite of the interruption brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and other persistent challenges, the college leadership is working assiduously to ensure that the college mission and objective are upheld and that students receive standardly lessons. Also, concerted effort is made to ensure that academic standards and quality education are sustained and are not lost. We can state with honored that the college is fulfilling its mission to the Liberian society and the world. The difference the college made in the lives of our students and others have showed positive impact lives and society as a whole, represent a true picture of our goal as a college committed to the development of the intellectual capacity of students.
A Teaching Assistant of the Department of History and a Staff of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology of the Prof Amos C. Sawyer College of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Liberia, have arrived in India for a Two-year Masters study programs in Modern History and Sociology. While concerted efforts have been made for a partnership with other universities and colleges in Africa, Europe, Asia and America to seek career development opportunities for faculty members, staff and students exchanges.
Those involved are Mr. Victor Senyon and Mr. Mohammed Kanneh. Mr. Senyon, a Teaching Assistant in the Department of History is in India to pursue a MA Study in Modern History at Sharda University located at Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, New Delhi, while Mr. Kanneh who is a staff of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology is also in India studying Sociology for a master’s degree.
The two have been admitted in a Two-year Master’s degree programs under the sponsorship of the University of Liberia. The Shrada University and the University of Raipur respectively have offered fifty percent tuition waiver for the duration of the studies.
The two bring to seven the number of faculty members of the Prof Amos C. Sawyer College of Social Sciences and Humanities who have been sent abroad for further studies this year to obtain master’s degree in various disciplines in India, Ghana and the Netherland. Also, two other instructors are being considered for a Ph.D. studies programs in Political Science and Demography.
The Dean of the College, Associate Professor Dr. Josephus M. Gray has expressed gratitude to the authorities of the University of Liberia, particularly Prof. Dr. Julius J. Sarwolo Nelson, Jr. and the Vice President for Academic Affairs, Prof. Dr. Moses M. Zinnah for the opportunity and preferment of the two candidates to travel abroad for advanced studies.
Meanwhile, for the current academic year, the college has 258 faculty members, of which 176(68%) represents part-time faculty and 82(32%) represents full-time faculty. Out of the 258 faculty members, male records 219(85%) while female faculty represents 39(15%). The faculty breakdown shows 68(26%) Bachelor’s degree holders; 171 (67%) Master’s Degree holders and 19(7%) faculty with doctorate degree. The College offers 597 course sections of which 468(78%) taught face-to-face and 129 (22%) sections are taught online via Moodle platform.
The Prof Amos C. Sawyer College of Social Sciences and Humanities (formerly Liberia College) has continued to evolve since 1862, when the Government of Liberia, 15 years after independence, authorized the establishment of a college. The nation, without over stating, indeed needed trained men and women to run its affairs. Many believed that a tertiary education institution could accomplish this objective. It was this thinking that gave rise to the establishment of the College, with the first President of the country, Joseph J. Roberts becoming the first president of Liberia College.
The mission and vision of Prof Amos C. Sawyer College are aligned with those of the University of Liberia. The College’s vision is to transform the way that the world is understood, how knowledge is created, and how problems, especially ones are approached and solved. The College was founded on an agenda of social responsibility to the Liberian Society and the world to provide educational access to the citizens and other nationals across the globe. The driving forces behind that agenda have become an integral part of the philosophy of the University of Liberia
The period 1862 was a crucial period in the nation’s history with emphasis on education to ensure a sound and academically prepared human resource development. Liberia prides itself in having one of the oldest learning institutions not just on the African continent but in the world as well. The college is historically the fifth oldest College on the African Continent, and the oldest in the Republic of Liberia. For over 158 years, Prof Amos C. Sawyer College has withstood the test of time as one of the best colleges in the areas of academic excellence, research, quality teaching and creative thinking in which all scholarly works are cherished and promoted.
In 1951, the College and William V. S. Tubman College of Education (formerly William V. S. Tubman Teachers’ College) merged to form the University of Liberia through the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia (TDEL), based in the United States of America. For the record, Prof Amos C. Sawyer College is well-regarded and strongly valued due to its numerous achievements. The college is wildly respected for being the first in the Republic of Liberia and second in West Africa to confer degrees.
Over the last one-half centuries, the College has worked to build an institution with the adroitness to directly address the fluctuating academic challenges that the youthful population faces, and the college has grown over the century. It has been powered by continuous revolution and ongoing efforts to improve and provide quality education and truth research as well as to enhance students’ creative thinking and approaches to contemporary situations through the application of quality education.
By all accounts, the first group of students was seven, three of them were recipients of the American Colonization Society’s (ACS) scholarships and the other four students were self-sponsored. The first group of students was tested in Greek, Latin and Mathematics.
The College is driven by its commitment to society and is dedicated to providing quality programs and degrees in a flexible and supportive environment. At the Prof Amos C. Sawyer College, high premium is placed on academic freedom, and students receive a top quality education, while faculty and students are equally held in an orbit of high standard. The College remains committed to empowering its students with requisite knowledge and practical skills vital to achieving personal and professional success in the changing local and global communities. The campus is situated on a major highway and surrounded by friendly communities.
Prof Amos C. Sawyer College is an interesting paradox. It’s a small, supportive community hosted in a single roof of the Academic Complex of the University of Liberia. It is just a place where anyone soon know every face and it’s the best place with a beautiful land scape, with access to every possible amenity; but it sits at the heart of the university’s Fendall campus in Louisiana, Monyserrado County, few miles away from the capital.
The College has been successful in integrating research in all the degree granting departments, as a major requirement for completion. At Prof Amos C. Sawyer College, faculties pursue a full range of research interests related to their own academic disciplines. The college has harmonized the various academic departments’ curricula and introduced standardized research methodology course across the college. Students who successfully passed the research course are advanced for senior thesis writing or undertake a senior project as a special requirement to fulfill a-year Baccalaureate Degree Requirements to earn a Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degree.
The graduates of the college are making tremendous contributions to societies across the international sphere with obvious outputs in numerous areas including national development. Some have risen to serve as president, vice president, Justices of the Supreme Court, of minister, senator, Representative, Ambassador, president of tertiary institutions, heads of public corporations, standard-bearers of political parties, academic directors, deans and media expertise.
Prof Amos C. Sawyer College has a proud history of providing courses that help communities to grow and flourish, this focus on combining practical knowledge with quality learning and teaching. Interestingly, it was the first to be established in the country with a well-defined and founding mission. The College remains driven by its commitment to societies and is dedicated to providing quality programs and degrees in a flexible and supportive environment.
The College also strives to be among the most innovative academic institutions in the world. Its remains committed to empowering its students with requisite knowledge and practical skills vital to achieving personal and professional success in the changing local and global communities in which they live, work and compete in the job market.
The College offers Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degree and Bachelor of Social Work Degree (BSW) in several disciplines. The minimum credit hours needed for completion of a specialized degree program is 128. Students are voluntarily allowed to choose from the six academic departments to fulfill a 4-year Baccalaureate Degree Requirements to earn a BA and BSW degrees. Students can take up to 15 credits for each of the eight academic semesters at the college.
The college was successful to harmonize the various academic departments’ curricula and successfully remodeled research methodology courses across the college to help sharpen the students’ skills and widen their horizons in research. Those who are successfully passed the research methodology studies are advanced for senior thesis writing or research project. Our graduates earn BA and BSW degrees in English, French, Demography, Geography, Sociology, social work, History, Political Science, Communication, Media Studies, Philosophy and Religious Studies and Criminology.
The College maintains academic excellence, quality teaching, broad based research and emphasizes professionalism, efficiency and productivity. Currently, there are six (6) academic departments in the College. The idea to merge the departments from 15 to six was based on the official request of the college through a petition to the Academic Coordination Committee (ACC) and Faculty Senate of the University of Liberia.
The merger reflects the current dynamic across the world as higher education institutions (HEIs) recognized the fact that the world is changing very rapidly and increasingly, affecting every sector of society, and that some HEIs have undertaken reform measures, including more specifically merger actions to complement one another to meet students’ needs, and foster more efficient operations and academic excellence.
eleven academic units of the six departments confer a four-year Baccalaureate Degree in specialized fields of study. They are: English and Literature, French Studies, Social Work, Demography, Geography, Sociology, Criminology, History, Political Science, Communication and Media Studies, Philosophy and Religious Studies. The non-degree granting units are: Physical Education and Sports, Social Science, Arts and Crafts, ROTC and Liberian Languages. The various departments and units have been merged to six to reflect the current dynamics across the world as higher education institutions (HEIs) recognize the fact that the world is changing very rapidly and increasingly. While the Criminology Program is the latest to be introduced as a degree granting program.
At the college, three certificate and diploma program are in place for capacity building and career development for others whom for particular reason mighty not want to pursue degree studies. The three programs are: (1) Joe W. Mulbah Center of Journalism and Public Relations (2) UL Center for Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing (3) Certificate in Statistics Program (CEST)
Prof Amos C. Sawyer College is highly respected for our well-skilled, renowned, professional and trained faculty. The quality of faculty at the institution is the primary reason students choose to study here. We attract scholars at the cutting edge of their various fields including include publishers, authors, critical thinkers, educators, and scholars with a reservoir of knowledge in their chosen disciplines of social sciences and humanities. Our faculty come with a commitment to work together, learn together, care for one another and mentor students.
The college seeks to achieve excellence levels of distinction in teaching, learning and research by transmitting knowledge and understanding that are needed to transform the Liberian society and in the service of the world. The college made up of a vibrant Faculty that is well-trained and which operates with tangible achievements. It has six academic departments and several unites headed by chairs and coordinators.
For the current academic year, the college has 258 faculty members, of which 176(68%) represents part-time faculty and 82(32%) represents full-time faculty. Out of the 258 faculty members, male records 219(85%) while female faculty represents 39(15%). The faculty breakdown shows 68(26%) Bachelor’s degree holders; 171 (67%) Master’s Degree holders and 19(7%) faculty with doctorate degree. The College offers 597 course sections of which 468(78%) taught face-to-face and 129 (22%) sections are taught online via Moodle platform.
Concerted efforts have been made for a partnership with other universities and colleges in Africa, Europe, Asia and America to seek career development opportunities for faculty members, staff and students exchanges. Our faculty showed remarkable commitment to enhancing the online, remote learning experience for our students. The college has not departed from its core objectives to present accurate and wide-ranging study of the multi-culture, social and economic and political diversities.
Prof Amos C. Sawyer College has a proud history of providing courses that help communities to grow and flourish.
Prof Amos C. Sawyer College courses take a holistic, interdisciplinary approach, relevant to any professional direction. Most courses are available for either credit or audit while students voluntarily make decisions whether for in-person class and eLearning. They are designed to push students academically, enrich their critical thinking, challenge their paradigms, and prepare them to live out their callings in the public sphere.
Unlike the past years, the current faculty members of the College are comfortably teaching through the use of Hybrid learning with the approach of combining online education such as Moodle eLearning platform with traditional in-person based classroom methods and tools. We are incredibly proud of how Liberia College responded and adapted to the adjustments needed due to the coronavirus. Not only has Prof Amos C. Sawyer College adapted to meeting the change in the learning environment caused by COVID-19 pandemic, but we have been able to maintain academic excellence in online teaching, positioning us to provide better service for our students going forward.
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