AGRICUTURAL EXTENSION AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
The Department offers graduate programs leading to MS and PhD degrees.
Research facilities are available for field studies in extension and rural education using the farmers’ situation as a social laboratory. Major research thrusts are identification of constraints to agro rural development; development of alternative extension methods, strategies and approaches; and extension teaching methods & techniques. Adoption and diffusion of agricultural innovations and their socio-cultural barriers & development of feedback mechanism on farmers’ reactions on new technologies.
Faculty: Dr. Md. Enamul Haque, Professor; Dr. Md. Safiul Islam Afrad, Professor; Dr. Shaikh Shamim Hasan, Professor; Farhana Yeasmin, Professor; Mohammed Rokonuzzaman, Associate Professor; Dr. Muhammad Ziaul Hoque, Assistant Professor and Foyez Ahmed Prodhan, Assistant Professor.
Adjunct Faculty: Md. Amir Hossain, Former Professor, GTI, BAU; Dr. Md. Mozahar Ali, Professor, GTI, Dr. M.A. Momen Miah, Ex. Professor, BAU; Dr. M. A. Razzaque, Ex Director, BARC; Md. Shadat Ullah, Ex Professor, SAU; Dr. Md. Mahfuzul Haque, Ex Professor, Department of Agricultural Extension Education, BAU.
Research Supervisor: Dr. Abdul Halim, Ex Professor, BAU; Dr. Md. Mozahar Ali, Professor, GTI, BAU; Dr. AKMA Hannan Bhuiyan, Former Professor, BSMRAU; Dhaka; Mr. Md. Shadat Ullah, Ex Professor, SAU; Dr. M. A Razzaque, Ex Director, BARC; Dr. A.N.M. Waliullah, DAE; Dr. Md. Shafiqul Islam, Director, BARD, Comilla; Dr. Golam Rabbani Akanda, Professor, PSTU; Dr. M.A. Muttaleb, PSO, BRRI, Mrs. Mahbuba Moonmon, Deputy Director, DAE and Dr. S.K.M. Ahaduzzaman, FAO, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
COURSES
AER 501 Agricultural Extension and Communication (3 cr): Principles, strategies, philosophies and theories of extension education and rural communication and their implications in agricultural extension programs and evaluation of extension programs.
AER 505 Adult Education (3 cr): Philosophy, principles, and major goals of adult education; extension workers, community leaders and agricultural teachers to develop programs and effective methods of teaching adult farmers; and role of adult education in agro-rural development.
AER 510 Research Methodology in Extension Education (3 cr): Characteristics of science and scientific methods; types and methods of social research, selection of researchable problems and formulation of theoretical framework; sampling techniques; scaling techniques, development of research instrument, procedure of data collection, analysis; and preparation of research report.
AER 515 Modeling and Theory Building in Social Science (3 cr): Characteristics and general aims of science and scientific methods; basic concepts of modeling and theory buildings; structure and formats of theory; identification and analysis of programs; and strategies for developing a scientific body of knowledge.
AER 525 Sociology and Psychology of Extension Education (3 cr): Basic concepts of sociology and social psychology, social structure, stratification and social institutions in rural Bangladesh and their roles in extension education; review of some sociological theories and livelihood strategies and asset pentagon.
AER 530 Extension Program Management and Administration (3 cr): Principles, theories and management concepts of administering extension organizations with major emphasis on program management; administration, supervision and evaluation of extension personnel; and identification of forces affecting administration of agricultural programs.
AER 540 Gender Issues and Youth Programs in Agriculture (3 cr): Concepts of society, culture, environment and technological innovations concerning women’s participation in development in general and women’s involvement in agriculture in particular, gender issues and trends; women’s accessibility to extension support services and resources. Youth programs in Bangladesh; and problems and prospects of women and youth development.
AER 545 Community Development (3 cr): Concepts, principles and approaches of community development; rural development and their problems and implications in hindering rural (farming community) life; community development problems in selected Asian countries with special emphasis on the merits of universal approach- es and strategies of community development works in SAARC countries.
AER 550 Monitoring and Evaluation of
Extension Program (3 cr): Meaning, purpose, and scope of monitoring; quantitative and qualitative monitoring; procedure for monitoring of demonstrations and field days, farmers groups, farmers training, motivational tours/visits, district and upazila fairs, and printed media; using monitoring data; basic concepts in evaluation; steps in evaluating extension programs; aspects of evaluation of a training program: total effect of training methods and techniques used, instructors, trainees’ performance, and content; re- view of evaluation study of an extension program.
AER 555 Extension Teaching Methods and Techniques (3 cr): Principles and techniques used in planning, organizing and conducting educational programs for extension workers in agriculture, development workers, professional trainers of both public and private agencies (NGOs). Selection and organization of subject matter content for specific courses, analysis of widely used teaching methods by extension agencies in Bangladesh.
AER 596 Reading and Conference (Credit to be arranged but not more than 3 cr): Special study assigned by the Major Professor on the recommendation of the Advisory Committee and/or the interest of the student.
AER 597 Special Problems (Credit to be arranged but not more than 3 cr): Investigation of special problems not related to a thesis problem as assigned by the Major Professor.
AER 598 Seminar (1 cr): Discussion on an assigned topic in the field of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development.
AER 599 MS Thesis Research (Credit to be arranged but not less than 12 cr): Original thesis research
AER 601 Sociology and Anthropology of Agriculture (3 cr): Nature and meaning of sociology and anthropology of development with special reference to agricultural development; application of theories and concepts to the problems of development; contemporary issues and problems of development; genesis of agriculture, gender issues, kinship relationship; and methodology of anthropological study and case study of ethnic group.
AER 610 Research Systems Management (3 cr): Research systems and theories and practices of management; current issues and problems in management of research organizations.
AER 620 Project Planning and Develop- ment in Agricultural Extension (3 cr): Concepts of project, its goals and objec- tives; analysis of major steps in designing, planning, and implementation of a project; appraisal and evaluation of project.
AER 625 Group Dynamics and Leadership (3 cr): Introduction to group dynamics; causes of group failure; theory of action; internal and external dynamics of groups; group participation; problem solving steps in tackling group problems; identification of target groups. Concept of leadership; the leader and the group; functions, skills and style of leadership; leadership in organization.
AER 630 Agricultural Knowledge Sys- tems (3 cr): Concepts, analysis and sys- tems approach to integration of research, extension and the farming community.
AER 640 Transfer of Technology (3 cr): Analysis of processes in technology transfer to sensitize the clientele from technology generation to utilization, impact of technology on planned social change.
AER 645 Project Preparation and Management (3 cr): Conceptual framework of a project; project management environment in Bangladesh; project processing procedures; project executive agencies in Bangladesh; monitoring and evaluation of project; factors affecting project schedule and cost effectiveness.
AER 660 Comparative Extension Education Systems (3 cr): Analysis of national extension education systems prevailing in selected countries (India, Pakistan, Japan, the USA etc.) with emphasis on comparative merits and elements having universal application for strengthening the extension system in Bangladesh.
AER 665 Data Analysis and Interpretation in Extension Education (3 cr): Application and interpretation of descriptive and inferential statistics for research and agricultural extension education; data entry techniques and use of computers (SPSS/Pc+).
AER 670 Philosophy of Rural Development (3 cr): Analysis of theories, philosophies and strategies for rural development programs at national, regional and global levels; role of NGOs in rural development.
AER 680 Rural Institutions and Participatory Development (3 cr): Concept, meaning and development of rural institutions; identification, description and analysis of changes in rural institutions affecting socio-cultural, economic and political life of rural communities engaged in agriculture
AER 685 Research Methods and Designs in Social Science (3 cr): Meaning and purpose of research design, type of re- search design in social science; measurement of validity and reliability; scaling techniques; hypothesis testing; selection and use of appropriate tests: correlation, regression, t-test, χ2 etc. in the interpretation of results
AER 696 Reading and Conference (Credit to be arranged but not more than 3 cr): Special study assigned by the Major Professor on the recommendation of the Advisory Committee and/or the interest of the student.
AER 697 Special Problems (Credit to be arranged but not more than 3 cr): Investigation of special problems not related to a thesis problem as assigned by the Major Professor.
AER 698 Seminar (2 cr, not more then 1 cr per term): Discussion on an assigned topic in the field of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development.
AER 699 PhD Dissertation Research
(Credit to be arranged but not less than
30 cr): Original thesis research.
Note: Students having cumulative GPA below 3.00 will not be allowed to enroll AER 596, AER 597, AER 696 and AER 697 until he/she raises the cumulative GPA to 3.00 or above.
Table 3. Minimum Course and Research Requirement for MS Degree1
A. Major Courses Cr. Minor Courses Cr.
| 1a. Core | 15 | 2a. Core | 3 | ||
| AER 501 | Agricultural Extension & | 3 | STT 501 | Methods of Statistics | 3 |
| Communication | |||||
| AER 510 | Research Methodology in | 3 | |||
| Extension Education | |||||
| AER 525 | Sociology and Psychology of | 3 | |||
| Extension Education | |||||
| AER 530 | Extension Program | 3 | |||
| Management & Administration | |||||
| AER 545 | Community Development | 3 | |||
| 1b. Elective 6 2b. Elective 6 | |||||
| AER 505 | Adult Education | 3 | AEC 520 | Agricultural | 3 |
| Marketing & Trade | |||||
| AER 540 | Gender Issues and Youth | 3 | AEC 511 | Farm Management | 3 |
| Program in Agriculture | |||||
| AER 550 | Monitoring and Evaluation of | 3 | AFE 512 | Farming System | 3 |
| Extension Program | |||||
| AER 555 | Extension Teaching Methods | 3 | AGR 501 | Principles of Crop | 3 |
| and Techniques | Production | ||||
| AER 620 | Project Planning and Development in Agricultural Extension | 3 | ENT 510 | Principles of Insect Control | 3 |
| AER 625 | Group Dynamics and Leader- | 3 | ENT 518 | Integrated Pest | 3 |
| ship | Management | ||||
| AER 630 | Agricultural Knowledge | 3 | HRT 501 | Principles of | 3 |
| System | Vegetable Production | ||||
| AER 640 | Transfer of Technology | 3 | HRT 506 | Principles of Fruit | 3 |
| Production | |||||
| STT 520 | Sampling & Survey | 3 | |||
- B. Seminar 1
Other Courses2
AER 598 Seminar 1
- Thesis Research 12
AER 599 Thesis Research Variable Total 43
1 Degree requirements may be changed on the recommendation of the Board of Studies and the
Advisory Committee.
2Approved by the Advisory Committee
Table 4. Minimum Course and Research Requirement for PhD Degree1
| A. Major Courses | Credit | Minor Courses | Credit | ||
| 1a. Core | 18 | 2a. Core | 6 | ||
| AER550
AER 555 |
Monitoring and Evaluation of
Extension Program Extension Teaching Methods |
3
3 |
STT 505
STT 525 |
Regression Analysis
Multivariate Analysis |
3
3 |
|
AER 620 |
and Techniques
Project Planning and |
3 |
|||
|
AER 625 |
Development in Agricultural
Extension Group Dynamics and Leader- |
3 |
|||
|
AER 640 |
ship
Training and Technology |
3 |
|||
|
AER 685 |
Transfer
Research Methods and De- |
3 |
|||
| signs in Social Science | |||||
| 1b. Elective | 12 | 2b. Electiv | e | 9 | |
| AER 515 | Modeling and Theory
Building in Social Science |
3 | AEC 511 | Farm Management | 3 |
| AER 540 | Gender Issues and Youth
Programs in Agriculture |
3 | AEC 540 | Agricultural
Development |
3 |
| AER 601 | Sociology & Anthropology of Agriculture | 3 | AFE 501 | Agroforestry Concepts and Practices | 3 |
| AER 610 | Research System
Management |
3 | AFE 512 | Farming Systems | 3 |
| AER 630 | Agricultural Knowledge Sys- tems | 3 | AGR 501 | Principles of Crop
Production |
3 |
| AER 645 | Project Preparation & Management | 3 | AGR 525 | Principles of Seed
Science & Technology |
3 |
| AER 660 | Comparative Extension Edu- cation Systems | 3 | ENT 518 | Integrated Pest
Management |
3 |
| AER 665 | Data Analysis and Interpretation in Extension Education | 3 | HRT 501 | Principles of Vegetable
Production |
3 |
| AER 670 | Philosophy of Rural
Development |
3 | HRT 506 | Principles of Fruit
Production |
3 |
| AER 680 | Rural Institutions and
Participatory Development |
3 | STT 520 | Sampling & Survey
Other Courses2 |
3 |
| B. Seminar | 2 | ||||
| AER 698 | Seminar | 2 | |||
- C. Dissertation Research 30
AER 699 Dissertation Research Variable
Total 77
1Degree requirements may be changed on the recommendation of the Board of Studies and the
Advisory Committee
2Approved by the Advisory Committee