Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Dean's Profile

Name: Dr. Ahmed Aliyu

Position: Associate Professor

Dr. Ahmed Aliyu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology, Federal University Dutse, Jigawa State, Nigeria.  He obtained Diploma in Mass Communication from University of Lagos, Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degree in Mass Communication, and Master of Science (MSc) Degree in Sociology (Criminology) from Bayero University Kano, and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Degree in Strategy and Security Studies from the National University of Malaysia also known as Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) where he was given a Graduate on Time (GOT) award. In recognition of his hard work during his studies, Dr. Aliyu was appointed as a Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) in the Centre for History, Politics and Strategy at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Dr. Aliyu is among the pioneer employees of the Federal University Dutse. He joined the University as an Assistant Lecturer in 2012 with a private sector background as an entrepreneur and human resource manager.  Dr. Aliyu has been actively involved in teaching and supervising undergraduate and postgraduate students in the Department of Sociology over the past decade. During the period, he has contributed to the academic growth of the university by serving in various departmental, faculty, and university committees as chairman and member, respectively.  Before his appointment as acting Dean Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences in 2025, Dr. Aliyu had been an undergraduate level coordinator, Departmental examination officer, undergraduate observational visits coordinator, and Overseer of the department at various times in the absence of the Head of Department.

Dr. Aliyu’s research interests include Crime and security issues, National and Global Security challenges, Peace and Conflict Studies, Environmental security, Terrorism, and Insurgency.  He has written and reviewed several articles for local and international peer-reviewed journals. His published research works have attracted 79 global scholarly citations with 3 h-index statistics as recorded by the ResearchGate website. Dr. Aliyu has attended and presented papers at local and international seminars, workshops, and conferences in Malaysia, the United Kingdom, the University of Melbourne, Australia, Cambodia and other places. Dr. Aliyu is a registered member of professional associations, which include Nigeria Society for Criminology (NSC) and the Nigerian Anthropological and Sociological Practitioners Association (NASA).

About the Faculty

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) was one of the three pioneer faculties at Federal University Dutse (FUD). Having received its charter from the Federal Republic of Nigeria on 9th  February, 2011, FUD commenced academic programmes in the 2011/2012 Session with three faculties – the Faculty of Agriculture, the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and the Faculty of Science. The faculty started with two departments – the Department of English Language (later renamed the Department of English and Linguistics) and the Department of Sociology (which offers an undergraduate programme in Criminology and Security Studies). In the 2012/2013 Session, the Department of Economics (later renamed the Department of Economics and Development Studies) and the Department of Political Science were established. Additionally, the Department of Arabic  was created in 2025 from the Department of English and Linguistics. With this recent addition, the total number of departments in the faculty is now five. These departments are:

  • Department of Arabic
  • Department of Economics and Development Studies
  • Department of English and Linguistics
  • Department of Political Science
  • Department of Sociology

The philosophy of the faculty is to produce graduates imbued with the ability to understand and make impactful contributions to national development, regional stability, and a peaceful global system. It has the mission of fostering an understanding of the rapidly changing world, including issues of globalisation and a ‘borderless world’ as well as relationships between various ‘worlds’. This mission can be achieved by equipping students with a solid foundation as well as specialized knowledge in a particular discipline; preparing graduates to meet the human resources needs; creating in graduates, entrepreneurial knowledge; ability to apprehend current changes as well as a sense of public responsibility and a spirit of self-reliance. As such, the faculty has the specific objectives of:

  1. Developing and enhancing students’ awareness of the values, contributions, and potentialities of their own social, cultural, and spiritual environment;
  2. Equipping them to contribute meaningfully towards the attainment of national goals and the satisfaction of national needs;
  • Instilling in them the spirit of self-reliance, self-pride, and self-actualization; and
  1. Ensuring that all programmes have a built-in mechanism in which national aspirations are affirmed. Such a mechanism should take cognizance of the socio-political developments, the economy of the society, the plural nature of Nigeria, and the need to forge a strong and united country.

Adherence to the above philosophy has made the faculty to become the largest in the university. A testament to this assertion is the fact that many prospective students are attracted to various academic programmes of the faculty. Thus, a faculty that took off in 2012 with less than 100 students has grown to 3,014 student population as of the 2024/2025 Session. In addition, the faculty is home to a reasonable population of postgraduate students.

Although the faculty has five (5) Departments, only four departments are presently running various postgraduate programmes ranging from Postgraduate Diploma to Doctorate Degrees. These Departments are:

  1. Department of Economics and Development Studies

Postgraduate programmes in the Department of Economics and Development Studies include:

  • Economics;
  • Sc. Development Economics;
  • Sc. Economics;
  • Sc. Health Economics;
  • Masters in Development Economics;
  • Masters in Health Economics;
  • PGD in Development Studies; and
  • PGD in Health Economics
    1. Department of English and Linguistics

Postgraduate programmes in the Department of English and Linguistics include:

  • English (Language and Literature);
  • A. English Language; and
  • A. Literature in English
    1. Department of Political Science

Postgraduate programmes in the Department of Political Science include:

  • Political Science;
  • Sc. Political Science;
  • Masters in Public Policy and Administration (MPPA);
  • Masters in Civil Society in Development (MCSD);
  • PGD in Public Policy and Administration (PGDPPA); and
  • PGD in Civil Society and Development (PGDCSD).
    1. Department of Sociology

Postgraduate programmes in the Department of Sociology include:

  • Criminology and Security Studies;
  • Sc. Criminology and Security Studies;
  • Masters in Criminal Justice and Security Administration; and
  • PGD in Criminology and Security Studies.

The faculty also houses three research centres namely:

  • Centre for Economic and Social Research;
  • Centre for Gender Studies; and
  • Centre for Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution

Faculty Members

As of the 2024/2025 academic session, the faculty has 119 academic staff ranking from Graduate Assistants to Professors spread across the various Departments with different specializations and research focus in the Arts and Social Science disciplines. In addition, the academic staff are supported by 24 experienced non-teaching staff to ensure the smooth administrative aspects of running the faculty affairs.

 

 

 

 

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