Efficiently managed higher education institutions are cardinal for Malawi and Africa to realize social economic, technological and industrial development. The Department of Higher Education and Professional Development contributes towards systematizing the efficient and effective management and operations of higher education institutions in Malawi and Africa to achieve the ultimate goal of social transformation.

The Department of Higher Education and Professional Development offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes that equip students with knowledge, competences, skills, and capacities for innovative direction of higher education in Malawi. The department also provides opportunities for professional development and growth to various actors in the education sector, as well as other related sectors. The department’s overall conceptualization reflects a deliberately created need for quality higher education that is responsive to prevailing needs and the aspirations for a better future of the country and the region.

Specifically, programmes in the department are of direct relevance to higher education managers, education administrators, higher education researchers, educational planners and other relevant actors in the education sector in Malawi and beyond. Courses in the program acquaint students with analytical skills in the domains of higher education ideologies, higher education aims, complexities in balancing higher education financing and the civic responsibility of higher education, higher education leadership, planning, management, and critical evaluation of the global and local political contexts of higher education.