He gained admission to the University of Ghana to read BSc in Agriculture and graduated with a Second class Upper Division in 1987.

Owusu was awarded the prestigious Japanese Government Scholarship (MONBUSHO) in October 1989 and left Ghana to pursue his Master of Science degree at Kochi University, Japan.

Significant among his achievements was the development of a system for the management of the millet headminer, Heliocheilus albipunctella (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) based on indigenous plant species, and the host interactions (semiochemicals and use of resistance varieties).

[2] In 1998, Owusu was appointed lecturer at the then Department of Zoology, University of Ghana (now Animal Biology and Conservation Science).

Owusu is touted as a scholar of international repute with proven knowledge and experience in university administration and governance in addition to commendable fundraising ability.

The shortlisted candidates for the position of vice-chancellor included Samuel Agyei Mensah (Provost of the College of Humanities), John Gyapong (pro vice chancellor, research and innovation) and Akosua Adomako Ampofo (former director of the Institute of African Studies).

He has attracted some funds for research, and in 1999, personally built a laboratory (Food Security) at the University of Ghana for use by staff and students.

He was solely responsible for the acquisition and installation of a Scanning Electron Microscope (first of its kind in West Africa, worth US$500,000) through a grant from the Government of Japan.