University of Madras

About University of Madras

University of Madras is a Teaching-cum-Affiliating University which is over 150 years old. The Public Petition dated 11-11-1839 initiated the establishment of Madras University. It was in January 1840 with Mr. George Norton as its President, that the University Board was constituted. In 1854 after a lapse of 14 years, the Government of India formulated a systematic educational policy for India and as a sequel to this on 5th September 1857 by an act of Legislative Council of India the University was established. It was organised on the model of London University. The University motto is ‘Doctrina Vim Promovet Insitam’ meaning ‘learning promotes (one’s) innate talent’. It has 18 Schools and 69 departments of post-graduate teaching and research and 104 Affiliated Colleges and Approved Institutions (OT) – 3, Approved Institutions (Diploma/Certificate Courses) – 3, Stand alone Institutions M.B.A. / M.C.A. – 17 and 52 approved Research Institutions as of 2011. The university has 6 campuses, out of which the main campus is located in Tholkapiar Valagam (Chepauk). The University's area of jurisdiction, however has been confined to 3 districts of Tamil Nadu in recent years. The University Departments adopted the credit based semester system (CBSS) in 1997-98 and moved to Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) from 2001-2002 onwards. Choice-Based Credit System is a flexible system of learning. ‘Credit’ defines the quantum of contents/syllabus prescribed for a course and determines the number of hours of instruction required.

The University of Madras is spread over 6 campuses:

1. Tholkapiar (Chepauk) - Main Campus.
2. Parithimar Kalaignar (Marina) - Oriental and Indian languages departments, the Post-graduate Hostel for Men and the University Guest house are located here.
3. Maraimalai (Guindy) - Most of the Science departments are located here.
4. Sekhizhar (Taramani) - It houses the Dr. A. Lakshmanaswamy Mudaliar Post-Graduate Institute of Basic Medical Sciences.
5. Bharathiar (Chetpet) - The University Union for Sports and its pavilion are on the Spur Tank Road within this campus.
6. Elango (Maduravoyal) - The Botanical Garden of the University is located in this campus.

Facilities

Hostels - Limited accommodation is available to needy and deserving students. There are separate hostels for girls and boys. The hostels provide basic amenities including a common lounge with television, radio, newspapers and magazines.

University Library System - The Main Library of the University is located at its Tholkapiar Campus. Many of the departments of the University have their own library collections. Besides, all the campuses of the University are served by large libraries. The University Library system also maintains a collection of E-resources on CDs and also subscribe to over 4,000 e-journals under U.G.C.’s INFONET programme.

Internet Centre - The University has Internet Centres in all it's campuses. These are open to all the students of the University departments.

Institute of Distance Education - Popularly known as IDE, it is recognized by DEC, New Delhi. It is offering 22 Undergraduate Courses, 14 Postgraduate Courses, 9 Postgraduate Science Courses, 5 Professional Courses, 16 Diploma Courses and 12 Certificate Courses. Admissions are also made through the authorised Spot Admission and Study Centres. The stand-out features of IDE's course offerings are printed learning materials, personal contact programmes (PCP) and wide network of study centres in India and abroad. Over the last three years, IDE has prepared material in the self-learning format (SLM). The IDE has 30 Spot Admission Centres located in different parts of Tamil Nadu. It has 50 Study Centres located in other States and has 11 Overseas Study Centres. In the Regular Stream candidates with requisite educational qualification as adopted all over the country for Higher Education are admitted. For admission into the first degree course a pass in Higher Secondary / puc / Intermediate / Pre-Degree Examination or equivalent examination is the required qualification as in the case of admission of candidates to affiliated colleges. The Open University System (OUS) introduced in 1985 is intended to provide educational opportunities to those who aspire for higher education without any basic qualification. And for admission under this scheme one must have completed 18 years of age as on 1st July. The candidate is subjected to the Entrance Test to make sure that he/she has the required literacy level to cope up with the degree course. An exclusive Tele-education-EDUSAT Centre is functioning at the institute. The University is also playing a leading role in the creation of networked Virtual University, the brainchild of Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. The university courses are eligible for central and state government’s employment.

Fee Concession - Physically Challenged Students are provided with Full fee concession including examination fee for students studying in P.G. and M.Phil. programmes in the University Departments of Teaching and Research.

Madras University Free Education Scheme

Features of the scheme:

• Complete fee waiver is offered for one poorest student among students based on merit and economic status in each P.G. Programme.
• 13 Candidates belonging to SAARC countries are entitled to 40% concession on Tuition Fee only.
• Sri Lankan Tamil students and Tibetan refugees are eligible to pay Tuition and other course fees on par with the Indian students for all the P.G./M.Phil. Programmes offered in the University Departments under CBCS Regulations.
• Sri Lankan Tamil and Tibetan refugees would pay Tuition fee on par with the Indian Students.

Earn While You Learn Scheme - Under the scheme deserving Post-graduate students and Research Scholars will work as Part-time Laboratory Assistants, Library Assistants, Technical Assistants, and Tutorial Assistants (for M. Phil. & Ph.D. Scholars) in the University for a specified number of hours every month. They will receive a suitable monthly remuneration.

Endowments -  Several medals and prizes for rank holders in various examinations, for outstanding essays, for thesis are awarded under various Endowments instituted in the University. Add-on P.G. Diploma Programmes - University Departments/Schools offer Part-time Add-on P.G. Diploma programmes. These are skill Knowledge oriented in the primary discipline and are aimed at offering Masters students of the University Departments/affiliated colleges with an opportunity to acquire an additional Diploma while pursuing their regular Master’s programme.

Soft Skill Programme - Soft Skill courses are offered in the four campuses of the University. It is mandatory for every student of the University to acquire 8 credits from this program to successfully complete their post graduation degree. The programme is a 30 Hour Module with 2 hours of class per week from 4 pm to 6 pm. Attendance is very important for this course; therefore students may miss only 2 classes. They are provided study materials for the course which involves four skills/modules- listening, speaking, reading and writing. The University has outsourced this program with a private 14 Educational Company, Everonn Education Limited in 2010. This programme successfully trains the post graduate students in enhancing their personality, foreign languages and employability skills. The curriculum focuses on specific training technologies and methodologies developed by the faculty of the University in consultation with the trainers.

Language Laboratories - The language laboratory focuses on computer-aided multi-media instruction and language acquisition. This learner friendly mode of language learning enables the students to be self instructional. The laboratory acts as a platform for learning, practising and producing language skills through interactive lessons and communicative mode of teaching.

Internship - Internship is intended to gain practical knowledge related to the study. The duration is for 4-6 weeks for 2 credits and 6-8 weeks for 3 credits and it should be carried out in an organization recommended by the Department during the summer vacation of the first year. A report must be prepared and submitted to the HOD concerned for evaluation and grading. Internship is optional and is left to the discretion of the concerned Department. In case of a student not opting for internship, he/she must take one more soft skill 2/3 credits to fulfil the total credits requirement of 10/15 credits.

Students Safety Insurance - Compulsory Students Insurance Scheme has been introduced for the students of University Departments of study and research.

SC/ST Cell - The Cell looks for the welfare of students belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The Cell scrutinises and processes applications from SC/ST students of University departments for tuition fee concessions, national overseas scholarship for higher studies abroad etc.

Scholarships - Apart from SC/ST, BC/MBC and National Merit scholarships many other scholarships are available for the students of the University Departments.

Some of these are:

• The Lions International Endowment Scholarship (C&UD).
• Rotary Club of Madras city Endowment Scholarship (C&UD).
• The Lady Willingdon Peace Endowment Scholarship (C&UD).
• Srimathi Sivakama Radhakrishnan Scholarship (C&UD).
• The Sir T. Muttuswami Ayyar Endowment Scholarship (C&UD).

UCIR - University Centre for International Relations has been established in consonance with UGC’s X Plan programme on Promotion of Indian Higher Education Abroad (PIHEAD) for the promotion of free flow of students from other nations to India, as well as allow Indian students to get educated in other nations. The primary motto of the UCIR is to provide educational excellence and culturally appropriate ambience to all international students. The UCIR students are advised to contact the Director, UCIR, University of Madras for admission to the courses they are interested in. On being admitted after paying the prescribed eligibility fee, the students Coordinator’s office at University Student Advisory Bureau (USAB) first scrutinize the original credentials of the foreign students who are aspiring to pursue either higher programmes or do specialized courses (papers) and then issues eligibility certificates. If it is an Under Graduate programme, with eligibility certificate, a student is directed to go to any of the affiliated colleges according to his/her choice. If it is a Post Graduate programme, the student is admitted into the respective University Departments, subject to clearance by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and subject to production of student’s visa on paying the prescribed fee. The UCIR also encourages joint Ph.D. programmes between the Madras University and foreign Universities from where students are hailing.

USAB - University Students Advisory Bureau in the Tholkapiar campus of the University offers counselling and career guidance. It also offers placement services to graduates and post graduates. USAB organizes exhibitions on careers (INFORMEX) and vocations. It also conducts seminars and workshops on career oriented courses, provides job oriented short-term courses for unemployed graduates, provides computer training courses to the students and offers coaching classes for various competitive examinations.

NSS - National Service Scheme Unit of the University organizes regular and special camps related to health and hygiene, literacy, environment, personality development, etc.

NCC - National Cadet Corps students of the take part in All India Basic Leadership Camps (Boys and Girls), Nau Sainik Camps, All India Competition Camps, Vayu Sainik Camps, Para Training courses etc.

Sports and Games - Sports facilities include a pavilion, sports track, athletic track, volley ball court, basket ball court, badminton court and two tennis courts.

Achievements

• The University has signed MOUs with 99 foreign and 25 Indian Universities and also with 21 Industry/Service Organizations.
• Nearly 141 sponsored research projects funded by various agencies are being carried out in the University departments.
• The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) re-accredited the University at the ‘A’ level in 2007.
• The University of Madras was also one among the first five universities in the country to receive recognition from the University Grants Commission as a ‘University with Potential for Excellence’.
• Many of the alumni who have come out of the portals of the University of Madras and who have made significant contributions to science and society are : Sir C.V. Raman, Prof. S. Chandrasekhar, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, Dr. G. N. Ramachandran, Prof. Neelakanta Sastri, Dr. T.M.P. Mahadevan, Dr. C.N. Annadurai and many others.

• Institute of Distance Education of the University offers courses which has no parallel in this country to name a few:

1. B. Music - Traditional Indian Music.
2. M. Music - Indian Music at Post Graduate level.
3. M.A. in Vaishnavism and Christian Studies - The courses of religious philosophy.