Curriculum for the Department of Biological Science

The newly formed Department of Biological Science in Presidency University has been created by merging together the pre-existing departments of Botany, Zoology, Physiology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology. The result is a dynamic inter-disciplinary department with a holistic approach towards the study of biological science. The department consists of outstanding faculty who are eminent in their fields, and have joined the University after successful research and teaching careers. The mixture of young and experienced faculty in the Department of Biological Science promises an outstanding academic experience to its students. They will have the opportunity of learning a multitude of inter-disciplinary subjects, and will also have research experience by the completion of their studies.

The new curriculum for the Department of Biological Science will be in the semester format, with the course contents being offered in ten semesters. There will be two semesters each academic year, and thus, a student will be able to enroll in the Bachelor of Science program and leave with a Masters degree after five years of study. There will be the provision of leaving the University with a Bachelors degree as well, after completion of six semesters in the three year B.Sc program.

All students will study the same course modules in the semesters 1, 2 and 3; and these modules will comprise mostly of the fundamentals of biological science, from diversity and evolution to biochemistry and genetics. There will be laboratory based/ field study based practical modules with theoretical papers. The objective is to generate the knowledge base of the students, upon which they will build up their education.

Upon completion of semester 3, students will have the liberty of choosing random theory papers of their personal interest, with the corresponding laboratory modules. An advisory committee of departmental faculty will assist each student at this stage to select their courses for semesters 4, 5 and 6 based on their interests, and their future career goals. The total number of modules a student can take will be based on UGC guidelines. The department will reserve the right to limit the number of students for a particular module, when preference will be given by merit.

At the completion of six semesters, if a student so desires, there will be provision of leaving with a B.Sc degree in Biological Science. The transcripts will mention the names of the modules studied.

For students who want to continue further to complete their M.Sc, semesters 7 and 8 will again comprise of a common core syllabus studied by all students. In semester 9 and 10, students have to select a subject specialization. An advisory committee will assist the students at this stage as well. The successful students will be awarded with anM.Sc degree in Biological Science, with their transcripts mentioning the course names.

The syllabus has been designed towards a progressive education, with the initial semesters providing the basic knowledge, the intermediate semesters providing the more advanced ideas, and the culminating semesters leading towards specialized education.This ensures that there is very little repetition of course material throughout the curriculum. Thus, if a student wants a complete holistic education, they are advised to complete all the ten semesters, which will guarantee a complete understanding of the subject. It will also enable the student to have research experience, as every student enrolled in the Master’s program has to complete a research project as part of the curriculum. It will also prepare students who would like to continue in the Ph.D programs.

The department wants to attract outstanding meritorious students with higher career goals, targeted towards academics and research. The syllabus thus comprises of almost all topics relevant for competitive examinations for research and teaching (for example, National Eligibility Test).

The structure of the new curriculum will be available in our website (www.presiuniv.ac.in).

Registrar Presidency University, Kolkata