Microbiology – B.Sc. (General) Degree Program
Duration: 3 Years
For whom?
Biological science stream students who are interested in pursuing careers in academic, technological, industrial or environmental organizations. The intake is limited to a maximum of 60 students in an academic year. Minimum number for the course is 20 in an academic year.
Career opportunities
The spectrum of jobs available for microbiology graduates include employment in fields such as, quality assurance, environmental surveillance and monitoring, food and beverage industries, research, secondary school teaching, veterinary sciences, biofertilizer industry and agriculture, crop protection and medicine and the pharmaceutical industry.
Course overview
Microbiology is a far more exciting area of science as it investigates the unseen world around us. Although it is a very broad subject, throughout much of its history microbiology focused on three areas, fermentation, food and medicine. Manipulation of genetic information of microbes for the large-scale production of beneficial products including antibiotics, alcoholic beverages, biological catalysts and hormones, has unleashed the potential of microorganisms to transform basic substrates to invaluable yields of produce, within the realms of medicine, agriculture and industrial applications.
The discipline microbiology, which was originally heavily dependent on the culture of microorganisms, has evolved with the advent of time, to incorporate molecular biology and genomics techniques for the identification and characterization of individual microorganisms from microbial assortments found within diverse ecological niches. In spite of the advances made in applied microbiology in the last two decades, the field of microbiology is largely an untapped discipline with virtually unlimited potential as many microbes are yet to be discovered and studied.
Course structure
The subject microbiology constitutes one third of the B. Sc. (General) degree program in an allowed subject combination. All students who wish to offer microbiology will have to follow common compulsory and core course units during the first two years of the degree programme prior to the selection of microbiology as their chosen field of study. At the end of three years, total credit value gained by a student who has opted for general degree following a particular course should not be less than 27.0. A Students can also opt for a special degree spending an additional year offering more advanced areas pertaining to respective subjects they have selected.
Microbiology – B.Sc. (Special) Degree Program
Duration: 4 Years
Career opportunities
The career opportunities available for graduates of the Special Degree Program in Microbiology, will be centered on academia as well as practicing their trade as researchers in a diverse range of hierarchical positions undertaking in depth studies on contemporary research topics with the objectives of bridging gaps in knowledge and deciphering un-investigated areas of Applied Microbiology.
Course overview
The department offers special degree programs in Microbiology for fewer numbers of students with the intention of producing graduates having an in-depth knowledge, better skills and competent in handling various aspects of the subject selected. The core curriculum of the special degree program is designed to provide advanced knowledge in the subject and simultaneously to impart hands-on experience in the world of work through an industrial training program in a government research institute or in a private sector organization for a short period of time. The final year research project assists students to improve problem solving ability, critical thinking, and time management and there by preparing them to become professionals.
Selection
Selection of students to follow a special degree in Microbiology is based on their performance during the first two academic years. The intake is limited to a maximum of 10students per course.
Instruction and assessment
Through the knowledge and experience of academic staff of the Department of Botany and of visiting staff, we endeavor to expose students to a range of teaching and learning activities, based on the course units identified under each of the subjects offered by the department. The modules conducted include lectures, laboratory practical classes, tutorials, field classes, individual and group assignments I projects. Majority of these modules are assessed through semester end theory examination, practical examination, presentations and reports/ theses, while a few are assessed continuously.