University of Delhi

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University of Delhi
Delhi University's official logo.png
Seal of the University of Delhi
Motto Sanskrit: निष्ठा धृति: सत्यम्
Motto in English "Dedicated to Truth"
Established 1922
Type Public
Chancellor Mohammad Hamid Ansari
Vice-Chancellor Professor Dinesh Singh
Students 132,435[1]
Undergraduates 114,494
Postgraduates 17,941
Location New Delhi, Delhi, India
28°35′N 77°10′E / 28.583°N 77.167°E / 28.583; 77.167Coordinates: 28°35′N 77°10′E / 28.583°N 77.167°E / 28.583; 77.167
Campus Urban
Nickname DU
Affiliations UGC, NAAC, AIU
Website www.du.ac.in

The University of Delhi (Hindi: दिल्ली विश्वविद्यालय; informally known as Delhi University or DU) is a public central university located in Delhi, India. It is wholly funded by the Government of India. Established in 1922, it offers courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Vice-President of India, Mohammad Hamid Ansari is the chancellor. The University of Delhi is a premier institute of higher education in India. It was established in 1922 as a unitary, teaching and residential university by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly. The President of India is the visitor, the Vice President is the chancellor and the chief justice of the Supreme Court of India is the pro-chancellor of the university.


Contents

History[edit]

Beginnings[edit]

When the university was founded, only three colleges existed in Delhi at the time: St. Stephen’s College founded in 1881, Hindu College founded in 1899 and Ramjas College founded in 1917, which were subsequently affiliated to it. The university thus had modest beginnings with only three colleges, two faculties (Arts and Science) and about 750 students. In October 1933, the university offices and the library shifted to the Viceregal Lodge Estate, and till today this site houses the offices of the main functionaries of the university. The university has grown into one of the largest universities in India. At present, there are 16 faculties, 86 academic departments, 77 colleges and 5 other recognised institutes spread all over the city, with 132435 regular students (UG: 114494,PG:17941) and 261169 students (UG:258831,PG:2338) in non-formal education programme.


In October 1933, the university offices and the library shifted to the Viceregal Lodge estate, where Viceroy Lord Hardinge stayed (1912–1931)[2]

The silver jubilee year of the university in 1947 coincided with India's independence, and the national flag was hoisted in the main building for the first time by VKRV Rao, the convocation ceremony for the year, however could not be held due to partition disturbances, thus a special ceremony was held in 1948, which was attended by prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Lord Mountbatten, Lady Mountbatten, Abul Kalam Azad, Zakir Hussain and S.S. Bhatnagar. Twenty-five years later the golden jubilee celebrations of 1973 were attended by then prime minister, Indira Gandhi, Satyajit Ray, Amrita Pritam and M S Subbulakshmi.[3]



Present form[edit]

Five departments namely chemistry, geology, zoology, sociology and history have been awarded the status of the Centres of Advanced Studies. These Centres of Advanced Studies have carved a niche for themselves as centres of excellence in teaching and research in their respective areas. In addition, a good number of University departments are also receiving grants under the Special Assistance Programme of the UGC in recognition of their outstanding academic work. 10 departments (Germanic & Romance Studies, Hindi, Persian, Geography, Music, East Asian Studies, Anthropology, Mathematics, B.R.Ambedkar, M. I.L.) are getting grants under DRS, 2 Departments (Buddhist Studies, English) are getting grants under DSA, 3 departments (English, Buddhist Studies, Social Work) are getting grants under AISHSS and 3 departments (African Studies, East Asian Studies, Developing Countries Research Centre) are getting grants under Area Studies Programmes. Department of Adult, Continuing Education and Extension and Women’s Studies & Development Centre of the university are also getting special funding from UGC. The university today boasts of as many as 15 big libraries apart from libraries in colleges. The University Science Instrumentation Centre (USIC) which is now situated close to the Physics and Chemistry Departments houses a number of sophisticated and high-end research instruments. These instruments are used quite frequently by teachers and research scholars of postgraduate departments of the university as well as by many other institutions in Delhi and its neighbourhood. The university has recently laid fibre-optic network in the north and the south campuses connecting all colleges and departments.

When the University of Delhi expanded in many directions to keep pace with a rapidly growing city, South Campus was established in 1973 to facilitate access for the residents of South Delhi. It moved to its present location on Benito Juarez Road, near Dhaula Kuan, in 1984. The campus is now spread across 69 acres of green, hilly terrain and its buildings blend attractively with the natural surroundings. The various departments are located in the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Inter-disciplinary and Applied Sciences. S.P. Jain Centre for Management Studies is also located at the South Delhi Campus. Besides these, the campus has a good library, a Health Centre, a Bank, a Post Office, DTC Pass Section and administrative and examination blocks. South campus also provides some residential quarters for faculty members and the non-teaching staff. Outstation students are offered accommodation in three hostels.

Over the last seven decades the university has grown into one of the largest universities in India. At present, there are 14 faculties, 86 academic departments and 79 colleges spread all over the city, with 132435 regular students and 261169 students in non-formal education programmes[1] and the annual honorary degrees (Honoris causa) of the University have been conferred upon several distinguished people, including Amitabh Bachchan, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Cardiologist Dr. Jayantibhai Patel, cartoonist R. K. Laxman and scientist CNR Rao (2006);[4] and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown (2008).[5]

About New Delhi[edit]

As the national capital, New Delhi is the seat of executive, legislative, and judiciary branches of the Government of India. It also serves as the centre of the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi and is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory.[6]

Weather[edit]

  • Delhi is a semi-desert state with great extremes of climate. June, at the time of admission, is the height of summer and temperatures can soar up to 48 degree Celsius. So, for candidates from more salubrious climates, it is important to be mentally and physically prepared for the heat, mainly because the process of admission may require long hours of being in the open. Therefore, suitable clothing and constant hydration is a must.[7]

Transportation[edit]

  • The University has two campuses in the northern and southern part of the city. The north campus is well connected with the yellow line of the Delhi Metro. The station is called Vishwa Vidyalaya, which means "university" in Hindi and Sanskrit. North campus is about 2.5 km from Delhi Vidhan Sabha and 7.0 km from ISBT. North campus is thus effectively connected to the central, parts of east Delhi and west Delhi by the Metro.
  • To get to south Delhi one can take the Metro to central Delhi and look for alternative means of transport there.For a newcomer, auto-rickshaws are the most effective means of transport, though they are slightly expensive. Buses are economical and go everywhere; however, one needs at least a month to figure out routes. Once the session starts at various colleges, dedicated Delhi Transport Corporation buses ferry students from various parts of Delhi to the campuses.[7]

Administration[edit]

Statutory bodies[edit]

The Court, the Executive Council, the Academic Council and the Finance Committee are the authorities of the University.[8]

Academic council[edit]

The Academic Council is the highest academic body of the University and is responsible for the maintenance of standards of instruction, education and examination within the University. It has the right to advise the Executive Council on all academic matters.

Executive council[edit]

The Executive Council is the highest executive body of the University.

Finance committee[edit]

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks at the University of Delhi, India July 19, 2009.[9]

The committee is responsible for recommending financial policies, goals, and budgets that support the mission, values, and strategic goals of the university.

University Court[edit]

The University court is the highest body of the University.

Organisational charts[edit]

  • Organisational structure[10]
  • Administrative setup[11]


Campus[edit]

There are about eighty-three colleges affiliated to the University of Delhi, spread out all over the state. The Sherubtse College in Kanglung, Bhutan is also an affiliate of the University. There are two main campuses of the University: the north campus and the south campus.

North campus[edit]

Faculty of Arts

The North Campus has 16 faculties and 84 departments.[12] It hosts the three original colleges which constituted the University of Delhi when it was founded: St. Stephen's College (founded 1881), Hindu College (founded 1899) and Ramjas College (founded 1917).[13] North campus proper now has nine colleges geographically centred on the Faculty of Arts and Science and the Faculty of Law. Competition for admission into all North campus colleges is extremely fierce. Some of the most popular colleges are Shri Ram College of Commerce, Hindu College, SGTB Khalsa College, Miranda House, Daulat ram, Hansraj College, St. Stephen's College, Kirori Mal College, and Ramjas College. The Cluster Innovation Centre is a research facility that is independent of any university faculty/department[14] which serves as a platform for the University and its partners to forge linkages between various stakeholders from industry and academia. It currently runs two undergraduate degree programs in Technology, a Bachelors of Technology in Innovation with Mathematics, and an IT and Bachelors of Technology in Humanities ( Meta College Concept).


South campus[edit]

The South Campus started offering postgraduate programmes in 1973 in selected departments of the Faculties of Arts[15] and Social Sciences in a rented building. It was allotted land near Dhaula Kuan and offices and teaching activities shifted to this campus in 1983. In the south campus, colleges are more scattered.Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, Sri Venkateswara College, Lady Shri Ram College, Jesus and Mary College, Motilal Nehru College and Deshbandhu College are some of the colleges that make up the south campus of the Delhi University. This campus is known for excellence in life sciences with departments like Plant Molecular Biology, Genetics, Microbiology, and Biochemistry and professional studies with departments like Business Economics and Financial Studies. The Biotech centre in this campus is running industry-integrated research. The centre of Plant Molecular Biology is one of the seven centres in India funded by DBT.

Faculties and Departments[edit]

The University of Delhi offers courses in a wide variety of subjects and concentrations.The depth and breadth of the syllabus are very vast, extending well beyond course offerings to many other special programmes and research opportunities.The Honours programmes offered by the varsity for a wide spectrum of subjects are highly sought after by students from all over the country.[16]

Libraries[edit]

Delhi University library system (DULS)[edit]

DULS has 34 libraries with web activity and a subscription to 29 electronic databases. In addition to this 20 more databases are also accessible through UGC-INFONET Digital Library Consortium. DULS also promotes Open Access e-resources. DULS is regularly conducting Information Literacy Programs (ILP) for the benefit of students, researchers and Faculty members .[17]

Selected libraries[edit]

  • University Library
  • Deptt.of Library Sciences[18]
  • Central Science Library[19]
  • DUCC Library[20]
  • Arts Library[21]
  • Law Faculty Library[22]
  • Ratan Tata Library[23]
  • South Campus Library[24]
  • FMS Library[25]
  • East Asian Studies Library[26]

Correspondence[edit]

Campus of open learning[edit]

  • School of Open Learning
  • Centre for Professional and Technical Training
  • DU-GENPACT Project
  • Courses Under Professional skills Project in Collaboration with CII
  • DU-MetLife Insurance Course[27]



Colleges[edit]

For full list see List of colleges under Delhi University

Sri Ram College of Commerce

When University of Delhi was established, only three colleges existed: St. Stephens College founded in 1881, Hindu College founded in 1899 and Ramjas College founded in 1917, which were affiliated to the university.

The university has 65 colleges that have liberal courses in humanities, social sciences and science courses. Twenty five of these colleges are affiliated with the South Campus while the others are to the North Campus. These colleges except two, Lady Irwin College and Institute of Home Economics, are undergraduate colleges. The number of colleges under the university goes up to 77, if the colleges that run professional courses are included.

Though the colleges are all constituent to the University of Delhi, depending on the funding and the management the colleges can be classified into three types: university-maintained colleges, trust colleges and Delhi government colleges. Of the Delhi government colleges 12 are 100% funded by the government of the NCT of Delhi and were founded in the late 1980s or early 1990s.

Undergraduate admissions[edit]

The academic session starts on 21st July while admissions for the regular courses are held in June–July. Admission in courses that are done through entrance examination follow a different schedule.

Admission to all the undergraduate courses (except the professional ones) is carried out by each college though the system and schedule is common and announced by the University each May. In the year 2011, the university decided to do away with the requirement of preregistration for admission,[28] but as of 2012 the pre-admission form is back.[29]

The university does not hold entrance exams (except for Bachelor of Business Studies, Bachelor of Business Economics, Bachelor of Finance and Investment Analysis & B.A. (H) English) but scores of higher secondary school examination are taken into consideration.

The colleges decide the cut-off percentage (minimum marks required) for their courses and is released by the university on predecided date as cut-off lists. Once the cut-off percentage is released, any student who has the requisite percent can approach the college and seek admission within a number of days. Separate cut-offs are announced for aspirants belonging to Other Backward Classes with some relaxation in cut-off percentage given to them as compared to candidates belonging to the General Category.[30] If seats are available, university announces second cut-off list and calls for admission. Up to five lists are announced. If seats are completely filled in certain courses, no further cut-off of that course is announced.

Admissions based on excellence in extracurricular activities and sports is carried out after conducting trials by the colleges. Students need to apply separately to each college for being considered for admission under these categories.

The university reserves seats for students who are physically handicapped or belong to the Scheduled castes or scheduled tribes as per government policy. Students who seek admission under these categories need to register centrally in the University of Delhi. The university allocates the course and college to these students based on their choice and availability


Ranking[edit]

University rankings
General – International
QS (World)[31] 401-450
QS (Asian)[32] 78
General – India
India Today[33] 1

The University of Delhi was ranked #401-450 in the QS World University Rankings of 2012[31] and #78 in the QS Asian University Rankings of 2012.[32] In rankings of Indian universities, it was ranked first by the India Today India's Top 50 Universities of 2012.[33]

Notable alumni[edit]

Main article: List of alumni of the University of Delhi

Below is a list of distinguished Delhi University alumni in alphabetical order:

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "About DU". 
  2. ^ "Imperial Impressions". Hindustan Times. July 20, 2011. 
  3. ^ Sonal Manchanda (August 17, 1997). "Delhi University's date with history". Indian Express. 
  4. ^ "Delhi University honours Big B". The Times of India. 4 November 2006. 
  5. ^ "Brown's sense of humour floors audience at DU". The Hindu. January 21, 2008. 
  6. ^ New Delhi.New Delhi.Retrieved 2012-6-29
  7. ^ a b [1].Delhi additional info.Retrieved 2012-6-29
  8. ^ [2].DU Administration,Retrieved 2012-6-29
  9. ^ ][3]
  10. ^ [4].The Organizational Structure,Retrieved 2012-6-29
  11. ^ [5].The Administrative Setup,Retrieved 2012-6-29
  12. ^ "Administrative Sections (North Campus)". www.du.ac.in. 
  13. ^ "=About University of Delhi". www.du.ac.in. 
  14. ^ "CIC (North Campus)". www.du.ac.in. 
  15. ^ "Delhi University Student Radhika Tanwar Shot Dead in Broad Daylight". indiancolleges.com. 
  16. ^ [6].Subject offered by DU.Retrieved 2012-6-29
  17. ^ "DULS". 
  18. ^ http://dlis.du.ac.in/library.html
  19. ^ "Central Science Library". 
  20. ^ "Law Faculty Library". 
  21. ^ "Arts Library". 
  22. ^ "Law Faculty Library". 
  23. ^ "Ratan Tata Library". 
  24. ^ "South Campus Library". 
  25. ^ "FMS Library". 
  26. ^ "East Asian Studies Library". 
  27. ^ "Corrspondance". 
  28. ^ New Admissions Announcement
  29. ^ DU Undergraduate Admission Procedure 2012, retrieved June 9, 2012 
  30. ^ ["Corrspondance".  "Admission for the OBC Candidates"]. 
  31. ^ a b "QS World University Rankings". QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. 2011. Retrieved September 30, 2011. 
  32. ^ a b "QS Asian University Rankings". QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2012. 
  33. ^ a b "Masters of excellence". India Today. 18 May 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2012. 

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: University of Delhi


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