Botany

About the Department

(Supported under DBT-STAR College scheme (2018-2019))

The Department of Botany, St. Xavier’s College for Women, Aluva, established in 1968, is one of the oldest departments of the college.  The department has continuously been striving for excellence in teaching and overall development of the students since its inception. Even though we are a UG department, the Department of Botany is currently running a major project supported by the Department of Science and Technology, (DST-SERB) Govt. of India.

The department currently has three teaching faculties with doctorate degrees and two non-teaching staff. The faculty are actively engaged in research and publish research findings every year. The department has its faculty representative in the Board of studies of M. G. University and is actively engaged in curriculum designing and in upgrading and updating the academic curriculum. The Department has identified various thrust areas of research viz. Plant systematics, Phytochemistry, Plant Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering.

• The department has three class rooms of which two are IT enabled and two laboratories with IT facility.
• One of the laboratories also has an interactive board facility.
• In addition to this the department has a well established herbarium, library, mushroom cultivation room, botanic garden and museum.
• The department has a fully-fledged laboratory in Plant Systematic to give impetus to the plant taxonomic research.

This programme provides knowledge of the living world, plant diversity, evolutionary trends and applied branches of Botany. The department also has high participation of students in various extension activities promoting organic farming, mushroom cultivation, biodiversity conservation and energy conservation. The extension activities of the department are supported by Govt. and non Govt. funding.

• The department is proud to be able to organize seminars and workshops every year with the financial support of Govt. agencies.
• Two registered clubs function under the department viz., Lotus Nature Club (registered under ENCON club, BPCL) and Biodiversity Club (registered under Kerala Biodiversity Board).
• All the programmes of the department are designed to achieve an excellent environment for learning and research in Botany and produce students equipped with skills necessary to fulfill their role in contemporary society.

In these past years of growth, it has developed by leaps and bounds contributing significantly to the development of the college and the society.

Courses offered (CBCS choice and credit based system of Mahatma Gandhi University)

•  B.Sc.  Botany (core) Model-I with ‘Agri-based Microenterprises’ as the open course and ‘Plant Genetic Resource Management’ as the choice based course
• Complementary Botany- For B.Sc. Zoology
• Add on course: Mushroom cultivation

 Contact: [email protected]