Department of Botany (Aided)

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The Department of Botany was established in the year 1979 with Pre-University Course. Currently, it is offering UG Degree in Plant Biology and Plant Biotechnology, and PG in Botany.

The courses offered and the affiliated strength for student admission is provided below.

Courses	Category	Duration
BSc. Plant Biology & Plant Biotechnology	Degree	3 years
MSc. Botany	Degree	2 years
MPhil Botany	Research	1 year
PhD (FT) Botany	Research	3 years
PhD (PT) Botany	Research	4 years

INFRASTRUCTURE

The Department has 6 laboratories in total, of which two are meant for PG, one for UG and three for research programmes, which include one Ministry of Environment and Forests, New Delhi-sponsored Tissue Culture Laboratory and one Microbiology Lab established under Career-Oriented Programme. A widely recognised herbarium with around 3000 species of angiosperm is maintained by the Department.

RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

In addition to teaching, all the staff members are actively involved in the research activities in their area of specialization like Plant Taxonomy, Pharmacognosy, Plant Ecology, Environmental Biology and Conservation Biology, Seed Technology, Microbiology and Medicobotany. They have produced 109 M. Phils. and 15 PhDs. so far. Currently, 6 M. Phil. and 20 PhD. scholars are doing research work in the Department. So far 164 research articles have been published by the staff members and research scholars of the Department. A total number of 18 research projects funded by various agencies have been completed by the faculty members and one project is under progress.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

• In the Silver Jubilee year (2003-2004) one of the staff members, Dr.S.Paulsamy was honoured by the college management by presenting Best Teacher Award for his outstanding contributions to the academic area.
• In the year 2005-2006, the final PG Botany students bagged the first eight ranks at Bharathiar University level and received Best PG Department award. Based on overall performance, the UG Department also received the Best Department Award from the management in the year 2004 - 2005. Three research scholars are receiving merit scholarships from The Directorate of Collegiate Education, Tamil Nadu, Chennai. So far 4 MSc. students have received Student Project Fund from Tamil Nadu State Council for Science and Technology. Many students of the Department are well-placed in reputed companies/organizations at both national and global levels.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Offering certificate and diploma courses in medicinal plant cultivation and marketing.
• Providing training in mushroom culture and tissue culture to get self-employment.
• Conducting National Level Seminars/Symposia/Workshops to get exposure in the novel areas of research.
• Providing consultancy to the herbal companies/institutions.
• Conducting joint research programmes with other renowned institutions.