Hotspots for Political Science in India

Academic excellence is not the sole preserve of one or two institutions in Delhi. There are some gems scattered across the far reaches of India.

We asked two senior political scientists which, in their view, are the top-notch hubs for bachelor's, master's and research programmes in political science in Delhi, India and the rest of the world.

Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University were expected, but what Delhiites may not know is that the University of Hyderabad's (UoH) political science department is eminently noteworthy.

The experts are Neera Chandhoke, professor, department of political science, University of Delhi and Valerian Rodrigues, professor, centre for political studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi, involved in faculty recruitment in many universities.

Chandhoke counted the UoH department as among India's best - along with those of Punjab University, University of Delhi and JNU - for their "creative syllabi construction, focus on students, insistence on research and charting out new areas which should be taken up for research."

In most of the cases, it was mostly the quality of educators that made them go up or down. Take JNU. "It has great strengths, though it has weaknesses, as well," says Rodrigues. "The faculty is uniformly excellent." Besides, he says, they draw students from all over India. "Some of the brightest learners come from different parts of the world. We have an interactive environment (read: inter-disciplinary approach). Political science is taught in several schools and centres of the university. One can choose to study it in any of them. The faculty has international exposure," he says.

The UoH department's strengths include the faculty size - 21 members. So, you have people with different specialisations. "In a short span of time, it has had some iconic teachers such as Rajen Harshe, former vice chancellor, Allahabad University; Shantha Sinha, Ramon Magsaysay awardee for community leadership and chairperson, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights; and human rights activist G Haragopal," says Rodrigues.

Also, UoH boasts of a frequently-refreshed curriculum. "Course outlines will be changed almost every semester by the faculty," says I Ramabrahmam, head, department of political science, UoH. "Updating of the curriculum is a constant process in the department," he says.

In Delhi University, according to Rodrigues, the quality of their faculty at the moment is "very good. They have inducted several young teachers who have international exposure," he says.

The University of Calcutta department came up for some praise on account of their activism and research in certain fields. "It is overall good. At least 50% to 60% of its faculty is uniformly good. The faculty has done extremely good research, particularly about zones without democracies (Maoist areas), and on the Left movement, says Rodrigues, adding, "The literary tradition of Bengal has helped them reach out to the larger society. Many members of the faculty are activist-teachers, associated with advocacy platforms. They have championed human rights in a very comprehensive manner."

Coming to the University of Pune, apart from having "some very good teachers" in the discipline, its location is quite an advantage. "Pune is a good catchment area for teaching talent as well as students. Also, Pune is a sort of a cultural capital of Maharashtra and students bring their cultural tradition to bear on their studies," says Rodrigues.

Panjab University's "is a consistently very good department. The faculty is good, with fairly good students." And it does focus on research, he says.

The well-known Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, made it to Rodrigues' list due to its large faculty and some fresh blood. "Recently they recruited some bright teachers who are conscious about their strengths as well as weaknesses and may strengthen the department."

As regards undergraduate colleges in Delhi, the experts pronounced Lady Shri Ram College for Women (or LSR) as one of the best. Chandhoke put her finger on all the colleges she mentioned due to their quality teachers and the way they communicate the syllabus (which though is the same across Delhi University colleges) to students and generate interest. At the JNU centre, about 15 of the annual intake of 65-70 students are LSR graduates.

Rodrigues also mentioned a few institutes who hold some promise, including Orissa's Ravenshaw University (earlier called Ravenshaw College) and Utkal University. Consider them as part of the ‘longlist'. Before it became a university in 2006, the University Grants Commission had tagged Ravenshaw, Cuttack, as a College with Potential for Excellence.

The college's alumni include former rulers, and chief ministers of the state. Bhubaneswar-based Utkal University's department is "pretty good," adds Rodrigues. In addition, the new department at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, a Central institution in Lucknow, too, can become a strong centre for political science in north India. "They have taken in top people, who have good exposure," says Rodrigues.

Experts' Take on the best institutions in india and abroad

Institutions worldwide

For political theory/political philosophy and comparative politics

Harvard, United States of America

www.harvard.edu

Established in 1636

Harvard does not offer a standalone master's degree, but awards the MA in political science to PhD candidates on the way to their final degrees. Its renowned John F Kennedy School of Government runs masters' programmes in public policy, public administration/ international development, joint degrees, PhDs, among others.

More details on http://www.gsas.harvard.edu/programs_of_study/government.php and http://www.hks.harvard.edu/degrees/admissions

 

Oxford, United Kingdom

No known date of birth but teaching took place in some form in 1096.

Oxford offers MSc in political theory research and MSc in politics research, and other degrees.

Applicants are normally required to be graduates in politics, international relations or a related discipline with a first- or upper second-class honours or its international equivalent.

More details on www.ox.ac.uk

 

Columbia, United States

Established in 1754 as King's College

Columbia offers MA in political science - both free-standing and with a PhD, and other programmes.

The applicant needs to submit a resume/CV, writing sample, GRE General and TOEFL/IELTS scores, among other documents.

More details on www.columbia.edu