Pure science is new flavour of the season

 
St Joseph's college has witnessed a steady increase of students keen on taking up science courses, not just from Karnataka, but from other states.

Some of the popular combinations for undergraduate courses this year were Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics (PCM); Physics, Electronics, Mathematics (PEM); Electronics, Mathematics, Computer Science (EMC) and the recent addition Economics, Mathematics and Statistics (EMS).

The demand has surprised even the college management, which had set a cut-off marks of 60 per cent. "There is more demand for basic science courses like PCM. Close to 30 per cent of students have scored more than 90 per cent in their Class 12 in the new PCM batch have come for admission this time," says Fr Ambrose Pinto S J, Principal of St Joseph's College. 

To fulfil the demand colleges like Mount Carmel have increased the intake for BSc courses. "Demand for pure science courses at undergraduate level has increased as there are more job opportunities for students now. With revival of economy, companies are hiring graduates and are not particular only about engineering graduates. This has led to the surge in demand," said Sr Albina, Mount Carmel College Principal.

Autonomous colleges like Jyothi Nivas have introduced subjects like Computer Science as well as Environmental Science as one of the combinations have also given a boost to the courses. "Though Science is not one of the popular combinations every year, the demand was much higher compared to last year. Our science combinations with Computer Science as one of the optional subjects filled-up very fast," said Sr Elizabeth, Principal In-charge Jyothi Nivas College.

Tie-ups with premier research institutes like Indian Institute of Science, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and ISRO have kept the research quotient high, say students. "There are numerous credit courses like Space and Rocket Dynamics for BSc students. These courses give experience," says Ricky Wilfred, who wants to pursue research in Astronomy.

"For a student of Economics, it does not make any sense to study subjects like Sociology and Psychology. At Master's level, we have to study Mathematics and Statistics. If you want to apply for Masters in prestigious college like London School of Economics, you need to have strong foundation in these subjects," says Ashwin Satish, a student from Chennai, studying at Joseph’s.