Pursuing Arts in Jadavpur University: An Honest Review

Jadavpur University is one of the most prestigious universities in not only West Bengal but also of India, so it has been my dream educational institution since I was little. Moreover, only Jadavpur University offers both B.A. and M.A. in Comparative Literature in India. I have been interested in this subject since I was 9 yrs old, so it was basically the only option I had. My institution is known for being politically active, and perhaps because of that, it offers a very comfortable and accepting atmosphere which also supports diversity in every way possible. Furthermore, the entrance exam system makes it way better than other educational institutions, I feel, since H.S. results do not always portray one's adroitness and knowledge about the subject they wish to study. The only bad thing about my university which I don't like is that the administrative system is very lousy but all the other aspects make it still worth it. I will choose my university over others anytime mostly because of my department though, as we've the most friendly and supportive teaching staff ever.

I chose this course because Comparative Literature entails a comparative study of literatures from different parts of the world, thus one does not have to feel constricted by the belief that only one language literatures are superior to the others, which single literature departments propound. It offers a lot of freedom in its curriculum. There are around 32 members of the teaching faculty, including both professors and research scholars while each batch has more than 40 students. We have eminent scholars with multiple degrees and certificates as our professors and they work extremely hard to make the teaching-learning experience fun, relatable, and easy. Every semester around 4 Internal Assessments in all courses respectively are taken throughout a span of 2 months maximum and then we have our End Semester exams. I didn't find the exams difficult at all although many may have.

I was a Campus Ambassador for Japanese Film Festival in 2020 and I'm still a Campus Ambassador for an virtual welfare community called Chetana Mental Health.

Students become eligible for campus placements from the final semester, I think TATA Digital, IPSOS, Cognizant,Livpure, Tata Consultancy Services Digital, Wipro Turbo, Tally Solutions, IBM, EricssonReliance JIO, Deutsche Bank, Synopsys, Atlassian, Samsung Research Institute, Larsen & Toubro Infotech, Medianet SRE, OYO, Adobe, Oracle, Amazon, Microsoft, MN Dastur, Siemens, CESC, Mu Sigma, Exide, Honda are some of the top recruiters. Various media companies and news channels like ABP Ananda, newspapers like The Telegraph and such offer jobs too. 80% students get placement every year with extremely high packages. I will be pursuing PhD in Comparative Literature after completing my M.A. and aim to be a professor.

Jadavpur University is especially known for the vibrant campus Life it provides to the students. Our annual festival is called Sanskriti which the whole city looks forward to and there are various other festivals organised mainly by various student organisations which take place all over the year. Our university's central library is humongous and contains a variety of books, journals etc from all around the world. Furthermore, all the departments have their own libraries too, so it is very difficult to not find any desired text or piece of literature in the libraries. Not all rooms have A.C., which is a draw back to be honest, and the bathrooms are not really hygienic, but apart from those, the whole campus is beautiful. There are multiple cafeterias and various small shops are situated near the campus. A.F.S.U., S.F.S.U., and F.E.T.S.U. are the student bodies of our campus, the first belonging to Arts, second belonging to Science and last one belonging to the Engineering departments. The student bodies are usually always very helpful and active in catering to the needs of the students at all times.

We have a huge campus and a field large enough to invite people who don't even study in Jadavpur University to come and practice there. The science and engineering departments have labs with all the facilities and latest technologies which are required. As stated before, we have gigantic libraries which contains a variety of texts from all around the world. Our university campus is equipped with extremely fast Wi-Fi.

I had to sit for an entrance exam for B.A. but since I am continuing pursuing the same course in M.A. too, I was accepted here for M.A. simply because it's an integrated 5yrs course.