MA English at PU develops critical thinking

Any institution is known by the way its alumni fare in the world outside the academic precincts. Panjab University does prepare one for thinking ahead and doing well in life. Any public university has the goal of proving good and affordable education. Panjab University must not divert from this path, as was recently happening due to fund crunch.

I took Panjab University's Common Entrance Test - Postgraduate and scored 46 out of 75 marks for admission in MA English course at Department of English and Cultural Studies. As the name of the department suggests, the curriculum transcends mere teaching of literature and engages in critical thinking via cultural studies, postcolonial studies, Indian literary criticism and more.

Humanities prepares you for critical and philosophical thinking in life. In the second year of MA English, students have two subjects with four options to choose in each. These options are not just focused on literary studies but develop the critical abilities of students. Courses such as postcolonial studies and cultural studies help students understand the nitty-gritty of class consciousness, ideological underpinnings of social institutions and relations. Students are encouraged to make presentations and write focused research papers.

No, the Department of English and Cultural Studies at Panjab University does not provide internship. It teaches only postgraduate core literature courses and research degrees.

Panjab University has 'Avsar' programme organised by the university's central placement cell. Media, IT, technology and consultancy companies from the region and beyond take part in the Avsar initiative. Infosys, HCL. TCS, Hindustan Timesand many others are regular visitors to the campus. Packages usually range from Rs 3 lakhs to Rs 7 lakhs per annum. I got placed with Hindustan Times Chandigarh as a copy editor and journalist through a placement test and interview.

'Cyanide' is a technical-cultural festival spanning three days and organised by Department of Chemical Engineering. It is attended by more than 4,000 students from the region. Panjab University Rose Festival is held in February each year. Large number of students participate in singing, rangoli, collage making, face painting, and painting competitions while hundreds of residents of the city also attend the festival over three days.

The fee for Master of Arts course in English at Panjab University is quite feasible. It does not go beyond Rs 10,000 per semester for the total of tuition and examination fee. Business and medical courses are certainly much more expensive but far lesser than private institutions.

The university provides financial assistance to economically weak students. Some scholarships are also available, and information about them can be got from here: http://puchd.ac.in/scholarship.php I did not avail any scholarship during my course of study.

Life on the campus is quite vibrant. Entry hours for women's hostels are also quite comfortable. At 10 pm or later, women can easily go out for dinner and return as Chandigarh is a reputedly safe city. Many cultural festivals and events afford students the chance to showcase their talent and there are many department level as well as inter-department debating avenues for students to hone their communication and knowledge skills. Students from the northern region, including Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh attend the university. There is certainly tolerance with regard to religion, race etc and students face much lesser problems than at colleges in smaller towns. Approximately 70% students in the university are women.

Hostel accommodation in the university is mostly available on a shared basis (2 per room) except in some cases a single seater room is allotted to senior year students of postgraduate and research courses in case of availability of seats. Food in the mess is the usual vegetarian and milk products fare and the quality is ordinary while being not so good occasionally. Paying guest accommodation near the university costs more than hostel charges, and ranges between Rs 4,000 to any upper ceiling limit per month as per one's requirement. For a single seater room in PG, the charges are typically above Rs 6,000.

Ragging usually does not happen in Panjab University as the atmosphere is fairly welcoming for the freshers. Seniors can be quite helpful if one does not neglect interacting with them purposefully. Alumni members remember their days in the university with characteristic warmth and pleasure, and also motivate prospective students.

In MA English postgraduate course, there are four semesters and further four subjects in each semester. Each subject is tested as a 100 marks component, with 20 marks for internal assessment and 80 marks for external theory examination. Students should not expect high marks in humanities, particularly in English, they will come only with diligence and hard work. There is no lab work as part of course though there is a language lab in the department for facilitation of the students.

The notification for the entrance exam was released in the first week of May for which the deadline was a month later. I filled the entrance exam form online on www.cetpg.puchd.ac.in. If you are in the merit list, you must also fill a separate form in the department. Extra weightage is given to those who have done honours in the subject during the bachelors programme.

Even though I did not have the opportunity of being taught by all the professors of the department in the two-year period, I can say most of the faculty members excelled in one or more aspects of educations, and some in many aspects. For different reasons, I came to admire Dr Rana Nayar and Dr Rumina Sethi of the department. Dr Nayar is noteworthy for the passion as well as the breadth of language he brings to the classroom. Few can match the preparedness of a lecture that Dr Sethi has.