For students interested in studying biological sciences, it is destination Madurai. That is the premier position attained by this temple city, primarily due to the pre-eminent status achieved by the School of Biological Sciences of Madurai Kamaraj University.
With its leadership in life sciences and cutting-edge biotechnology courses, the university is one of the most sought after higher education institutions in the country for all related disciplines — be it biotechnology, genomics, plant sciences and so on.
From being just a post-graduate extension centre of the Zoology Department of University of Madras in the 1960s, the university has now reached a stage where it is identified for its unparalleled strengths in biological sciences. Students and researchers flock to Madurai every academic year to get an opportunity to work in its well-equipped laboratories.
“The speciality of MKU is that here biology is taught as an integrated discipline,” says P. Gunasekaran, Senior Professor and Head of Department of Genetics. Credit should go to Prof.S. Krishnaswamy who conceived the idea of teaching biology as an integrated discipline at a time when life sciences was compartmentalised into botany, zoology, microbiology and so on. Prof. SK felt that the totality of the living state is more important than studying animals and plants in isolation. So, he founded the Department of Biological Sciences as the country's first integrated department when the university was started in 1966, says Dr. Gunasekaran.
Due to its sustained success since then, the School of Biological Sciences of MKU has established itself as a ‘Centre for Excellence in Genomic Sciences' and has also been designated as a ‘Networking Resource Centre for Biological Sciences' in the country.
Genomic sciences
In the area of genomics, the university has been offering University Grants Commission (UGC)-supported programmes for advanced genomics research and education. Major focus areas in genomics are microbial genomics, metagenomics, environmental genomics, human genomics, immunogenomics, cancer genomics and computational genomics.
“We have expertise in all these fields. In the last 10 years, the Centre for Excellence in Genomic Sciences has turned out about 175 M.Sc.(Genomics) and 50 Ph.D. students. They are now well placed in different institutes,” says Dr. Gunasekaran.
Here, M.Sc. (Genomics) is being offered with UGC support since 2002. A maximum of 16 students are admitted each year of which 40 per cent seats are reserved for students from other States. This course has been upgraded as an M.Sc- Ph.D integrated course.
As a Networking Resource Centre, the MKU has arrived at the national scene with a bang. With the support of UGC, a state-of-the-art infrastructure facility has been established where 20 researchers can be trained at a time in genomics, molecular biology, microbiology, human cell culture, computational genomics and so on.
Integrated Course
Since last year, the School of Biological Sciences of MKU is offering five-year integrated M.SC - Ph.D with financial support from the Department of Biotechnology. Only 24 students will be admitted every year through a national-level screening test. Selected candidates would be supported with a monthly scholarship of Rs.1,200 for the first two years. After two years, the university will confer M.Sc. (Genomics) degree to students.
Thereafter, top 15 meritorious students get admission for Ph.D in Genomics with a monthly fellowship of Rs.14,000. Of the total 24 seats for the integrated programme, 40 per cent of seats are reserved for students from other States. More details about the course, eligibility and admission procedure can be had from websites www.mkuniversity.org, www.genomicsmku.org and www.dbtiplsmku.org.
Microbial Gene Technology
The Department of Microbial Technology offers M.Sc.(Microbial Gene Technology) which is a self-supporting course. Most of the students who passed out are working on various projects in different countries. Also, another postgraduate course called M.Sc Biochemical Technology is offered as a self-supporting course.
School of Biotechnology
Another major strength of MKU is its School of Biotechnology which also has national-level research laboratories.
Here, M.Sc.(Biotechnology) is offered with support of Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. Students are admitted through an all-India entrance test. This programme of MKU is rated very high in the country and in fact it was adjudged as one of the best teaching programmes by Dr. Kumar Committee which reviewed the M.Sc Biotechnology programme of various universities.
