The fellowship assistance being provided by Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) to PG and Ph.D. students over the last two years has resulted in the varsity being the most preferred institution among State agricultural universities by candidates securing admission for 30% seats through the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
Last year, 24,948 applicants appeared for ICAR’s All India Entrance Examination for Admission - Post Graduate, for admission into programs in Agriculture, Horticulture, Forestry, Veterinary, Animal Sciences, Agricultural Engineering, Community Science (erstwhile Home Science), Fisheries, Dairy Science and other allied sciences.
The methodology of pooling fundings from research projects of the faculty, and the industry-sponsored projects for the purpose of providing the scholarship has taken off well in TNAU, which holds the distinction of being the only State Agricultural University to implement the programme.
At present, TNAU is providing 412 PG students with scholarship of ₹10,000 / month and 185 Ph.D students with ₹20,000 / month for their research time.
The scholarship amount covers the tuition fee and hostel fee of the PG students for the third and fourth semesters, and the Ph.D. scholars for the third, fourth, fifth and sixth semesters. The amount in excess is credited into the accounts of the students for their personal expenses, TNAU Vice-Chancellor V. Geethalakshmi said.
The PG admissions are made in 32 departments, and the Ph.D. admissions in 28 departments.
“Faculty in TNAU apply for all possible projects, and the situation has, over the couple of years, transformed to such an extent that funding from the projects is far in excess of outgo of expenditure incurred for scholarships, the Vice-Chancellor said.
A remarkable outcome has been the grant of 25 process/design/copyright patents for the students, Prof. Geethalakshmi said.
