Degree admissions: Universities see renewed interest in life sciences

The Hindu

6 days ago

While Commerce stream continues to dominate the admission process in Bengaluru colleges this year, there has been a renewed interest in Life Science subjects like Biotechnology, Biochemistry and Forensic Sciences this year, among students seeking admissions to undergraduate courses.
According to college managements, there have been many factors behind the renewed interest in those subjects, including peer pressure, the growth of Bengaluru as a biotechnology hub and an inclination towards pure science studies.
'There are a lot of start-ups and biotech companies growing out of the city and that provides more job opportunities to students. With universities taking an industry integrated approach, students also get to work in labs while studying these days, which adds on to their experience,' said Christo. V. Joseph, director, Garden City University.
Courses like Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA) and Bachelor of Commerce (BCom), which have been attracting a lot of students over the years, have had a lot of takers this year too across colleges.
'Most seats for our BCA, BBA and BCom courses have been filled already indicating a great demand. In the post pandemic period, everyone feels that Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and Gen AI are the future and that drives a lot of students towards BCA and BTech. Even those who cannot get into BTech, now choose BBA,' said Mackey Agarwal Jain, Chief Manager- Marketing & Admissions at JAIN (Deemed-to-be-university).
Some noted that the demand for commerce is increasing due to recent graduates finding jobs quickly. 'Many of our students also clear international exams while studying and once they graduate, they find jobs quickly. Word-of-mouth spreads and they act as ambassadors for these courses,' said Melwin Colaco, registrar, St. Joseph's University.
Increased interest in media studies, law
While there has not been a significant change in demand for Humanities, universities have seen an increased interest in Media Studies, Law and Economics.
'We have always had demand for subjects like Psychology, Economics and Law. But this year, there has been a greater interest in Law,' said Anil Joseph Pinto, registrar, Christ University.
Fee increased by 5%
While the State government announced a 5% increase on the fees of degree courses in government colleges, private universities have also hiked it by an average of 5%. While some managements said that they increase it annually by about 5% to 10% based on inflation, some have increased it by 5% this year. .
'The cost of living in Bengaluru has increased and we need to pay our staff salaries to match that. Very few of our departments are aided and hence, we adopt a demand-based fee escalation,' said Mr. Calaco.