History
The Department was established in 1935 to offer B.Sc. Degree in Botany affiliated to University of Madras. In 1964, it became one of the pioneer PG Departments. It started M. Phil. Course in 1982 & Ph. D. programme in 1991 under the affiliation of Bharathidasan University. The title of M.Sc., Botany was changed to M.Sc.,Botany with Specialization in Plant Biotechnology in 2002. The Department is a proud recipient of funds from DST – FIST and DBT – Star College Scheme in 2008 and 2010 respectively. The nomenclature of M.Sc.,Botany with specialization in Plant Biotechnology was changed to M.Sc.,Botany in the year 2022.ST.
The Department stands for its academic excellence, development of research skills and extension potential. The Department encourages creative skills of students and helps them transform it into reality. Procuring University ranks is one of the regular phenomena of our Department. It also conducts regular outreach programmes on medicinal plants, preparation of herbal value added products and herbal medicines apart from skill development programmes like mushroom cultivation, Azolla cultivation, Microgreens and Spirulina cultivation.
The department Infrastructure includes glasshouse, Tissue culture laboratory, Microbiology lab, herbal study centre, automated mushroom farm and audio visual facilities to carryout teaching and research in a promising way. The faculty has diverse specialization subjects like Plant Taxonomy, Plant Diversity, Molecular Biology, Plant Biotechnology, Phytochemistry, Microbiology, and Nanotechnology. The Department has three recognized Ph. D. guides in the field of Botany and has received several Awards and Research grants from funding agencies like UGC, DBT, DST and Bamboo Grants (UBCHEA).
Uniqueness
The Department undertakes activities like herbal medicine preparation, sanitizer preparation, replacing plastic bags into cloth bags and helps to create a healthy eco-friendly environment inside the college.
In addition the department conducts mushroom, microgreens and Azolla cultivation programs which empowers students to become entrepreneurs.
Vision
“To be a Centre of Excellence in Plant Science”
Mission
To promote Academic excellence, develop Research skills and enhance the potential of students.
To encourage and enhance the Creative Skills of students and help them in transforming the Scientific knowledge into reality.