Department of Economics — Profile

 History

In 1923, when the College was started by the Sisters of the Cross, the intermediate course was introduced in the Department of Economics. Then the department rose to the status of an Under Graduation in 1957. It became a Post Graduate Department in 1964. With the autonomous status conferred on the College, the department has started an additional programme in Economics with specialization in Rural Management in 1989. The M.Phil. Programme in Economics was introduced in 2003. The UGC sponsored add-on course in NGO Management was introduced in 2004. In the same year, the Entrepreneurial Development Centre was established to impart entrepreneurial skill training and enable the students to become self-employable. The Department has attained the status of a Research Center in 2013.

 Our Journey

Key milestones in the development of the Department of Economics:

At present, the department has 2 Associate professors and 9 Assistant Professors. To keep pace with the new developments in the field of Economics, the Faculty members participate in various national and international conferences/workshop/seminars/symposia, etc. and attend Orientation / Refresher Courses and Training Programs organized by the College and other Universities and Institutions. The students who are enrolled in the Department are mostly from the economically weaker sections of the society and they are also first generation learners. Keeping this in mind, the department offers remedial courses and tutorial classes after class hours to bridge their learning gap. The autonomous status has given the department wide opportunities to restructure the curriculum content periodically catering to the intellectual and career needs of the students. To make the teaching-learning process student-centered, the Faculty members of the department supplements the lecture method with ICT mode of teaching. There is a constant mentoring of Students by the faculty with periodical guidance and counselling.

To promote the intellectual, cultural, aesthetic and social interests among the students the department is carrying out diversified activities though its academic association called the Planning Forum. The planning forum conducts periodical meetings and inter-collegiate competitions to build capacities in students. The Sports volunteers of the Department are excelling in sports events, winning laurels for the Department and College. Some of the best practices of the Department are mentorship, innovation in teaching-learning practices, release of an annual newsletter, organizing workshops, imparting entrepreneurial skill training and integration of fieldwork and practical components in the curriculum.

 Uniqueness

The PG and Research Department of Economics publishes an annual newsletter called “EcoVoice.” This newsletter encompasses detailed descriptions of recent economic issues, information about the department’s association “Planning Forum,” highlights of students’ achievements in sports and cultural activities, student awards, papers presented by the students, and highlights the Nobel laureates in the field of Economics.

The learners are catered by offering courses such as “Entrepreneurship Development” and “Economics and current affairs for competitive examinations” which helps the learners to start their own business and to appear for any competitive exams.

The department organizes a 30-Hour certificate course on “Excellence in Examinations: Mastering Competitive Tests” for students of Economics.

 Vision & Mission