The department of Political Science is a part of the glorious heritage of St. Xavier’s College. As a community of Students and Faculty, the Department is committed to academic freedom and equal access to education. The department of Political Science is adequately staffed with highly competent faculty. Three out of six members have been awarded their Doctoral Degree and others are in the process of completing their work. The competency of the faculty is proved every year by virtue of the results of the students and the placements they receive at the National as well as International level.

The Department holds a good reputation not only in West Bengal but also at the National level because of the high success rate of the students academically. The drop out rate is relatively low as students consider it a privilege to be a part of the Department and the College. This has been the trend over the last five years and more. All teaching members of the Department help students with their problems with counseling, as and when required. In addition the HOD meets the weak students once a month, helping them solve both their academic and personal problems. The students feel free to express themselves to the teachers, which reveals a good teacher-student rapport.

Other than teaching and research, teachers also participate in workshops and certain awareness programmes. Dr. Panchali Sen participated in a UGC sponsored SAM Workshop for Capacity Building of Women Managers in Higher Education from 22nd to 26th March, 2010.

The Department is deeply involved even in the non-academic activities of the college, which is termed as Extension Activities. The students of the Department supported by the faculty go for village trips under the guidance of the NSS Department. The college has successfully adopted certain villages where the students go and teach the small under-privileged children and also distribute clothes and food to them. Some students of the Department are also active as members of the NCC, some are active sports people, whereas others participate actively in debates, theatrics etc. The Department also supports strongly in organizing the annual Valedictory/Convocation of the college. The students who have passed out have received moderate to good placements all over the country on their own merit. The Department/Faculty’s contribution to the student placements has only been to the extent of providing them with good recommendations. But certainly the tag of ‘St Xavier’s College’ has made all the difference.

The Department of Political Science desires to have a Master Degree Programme as part of the extension plan of the college within the next five years.

Objectives

With the acceptance of Autonomy from the academic session July 2006, the college provided an enormous challenge in terms of the opportunity to frame its own syllabus. The department has used this opportunity to frame its syllabus in ways so that the students get introduced to more contemporary themes with a definite focus.

Syllabus

The department provides comprehensive programme of instruction in the fundamental areas of the discipline: political institutions and processes, development and transformation of theory and concepts, understanding different approaches to political analysis, political sociology, public administration and the legal contexts necessary for understanding politics and debates about it. The opportunity given by autonomy is being used by the department to make changes in the syllabus with the help of a rich Board of Studies, so that the syllabus is not fossilized.

 Honours Syllabus | General Syllabus [PDF]