Best Arts Colleges Outside Delhi
St Xavier's, Mumbai
Annual intake: 360 students (for arts in senior college)
USP: St Xavier's, a CPE, was declared autonomous in 2010, which allows it to formulate its own syllabus. It has introduced a special honours programme which encourages students to take up independent projects to earn extra credit. It is one of the few Mumbai colleges with a campus to speak of. A beautiful neo-gothic structure, its arches and expansive sports ground allow for both academic and co-curricular activities. Malhar, one of the city's largest college festivals, has garnered a following from all over India. Each department conducts its own festivals, in addition to cultural ones including English, Hindi and Marathi dramatics, classical music and band performances. It has a consistently good placement record
Placement record: Companies that visited include McKinsey, Citibank, Development Bank of Singapore and Wipro. The highest package is R10 lakh a year and average, R4 lakh.
Famous alumni: Zubin Mehta, Rajdeep Sardesai, Shabana Azmi, Shobha De, Cyrus Broacha and Vidya Balan
Programmes offered: Psychology, sociology, political science, ancient culture, Bachelor of mass media, among others
Alumnusspeak: There's a culture in Xavier's that penetrates everyone. The faculty is genuinely interested, teaching from aptitude, not text books. There's so much on participate in that you'll never be bored on campus - everyone is part of something
Ruia College, Mumbai
Annual intake: 440 in the arts department (BA)
USP: Ruia is a College with Potential for Excellence (CPE), a status given by the University Grants Commission (UGC). "Every year we have a minimum of one dozen university rank holders, including both arts and science students," says Devayani Ganpule, vice principal. The college has a ‘Self Vision Centre' for visually-impaired students to record their lectures and take print-outs of the same. Almost 10 classrooms are equipped with audio-visual aids.
Placement record: "Most of our students pursue further studies after graduation. Hence, we do not have placements that can be compared to that of a B-school. However, those who do wish to work after taking their degrees, are informed, if any company approaches us with a job offer for our students," says the vice principal.
Famous alumni: Narendra Jadhav, member, Planning Commission and former vice chancellor, Pune University; Manohar Joshi, MP, former Maharashtra CM; Dilip Chitre, famous literary personality.
Programmes offered: BA, bachelor of mass media, BA in French, and certificate courses in slum studies, proofreading, among others
Alumnusspeak: The faculty of arts is the best in Mumbai, second only to St Xavier's College. A student has full freedom to be as creative and inquisitive as possible and I strongly believe it's the best college for cultural activities, debates, discussions
Jai Hind College, Mumbai
Annual intake: 240 (senior college)
USP: A vibrant college with a great off-Marine Drive location, Jai Hind is known for going beyond the syllabus. Co-curricular activities are given as much importance as independent research and project work. It has various active societies including the Literary and Debating Society, the National Entrepreneurship Network and the Social and Dramatics Union. Facilities include an audio-visual centre, a sports gymkhana and a plush auditorium.
Placement record: Employers include Google, McKinsey, Ernst & Young, DirectI and other MNCs. The highest package was R4 lakh a year and average, R3.5 lakh.
Famous alumni: John Abraham, Ajay Piramal, Tina Ambani.
Programmes offered: Major options - psychology, English, economics and history; part major options: philosophy, political science. Bachelor's in mass media
Alumnusspeak: The greatest thing about Jai Hind is that while they mean business as far as attendance and discipline goes, the teacher-student relationship is comfortable to the point of casual corridor chats
Loyola College, Chennai
Annual intake: Around 2,200
USP: The UGC has recognised it as a CPE. "The faculty's reputation is worth noting," says Jaiprakash Gandhi, a career consultant. The college provides mentorship and remedial classes to students
Placement record: The major employer so far is Sutherland Global Services. The highest offer is R45,000 a month
Famous alumni: Former presidents S Radhakrishnan and R Venkatraman
Programmes offered: BA in history, economics, sociology, English, Tamil, French; MA in economics, english, social work, history, media arts, philosophy, apart from many BSc, BCom and MSc programmes
Alumnusspeak: Loyola College taught me leadership qualities through extra-curricular activities. I was involved in lots of events
Stella Maris, Chennai
Annual intake: 1400
USP: The college admits students from all strata of society and has a good support system - scholarships, sponsorships, mentoring, pathway programme, career guidance and placements.
Placement record: Employers include Deloitte, Google, McKinsey, etc. The highest pay package so far is R4 lakh a year.'
Famous alumni: Padma Subrama-niam, bharatnatyam dancer; Nirmala Lakshman, senior journalist.
Programmes offered: BA in history and tourism, sociology, economics, English, bachelor's in visual arts, social work, MA in economics, English, history of fine arts, international studies, public relations, master's in social work, among others
Alumnusspeak: The college prepared me for my career, with a spirit that one must give back to society
Ethiraj College for Women, Chennai
Annual intake: 2336 (arts and science)
USP: The UGC recognised Ethiraj as a CPE in 2004-05. Each department offers inter-disciplinary courses. It has platforms for many activities such as Students in Free Enterprise
Placement record: Visiting companies include World Bank, Deloitte, McKinsey, Google. Highest package: R4.5 lakh
Famous alumni: Jayanti Natrajan, MP; Joshna Chinnappa, international squash player
Programmes: UG programmes in English, economics, history, tourism and travel management, maths
Alumspeak: My college years were illuminating in more ways than one. An electric English department that encouraged cross cultural reading and classroom discussions, an excellent cultural wing that staged established and experimental plays and performances as well as a debating society
St Xavier's College, Kolkata
Annual intake: Between 35 and 40 per subject
USP: Personal attention from the faculty members is the USP of this institution. Lab and library facilities are highly rated by students. The college has the latest computer and multi-media-aided classrooms.
Placement record: The companies that came this year include Kearney, Google and Pearson Group, says the college's placement cell blog
Famous alumni: Jyoti Basu, the late CM of West Bengal; tennis player Leander Paes
Programmes offered: Economics, English, mass communication, history, communicative English, political science, sociology, Hindi, elective Bengali and film studies, among others
Alumnusspeak: The years spent at college had a tremendous impact on my life. The college exposed me to an incredibly cosmopolitan community that had people from all walks of life
Jadavpur University, Kolkata
Annual intake: Between 30 and 40 (per programme)
USP: The UGC has recognised it as a University with Potential for Excellence. The university boasts of a strong placement record. It has many international students
Placement record: Companies that visited for arts students were Google, Cognizant and Wipro. The highest offer was R5 lakh a year
Famous alumni: Actress Swastika Mukherjee; actor Prambrata Chatterjee
Programmes offered: Economics, English, comparative literature, history, international relations, philosophy, Sanskrit, sociology and film studies, among others
Alumnusspeak: The college played a role in character building and helping connect to my roots. It was an eye opening experience for me where the college gave me the exposure about Bengali culture
Presidency University, Kolkata
Annual intake: 30 in each subject
USP: Some of its departments have the most respected teachers in the country. The university reports 100% placement in most programmes
Placement record: Major companies that came for recruitment include Essar Vodafone, Google, and Cognizant Technologies. The highest package offered was R5 lakh a year
Famous alumni: Nobel laureate Amartya Sen; Oscar winning film director Satyajit Ray
Programmes offered: Economics, Bengali, political science, history, English, sociology, among others
Alumnusspeak: They were great three years because of the exposure I got in college. It was there where I met many like-minded people and made a lot of friends.
Author: Rahat Bano (HT Horizons)
Date: 1st April, 2011
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