17706 B.A. Colleges in India

Arts / Humanities & Social Sciences comprise a wide variety of academic and professional disciplines, including English, Psychology, Political Science, History, Anthropology and Music. BA stands for Bachelor of Arts and is a tremendously popular undergraduate course that students can pursue after passing Class 12th. BA graduates can pursue a wide variety of careers, including business, media, education, government and non-profit work.

Based on the degree selected by the candidate, job openings can be found in:

• Public administration, such as local government, the Civil Service, Art institutions, NHS and Social Services

• Work where written communication plays a major part such as advertising, journalism, publishing and public relations

• Heritage and Museums

• Education

• Legal work

• Business, Banking, Retail, Hospitality and Travel sectors

• Human resources

• Charities and Campaigning Organisations

• Creative industries 

India is home to some of the best colleges/ universities to pursue BA course. These include Hindu College, Delhi, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, (Delhi), Madras Christian College (MCC) – Chennai, Hansraj College (Delhi), Loyola College (Chennai), Christ University (Bangalore), Gargi College, DU (Delhi), Ramjas College, (Delhi), etc. The most popular specialisations offered by BA Colleges in India are:

• English

• Hindi

• Public Administration

• Mathematics

• Home Science

• Ancient History

• Computer Science

• French

• Statistics

• International Relations

Some of the key skills required by a BA professional are mentioned below:

• Analytical

• Research

• Communication

• Ability to work independently

• Competency

• Creativity

• Presentation

• Problem-solving

• Ability to work in a team

BA Course Eligibility Criteria

Candidates wishing to apply for the BA course need to fulfill the following minimum eligibility criteria::

• Candidates must have passed Class 12 and secured at least 50% aggregate score from a recognised board. The course is of three years duration.

There are over 14,000 colleges in India that offer BA course, out of which about 7058 colleges are private, 2692 are public and rest are public-private colleges. These offer full-time, distance-learning, part-time and online modes of study.  There are several BA Colleges in major cities across the country such as Delhi/ NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, etc. The various exams accepted in India for BA include DUET, WLCI Aptitude Test, SAT India, JSAT, AJEE, SET, UGAT, SUAT, IPU CET, ACET, etc.

Here is the list of some of the top private and public BA colleges in India:

Private Colleges	Course Fee (in Rs lakh)
Lovely Professional University (LPU), Jalandhar	1.6 - 2.02
Amity University, Noida	1.08 - 5.55
Adamas University, Kolkata	2.7 - 3.09
Parul University, Vadodara	1.2
CMS College of Science and Commerce, Coimbatore	-

 

Public Colleges	Course Fee (in Rs)
MCC, Chennai	-
Delhi University, Delhi	-
Jadavpur University, Kolkata	-
Hindu College, Delhi	51,930

Refer to the infographic below to get a detailed overview:

Note: Y-axis refers to the number of colleges in the above graph.Study Scope after BA

After completing BA, graduates can opt to pursue an MA or even an MBA. If the candidate is interested in a particular subject studied by him/her during BA, MA would be the best choice for him/her. One can also look for a specialisation in Business Analytics, become a Data Scientist by doing a Diploma in Data Science, learn Digital Marketing (PG Certification), etc.

Career Scope for BA Students

Some of the common career fields for BA graduates, include Communications, English, Geography, History, Journalism, Library Science, Math, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Social Science, Social Work, Sociology, Theology, etc. Contrary to the belief, careers in Social science are as lucrative and prestigious career options as their engineering and medical counterparts. A BA professional earns around Rs 2.5-6 LPA, the salary increases gradually with experience.

Some of the popular job profiles that candidates can consider selecting after completing the education in BA are mentioned below:

• Content Writer

• Social Worker

• Airhostess/ Flight Steward

• Archaeologist

• Cultural Anthropologist

• Editor

• Geologist

• Historian

• Linguistic Anthropologist

• Museum Curator

• Oceanographer

• Park Interpreter

• Statistician

• Teacher/ Professor

Top Recruiters for Arts Students

After completing BA course, candidates get several placement opportunities. The placement drives are conducted by the colleges. The colleges provide opportunities to enhance the student’s knowledge and gain real-time experience. Below is the list of few top companies in India that recruit BA students along with their placement ratings:

Colleges	Placement Ratings (Based on Reviews)	Top Recruiters
Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Delhi	4.5	American Express, Axsiom, CarDekho.Com, DE Shaw, Deloitte, Grofers, JSW Steel, Kepler Canon, Kotak Securities, KPMG, McKinsey, NIIT, PWC, Samsung
Loyola College, Chennai	4.4	HCL Technologies, Apex, Infosys, People Tech Group, VEE Technologies, C.S. Corporation, Nalanda Vidyanikethan, Tech Mahindra, Genpact, Wipro, TCS, ILM
MCC, Chennai	4.3	Amazon, Zoho
Hindu College, Delhi	4.3	DE Shaw, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Essar Cellular, Google, HDFC Bank, India Bulls, Jaypee Group, KPMG, KPMG, Maruti Suzuki, Protiviti, Royal Sundaram Finance

BA Modes of Study

BA course can be pursued from various colleges through different modes such as full-time, distance-learning, online and part-time. Nearly 14,000 colleges offer the full-time course and the rest of the colleges offer distance-learning, online and part-time mode to the student for pursuing BA courses. Some of these colleges are tabulated below: 

Full-time Mode of Study

Some of the popular colleges/ universities that offer full-time BA course are:

S.No.	Colleges	Location
1.	MCC	Chennai
2.	Indraprastha College for Women	Delhi
3.	Amity University	Noida
4.	LPU	Jalandhar
5.	Chandigarh University	Chandigarh

Distance/ Correspondence Mode of Study

The colleges/ universities that offer courses through distance/ correspondence mode are as follows:

S.No.	Colleges	Location
1.	Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)	Delhi
2.	Chandigarh University	Chandigarh
3.	Aligarh Muslim University (AMU)	Aligarh
4.	Bharathiar University	Coimbatore
5.	Utkal University	Bhubaneswar

Part-time – Classroom Mode of Study

Following college offers part-time classroom mode of education:

S.No.	Colleges	Location
1.	Directorate of Distance Education, Maharshi Dayanand University	Rohtak
2.	Web Univ	Delhi
3.	Jethro College of Distance Education	Mumbai
4.	Distance learning Centre-Karnataka State Open University	Delhi
5.	Apex Professional University	Arunachal Pradesh

Online – Classroom Mode of Study

Following colleges offers online classroom mode of education:

S.No.	Colleges	Location
1.	Amity University Online (AUO)	Noida
2.	Mewar University, School of Continuing Education	Rajasthan
3.	Amity Global Varsity	Delhi

Refer to the infographic below to get a detailed overview:

How affordable is studying BA in India?

Based on the below pie chart, it can be estimated that pursuing BA course in India is economical as approximately 74% of the colleges have annual fees of less than Rs 1 lakh. Some of these colleges are:

·         Hindu College, Delhi

• Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi

• Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Delhi

• Indraprastha College for Women, Delhi

• Loyola College, Chennai

Approximately 13% BA colleges have fee structure that ranges from Rs 1-2 lakh. Some of these colleges are:

• LPU, Jalandhar

• Amity University, Noida

• Chandigarh University, Chandigarh

• Lucknow University, Lucknow

Around 6% BA colleges have fee structure that ranges from Rs 2-3 lakh. Some of these colleges are:

• LPU, Jalandhar

• Amity University, Noida

• Amity University, Mumbai

• Adamas University, Kolkata

• Christ University, Bangalore

Approximately 4% BA colleges have fee structure of more than Rs 5 lakh. Some of these colleges are:

• P P Savani University, Surat

• Ashoka University, Sonepat

• Bennett University, Greater Noida

• FLAME University, Pune

• IILM University, Gurgaon

Nearly 3% BA colleges have fee structure that ranges from Rs 3-5 lakh. Some of these colleges are:

• Indraprastha College for Women, Delhi

• Amity University, Noida

• Adamas University, Kolkata

• SGT University, Gurgaon

• Christ University, Bangalore

Refer to the infographic below to get a detailed overview of the break-up of BA Colleges in India basis fees:

BA Specialisations offered in India

BA colleges in India offer diversified specialisations in English, Hindi, Public Administration, Mathematics, Home Science, Ancient History, Computer Science, French, Statistics, International Relations, etc. The most popular one is English followed by Hindi and Public Administration.

Refer to the infographic below to get a detailed overview:

Which are the most popular BA Exams in India?

The most popular entrance exams for studying BA in India are DUET and WLCI Aptitude Test. While scoring good marks in DUET will help you land in BA colleges like Delhi University, Delhi and Gargi College, DU, Delhi, WLCI Aptitude Test is your ticket to colleges like WLC College India, Mumbai.

Rest of the colleges accept SAT India, JSAT, AJEE, SET, UGAT, SUAT, IPU CET, ACET, etc., for admission into their colleges.

Refer to the infographic below to get a detailed overview:

Shiksha Singh