Top Arts Colleges in India 2021

Arts / Humanities & Social Sciences comprise a wide variety of academic and professional disciplines, including English, Psychology, Political Science, History, Anthropology and Music. Arts graduates can pursue a wide variety of careers, including business, media, education, government, and non-profit work. They can choose for a variety of careers in Arts ranging from Assistant Administrative Officer to Content Editors to Librarian.

Some of the UG and PG courses offered in the field of Arts are tabulated below:

UG Courses	PG Courses
BA English	MA English
BA Political Science	MA Political Science
BA Economics	MA Economics
BA History	MA History
BA Sociology	MA Sociology
BA Geography	MA Geography
BA Philosophy	MA Philosophy
BA Psychology	MA Psychology
BLibSc (Bachelor of Library Science)	MLibSc (Master of Library Science)
BSW (Bachelor of Social Work)	MSW (Master of Social 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 top-rated colleges/ universities to pursue Arts courses like Hindu College (Delhi), St. Stephen's College (Delhi), Miranda House, (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.

There are over 15,000 Arts colleges in India that offer a full-time, part-time, distance-learning, virtual classroom and online mode of study.  These colleges provide degree, diploma and certificate courses. Out of these the top 20 Arts colleges in India ranked by India Today offer degree courses in a full-time mode of study.

The top-rated Arts colleges in India offer different types of courses. Over 14,500 colleges offer UG course, 5200 offer PG course and 352 offer Doctorate course. 

Some of the key skills required by an Arts professional are mentioned below:

• Analytical
• Research
• Communication
• Ability to work independently
• Competency
• Creativity
• Presentation
• Problem-solving
• Ability to work in a team

Arts Courses Admission Eligibility Criteria

Arts courses can be pursued at UG, PG and PhD levels. The eligibility criteria differs as per the course selected by the candidate. However, given below is a broad eligibility criteria for UG, PG and PhD Arts courses for the reference of candidates:

• UG level: Candidates must have passed Class 12 and secured at least 55% aggregate score from a recognised board. The course is of four years duration.
• PG level: Candidates must have passed graduation preferably in the subject in which they wish to pursue masters with a minimum of 50% aggregate score. The course is of two years duration.
• PhD level: Candidate must have passed a Master's degree in either stream of Engineering, Technology, Arts, Science or Commerce with a minimum of 60% aggregate score. The course duration is three years.

Apart from merit-based admission, the colleges in India conduct entrance exams like NMIMS - NPAT for admission to Arts courses.

Although there are plenty of Arts colleges in India there a few top ones that have been listed by India Today.

Following is a list of top 10 Arts colleges in India ranked by India Today under the Arts category: 

College	India Today'20 Ranking
Hindu College, Delhi	1
St. Stephen's College, Delhi	2
Miranda House, Delhi	3
Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Delhi	4
MCC, Chennai	5
Hansraj College, Delhi	6
Loyola College, Chennai	7
Christ University, Bangalore	8
Gargi College, DU, Delhi	9
Ramjas College, Delhi	10

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

Private Colleges	Course Fee (in Rs)
Christ University, Bangalore	85,000
Mithibai College of Arts, Chauhan Institute of Science & Amrutben Jivanlal College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai	-
Stella Maris College, Chennai	-
St. Joseph's College (SJC Bangalore)	-
Women's Christian College, Chennai	57,570

 

Public Colleges	Course Fee (in Rs)
Hindu College, Delhi	14,175
St. Stephen's College, Delhi	1,04,610
Miranda House, Delhi	21,690
Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Delhi	46,110
Madras Christian College (MCC), Chennai	-

Refer to the infographics below to get a detailed overview of the top 10 cities/states of Arts colleges in India:

Note: Y-axis refers to the number of colleges in the above graphs.

Career Scope for Arts Students

Some of the common career fields for humanities and social science 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.

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

• Archaeologist
• Cultural Anthropologist
• Editor
• Geologist
• Historian
• Linguistic Anthropologist
• Museum Curator
• Oceanographer
• Park Interpreter
• Statistician
• Teacher/ Professor

Graduates from below top 12 Arts colleges in India can bag a median salary of Rs 1-5 LPA:

• MCC, Chennai
• Stella Maris College, Chennai
• Women's Christian College, Chennai
• Loyola College, Chennai
• Gargi College, DU, Delhi
• Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College, Delhi
• Indraprastha College for Women, Delhi
• Daulat Ram College, Delhi
• Miranda House, Delhi
• Kristu Jayanti College, Bangalore
• Hindu College, Delhi
• Hansraj College, Delhi

Graduates from below top 2 Arts colleges in India can bag a median salary of Rs 5-10 LPA:

• Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Delhi
• Stephen's College, Delhi

Refer to the infographic below to get a detailed overview of the median salary for Arts colleges in India:

Note: Y-axis refers to the number of colleges in the above graph.

Top Recruiters for Arts Students

After completing Arts courses, 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 Arts students along with their placement ratings:

Colleges	Placement Ratings (Based on Reviews)	Top Recruiters
St. Stephen's College, Delhi	4.5	AT Kearney, Bain and Company, BCG, CITI Bank, DE Shaw, E&Y, Hindustan Times, IndusInd Bank, JSW Steel, McKinsey, Morgan Stanley, Nomura, Parthenon, RSA Group, Times of India, Towers Watson, ZS Associates
Miranda House, Delhi	4.5	Cadila, Capital IQ, DHL Express, Dorling Kindersley, Essar Steel, Evalueserve, Genpact, HCL, HDFC Bank, HDFC Standard Life, HP, IBM Daksh, Indian Express, IndiGo Airlines, Infosys, Jaypee Group, Keane India, LIC, Max Healthcare, Max New York Life, Naukri.Com, Standard Chartered Bank, TCS, Wipro BPO, Zee Telefilms
Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Delhi	4.5	American Express, Axiom, 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
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

How affordable is studying Arts Courses in India?

Based on the below pie chart, it can be estimated that pursuing Arts courses in India is economical as approximately 86% of the colleges have course/annual fees of less than Rs 1 lakh. Some of these colleges are:

• Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College, Delhi
• Hindu College, Delhi
• Miranda House, Delhi
• Gargi College, DU, Delhi
• Ramjas College, Delhi
• Symbiosis College of Arts & Commerce, Pune
• Daulat Ram College, Delhi
• Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Delhi
• Indraprastha College for Women, Delhi
• Women's Christian College, Chennai
• Hansraj College, Delhi
• Christ University, Bangalore

Approximately 14% of Arts colleges have a fee structure that ranges from Rs 10-20 lakh. Some of these colleges are

• Stephen's College, Delhi
• Kristu Jayanti College, Bangalore

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