Mumbai University upgrades syllabus, science students to get wider choice of subjects

Until now, a physics student could only choose subjects related to physics but now he can take up chemistry or biology as elective subjects.

Science students of the university of Mumbai will soon have a wider range of subjects to choose from. The curriculum for 55 courses in the University of Mumbai (MU)’s science faculty will be upgraded from the upcoming academic year and the choice based credit system (CBCS) will be revised to allow students to choose science subjects apart from their core subject.

The council also decided to introduce multiple subjects for post graduate students to choose from. (HT)

Until now, a physics student could only choose subjects related to physics but now he can take up chemistry or biology as elective subjects.

The decision was taken at the academic council meeting of University of Mumbai on Thursday. The council also decided to introduce multiple subjects for post graduate students to choose from.

“Second year BSc students will be allowed to choose one of the three elective subjects from a course other than their own. This means a physics student can choose a subject from the computer science course, and vice versa,” said MA Khan, registrar, MU. Since these changes are applicable from the upcoming year, MU plans to start workshops for principals and teachers from the faculty in the next two weeks to tackle the changes.

Third-year BSc students will be allowed to choose a project work of their choice , said a senior official from the academic council. “In a few courses like zoology, students will also get to choose an applied component for their course, which will differ from one region to another,” said Vijay Joshi, dean (in-charge) science and technology, MU.

The university had introduced CBCS for the first-year undergraduate and post-graduate courses last year, with a plan to gradually strengthen them in the subsequent years. In the first year of undergraduate courses, students had to study subjects from their own department. However, they will now get to earn credits by taking up subjects from other disciplines. “The academic council approved the CBCS syllabi for the upcoming academic year, including the new syllabi for the second year of all branches of engineering. Each faculty will offer different elective subjects to choose from,” said Suresh Ukarande, faculty coordinator for technology.

Principals said this move will help students look forward to a broad curriculum. “For a student majoring in a particular field, it’ll be helpful to find another related subject that could compliment their own. This is similar to double majors, offered by various universities,” said Tushar Desai, principal of DG Ruparel College, Matunga. He added that such options will help students grow beyond the curriculum and explore other subjects.