BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT

P.G. Department of Zoology has been newly started course and established in the present academic year of 2005 – 2006, with an intake of 27 students who were admitted through AUCET followed by centralized counseling. The college management had been sanctioned to fill the 3 staff members and filled with three doctoral degree holders.

As per the guidelines prescribed by UGC and College Development Council (A.U.), the college has developed well equipped laboratories for M.Sc. Zoology students.

The department is currently headed by Dr. M. Ratna Raju, M.Sc., Ph.D. The department exists with 2 lecture halls, 3 labs, museum, animal house and experimental lab for aquaculture practices.

Apart from the teaching both faculty and students are engaged in extension programmes. Students enrolled in this department are mostly from the rural areas. So the faculty turns them, with their teaching techniques and methods of implementation of the class room theory, to form the base line for rural development. Thus the department offers ample opportunities of students to study and get involved in nation building activities through which eventually they become responsible citizens with good careers.

The department is training post graduate students in Zoology incorporating latest developments in all the areas of Life Sciences including the present thrust area of Bio-Informatics, Biotechnology, Microbiology and Aquaculture. The classroom teaching, lab training are strictly planned and executed by the devoted and expert faculty of the department.

OUR MISSION

The department aims at promoting post-graduation education with distinctive features that could fill the needs and requirements of various organizations in a global competitive environment.

OUR VISION

The vision of the department is to think big and to achieve the same with the hard work of the faculty and students, as told by his highness Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the President of India.

OBJECTIVES

o       Predict future trends in the life sciences and train the students to meet them with best   teaching methods

o       To Create spirit, initiation and drive in students for rapid growth

o       To take an advantage of expert’s articles on concept development and problem solving

o       To build confidence by conducting self tests and by making to study success stories of eminent persons of life sciences

Planning more infrastructure with the co-operation of management to develop the department as a model department in the Andhra University region.

Our Shared Values for Accomplishment

·        Student – Teaching relationship

·        Student focus

·        Positive Thinking

·        Co-operative learning

ADMISSION PROCEDURE

M.Sc., Zoology course is affiliated to Andhra University, Visakhapatnam. The admission procedure is centralized and students are selected through Andhra University Common Entrance Test (AUCET) organized by Andhra University, Visakhapatnam.

ASSESSMENT

The end of the each semester, Andhra University is conducting written examinations followed by seminar examination. Meanwhile conducting two internal examinations and taking of an average of total fifteen marks and adding into the final examination marks.

EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Besides regular teaching, extra curricular activities like group discussions, quiz contests and cultural activities are conducted periodically to enable the students to develop a full-fledged personality. Excellent play ground and well equipped gymnasium are in the campus. Sports & games meet is regularly conducted to train the students to develop team spirit and gamesomeness. Our students have distinguished themselves meritoriously in many competitions.

INSTRUCTIONAL METHODOLOGY

A part from the conventional lecturing method to train students in a more effective way Interacting Learning Methodologies are in action. This includes:

v      Regular Classroom interactions

v      Use of audio-visual aids like OHP, LCD and CDs

v      Power point slides with latest information

v      Group Discussions

v      Guest lectures by eminent academicians

v      Downloading latest information from internet to supplement lectures.

LABORATORIES

The department has three well equipped and well furnished laboratories with major equipments which are necessary for research and practical work. Well established museum with rare specimen collections which is common for both Under Graduate and Post Graduate students and also one animal house.

Ø      Visible Spectrophotometer (Ordered for purchasing)

Ø      Constant Temperature water bath

Ø      Slab Gel Electrophoresis Vertical (Ordered for purchasing)

Ø      Laminar Air Flow Meter (Ordered for purchasing)

Ø      B.O.D. Incubator (Ordered for purchasing)

Ø      Centrifuge

Ø      Binocular microscopes

Ø      Dissection microscopes

Ø      Conical tanks for larvae culture

Ø      Algae cylinders

Ø      Spawning tanks

Ø      Harvesting buckets

Ø      Air blowers

Ø      Trash cans

Ø      Salinity Refractro meter

LIBRARY

The P.G. library of the college consists of 106 volumes of 86 titles and 5 national and one international journal, e-journals and magazines of national and international reputed to cater the needs of the faculty and students. Apart from this the department is having exclusive department library having 124 volumes of 82 titles which are accessible to the students.