B.A. LL.B & LL.M at AMU Aligarh: Curriculum, Alumni & Career Opportunities

Aligarh Muslim University is one of the oldest and largest residential universities in our country. There are 13 faculties in the university, further divided into 117 departments providing over 400 courses in total, like Agriculture, Law, Medicine, Engineering, Arts, etc. The university is also leading in Arts and Sports and has all the facilities. The Moulana Azad Library, the central library of the university is the largest in Asia. In addition to it, there are seminar and libraries in every department. The university is also home to many notable alumni all over the world; Actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Writers like Saadat Hasan Manto, Politicians like Zakir Husain, and Scientists like Ashok Seth were this university’s part. The university, being home to students from all the states, sees a heterogeneous mixture of culture, diversity and sense of belongingness.

Department of Law is one of the most prestigious and oldest departments in Aligarh Muslim University; it has a legacy of more than 100 years of producing excellence in legal field, not just in India but also all over the world. It has always been in the top 10-15 law colleges in the country, against NLUs too. Notable alumni like former Supreme Court judges like Baharul Islam, Syed Murtaza Fazl Ali, etc. are still a pride of our university and department of Law. This department at present provides 5 year BA (Hons) LL.B, LL.M (Corporate Law, Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, Business Law, etc) and Ph.D in Law courses. The selection in this is through the entrance exam conducted by university in April-May every year. There are 240 seats in the main campus. The course syllabus of BA LL.B is frequently updated to include all the necessary changes and to keep students informed about the emerging legal affairs and new policies. In addition to that, our department conducts various sessions and seminars throughout the year, inviting experienced guests who are active in the field of law. The key highlight of the university is the class timings, which are only usually for three to four hours a day. This allows the students to do extracurricular activities, additional reading, study, research, hobbies or even internships and part time jobs. We have separate committees for Moot Court, Training and Placement, Law Society and Review by students that are supervised by senior professors.

The major highlight of Aligarh Muslim University has always been its fee structure, making it one of the most affordable in the country without compromising the quality of education. The fees paid by a student of law per year would be less than Rs 10,000, which is inclusive of hostels, exam fees, material fees, tuition fees and all other charges included. In addition to that, there are many scholarships aided by the vast community of our global alumni for the students coming from financially backward situations and needed help.

The Faculty here is very experienced, senior faculties are usually there, but recently, a lot of junior faculties are entering too, making it a perfect blend of experience and advancement. Majority of the faculties are Doctorate holders, making them a master of the subject they teach. Often they are found in the libraries after class, constantly learning and updating themselves. There are smart class rooms in all departments, some of them also stick to the traditional method of teaching using a white board and marker. While teachers are not always informal and friendly in class, mainly owing to the limited time of 50 minutes and large number, they always provide assistance when we need, whether it’s for recommending for an internship or helping with a project for exams. Some teachers do try to know the students personally and their backgrounds to guide them and help them accordingly.

Although AMU is an established university, its placement cell still needs a little improvement because the placement cell was initiated as recently as in 2012. It was started with an aim to bridge the gap between students, their academia and the industry. Faculty of Law has a separate cell of Training and Placement, although students finding a placement suitable are seen less particularly as low packages are given. We see a lot more students actively building connections through the massive network of alumni and looking for placement through these aids than the placement cell of this university.

In Aligarh Muslim University, there are 20 Halls in total. Each hall further divided into two or three hostels. Every student who takes admission here is allotted a hall, and the fees are included in the yearly fees itself. It is paid every year and no other charges are to be paid except the mess fees, which comes to Rs 1,500 every month. There are separate halls for boys and girls, and mostly the rooms are two seaters while some hostels also have single, three or four seaters depending on the course you choose. All the hostels are equipped with reading room, AC, a gym, and a common room for recreational purpose with TV and music system. A kitchen with cooking facilities like gas cylinders, stove, oven, toasters, sandwich makers, refrigerators etc. is also provided. There is an ambulance facility at the hostel in addition to the first aid help. Three meals are provided, the quality is premium and the same food is served to residential wardens as well. Girl’s hostels have a timing curfew of 6:30 PM in summers and 5:30 PM in winters. For every hall, there would be a committee comprising of various positions from students like Senior Hall, Food Monitor, Literary Head, Discipline Monitor, Cleanliness incharge, etc. Furthermore, there would be hall fests for each hostel, inter hall- sports and arts competitions, magazines release, etc.

The university has a beautiful campus that is spread over 1150 acres, something that everyone will fall in love with. The campus is huge and green; most of the departments look like they came straight out of a historical fiction. The campus can be easily accessed via public transport, both bus and railways. Rikshas are available too. There are canteens, libraries, gyms, art galleries, museums, and the largest sports complex that includes basketball, tennis, wrestling, cricket, football ground, volleyball courts, horse riding club, skating clubs etc. The university has Wi-Fi throughout the campus, which also can be accessed in classrooms. We have Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College under AMU, making all the treatment for students free and fast. There is a health centre inside the campus too for quicker remedies. Law department has a modern library and a seminar hall that always has the latest editions of all the academic texts, journals, articles, case commentaries, etc. It has a Moot Court hall where the National Moot Court and Faculty Moot Court take place. It also has a separate computer lab with Wi-Fi connectivity. The other departments too, are equipped with modern labs of chemistry, botany, zoology, automobile, polymer, biochemistry, biotechnology and so much more with latest devices and facilities. The best thing about this university is that it has its own police force called as Pretrial Team, who will be always around to ensure utmost safety for the students.

The campus life is normally quiet. You would find people mostly in the libraries, in the canteens sipping tea, or taking long walks, The culture here is to promote a sense of belongingness and goodwill amongst the students, it is an unwritten rule so you will find a lot of seniors taking care of their juniors like their own siblings. Furthermore, Sir Syed Day, celebrated on October 17 every year, is a festival in Aligarh. It has various programs, including Cultural, Horse Show, Hall Dinners, etc. In addition to that, the Literary fest is another big moment at the university, purely organised and conducted by students featuring various guests across disciplinarians. In the university, there is CEC (Cultural Education Centre) under which there are various clubs like, Literary Club, Debate Club, Music Club, Film Club, Drama Club and so on. Mostly every department has their fest every year that lasts for 2-3 days, filled with so much fun, games, sessions and a lot of food. In short, every student who has been a part of AMU will always have a piece of heart here and a home to return to, always.