Christ University B.A Review By Debanjali Sarkar

I am a first-year student at Christ University Bangalore. There are five campuses of Christ present in India, three in Bangalore, one in NCR, and another one in Pune. I am a student at the main campus in Bangalore. We have not been able to visit the campus due to covid, but our seniors have been very generous and have given us an online tour of the college.

I joined the undergraduate course of Bachelor of Art's. It is a triple major and all the major subjects have the same weightage. The three major subjects that I have are Economics, Political Science and Sociology. There are more triple major courses available at Christ but this was the best when it comes to UPSC aspirants. I am a UPSC aspirant and thus, also my reason to choose this course. There was no entrance exam for this course, but there was a personal interview that took place.

The faculty for the most part has been good so far. This is from the perspective of a student who studies and pays attention in class. So, if someone faces issues in class that would be more or less a mistake on their behalf. Also, this is about the faculty that is teaching us and not the whole of Christ. I have five major subjects, and then we have two mandatory electives. The faculty of five teach us the subjects that are assigned to them.

The professors are well qualified with Ph.D. diplomas in their field of study. The elective courses are being given to us online on the Swayam platform. This is an added burden for the time being because this increases our screen time. But keeping these aside, the faculty consists of highly qualified professors. They have been able to adapt to the online mode after learning different platforms such as Webex, Google meet, and Microsoft teams and are teaching us tirelessly. We have already completed a semester and given our end-semester exams. This has been made possible after the efforts of the faculty and management of Christ.

I am not very aware of the placements for my course, but Christ University does have a reputed placement cell. It also has so many business fests that connect industry experts with students. Placements for many other courses are also good, but I am not fully aware of my course as most of the people in my course either goes for competitive exams or for UPSC.

Hostels are provided on each campus of Christ University. The hostels are separate for girls and boys. The girls' hostel is called Jonas Hall and the boys' hostel has different blocks and names to them. The hostels are good but it has its pros and cons. In the hostel, the first con would be the lack of a canteen. The canteens are all inside the campus but not within the hostel. So, for food, you will have to go and wait in line (which I have heard are huge) and buy food every day.

Some other cons are curfew timings, which are too early for both male and female students, the restrictions such as no inviting friends over, time restriction for group studies, the metric system, and fine payments related to that.

The infrastructure of Christ is something other worldly. The central campus in Bangalore has many blocks, two libraries, play area, admin block, places to sit, a huge canteen and also includes the hostels. The technological infrastructure is also very commendable and there are many desktops in the library, open for student's use. The campus is very green and uses solar energy; it is a "zero-waste campus".

The best thing about Christ is the people there before anything else. They are helpful, generous, always up to solve any issues, very sweet, and understanding, and do not leave you alone. The amount of multiculturalism present in the university is amusing as all different kinds of people mingle together in one space. This was also one of the reasons why I had wanted to be a part of Christ. Cultural diversity is a thing of beauty, to be honest. And while Christ admits people from so many different backgrounds, it also celebrates this diversity through events like Bhasha Utsav/Ethnic Day. Socially and culturally rich, I have encountered people from India and outside India too. The social environment at Christ, even in the online mode has been jovial and generous. Opportunities: There are endless opportunities and if you are a multi-tasker, good for you. Even after taking up just two things together, I felt as if a lot is going on.

The hustle-bustle of college life is amazing, especially during fests as I’ve experienced during the online fest that took place. Christ is very swift in its approach too, as they have very easily and efficiently shifted everything from classes to fests and competitions to the online mode. There are several societies and clubs you can join. I am a part of the Student Welfare Office [SWO] and the volunteer body within the Centre for Social Action [CSA] which is the two major sectors of Christ. There are others such as Debate Society, the Cultural Team, etc. which have selection processes to be a part of. Once I enrolled in Christ, I was exposed to so many people and opportunities all at once, that it was a little too overwhelming. But after a few days, I was able to sort out things that I really wanted to be a part of and things that I could skip and try if I ever get any more time later. But one thing that I have come to realize is there is a lack of time in Christ. The first thing that I did was take part in the smallest of activities which led me to make a network within the university. I now know some of my seniors who are heads of committees. This has also led to me being known by them and I am asked my availability for any work that I can do. This has also exposed me to opportunities more than anyone else. I have thus been able to be a part of organizing an event, work on projects under my seniors’ guidance and learn from them.