Stephen's: Reputation and Reality

My personal interest in the subject is what drove me to select History Honours. The course is highly comprehensive and vast- in the course of four years, various papers cover history of India, Europe, America, Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, China, Japan, Russia and others. The syllabus under NEP however is very irregularly and hastily created, which makes the course structure too ambitious in each semesters. The reduced lecture and tutorial durations to accomodate additional papers make it difficult to comprehend and focus on the core papers. Apart from 3 core papers and 1 elective ppaper, their are skill enhancing, value adding and ability enhancing courses. There is a heavy and ambitious system of internals and other assessments required by the NEP, which again negatively affects the course comprehension. As a result, the teaching process also becomes very challenging, leaving students in a helpless situation. History Honours is a popular option amongst UPSC Aspirants as well and does help in covering the history papers for the exam in future. Placements from history department are however low, compared to other courses.

Students are provided multiple internship opportunities from their second year almost on a weekly basis. Companies include HUL, DE Shaw, JSW, Dalberg, Espalier AI, Sannam S4 etc. Companies are separated into two based on stipend. Tier 1 companies offer stipend greater than or equal to 20k per month. Tier 2 offer less than 20k per month. All rules regarding internships are briefed by the CPC well in advance. Internnships are usually open to students from all courses.

St. Stephen's College has a placement cell called the Campus Placement Cell which facilitates the placement and internship process. There are many companies like Bain and Co, Accenture, Salesforce, JP Morgan, DeShaw, McKinsey and Co, HUL, Deutsche Bank etc. The average base pay package is around Rs. 9.3 LPA. The highest one was around 24LPA. The CPC is student run and helps each student with academic and employability processes. Students are reached out to by the CPC from the first year as well, engaging them in various volunteering works. CPC brings internship opportunities for students from their second year, and by third year (Vth Semester) the students become eligible for placements. Students from Economics, Maths and Bsc Programme get the highest number of placements every year. Students from arts course also get, but majority of people turn to other careers.

As per DU fee draft for 2024-25, the tutition fee for Sem I for general category is just 90rs. The rest of the fee includes University and College Student Welfare Funds, University and College Development Fund, University and College Facilitation Charges, EWS Support Fund and Student's Union Society Funds. They charge some amount for Chapel Subscription as well, every year. So on an average, the fee for each semester for a day scholar graduate student would be around 23000-24000. There might be additional fees charged on exam registration, and for other payments done for individual purchases by the student such as College ID Recharge, Merch, Calendars etc. The total fees therefore, is slightly higher than those in other DU Colleges.Scence students will be charged extra as Lab Fees. PWD Students are only charged forCollege Facilitation. There are significant reduction in fee structure of Staff Ward Students. Fees of EWS, OBC and Kashmiri Migrants Students are same as of General. Hostel students will incur extra charges- which Im not well aware of due to being a day scholar. The college provides freeships and scholarships for the financially weak. Apart from that, there are scholarships for meritorious students like Sumitomo, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Vikas Dhaka, Tiara etc.

The campus life is lively, however its not as colourful as one expects from the larger DU culture. The college is like an isolated island in the DU Campus both in metaphorical and interactive sense. Nevertheless, Stephens has its own charm and distinct culture rising from its legacy. There are numerous events and programmes held on a daily basis with activities of several kinds. Many societies are one of the best in DU and there are speakers of national and international importance. Societies range from usual departmental ones, to cultural, regional and linguistic societies and to other interesting niches like the Hiking Club, The Shakespeare Society, Social Service League, Civil Service Forum etc. The annual Fest 'Harmony' spans three days with the Prom Night being the highlight- however, the fest is unfortunately only open to Stephanians. Society activities nevertheless becomes one of the major core-memory aspects in college. The college also has some major annual events and festivals like Onam, Garba Night, Adoremus, Founders Day Celebration etc. The college also has a Students Union Society which holds elections within college every year- however its not associated with the DUSU and strictly prohibits any politics or political parties. The library is extremely vast with books available in offline as well as online format. The college website is used for any and all kinds of communication, with each student and staff having their own personal portal and account. The college has its own gymnasium, a reacreational room called 'Junior Combination Room (JCR)' for indoor games and sports especially for hostellers, a Ladies Common Room, Sports complex, Tennis, Basketball court, football and frisbee ground etc. The College Cafe and the surroundings including the multiple lawns serve as the main spots of friendships and bonds.

The college has residence facilities inside the campus. there are 3 residence blocks each for girls and boys and the teaching staff also resides in the same res. Students are admitted into hostel based on various criterais such as distance from home, CUET score, academic performance, participation in extracurricular activities, attendance in classes etc. The residence is alloted every year. The hostel is not the best in its meals quality and infrastructure which isnt well suited for delhi's polar opposite climate trends. however it still remains as the most popular and convenient option due to the fee and facilities. cost of commutation is heavily saved as well and there is extra bonus of having the opportunity to experience college life to its fullest. many students opt for hostel and pg facility nearby college as well. the rules are stricter and harsher for women students and there are many other unfair rules against women.

I had mainly applied in DU colleges as I wasn't much interested in private universities, or colleges in other states. Mine was the first batch to be recruited with the new process through CUET Exams. The novelty and uncertainity therefore influenced the conventional way of thinking about colleges and related decisions. Nevertheless Stephen's was my top choice due to its highest ranking and prestige all over India. The reputation of this college, its course, its faculty and ofcourse the colourful alumnis made me choose this college and course as my first preference. The extremely high competition for admission in this college was what made me hesitant. I had the Christian minority reservation, yet I was unsure if I could get in, Therefore I had applied to other reputed colleges in DU. I had got admission in Kamala Nehru College in South Campus in my first round, and I was satisfied because the college was also excellent. Then I had applied to Stephen's and JMC with my minority quota, and I got into both of the colleges for the desired courses. However I chose Stephen's over JMC, due to the appeal, reputation, and also the location (in the centre of DU North Campus). History Honours is one of the best and most sought after course in Stephen's with its rich faculty. The admission process had changed with the new NEP and CUET in order. Each desiired undergraduate course has its own eligibility criteria with respect to the subjects selceted in Class XII and the subjects one has to choose as papers for CUET. The details are found in the CUET Samarth website. The cutoff for History hons isnt oublicly available. Selection of Christian minority students had 85% for CUET Score and 15% weightage for interviews. Non minorities have 100% weightage from CUET. Students in history largely had CUET Scores ranging from 800-600 out of 800. The admission process was very smooth in general.

The faculty, especially for History Honours, is by far the best Ive encountered. The senior teachers, guest lecturers and adhoc professors are all extremely well qualified and are professionals in their disciplines. The knowledge in their fields of study is extensive. They have a wide experience too in terms of teaching in different colleges and different papers. Their mentorship is really helpful, and some of the teachers end up becoming role models and inspirations for students. The bonds created with students are beyond the professional lives. Even with the challenging and heavy course structure, they put their best efforts into reaching their targets. Many teachers foster critical thinking skills and correlate the content of the syllabus with conteporary realities. Their evalusation system is very fair, and most are lenient in cases where they can be. The professors are generally very approachable for study and non-study related matters.

From the CUET system, students from general quota did not have any GD, PI or any specific test for admission. All students follow the same pattern as other DU studnets and are admitted based solely on their CUET score. however students applying through christian minority quota had a slightly different process. There is an interview process which bears 15% weightage in admission criteria, apart from the 85% weightage of CUET Score. However this system is still subject to change as there is an ongoing contention between Stephens' and DU administration in the Supreme Court. The interview was held online, and was relatively easy. Questions testing interest and aptitude for the coursse, knowledge of christianity and questions on personality and general aspects were asked.

The hosteller students have the best and holistic experience of college life with the residences situated inside college. Extracurricular activities have a wider scope and more suitability for residence students, and they have their own recreational room, activities and fests under the society called Junior Combination Room. They also have an upper hand in participating in evnets which extend late into the night. The college cafe and the Science Dhaba are the popular food spots inside college, and the Green Cafe is more famous amongst all hosteler and day scholar students which is situated right outside the college. There are many activities, events, programmes and unwinding sessions conducted by sociieties post lunch, which students enjoy to the fullest. Cultural performances like dances, plays, qawwali, carol performances etc are participated in and enjoyed by students and faculty alike. The lawns, especially the SCR lawns is a popular hangout spot especially in winters.