Homebound Forward with Jadavpur University

The course has always been notably research-intensive, but it shifts from a general understanding of literature by including literature and other arts and methodologies that aim at invoking a multilinearity of understanding socio-political spaces through literature. This made the course very fascinating to me. I wanted to be formally introduced to the comparative method, which also includes cross-cultural studies, area studies and many others. I wanted to go into research and academia, hence I knew this course would be great for me. With the changing social climate, the way one can see things around them must be through alternative angles, and the course provided me with that methodological training. The area studies courses with my specialisation being African Literature, helped me with my newly found research interest in that area. This helped me expand my expertise as well as my knowledge. The improvements I would like to see in the course would be in the syllabus, which includes classical canonical literature. Perhaps a more alternative course design would be convenient. Else, it can sometimes feel old-fashioned.

Most of the placements that took place at least for the literature departments ended up with people joining educational institutes and NGOs. Very few joined corporate enterprises like Accenture. But it does provide almost a 5 LPA, if well placed. It is academically rigorous, therefore academics are weighed more than industry.

Jadavpur University's fee structure, yearly for MA Comparative Literature, is INR 980. At the time of registration and admission, we had to pay INR 1250, which included registration fees, library fees, maintenance fees and overall tuition fees. Over the duration of the course, we did not have to essentially pay any amount, given that the university encourages almost minimal expenditure on education and upholds its values of providing almost free education. It is established that decent scholarships for underprivileged students and students from diverse marginalised backgrounds. It emphasised equal access to education; therefore, students in categories such as disabled and multiple reservation categories can opt for scholarships based on their merit. These scholarships range from partial to fully funded, but are only based on merit with regard to entrance exam scores. The Government Scholarships provided by the West Bengal Government are one such renowned scholarship, availed by students from the reservation categories. Students often avail Financial Need-Based scholarships as well, which mostly exempts their tuition fees.

My campus life was excellent since I was involved in co-curricular activities, like seminars and conferences. Along with that, we performed in multiple occasions, once during a governmental programme. It is perhaps a very amiable social space, with fests that span for 3 months. It is obviously known for the political implications, but I have never felt safe on campus. It also helped in my socio-political regards to life.

I have always wanted to study in Jadavpur University in one of their literature departments since I was a kid. This was a way of achieving a tiny dream of mine. Moreover, the Comparative Literature Department is the best in all entire Asia and the first one in the country. I wanted to experience the greatness of this course and how the canons of this literature were formed here. It is also the topmost State Public University and 9th in NIRF I wanted to be a part of an institution that could be great to this extent. The admission took place on the basis of a merit-based entrance examination. The seats are limited; therefore, only the top 15 students out of almost 800-1000 who appeared for the exam were selected. This was one of my top priorities, defeating all the other options I had.

The faculty, perhaps, is the reason why I chose JU and the Department of Comparative Literature. The faculty-to-student ratio would roughly be 2:13, but it also comes along with the faculty's focus on students' work specifically. It is obviously not fair to assume every single faculty has great accessibility and cordial terms with students. But most of them do. Especially, the students are closely connected to the Research Scholars, who have been excellent with their teaching and approach. But overall, the faculty can be friendly and approachable. They are mostly keen on listening to the students' interests and research work. Speaking of exams, they are a culmination of internal assessments and semester exams, and term papers/research papers. These can be challenging and rigorous, especially because the course is a Master's course. But most of the students always cleared the exams with flying colours.

The nightlife is very happening and most of the stalls outside the campus are alight. A few of the students even stay the whole night on campus, especially during cultural events. However, we do not have access to the internal facilities like the library and other rooms. Since it is a huge campus, at night it can feel a little unsafe if you're alone, though, so that can be a drawback.