Jawaharlal Nehru University

Still a young university,established by an act of Parliament in 1966, the strength, energy, and reputation of Jawaharlal Nehru University result from the vision that ideas are a field for adventure, experimentation and unceasing quest, and that diversity of opinions are the basis for intellectual exploration.JNU is the place for the intellectually restless, the insatiably curious, and the mentally rigorous, giving them the space to grow amidst the calmness of an oasis, a green lung within the hustle and bustle and the crowds of the capital city of India.Coming into being in 1969, three years after its establishment by Parliament, JNU brought frontier disciplines and newer perspectives for old disciplines to the Indian university system. The excellent teacher-student ratio at 1:10, the mode of instruction which encourages students to explore their own creativity instead of reproducing received knowledge, and of exclusively internal evaluation, were also new to the Indian academic landscape and have stood the test of time. The very Nehruvian objectives embedded in the founding of the University–‘national integration,social justice,secularism, the democratic way of life, international understanding and a scientific approach to the problems of society’,had built into them constant and energetic endeavour to renew knowledge through self- questioning. The once rugged terrain of the Aravali hill range, where 1000 -acre campus is housed is now lush green. Parts of it host dense forests, sustaining a birdwatcher's paradise and some forms of wild life. The JNU campus is a microcosm of the Indian nation, drawing students from every nook and corner of the country and from every group and stratum of society.To make sure this, annual admission tests are simultaneously held at various centres spread across the length and breadth of the country, and special care is taken to draw students from the underprivileged castes and ethic groups by reserving 22.5 per cent of seats for them.Overseas students from some 10 percent of the annual intake. Students' hostels and blocks of faculty residences are interspersed with one another, underlining the vision of a large Indian family. Grounded in a faith in the unity of knowledge,JNU has sought to avoid the narrowly conceived Department structure of conventional universities, preferring instead to bring allied disciplines within a few broad and inclusive entities called Schools, under whose interactive ambit are placed the more specialized units, called Centres.There are also Special Centres that are outside even the broad structures of School but may grow further. Then there are Research Clusters that cut across Schools and Centres as well as some programmes, which are placed within specific schools but are built on the interests of faculty across the university.JNU was the first to offer courses in foreign languages in an integrated five year MA programme,where their academic programme,training is largely oriented towards single disciplines(although all M.A. students are encouraged to do few courses outside their subject)but at the research level the disciplinary boundaries become more permeable. Work in overlapping or borderline areas e.g., between environment and literary studies, economics and science, sociology and aesthetics,or linguistics and biology–is not uncommon among the Ph.D. students of JNU. Not only are the research scholars encouraged to cross the invisible walls around disciplines, the relationship between the academia and the world outside also remains negotiable, often resulting in mutually beneficial collaboration in areas that form crossroads for developing an understanding of society, culture and science. JNU has collaborated with universities across the world in research projects,conferences, and publications.It has many active MoUs with international and national universities and exchanges faculty and students with them regularly. We also host the Indian segment of some international degree programmes.Many facultyand research scholars have won prestigious national and international awards for their academic work.Our expertise is highly sought after by the Government and many members of our faculty have served the Government of India in various capacities including as Ambassadors/ High Commissioners, and members of the important bodies like the Planning Commission. Many of our faculty have also served and serve as Vice Chancellors of other universities. The University brings out four research journals which have high academic visibility in India and abroad. These are Studies in History, International Studies, JSL and Hispanic Horizons. Several JNU faculty also edit national and international journals.