Miranda House
Encyclopedia
Miranda House(Hindi
: मिरांडा हाउस) , is a highly renowned and distinguished constituent college for women at the University of Delhi
in India
. It is widely regarded as a Premier Women's Institution of Delhi University offering degrees in the Sciences and Liberal Arts
. Miranda House has demonstrated academic excellence since the time of its inception. Numerous students have secured University ranks and are awarded the most prestigious prizes in their disciplines by the University and the College..
India Today
Rankings Year 2011
MH was founded in 1948 by the then Vice-Chancellor, Sir Maurice Gwyer
. Its foundation stone was laid by Lady Edwina Mountbatten on March 7 in the same year. Located on the university campus, Miranda House is built in warm red bricks with cool and spacious corridors. Its original design was planned by the renowned architect Walter Sykes George
. The college shares an architectural affinity with other colonial educational institutions of the country. In the past six decades, as the college has grown, several other buildings have been added to its original design. It is now declared an heritage building and work is on to preserve its pristine architectural glory. The college celebrated its Diamond Jubilee in 2007-08. Alumni and students of this college are popularly known as Mirandians.
In half a century of its existence, Miranda House has maintained its growth in various fields. It started with a student strength of 33 in July 1948, which rose to 105 by September in the same year. The present strength is 2090 (1997-98). The strength of the academic staff increased from six in 1948 to 120 (permanent) in 1997-98 and that of non-academic staff from 11 in 1948 (five in the Hostel and six in the College) to 120 in 1997-98. There were only 43 students in the Hostel in 1948, out of which seven belonged to other colleges of University of Delhi. The present strength of the Hostel is 250. These figures speak for themselves about the growth of the college during the last 50 years.
At the time of its founding, Miranda House had six departments, whereas at present there are eighteen. Science teaching was conducted in the University but in 1963-64, B.Sc. General and in 1971, B.Sc.Honours teaching work started in the college. Many new subjects have been introduced in the Humanities
and Social Sciences
since then. Miranda House, indubitably, has fulfilled the dreams of Sir Maurice Gwyer as a pioneering, prestigious institution of India.
Miranda House is reputed for providing quality liberal education in social sciences, humanities and the basic sciences. The college has always maintained high academic standards. The academic life is rigorous and designed to lay a firm conceptual foundation and provide professional expertise necessary for adapting to the challenging work place. The college has its backbone in excellent infrastructure, the teaching laboratories and general facilities are among the best in the University. The faculty is distinguished and the support staff dedicated. Miranda House has been consistently ranked as One of the Best Institutes of Higher education for women in India.
At present Miranda House offers education in sciences and humanities to more than 3000 students.
courses.
Miranda House offers a Career Oriented Add-on Course on Tourism that can be opted for by students as a parallel sub-discipline while pursuing their degree level education. This course is approved by the University Grants Commission and is self-financing.
Additionally, several other short duration career oriented courses have been specially designed for students and are on offer.Like Operations Research
, Computer Applications,Green Chemistry among others.The College also offers One Year Certificate Courses in French
, German
and Spanish
in collaboration with the Department of Germanic and Romance Studies, University of Delhi. It also offers a course in Russian in collaboration with the Department of Slavonic and Finno-Ugrian Studies, University of Delhi.
M. A. Programme: The same subjects are offered as at the B.A. Honours level except for Political Science, Geography, and Sociology. M.A. in Mathematics is also offered in the college.
M. Sc. Programme: The same subjects are offered as at the B.Sc. Honours level. Additionally, the college also offers M.Sc. in Anthropology.
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
: मिरांडा हाउस) , is a highly renowned and distinguished constituent college for women at the University of Delhi
University of Delhi
The University of Delhi is a central university situated in Delhi, India and is funded by Government of India. Established in 1922, it offers courses at the undergraduate and post-graduate level. Vice-President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari is the Chancellor of the university...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It is widely regarded as a Premier Women's Institution of Delhi University offering degrees in the Sciences and Liberal Arts
Liberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
. Miranda House has demonstrated academic excellence since the time of its inception. Numerous students have secured University ranks and are awarded the most prestigious prizes in their disciplines by the University and the College..
India Today
India Today
India Today is an Indian weekly news magazine published by Living Media India Limited, in publication since 1975 based in Mumbai. India Today is also the name of its sister-publication in Hindi...
Rankings Year 2011
- Ranked with in the TOP 5 Science Colleges in India.
- Miranda House is placed First (Science Colleges) in the city wise(Delhi) rankings.
- Ranked with in the TOP 10 Arts Colleges in India.
MH was founded in 1948 by the then Vice-Chancellor, Sir Maurice Gwyer
Maurice Gwyer
Sir Maurice Linford Gwyer, GCIE, KCB was Vice Chancellor of Delhi University , and Chief Justice of India . Sir Maurice was educated at Highgate School..He is credited with having founded Miranda House in the year 1948 in Delhi,India.Gwyer, Sir Maurice Linford , lawyer and civil servant, was born...
. Its foundation stone was laid by Lady Edwina Mountbatten on March 7 in the same year. Located on the university campus, Miranda House is built in warm red bricks with cool and spacious corridors. Its original design was planned by the renowned architect Walter Sykes George
Walter Sykes George
Walter Sykes George was an English architect active in India during the first half of the 20th century, most known for being partt of the team of architects who designed New Delhi, the new capital of India, from 1911-1931....
. The college shares an architectural affinity with other colonial educational institutions of the country. In the past six decades, as the college has grown, several other buildings have been added to its original design. It is now declared an heritage building and work is on to preserve its pristine architectural glory. The college celebrated its Diamond Jubilee in 2007-08. Alumni and students of this college are popularly known as Mirandians.
Growth and History
More than half a Century ago Miranda House came into existence as campus college for women. A generation of young women with the image of new vistas opening up before them entered the portals of the college setting high goals and ideals for themselves. The college has felt the tide of changing times. There has been an ideological shift in the role that the young women of today are called upon to play. Miranda House has always provided the right atmosphere for this growth. All the members of the college i.e. the Principals, teachers, non-academic staff and students have contributed to the, growth of the college. The "Miranda Touch" always remains and is passed on from the past generation to the present and to the coming generation. Presiding over the Silver Jubilee Celebration of the college in 1973, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister, remarked that Miranda House girls believed that all the beauty and the brains of the capital-Delhi-came from the college and commented "it is partly true, though not entirely so".In half a century of its existence, Miranda House has maintained its growth in various fields. It started with a student strength of 33 in July 1948, which rose to 105 by September in the same year. The present strength is 2090 (1997-98). The strength of the academic staff increased from six in 1948 to 120 (permanent) in 1997-98 and that of non-academic staff from 11 in 1948 (five in the Hostel and six in the College) to 120 in 1997-98. There were only 43 students in the Hostel in 1948, out of which seven belonged to other colleges of University of Delhi. The present strength of the Hostel is 250. These figures speak for themselves about the growth of the college during the last 50 years.
At the time of its founding, Miranda House had six departments, whereas at present there are eighteen. Science teaching was conducted in the University but in 1963-64, B.Sc. General and in 1971, B.Sc.Honours teaching work started in the college. Many new subjects have been introduced in the Humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
and Social Sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
since then. Miranda House, indubitably, has fulfilled the dreams of Sir Maurice Gwyer as a pioneering, prestigious institution of India.
Miranda House is reputed for providing quality liberal education in social sciences, humanities and the basic sciences. The college has always maintained high academic standards. The academic life is rigorous and designed to lay a firm conceptual foundation and provide professional expertise necessary for adapting to the challenging work place. The college has its backbone in excellent infrastructure, the teaching laboratories and general facilities are among the best in the University. The faculty is distinguished and the support staff dedicated. Miranda House has been consistently ranked as One of the Best Institutes of Higher education for women in India.
At present Miranda House offers education in sciences and humanities to more than 3000 students.
Academic courses and Departments
Miranda House offers a wide array of undergraduate and graduateGraduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
courses.
Undergraduate Courses :
- B. A. Programme
- B. A. Honours : Bengali, Economics, English, Geography, Hindi, History, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Sanskrit, Sociology.
- B.Sc. Honours : Botany, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, Zoology.
- B.Sc : Life Sciences, Applied Physical Science.
- B.El.Ed ( Four Year Course)
Add-on Courses :
Globalization of education and economy has led the University Grants Commission to reorient and reshape its policies and programmes to make the higher education system more relevant and career oriented. Professionally trained graduates have more openings in service industry and for self-employment.Miranda House offers a Career Oriented Add-on Course on Tourism that can be opted for by students as a parallel sub-discipline while pursuing their degree level education. This course is approved by the University Grants Commission and is self-financing.
Additionally, several other short duration career oriented courses have been specially designed for students and are on offer.Like Operations Research
Operations research
Operations research is an interdisciplinary mathematical science that focuses on the effective use of technology by organizations...
, Computer Applications,Green Chemistry among others.The College also offers One Year Certificate Courses in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
in collaboration with the Department of Germanic and Romance Studies, University of Delhi. It also offers a course in Russian in collaboration with the Department of Slavonic and Finno-Ugrian Studies, University of Delhi.
Postgraduate Courses :
Students enrol for M.A. and M.Sc. Programmes in the college for which classes are held at the respective Departments at the University.M. A. Programme: The same subjects are offered as at the B.A. Honours level except for Political Science, Geography, and Sociology. M.A. in Mathematics is also offered in the college.
M. Sc. Programme: The same subjects are offered as at the B.Sc. Honours level. Additionally, the college also offers M.Sc. in Anthropology.
Meritocracy :
- Admission is strictly based on the marks secured by the candidates in their Senior Secondary High school Examination of the CBSE or equivalent Board.
- As the number of seats is limited , eligibility does not guarantee admission.
- A limited number of seats is available on the basis of merit in sports and extracurricular activities as determined by a selection process carried out on announced dates.
- Individual departments retain the right to determine the subjects and basis for admission.