History of the Department
The Post Graduate Department of Home Science came into existence in June 1977. The course offered was M.Sc. in Foods and Nutrition. Eventually, In 1979, Ph.D. in Foods and Nutrition was also started. About ten years later in the year 1988, M.Sc. in General Home Science was initiated since more and more Home Science colleges running undergraduate courses were being set up in the nearby regions and these needed qualified teachers who could teach all subjects of Home Science. Around the same period from a six lacs donation received from the philanthropist Mr. Jashbhai Khodabhai Patel and fifteen lacs from the UGC, the department shifted to an independent building in the same campus, where it is housed at present.
The influx of girl students into the undergraduate Home Science College, the start of specialization at the undergraduate level and a deep aspiration to advance ourselves in the various specializations led to the starting of three other M.Sc. programmes in Family Resource Management, Human Development and Textiles and Clothing in the years 1997-98. The fact that these courses were commenced with the existing staff is an indicator of the motivation of the staff members. At the same time, the DBT, New Delhi looking to strengthen academic programmes in the field of Food Biotechnology, identified our department from among 18 institutions in the country and thus we initiated the M.Sc. programme in Food Biotechnology in 1998 as an interdisciplinary course with the Microbiology branch of the Biosciences Department of the same university. The department meanwhile also started offering doctoral degrees in Food Biotechnology, Family Resource Management and Textiles and Clothing since March, 2003.
From 2010, two P.G. Diploma programmes in Nutrigenomics and Food Designing & Quality Assurance were started to meet the demand of experts in the field of Foods and Nutrition while M.Sc. Foods and Nutrition on a self financed basis was also started around the same time catering to student demands.
Currently, keeping up with industrial and societal requirements, the department offers M.Sc. in Foods and Nutrition and General Home Science, both on a grant-in-aid and self-financed basis. While Food Biotechnology is offered on a self-financed basis only. Ph.D. programmes are offered in Foods and Nutrition, Family Resource Management and General Home Science.
The department has been involved in teaching, research and extension activities in the various branches of Home Science since it’s inception. The Foods and Nutrition branch is over 40 years old while General Home Science branch is over 30 years old.