S. Vishnu Sharma
Top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu is about those educational institutions that are known to be ideal for studying History at various levels. These colleges are located across Tamil Nadu and offer History either at undergraduate level or postgraduate level. Some of these top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu may even offer courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
History at undergraduate level is offered as BA History and postgraduate level it is offered as MA History. Students can choose the course they wish to study keeping in mind their requirement. The course in offered by Arts and Humanities wing in these top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu.
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Some of these institutions may be known for courses from other streams also like sciences and commerce along with history. The list of top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu is being provided below for the sake of students:
1. Loyola College
If the aspiration is to study courses related to science, arts or commerce, Loyola College is an apt place to be considered for undertaking studies. The atmosphere here is ideal for studies.
It always motivates students to bring out the best in them.
Good faculty, world class infrastructure for students are among the factors that make this college a good choice and also one of top 20 private colleges in India.
This is also one of the oldest educational institutions in India and admission for the courses here is competitive as lot of applications are received. Students have to be prepared well if they are to be shortlisted.
Advanced Zoology and Biotechnology, Plant Biology and Plant Biotechnology, Statistics, Physics, Chemistry and Maths are among the subjects offered as a part of BSc course here. Economics, English, French are among BA courses offered here.
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It is not only undergraduate but also lot of postgraduate courses are offered here. Students from all over the country come here to seek admission every year.
History is offered at graduate and postgraduate level. This is also one among the top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu.
2. Madras Christian College
This institution features among the most admired colleges in southern part of India. South India has lot of educational institutions that created a space for themselves in the academic world. This institution which is also popularly known as MCC is a hub for learning that gets lot of attention from students.
Madras Christian College traces its origin to the General Assembly School founded by the Rev. John Anderson, a Missionary from the Church of Scotland on 3rd April 1837.
Anderson was a pioneer in introducing English medium education in South India. He was ably assisted by Rev. Johnston, Rev. Braidwood and Margaret Locher Anderson.
Rev. William Miller who arrived in 1862 upgraded the school to a college by adding F.A. and B.A. courses in 1865 and 1867. Along with a few other Protestant missions in Madras, Miller transformed the institution and named it ‘Madras Christian College’ on 1 January 1877.
Miller’s bold academic vision, supported by the generous contribution from his family members, old students and the Madras Government raised the most impressive array of college buildings and hostels (student homes) opposite the High Court complex.
Miller was succeeded by worthy leaders like Professors Skinner, E.M. Macphail, Meston and Hogg.
This is also academic excellence, spiritual vitality and social relevance have remained the guiding principles of the Institution throughout its history. This is also one among the top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu.
3. Ethiraj College for Women
Chennai in Tamil Nadu is home for many highly admired educational institutions and this college is one among them. Students of this college have brought glory to this institution.
Founded in 1948 in Chennai in Tamil Nadu, the formative years witnessed a strong foundation through introduction of undergraduate courses in Economics, Botany, Chemistry, History, Zoology and English Literature.
The infrastructural facilities on the campus are Science Block, Hostel, Open Air Theatre and the Old Library Block.
The landmark development was the auditorium, which remains the pride of the College. The decade of 1968 – 1978 saw the growth of the College with the introduction of Commerce, Mathematics and Physics at the UG level, and a number of post-graduate (PG) courses and the construction of the PG block.
A significant development of the next phase was the introduction of Evening College in 1981.
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Research also received a keen focus with introduction of M.Phil and Ph.D. programmes.
The addition of the Annexe Campus of 59 grounds augured a new direction in the growth of the College.
With the college being an abode to wide variety of science courses, it becomes one of the top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu.
4. Womens Christian College
The institution is also popularly known as WCC and is one of the high worth institutions situated in Chennai in Tamil Nadu. The college is centrally located which can be easily reached through any means of transport.
It is also one of the finest women’s colleges in India. Study in a college like this enhances the esteem of the students. This is also a college with historic importance and its innings commenced in 1915. And attained autonomous status in 1982.
WCC won many awards in its journey towards excellence and is a home to courses not only in basic sciences but also to most advanced courses like biotechnology.
Among the popular subjects of science are chemistry, physics, plant biology and plant biotechnology. The college also offers courses in other streams also.
This college is rightly positioned as one of the top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu as the institution strikes a perfect balance between academics and extra curricular activities.
5. Stella Maris College for Women
The vision of the college is to build a vibrant and inclusive learning community in a culture of excellence sustained by a sound value system that promotes responsible citizenship and effects social change.
A student-centric, participatory teaching-learning-evaluation system assures the students of optimal educational benefits. The College is at the forefront of higher education in India by balancing its commitment to academic excellence with emphasis on all-round development of students.
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Offering courses in traditional Arts and Science courses and in emerging areas such as International Studies, Information Technology, Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, the curriculum promotes national development, fosters global competencies and facilitates skills training to meet the challenges of a competitive workplace.
This is also one among the top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu.
6. Queen Mary’s College
South India is home to many educational institutions that are highly admired across the country. This college is also one among those whose fame has reached all corners of the country.
It is also popularly known as QMC or Queen Mary’s. The initial intake of 33 students was housed in a modest building called ‘Capper House’. It has over the 102 years of its existence, grown phenomenally from an Intermediate to a tertiary level institution and on to a full-fledged premier institution.
The scenic and sprawling campus of 17 acres located on the famed Marina and overlooking the magnificent vista of the Bay of Bengal, symbolizes the history of its endeavours to reach horizons of knowledge.
The College has played a dominant role in empowering women from disadvantaged sections of society.
The college has found place among the top educational institutions in the country and offers programmes in Humanities, Social Sciences, Life Sciences, Nutrition and Home Management, Physical Education and Indian Music. This is also one among the top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu.
7. Meenakshi College for Women
This is one of the institutions in Chennai that is highly admired across the country. It aspires to provide quality higher education and sustain academic excellence.
The founder of this institution is Professor K.R. Sundararajan who was a great professor of mathematics. He was also known as a renowned pioneer of higher education.
The renowned educationist also found Indian Institute of Engineering Technology (IIET) with a motive of providing quality engineering education to those who could not access the mainstream engineering colleges.
He founded the Meenakshi College for Women in 1975 and the institution gradually moved to become what it is currently. The institution has lot of achievements to its credit.
Courses are offered here at graduate, postgraduate and doctorate level in arts, sciences and commerce. Among the postgraduate courses here are mathematics, physics, economics, history.
The undergraduate courses available here are history, commerce, mathematics, chemistry and others. The teaching personnel at this institution are highly qualified and amenities for students are excellent.
This is also one among the top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu.
8. Quaid-e-Millath Government College for Women
The college has its roots in the Madrasa founded by the last Nawab of Carnatic, Ghulam Ghouse Khan Bahadur in the middle of the 18th century.
In 1901, the Government purchased Umdah Bagh, the present campus, and elevated the Madrasa to the status of a College which was called the Mohameddan Arts College.
The main building (which stands even today) was opened on 29th November 1934 by Lord Erskine, the then Governor of Madras.
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In 1974, it was renamed yet again by the Government of Tamil Nadu as Quaid-E-Millath Government College for Women in honour of the prominent freedom fighter and philanthropist, Janab Ibrahim Sahib who is popularly known as Quaid-E-Millath.
The amenities at the college are praiseworthy. College provides free internet access at its Network Resource Centre as well as in the Library for both students and faculty members.
The library has over 73,000 books in the General and Department Libraries and every year the number of books are increased to ensure student get access to all types of education information. This is also one among the top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu.
9. Justice Basheer Ahmed Sayeed College For Women
The institution used to be known as SIET Womens College till recently. The name was changed to the present one. Southern India Education Trust maintains the college.
Southern India Education Trust (SIET) was founded by Late Justice Basheer Ahmed Sayeed assisted by his wife Mrs. Fathima Akhtar and other colleagues. The college endeavours to maintain a programme that will develop women into persons of great integrity, high character and culture who are fully capable of making enlightened choice
Excellence has become a norm here long ago. The College maintains high standards of excellence in the academic sphere and in the physical amenities and facilities intended to implement the educational programme.
The faculty here is highly qualified and they ensure students turn highly capable. This is also one among the top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu.
10. National College Trichy
The talk about top educational institutions in southern part of India is bound to remain incomplete sans the mention of this college. The institution was founded on 11 June 1919 and is considered to be one of the oldest institutions in Tamil Nadu.
The founders conceived the idea of a national institution to promote among its youth the highest and the loftiest ideals which constitute the essence of Indian Culture and Nationalism.
True to its name, National College continues to impart cultural values and fulfil its role as one of the premiere nation-building institutions of the country.
The college functioned in the old Teppakulam campus for nearly four decades from 1919. The shifting of the College campus from Teppakulam to the Junction area began with the acquisition of land in 1957-58.
Forty years after its inception, on the 8 July 1959, the College was shifted to the present campus within easy reach from the railway Junction and the central bus stand on the Tiruchirappalli – Dindigul highway.
College offers nineteen Postgraduate Programmes and twenty-one Undergraduate Programmes. It has been recognised as one of the Centres of Advanced Learning and has been accorded permission for registering candidates for research leading to the award of PhD degree in fourteen departments. This is also one among the top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu.
11. Virudhunagar Hindu Nadars Senthikumara Nadar College
This college is also known as VHNSNC (Virudhunagar Hindu Nadars Senthikumara Nadar College) and its mission is providing future-oriented, value-based and quality-centered education and research programmes at an affordable cost in a gender-conducive academic ambience and moulding competent personalities from socially and economically backward areas.
The institution began its innings in 1947, it was established on 11 August 1947. A committee was formed to run the college which comprised Mr. W.P.A.Soundra Pandian Nadar (President), Mr. P.S.Chidambara Nadar (Vice – President), Mr. V.V.Ramasamy (Secretary and Correspondent) and Mr. M.S.Periasamy Nadar (Treasurer).
Rao Bahadur Senthikumara Nadar was appointed the Patron of the college. In 1948, the Hindu Nadar Mahamai Tharappu took over the administration of the college.
The successive Managing Boards of this college consisted of solid and simple men who were successful business magnates in their respective enterprises.
They nurtured the nascent institution. Under their benevolent patronage, the college registered a phenomenal development, blossoming into a Post-Graduate Institution in 1967.
The faculty here is well-qualified who leave no stone unturned into moulding the students into highly qualified persons who can take over challenges with great vigor.
The atmosphere for learning is very ideal at this college. The amenities are also world class and all these make this college one among the top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu.
12. Sri Vasavi College
This is also among those institutions that has made a significant contribution towards the higher education sector in this country. Students of this institution have made it proud.
The vision is to provide access to affordable, quality higher education and research to all, on a philanthropic basis, with a view to imparting ethical values and global level competencies for social empowerment and for the sustainable growth of our nation.
The college is a co-educational institution and is affiliated to Bharathiar University in Coimbatore. It has now emerged as a beacon light of knowledge and excellence in higher education.
The college is located near Chithode on the Salem-Kanyakumari National Highway(NH-544), on the picturesque hill slopes of river Cauvery. College offers various programmes ranging from UG, PG, certificate and research levels both in the government-aided stream and in the self-financing stream.
The mission of the institution is to impart higher learning of the most creative mode with a team of competent faculty. This is also one among the top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu.
13. University of Madras
The university imparts both under graduate and post graduate courses through the affiliated institutions which are spread over the districts of Chennai, Thiruvallur and Kancheepuram.
Apart from teaching, research activities in Arts, Humanities, Science, Management and Technology shape the academic tenor of the University.
A number of institutions affiliated to Madras University concentrate on research activities offering Ph.D., Programmes in their respective field of specialisation.
The institution is home to various courses across all streams. The vision to educate large number of people has made the institution move towards distance education.
Assessing the need for educating a large number of people in the country, the University offers both Under Graduate and Post Graduate programmes through the Institute of Distance Education.
The Institute is popularly called IDE of Madras University. This is also one among the top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu.
14. Annamalai University
This is also among those institutions that has gained name and fame across the country for its services related to education. Lot of students throng the premises of this organisation to get admitted into various courses offered by it.
The institution was established on 1 January 1929 as per Annamalai University Act 1928 (Tamil Nadu Act 1 of 1929). It is among the top ranking institutions in the country.
The NIRF-2021 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has ranked the University in the band 101 – 150 in the University Category. In the Pharmacy Category the ranking is 16th in India. In the Medical Category the ranking is 40th.
Annamalai University has a commendable track record in projects and publications and has been awarded the PURSE Programme by the Department of Science and Technology. This is also one among the top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu.
15. Central University of Tamil Nadu
Government of India founded the Central University of Tamil Nadu along with eight other Central Universities, through an Act of Parliament in 2009.
It is part of the greater role that the Central Government assumed in making higher education accessible to aspirants from the weaker sections of the society.
With eight students in M.A. English Studies, the university started functioning from November 2009 at the Collectorate Annexe at Thiruvarur, 60 kilometers to the east of Thanjavur.
The university has witnessed progress considerably since its establishment. It offers integrated MSc, postgraduate and doctoral programmes. Some of the courses offered here are Maths, Physics, Media and Communication, English Studies and others. This is also one to the top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu.
16. Bharatidasan University
The vision of this university is to create a new world and to ensure the pursuit of excellence in teaching, learning, research, and extension of knowledge through higher education.
The mission is to promote scholarly, scientific and critical inquiry among the learners to move forward in the frontiers of knowledge and enrich and elevate them as the citizens of the state, the nation, and the world by offering nationally and internationally competitive learning and creative activity through quality programmes of teaching, research and extension.
It was established in 1982 February and the main campus was initially located in a sprawling area of over 1000 acres in Palkalaiperur.
The University has totally 4 Faculties, 16 Schools, 37 Departments and 29 Specialized Research Centres. There are 263 faculty members catering to 2564 students and scholars in the University.
The University departments are offering 151 programmes including 40 PG programmes in M.A., M.Sc. and M.Tech. This is also one among the top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu.
17. Manonmaniam Sundaranar University
MSU is a dynamic institution of higher learning, set in a rural milieu of southern Tamil Nadu, with a campus spread of 550 acres.
It was established by the Government of Tamil Nadu as a teaching-cum-affiliating University on 7 September 1990 to cater to the long-felt needs of the people of the three southern most districts of Tamil Nadu – Tirunelveli, Tuticorin and Kanyakumari.
The organisation got its name after well-known Tamil poet Professor Sundaram Pillai who is the author of verse drama ‘Manonmaniam.’ The vision of the institution is to provide quality education to reach the un-reached.
This is also one among the top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu.
18. AVC College
This institution is located in Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu and is home to many courses. History is offered here at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
The Department of History took its genesis in 1970. The Department of History has had a long existence of 35 years. M.A. History was introduced in the academic year 2002-03.
The curriculum has been so designed as to serve the society and to prepare the students for their future career. Journalism, public Admin and Tourism are the three papers worth mentioning at the U.G. level.
The syllabus has been designed for M.A. History to satisfy the needs of the aspirants of administrative services. Human Rights, Tourism, Epigraphy and Administrative and political Institutions are some papers worth mentioning. This is also one of the top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu.
19. AVS College of Arts and Science
The focus point here is Department of History which was established in 2017 to promote social, economical and cultural history of Tamil Nadu, India and the world.
It focuses on the different aspects of ancient, medieval and modern history of India. Historiography, Theory and Practice of Historical Writing, History of Science, Environment, Archaeology, Epigraphy and Numismatics are covered in the curriculum teaching.
As most of the students hail from rural background the department strives to promote intellectual, moral, educational and cultural values. This is also one among the top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu.
20. Government Arts College Salem
This is the oldest higher education institution in Salem District. It was improved as an Anglo-Vernacular School in 1857 by A.J. Alexander Arbuthnot and converted into District School (Zillah High School) with 195 students.
The school functioned in a rented building till 1863, then it moved to its own building, constructed in collaboration with public subscription and Government grant.
In 1864 the school sent its first batch of students to Madras University’s Matriculation Examination. Tamil Nadu Government took over the college on 1 April 1960 and began to function under the Education Department of Tamil Nadu Government.
In 1969, P.G. Courses in Maths, History and English had been introduced. In 1979, B.A. Degree course in Co-Operation had been introduced. In 1994-95, B.Sc. Degree course in Computer Science had been introduced.
The Department of History offers the course in History at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. This is also one among the top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu.
Conclusion (Top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu)
Students willing to study history in any one or more of these top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu must familiarize themselves with the admission procedure of the respective institutions. The process to intake students varies from one college to another.
Candidates can visit the colleges or their respective websites and know everything about the admission system of the respective institutions. Applicants to these top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu must ensure they have the required eligibility condition. In case, they do not meet the eligibility condition, the applications may be rejected.
Some of these top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu may admit students based on their performance in the qualifying exam, couple of them may require applicants to write simple tests or attend interviews as a part of admission process. Needless to say, students must be prepared for the admission process.
These top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu are known to adhere to high standards when it comes to teaching and learning. Candidates who wish to gain entry in these top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu should also be prepared to be in tune with the expectations of these top 20 History colleges in Tamil Nadu.