Geology – a discipline whose popularity has plunged, but scope intact

Sanjay R Murty | NT
Bengaluru:

Geology used to be a subject that was sought after by students of science. It was not only offered at the undergraduate level but had also found a place in the subject combinations for pre-university courses in Karnataka. The popularity of Geology at the +2 and UG levels has evidently gone down in recent years.

Nrupatunga University (formerly Government Science College, Bengaluru) is one of the very few colleges in the state that offer Geology to undergraduate students. “We had a reasonable strength in Geology courses last year. Under the new pattern following NEP, BSc students are offered two core subjects and an open elective. They can choose Geology with Physics or Computer Science. Admissions are still on for 2022-23,” said Nrupatunga University Registrar Dr Kavitha K R and added that many students opting for geology are from Kerala and the north-eastern states.

While she agreed that the demand for Geology has reduced over the years, the university is hoping for a good strength this year. “We have one of the best Geology museums at Nrupatunga University,” she said.

Student strength at Bangalore University’s postgraduate department of Applied Geology has reportedly exceeded the intake. “We have several students who got admitted through payment seats last year. This is apart from the intake of 20 students. We had to prepare a rank list for them,” said Prof P C Nagesh.

He noted that in the past, students opting for Geology at the postgraduate level used to be from a Geology UG course, but in recent years the department is offering the MSc course to UG students from all science combinations.

Meanwhile, the Bengaluru centre of the Geological Survey of India (GSI) got a new laboratory complex that was inaugurated by the Union Minister for Mines Pralhad Joshi on Friday.

Dr Debkumar Bhattacharya, the Deputy Director-General of GSI, said that the scope for Geology remains but it cannot be compared to fields like Information Technology in terms of the number of job opportunities it offers.

“GSI and ONGC recruit Geology postgraduates through campus placements at premier institutions like the IITs. However, Karnataka also has good academic departments for Geology at the University of Mysore and Karnatak University in Dharwad,” he said.

Prof Nagesh said that postgraduates from BU have also been placed at GSI. “Geology has receded amidst new and popular career options, but its scope still remains,” he said.