Utkal University

Bhubaneswar, July 4: Commerce is in great demand at Utkal University this year.

“There are as many as 1,048 applications for the 48 seats in commerce — which means every single seat in the department has 22 candidates vying for it,” said a faculty member of the department.

Last year, the department received 1,300 application forms.

Postgraduate (PG) Council chairman G.K. Panda said: “Commerce has remained the most sought-after course in the varsity for its good placements.”

“We find plenty job opportunities in this stream. The department has kept an effective linkage with corporate sector and banks,” said commerce student Sunil Panigrahi.

“The MCom course includes subjects such as corporate financial accounting, financial management, statistical analysis, insurance management and computer application in business. Alongside the courses, students can study alternate courses such as chartered accountancy and company secretaryship that provides us an extra edge,” said Suman Mohapatra, another student.

The next in the most sought-after list is the department of physics with 780 applications. Chemistry, zoology and botany have received 632, 586 and 454 applications, respectively, while the department of mathematics has received 468 applications.

Varsity authorities say the departments of physics and chemistry have the best students in the state who prefer Utkal University for its quality of teaching, experienced faculty and advanced laboratories. “Our students are now across the world in the field of research and have earned a name for the varsity. So, the number of applicants is not very surprising,” said the PG Council chairman.

The preference for the general arts stream has also gone up, said the authorities. The department of applied economics has received the highest number of application with 408 applications. This is followed by 333 applications for political science, 254 applications for English, 265 seats in PMIR and 150 seats in sociology.

“The discipline of humanities has generally been deemed as a branch of study suitable only for students who secure low marks at the school levels. Students, who opt for humanities, were earlier considered to be not as intelligent as their engineering, medicine and commerce counterparts. However, the scenario has changed due to the varied job prospects it offers,” said Panda.

“I have loved literature since my schooldays and I did not think twice before I decided to take English as my subject,” said Prachi Sahoo, an English department student, who wants to take up business communication as a career.

The total number of applications stood at 9,400. The authorities said the number had dipped from the previous year when the varsity received about 11,000 applications.

This could be due to the cancellation of four self-financing courses, said Chandrashekhar Biswal, a former student, who handles the e-admission.