St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, is a college affiliated with the University of Mumbai offering undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Arts, Science, Commerce and Management.Xavier’s was the first college to be granted autonomy by the University of Mumbai in 2010. In 2006, St. Xavier’s was awarded the highest ‘A+’ grade by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).

The college is named after Francis Xavier, the 16th-century Spanish Jesuit saint. Its campus in South Mumbai is built in the Indo-Gothic style of architecture, and recognized as a heritage structure. Founded by German Jesuits in 1869, Xavier’s developed rapidly from 1884 to 1914. The imprisonment of German Jesuit priests during the First World War (1914–1918) led to a dislocation of the administration, which was mitigated by the appointment of other European Jesuits. While it began as an arts college, by the 1920s science departments were established. The college was greatly expanded in the 1930s.

The college is now run by Indian Jesuits, with a distinct focus on affirmative action for minority students. It offers undergraduate and post-graduate courses in Arts, Science, Business, Commerce or Public Policy. It has spawned several research institutions within its campus including the Blatter Herbarium, and is known for its inter-collegiate youth festival ‘Malhar’

Admission intake

The College is a Catholic Minority College, administered under the provisions of the Indian Constitution, to promote the welfare of the Minority community.

As per the Judgement dated 12th October 2017 of the Honourable Bombay High Court vide Writ Petition No. 1726 of 2001, Minority Colleges do not need to set aside seats for Backward Classes. This is reiterated by the University of Mumbai Circular (No.Aff./Recog.I/Admission/(2018-19)/10/of 2018), dated 30th May, 2018.

This Judgement renders null & void the Directives regarding Reservation of Seats given by the University of Mumbai vide Circular No. Spl. Cell / (68) / 218 / 2005 dated 3rd June, 2005 [i.e., SC (13%) / ST (7%) / DT(A) (3%) / NT(B) (2.5%) / NT(C) (3.5%) / NT(D) (2%) / OBC (19%) / SBC (2%)].

Hence, the admission intake in St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Mumbai is as shown in Table A & B.

Table A

 

Table B

 

*Admissions to B.Sc. (IT) will be based on the marks scored in Mathematics at the Std. XII Board Exam. Hence, there are no entrance exams for B.Sc. (IT) admissions.

** Special Category refers to:

1. Wards of Transferred State / Central Govt. and Private Sector employees, employees of Defence Department / ex-servicemen
2. Wards of Freedom Fighters
3. Award Winners at the District / State / National Levels in Sports or Cultural Activities.

Post Graduate

• M.A. in Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology
• Masters in Public Policy
• M.A. Psychology: Lifespan Counselling
• M.Sc. in Botany
• M.Sc. in Geology
• M.Sc. in Life Science
• M.Sc. in Microbiology
• M.Sc. in Biotechnology
• M.Sc. in Physics (Astrophysics)
• M.Sc. in Big Data Analytics

Ph.D (Science) Admission

Applications for Ph.D degree (Science) in the subject of Botany(3 Seats), Chemistry (3 Seats) and Life Science (2 Seats) are invited from all the interested candidates who have qualified at the PET (recently conducted by the University of Mumbai) and those are exempted from PET as per the University of Mumbai Circular No. Exam/Thesis/Univ/VCD/947 of 2018 dated 15^th June, 2018.

Departments

1. Ancient Indian Culture
2. Biotechnology
3. Botany
4. Chemistry
5. Commerce (Arts Section)
6. Commerce (B.Com)
7. Economics
8. English
9. French
10. Geology
11. History
12. Information Technology
13. Inter Religious Studies
14. Lifesciences and Biochemistry
15. Management Studies
16. Mass Media
17. Mathematics
18. Microbiology
19. Physics
20. Political Science
21. Psychology
22. Public Policy
23. Sociology
24. Statistics
25. Vocational Studies
26. Zoology

 

 

Additional Academic Facilities

Blatter Herbarium was started at the end of the 19^th century. By 1918 a very large number of plants were gathered by Fr. E. Blatter, S.J., his associates and students. The Herbarium was named after Fr. Blatter in 1941. It contains the largest collection of plants in Western India. It provides facilities for the study of Plant Systematics and has a well-stocked library on Systematic Botany. The Herbarium has received the Sir Ratan Tata Trust Grant for upgradation and digitization of the plant database. Dr. Rajendra Shinde is the present Director.

Caius Laboratory for Inter-Disciplinary Research (1947) was established to carry out drug research and was named after Fr. J. F. Caius, S.J. It was restructured and equipped with new instruments. It functions as a research and coordination centre for all the Science Departments. In this Lab a strain of Streptomyces was identified. It has been supported by grants from industry and from UGC, UNDP, et al. Dr. Priya Sundarrajan is the Director.

Central Instrumentation Facility (C.I.F.) (2006): This is a facility with sophisticated equipment acquired mainly through a DST-FIST Grant and UGC’s ‘College of Excellence Scheme’. It is a part of the Caius Research Laboratory.

Heras Institute of Indian History and Culture (1926): Initially, it was called the Indian Historical Research Institute, by Fr. Henry Heras, S.J., and on his death in 1955, it was renamed after him. The Heras Institute, with its well-stocked Research Library and Museum, provides guidance and facilities for Post-Graduate research in Ancient, Medieval & Modern Indian History, Indian Art & Literature, Indian Religions & Culture. Its Research Journal is called INDICA (since 1964). The current Director is Dr. Joan Dias.

Nadkarny – Sacasa Research Laboratory (1972): It provides modern research facilities in Chemistry and connects research with industry. It can support 20 Post-Graduate research students in Chemistry and has produced several doctorates. Dr. (Fr.) Roy Pereira S.J. is the current Director.

Xavier’s Visual Arts Studio (2014): It is equipped with professional quality digital cameras (still and moving), lighting equipment and an A.V. editing set up. This facility is open to all our College students. Students from the Arts & Science faculties use this studio to enhance their course projects with the basic techniques of visual presentation. The Mass Media Department of the College is in-charge this studio.

St. Xavier’s Language Laboratory is equipped with the latest in Language Acquisition Technology, aiming at helping students acquire proficiency in language and soft skills necessary for effective communication. Students get the freedom to learn at their own pace with the help of language learning software installed on 25 computers in the spacious air conditioned lab and the most recent books on soft skills. Ms. Jyoti. P. More is currently the Faculty-in-Charge.