Top 10 Prestigious & Best Arts and Science Colleges in Chennai

It is said that the College is the most important part of the students’ life. College is an integral part and is necessary for our Higher education. Here we are sharing the list of Best Arts and Science Colleges in Chennai.

It is where we learn the most important thing in our lives, i.e. Experience.

 An institute of knowledge where all the students, professors and staff work together to form the college. In India, college means were you offered Bachelor’s degree, Vocational training, Research Work and Advanced studies.

Colleges can be autonomous or non-autonomous colleges.  

Autonomous College means that in that college, you can have access to develop your own syllabus and to conduct and assess the examination.

The university conducts Non-Autonomous College here the examination at the same time at all the other colleges that are affiliated to the  University.

There are hundreds of universities in India, and each  University has its own affiliated colleges which is a huge number. 

List of Best Arts and Science Colleges in Chennai

Here are some of the Best Arts and Science Colleges in Chennai; you should check and go through to take admissions.

Loyola College of Education:   

It is the private Catholic institution which is run by the Society of Jesus in Tamil Nadu, Chennai. It is an autonomous college and affiliated to the University of Madras. According to the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), it is ranked as the 6th among other colleges in Chennai in 2020.

The College offers various courses in science, Commerce and Arts. They offer courses both in Undergraduate and Postgraduate Levels.

The Arts or the Humanities stream(BA) includes subjects in English, Economics, History, Tamil and sociology.

The Science stream includes subjects(BSc.) like Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology and Computer Science. 

The College follows the Credit-based and Semester System.

It is awarded A+ Accreditation from NAAC.

The College has been conferred a “College with Potential For Excellence” status by the University Grants Commission(UGC).

The candidates should fill the online application form, and they would be selected on Merit Basis followed by an Interview in the case of UnderGrads.

For Post Grads, there is an Entrance exam followed by an Interview.

All the Disciplines are grouped in different types of Schools: School of Humanities, School of Languages, School of Life sciences, School of Physical sciences etc.

The College organizes Co-Curricular Activities like National Social Service (NSS), National Cadet Corps (NCC), FM Radio, Red Cross Society, Brass Band etc.

Loyola College has an International Collaboration with France and U.K. Twinning Programme with Pondicherry University.

Infrastructure: It has one of the largest academic Libraries fully air-conditioned with an access of 12 hours.

• Printing scanning and photocopy facility.
•  Gym And reading room facility.
• Wi-Fi Campus 
• Smart Classes
•  Language Lab 
• Recreational Centres
• Food Courts 
• Counselling Centre and much more.

Fee Structure: It is different for different subjects, but the fees range from 11,000 to 1 Lakh per year.

Also Read: Best Hotel Management Colleges in India

Madras Christian College (MCC):

One of the oldest and Best Arts and Science colleges in Chennai & Asia established in the year 1837.

 The College is affiliated to Madras University, but it is an Independent body, i.e. autonomous situated in Tambaram, Chennai.

MCC is ranked as Top 3 in India and Top 1 in Chennai by India Today 2020 Rankings.

The college offers over 30 regular courses in Undergraduate and Postgraduate Programmes in Arts, Sciences, and Commerce, besides Undergraduate Programmes in Vocational Streams of Archaeology and Musicology.

MCC has over 38 Departments with Morning and Evening Shifts with almost 8,500 Students and 300 Faculty Members.

It has a campus of 365 acres and is known for its flora, fauna lakes etc. 

It has the second largest scrub jungle in Asia and is used by the Departments of Botany and Zoology for Practical Purposes.

The college has six residential halls for students – Selaiyur Hall, St.Thomas’s hall, Bishop Heber Hall, Martin Hall, Margaret Hall and Barnes Hall. 

It has different types of Public Spaces which include: Auditorium known by the name Anderson hall, MCC Quadrangle, Boxing Ring, International  Guest House, Cafeteria, Macphail’s Arts Centre, Sportsfields and C.A. Abraham Pavilion.

Courses: B.A.& MA in English, Political Science, History, Economics, Philosophy

BSc. &M.Sc in Chemistry, Physics, Plant Biology and plant biotechnology, Zoology

There are two types of Programmes:  Government aided and other is Self-financed Program.

Placements and Internships: From Companies like Wipro, Aditya Birla etc

Fees Structure: Ranges from 13 K to 1.3 Lakhs

Sathyabama College, Chennai: 

Formerly known by the name Sathyabama University is a Christian higher educational institute and which is deemed to be a university situated in Chennai, Tamil Nadu has been accredited by the NAAC with ‘A’ Grade and has received ISO certification.

The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranked Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology 39th among Universities and 61st overall.

Sathyabama has the following academic departments for undergraduate courses, awarding degrees in./B.Arch./B.Des./Law /Pharmacy/ Arts and Science.

Departments include School of Pharmacy, School of Nursing, School of Science and Humanities, Department of Biotechnology Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Bachelor of Architecture.

Co-Curricular Activities: Sathyabama offers visits to companies like Industrial Visit, Inplant Training, Advisory Bureau for Higher Studies, Entrepreneur Development Cell, Guest Lectures, Foreign Language Classes.

It has UnderGrads, Post Grads and PhD Programmes as well.

• B.Sc.& M.Sc in Psychology

• B.Sc.& M.Sc in Biotechnology

• B.Sc. in Microbiology

•  B.Sc. in Physics

• B.Sc. in Fashion Technology

• B.A.  M.A. in English

• B.Sc. & M.Sc. in Visual Communication

          Fee Structure: Ranges from 1 Lakh to 3 Lakhs per annum.

          Infrastructure: Central Library, Cafeteria,

• Hostel: There are 5 boys hostels and 5 Girls hostels.
• Sports Complex
• Shuttle Service
• Labs: Chemistry Lab|Computer Lab, Physics Lab
• Gym
• Hospital & Medical Facilities
• Wi-Fi Campus
• Auditorium
• Music Room & Dance Room

Presidency College, Chennai:

It is an Arts and Science College. One of the oldest Government Arts Colleges in  India.

Established by the Britishers in India.

Presidency College, Chennai is ranked fifth among colleges in India by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in 2020.

The college was conferred Autonomous status in the year 1987 and got the NAAC reaccreditation with ‘A’ Grade 90% credit.

Departments: Languages, Arts, Science, Physical Education

Courses Offered: B.A.& M.A. in History, Political Science, English literature, Malayalam literature, Urdu literature, Hindi literature Tamil literature etc.

B.Sc. & M.Sc. in Physics, Chemistry, Geography, Plant Biotechnology & Plant Biology, Psychology, Geology, Advanced Zoology & Advanced Biotechnology.

PhD degrees are awarded in Non-Autonomous courses in the Arts and Science Faculty.

Fee Structure: It is comparatively low as compared to the other college because it is a government college and the fees range from 1800- 4000 (₹)per annum.

Scholarships: are also given to the women and the Muslim women, and there are different types of scholarship schemes like National scholarship, State Scholarship to children of School Teachers, State government Scholarships etc.

Co-Curricular Activities: Environment Club, NSS, NCC, Youth Red Cross, Rotary Club, Red Ribbon Club, Quiz Club etc.

Guru Nanak College, Chennai:

Established in the year  1970 the college was Opened as a tribute and to mark the Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. It is run as a minority community college.

Situated in Velachery, Chennai.

It is operated in 2 shifts.

Courses offered: B.A. – English, Economics, Defence and Strategic Studies.

B.Sc. – Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Plant Biology and Plant Biotechnology, Advanced Zoology and Biotechnology, Computer Science.

M.Sc. – Chemistry, Mathematics, Zoology

M.Phil. – Zoology

PhD. – Defence Studies, Commerce, Zoology, Botany.

It has a campus of 28 acres gifted by the Govt. of Tamil Nadu and has ideal and quiet surroundings.

30% of seats are reserved for women in each course. 

Admissions for Transgender are also open in this college. 

It is ranked as one of the top 10 colleges in Chennai.

It is also affiliated to the University of Madras and ReAccredited with A+ from NAAC.

It is recognised by the University Grant Commission (UGC).

It also runs a twinning and distance education programs with Pondicherry University.

It runs a special program known by the name Swabodhini – School for Special Children, and Vocational centre caters to children with autism, intellectual disabilities and associated challenges, aged 4 to 30. 

Fee Structure: Varies from 50K to 1 Lacs for different Courses each year.

Vales Institute of Science Technology and Advanced Studies Chennai(VISTAS) :

It is located in Pallavaram an Institution of Higher Education established in 1992 and is Deemed to be University.

The campus is located in the heart of the city Pallavaram with about 29.13 acres. It is the only university campus which has its main campus within the city.

There are separate hostels for men and women in the Campus.

It is ranked  43rd in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in the pharmacy in 2020.

VISTAS has established the following Schools:

• School of Pharmacy

• School of Hotel & Catering Management

• School of Life Sciences

• School of Basic Sciences

• School of Languages

• School of Education
• School of Music & Fine Arts

Fee structure: It ranges from school to school from 20000 to 300000 per annum.

Placement cell: the recruiters come from the different companies like  Kotak Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra, L&T group, HCL, Amazon etc. with an average package of 2-5 lakhs per annum.

Infrastructure: Spacious Lecture Halls, Well equipped state-of-the-art Laboratories, Air-Conditioned Computer Training Centre, Modern Conference Halls, Well-equipped Digital Library, Free Clinic, ATM facilities, Well organized Transport.

There are a great number of Research centres in VELS University.

St Thomas College of Arts and Science:

Popularly known as “St.Thomas College”, is a Christian College. 

It offers Bachelors and Masters level degree programmes and is affiliated to the University of Madras. 

It is also a recognized educational institution by the government of Tamil Nadu.

Courses offered: The medium of instruction is English. The following courses are available:

UG 

• BA English
• BCA Computer Applications
• B.Sc. Psychology
• B.Sc. Mathematics
• B.Sc. Computer Science
• B.Sc. Electronic Media

PG

• M.Sc. Visual Communication
• M.Sc. Electronic Media

Pattern: A semester pattern with a credit system is followed.

 Queen Mary’s College Chennai :

It is the first & Best Art and Science women college in Chennai since 1914 and the third oldest women’s college in India.

It is affiliated to the University of Madras and Reaccredited with A+ from NAAC.

The scenic and sprawling campus of 17 acres located on the famed Marina and overlooking the magnificent vista of the Bay of Bengal.

The College has played a dominant role in empowering women from disadvantaged sections of society.

It has been listed among the top 20 colleges of India and has a reputation for its women-centred programmes in Humanities, Social Sciences, Life Sciences, Nutrition and Home Management, Physical Education and Indian Music. 

It also offers free coaching for IAS/IPS examinations.

It has 23 programs in UG level,18 programs in PG level,12 in M.Phil, 9 in PhD.

Fee Structure: From UG to PhD Level ranges from 500 to 2000 ₹ per year.

Courses Offered: BA in Tamil, English, History, English Literature, Sanskrit, Music, Sociology.

BSc in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Plant Biotechnology, Zoology, Geography, TTM ( Tourism and Travel management), Nutrition, Food Service Management and Dietetics.

Concessions: SC/ST students are offered full concessions.

Alpha Arts and Science College (AASC):

Run by the Alpha Educational Society, a non-profit educational body, started in 1996.

It is a private, coeducational institution of Arts and Science approved by the Government of Tamilnadu with permanent affiliation to the University of Madras and accredited by NAAC.

It has a Choice-Based System and Semester System.

It also provides value-education and soft skills.

Placements from Top Companies: Capgemini,  Tata Consultancy, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Wipro etc. 

Scholarships: It provides scholarships and freeships to deserving students on merit cum basis. It also facilitates making scholarships available to students of the college.

Students Clubs and Activities: NSS, NCC, Youth Red Cross, Red Ribbon Club, Canteen, Utility Centre, Parking, Health Care, Women’s Cell, Differently Abled Student’s Cell, Foreign Cell, Women Cell and Chapel.

Courses Offered: B.Sc & M.Sc. in BioTechnology, Department of English  BEC (Business English Certificate), Key English Test (KEY).

Fee Structure: Ranges from 30 K- 70 K per annum. 

PATRICIAN COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCE:

Established in the year  2001  it is a Christian Minority co-educational Self Financing Institution affiliated to University of Madras.

Patrician College of Arts and Science was accredited with  ‘A’ grade by NAAC in 2015.

The College offers 18 UG Programmes, 3  PG Programmes and 2 M. Phil Programmes.

Various streams include Bachelor of Arts in English, Bachelor of Sciences in Psychology, Mathematics, Computer Science, M.A. in English, Master of Philosophy etc.

Student Services: Entrepreneurship Development Cell, NSS, Citizen Consumer Club, Environment Club, AICUF, Reading Club and Literary Club.

Here are some of the Best art and science colleges in Chennai that will be helpful for your future. I hope that it will be useful for you to select your College among one of these. It will help you to build a successful career.

—By Ankita Francis