The University of Kashmir; a Brief overview

Situated at Srinagar, an idyllic area on the western side of the fabulous Dal Lake, the University of Kashmir, founded in 1948 and spread over 263 acres of lush green land have five satellite campuses all across the state. The University was founded in 1948 and is an apex institution of higher education in this Himalayan state. Since the year 2002, the University stands accredited as an A- Grade University according to the NAAC of the UGC. The university has all the major faculties and 18 research centers with research focus on different themes of contemporary and regional importance. The University presently offers PG courses in almost 55 subjects, excluding a score of certificate and diploma courses. Around a hundred colleges, offering bachelors and PG courses are affiliated with the University. The University has on its rolls more than 4000 PG students and about 40000 UG students, in addition to more than 1000 Research Scholars pursuing their research degree (Ph. D/M. Phil) in different research areas. The University has about 350 academics with considerable teaching and research experience, some of whom occupy places of eminence in the academic world. Since inception, the faculty has published around 10000 research papers in reputed journals and more than 200 books during the last ten years. There are currently more than 60 ongoing research projects sponsored by various national and international funding agencies with financial support of more than Rs. 400 million. Many more projects are in the pipeline.

The department of Earth Sciences was established in the year 2000 and imparts education at M. Sc. level in Applied Geology, Geoinformatics and PGD in RS/GIS. The Department has a multidisciplinary young and bright faculty with national and international research experience. The Department has research/academic collaborations with more than a dozen international and national institutes to promote academics and research. These include Australian National University, Finnish Geological Survey, ISRO, C-MMACS, NGRI, Delhi University, JNU, etc. The Department has established various facilities for research activity in the areas for which the local geology provides the appropriate ground for further academic and societal interests. We have quite a few ongoing research projects sponsored by national funding agencies and our research focus is centered on following thrust areas; cryosphere, Paleoclimate, RS/GIS, hydrology, environmental geochemistry, sedimentation and tectonics.