The 3 year degree program at the above said College with Botany subject, is designed to give students a broad understanding of the foundational concepts in Botany (Plant Science) along with laboratory and excursion related field experience.
The emphasis stream in the 3-year program (Botany Degree Course) gives students the opportunity to study a particular aspect of Botany in depth within the context of a liberal Science education. Graduates should have acquired knowledge and skills that will allow entry into laboratory or field jobs, in Forest Department or further study in related areas. The course has specific learning outcomes, as described under:
1. Upon graduation, Botany majors should have a thorough knowledge and comprehension of the core concepts in the discipline of Plant Biology. These include the fact that:
Plants are like other organisms in regard to: basic metabolism, sexual reproduction, clonal reproduction, hormonally regulated development, ability to respond to the environment, diversity and evolution.
Plants are unique organisms in: their varied life histories - especially a sporic one with alternation of generations; their role as primary producers in food webs, serving as the interface organisms between the organic and inorganic worlds viamineral assimilation and photosynthesis; and the oxygenation of the atmosphere.
Plants serve as an important source of products: food, fiber, flavorings, feed, fuel, pharmaceuticals, etc.
2. Upon graduation, Botany majors should have mastered a set of fundamental skills which would be useful to function effectively as professionals and to their continued development and learning within the field of Plant Biology. These skills include the following:
Field and Laboratory Research Skills: Botany majors should be competent observers and experimentalists, whether such research takes place in the field or in the laboratory. They should be able to design and execute experiments, systematically collect and analyze data, identify sources of error, and interpret the results and reach logical conclusions. They should also have a basic understanding of laboratory and field safety issues.
Critical Thinking Skills: Botany majors should be able to engage in the following aspects of critical thinking: (i) differentiate between fact and opinion, (ii) recognize and evaluate author bias and rhetoric, (iii) develop inferential skills, (iv) recognize logical fallacies and faulty reasoning, and (v) make decisions and judgments by drawing logical conclusions using sound quantitative or statistically-based reasoning. Critical thinking does not exclude imaginative and speculative thinking as it applies to science in general and botany specifically. To the extent that critical thinking skills are discipline- specific, students should understand that science and its methodology is a way of knowing.
Communications Skills: Botany graduates will be required to demonstrate competence in communication, both written and oral, and present the results of their research where such communication is expected and evaluated.
3. Upon graduation, Botany students should demonstrate significant value-added progress in developing the values viz. Appreciation of the aesthetic attributes of nature, whether their studies are primarily in the field where entire ecosystems or biomes are investigated or in the laboratory where the microscope and biochemical techniques are used as tools for observing nature.
4. All students who are exposed to Botany courses should understand and appreciate, in addition to the core knowledge of Plant Biology, the nature of science, how science is applied to everyday problems, and significant botanical achievements.