One of the University’s first departments, established 1960 — M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Botany, with expertise in plant diversity, taxonomy, bioprospecting and rhizosphere biology.
The Department of Biological Sciences is one of the first departments established in this university in 1960. Intended with the teaching of basic biology courses at the time of inception, the department over the period has developed expertise in basic and applied fields of Botany and successfully running M.Sc. and Ph.D. programs in Botany since 1994 and 2009 respectively.
The areas of teaching include the basic fields like Diversity of lower plants, Diversity of higher plants, Taxonomy, Economic Botany, Ecology and Reproductive Biology of Plants on the one end vis-a-vis contemporary advance fields like Plant Diversity Assessment, Plants in Extreme Habitats and Rhizosphere Biology. The thrust areas of the department are plant diversity, taxonomy, conservation biology, plant bioprospecting, plant-microbial interactions, bryology and medicinal plants.
Synchronizing with the need of hour, the department has adopted an inter-disciplinary approach to document plant diversity, unravel the chemoprofile of lesser known medicinal herbs, elucidate plant-microbial symbiosis and promote the conservation of medicinally important Himalayan RET species. The department has established two internationally accredited herbaria — Cryptogamic Herbarium Pantnagar (CHP) and G.B. Pant University Herbarium (GBPUH) both of which are accessible online. In addition, the faculty has also developed ‘eflorapantnagar’, a web based digital repository showcasing Pantnagar flora.
The faculty has contributed to the development of science through quality research publications in reputed international and national journals and by publishing books and reference materials.
| Course Code | Course Name | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BBB-102 | Introductory Biology | 2(1-0-1) |
| BBB-111 | Basic Biology | 2(2-0-0) |
| BBB-221 | Biodiversity and its Conservation | 2(2-0-0) |
| Course Code | Course Name | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Major Courses | ||
| BBB 601 | Plant Diversity I | 3(2-0-1) |
| BBB 602 | Plant Diversity II | 3(2-0-1) |
| BBB 610 | Plant Morphology and Anatomy | 2(1-0-1) |
| BBB 625 | Angiosperms: Diversity and Resource Utilization | 3(2-0-1) |
| BBB 645 | Biology of Plant Reproduction | 2(1-0-1) |
| Remaining credits of major courses will be chosen from the list of postgraduate courses of Biological Sciences, 600 Series | 7 | |
| Seminar | ||
| BBB 688 | Master’s Seminar | 1 |
| Minor/Optional Courses | 8 | |
| Supporting Courses | ||
| BBC 603 | Basic Biochemistry | 3(3-0-0) |
| BPY 615 | Principles of Plant Physiology II: Metabolic Processes and Growth Regulation | 3(2-0-1) |
| Common Courses | ||
| BHS 500 | Technical Writing and Communications Skills | 1(0-0-1) |
| BHS/AAC 502 | Research, Research Ethics and Rural Development Programmes | 1(1-0-0) |
| BPC 506 | Basic Concepts in Laboratory Techniques | 1(0-0-1) |
| AGP 518 | Intellectual Property and its Management | 1(1-0-0) |
| BHS 611 | Library and Information Services | 1(1-1-0) |
| Research | ||
| BBB 690 | Master’s Thesis Research | 30 |
| Total | 70 | |
| Minor Courses (For other departments) | ||
| BBB 601 | Plant Diversity I | 3(2-0-1) |
| BBB 602 | Plant Diversity II | 3(2-0-1) |
| Remaining 2 credits will be chosen from the list of postgraduate courses of Biological Sciences, 600 series | ||
| Course Code | Course Name | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Major Courses | ||
| BBB 701 | Plant Taxonomy | 3(2-0-1) |
| BBB 705 | Plants in Extreme Habitats | 2(2-0-0) |
| BBB 710 | Rhizosphere Biology | 2(2-0-0) |
| BBB 720 | Economic Botany | 3(3-0-0) |
| Remaining credits of major courses will be chosen from the list of postgraduate courses of Biological Sciences, 700 Series | 2 | |
| Seminars | ||
| BBB 788 | Doctoral Seminar I | 1 |
| BBB 789 | Doctoral Seminar II | 1 |
| Minor/Optional Courses | 6 | |
| Supporting Courses | ||
| BHS 652 | Research Methodology I | 1(1-0-0) |
| BPS 653 | Research Methodology II | 3(2-0-1) |
| BHS 654 | Research and Publication Ethics | 2(2-0-0) |
| Research | ||
| BBB 790 | Ph.D. Thesis Research | 75 |
| Total | 101 | |
| Minor Courses (For other department) | ||
| BBB 701 | Plant Taxonomy | 3(2-0-1) |
| BBB 720 | Economic Botany | 3(3-0-0) |
| Course Code | Course Name | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BBB 601 | Plant Diversity I | 3(2-0-1) |
| BBB 602 | Plant Diversity II | 3(2-0-1) |
| BBB 610 | Plant Morphology and Anatomy | 2(1-0-1) |
| BBB 615 | Economic Botany of Cryptogams | 2(2-0-0) |
| BBB 625 | Angiosperms: Diversity and Resource Utilization | 3(2-0-1) |
| BBB 635 | Plant Ecology | 2(2-0-0) |
| BBB 645 | Biology of Plant Reproduction | 2(1-0-1) |
| BBB 655 | Mycology | 3(2-0-1) |
| BBB 687 | Master’s Special Problem | 1 or 2 |
| BBB 688 | Master’s Seminar | 1 |
| BBB 690 | Master’s Thesis Research | 30 |
| BBB 701 | Plant Taxonomy | 3(2-0-1) |
| BBB 705 | Plants in Extreme Habitats | 2(2-0-0) |
| BBB 710 | Rhizosphere Biology | 2(2-0-0) |
| BBB/BBE 713 | Biodiversity: Concepts and Management Practices | 2(2-0-0) |
| BBB 720 | Economic Botany | 3(3-0-0) |
| BBB 721 | Ethnobotany | 2(2-0-0) |
| BBB 730 | Recent Advances in Biosystematics | 2(2-0-0) |
| BBB 787 | Doctoral Special Problem | 1 or 2 |
| BBB 788 | Doctoral Seminar I | 1 |
| BBB 789 | Doctoral Seminar II | 1 |
| BBB 790 | Ph.D. Thesis Research | 75 |
For details, please refer to the following: Course booklet.
Aeroponic systems, Autoclaves, BOD Incubators, CO2 Incubators, Compound Research Microscope with DIC & Phase Contrast, Computers and Printers, Deep Freezers, Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis, Electronic Balances, Electrophoresis Units for Protein & DNA, Horizontal Laminar Flows, Hot Air Oven, Incubator Shakers, Lyophilizer, Microwave Oven, pH Meters, Vortex Mixers, Magnetic Stirrers, Refrigerated Centrifuge, Refrigerators, Room Temperature Centrifuge, Stereo-zoom Microscope, Temperature & Humidity controlled green house, Thermal Cyclers, Triple Distillation Unit, UV Trans-illuminator, UV- Visible Spectrophotometer, Vertical Laminar Flow, Water Bath, Water Purification System, GPS handheld mapping device, Digital SLR camera, Electronic Balance, Microtome, Fermenter, Root-leaf Analyser, Flame photometer, Elchrome Scientific gel electrophoresis, Nitrogen Analyser assembly etc.
