Loyola College

Loyola College is a Jesuit college in Chennai, India. It is generally counted among India's elite and most storied educational institutions. The college admits both undergraduates and post-graduates and offers degrees in the liberal arts, sciences and commerce. It is an autonomous institution affiliated with the University of Madras, which grants all degrees.

Motto:              Luceat Lux Vestra (Let your Light Shine)
Established:     1925
Type:              Autonomous
Location:        Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Campus:        Urban

website          loyolacollege.edu

History


Loyola College was founded in 1925 by a French Jesuit, Rev. Francis Bertram, with the support of a group of Jesuits who had had their grounding at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and the London School of Economics.


Academics

The College offers courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The Arts/Humanities stream includes English, Economics, History, Tamil and Sociology. Science courses offered include Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology and Computer Science. Commerce is also a much sought after stream at Loyola. The college was ranked the number one college or institution for Science degrees in India by India Today magazine in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006. In 2007 it achieved the unique distinction of being ranked first in both Science and Humanities.

The college follows a credit-based semester pattern, and was among the first in the country to adopt the system.Undergraduate students have to pass all examinations and obtain at least 90 credits in three years to be eligible for award of a degree. Non-academic credits are also required of all students, and a wide range of extra-curricular and social service options offer them that choice.


The college is located on a sprawling 100-acre (400,000 m2) campus in the heart of the Chennai, in Nungambakkam. Its tree-lined pathways, academic buildings, steepled Gothic chapel and playgrounds make for a well-known landmark in the southern metropolis. Its many alumni include a former President of India, several statesmen and Union ministers, prominent politicians, diplomats and civil servants, entertainers, writers and journalists.

The college has been conferred a "College with Potential For Excellence" status by the University Grants Commission. It was also given a Rs.10 Million grant (1 Crore) in 2006 by the UGC for continual improvement of facilities.

Some Notable Alumni

Alumni are referred to as Loyolites

* Ramaswamy Venkataraman, former President of India
* C. Rangarajan, former Governor, Reserve Bank of India
* Dayanidhi Maran, Member of Parliament, former Minister
* D. Simon Lourdusamy, Cardinal of the Roman Catholic church
* Rev. Jerome D'Souza, former Principal and statesman, Member of India's first Constituent Assembly
* Vishwanathan Anand, World Chess Champion
* C. K. Prahalad, management writer
* Ramanathan Krishnan, tennis player
* Ramesh Krishnan, tennis player
* Vijay & Anand Amritraj, tennis players
* Leander Paes, Indian tennis player
* Sharath Kamal, Indian table tennis player
* Verghese Kurien, Architect of India's dairy development program Operation Flood.
* P. Chidambaram, Union Minister, Lawyer
* Arjun Appadurai, founder of the School of International Relations, Delhi, now part of Jawaharlal Nehru University
* Narasimhan Ram, Journalist, Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu