Mar Thoma College


Mar Thoma College is an institution of higher education located in Tiruvalla in the south Indian state of Kerala. The college is affiliated with Mahatma Gandhi University and offers 12 undergraduate, 10 post-graduate, and 7 doctoral programmes. The college is accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council.
The college ranked 92 in All India Ranking by National Institutional Ranking Framework in 2019.

Rankings

Overview

Mar Thoma College was founded by the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar in 1952 as a junior college offering two intermediate courses. Alexander Mar Thoma was the school's founding principal. It has been affiliated with the University of Kerala since its inception. When Mahatma Gandhi University was established in 1983, the college was brought under its affiliation and two years later, two of the departments of the college, English and zoology, were recognized as research centres to commence doctoral programmes. In 1998, the National Assessment and Accreditation Council extended accreditation to the college, the first college in Kerala and one of the first colleges in India to receive the NAAC accreditation. The college was re-accredited with A Grade in 2005 and the central government accreditation agency retained the grading at A during its reassessment in 2012. The NAAC has extended the period of accreditation to seven years as the college has obtained the highest possible grades in two consecutive accreditations.
The college is a member of United Nations Academic Impact and All India Association of Christian Higher Education. It hosted the 29th Kerala Science Congress in 2017. Dr. Alexander Mar Thoma Metropolitan, Padma Shri Samuel Paul, Dr. A.V Varghese, Dr. J.V. Vilanilam were among the distinguished faculty of the college.
The college campus is located in Kuttappuzha, a small hamlet in Tiruvalla, known for the Sreevallabha Temple, one of the oldest temples in Kerala. Tiruvalla town is 2 km away and the distance to the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram and the commercial city of Kochi are 120 km and 89 km respectively. The campus is near to many centres of pilgrimage such as Niranam Church, Kaviyoor Mahadevar Temple and Parumala Church, besides the Sreevallabha Temple.
The college is coeducational and has a student strength of about 1800. The administration is under a manager deputed by the Mar Thoma Syrian Church and is headed by a principal who is assisted by 80 teaching and 45 non teaching staff. It offers 12 under graduate, 10 post graduate, seven doctoral and many other non formal programmes.

Departments

The academics is sectioned into independent departments based on subjects of instruction such as English, Malayalam, Hindi, Mathematics, Statistics, Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology, Economics, History, Political Science, Commerce, Physical Education and Bio-Sciences. Non teaching programmes have a separate department handing them while non formal computer educational programmes are handled by Mar Thoma College Institute of Computer Sciences, a subsidiary functioning under the same management.

Curriculum

Mar Thoma College offers regular, vocational, self-financing and research programmes. It also has short term certificate programmes as add-on courses.
Three year graduate degree courses
Three year graduate degree courses
Two year master's degree courses
Two year master's degree courses
Research courses
Add-on programmes
The college has an interdisciplinary research lab established with the help of the Department Science and Technology, Govt. of India.
Mar Thoma College Institute of Computer Sciences functioning in the campus offers post graduate diploma courses in subjects such as Computer Basics, Computer Operating Systems, Programming languages like Basic, Cobol, FoxPro, Visual Basic, RDBMS, Oracle and C++, Systems and Analysis Design and Web designing. The institute is open to students for preparation of their curricular project work.
A fully equipped Media Centre functions in the college. The college is WiFi enabled and the students have access to unlimited usage within the campus. The school has one of the best libraries which stocks over 55,000 print titles and subscribes to 88 academic journals. It operates an Online Digital Library, which has been hosted on their web site. A collection of Microfiche, CD-ROMs and Cassettes are also made available to the students and teachers. A Counselling Centre is functioning in the college.
A subsidized canteen and a store for textbooks and general stationery goods are functioning. There is the Indian Bank extension counter in the college. There are two hostels, for girls. A fitness club functions under the supervision of the Department of Physical Education. A Hobby Workshop has been set up with the assistance of the University Grants Commission. A number of organizations are functioning in the college to support the students and the community including:
Mar Thoma College Union,
National Service Scheme,
NCC,
Subject Associations,
Placement Cell,
Mar Thoma Students' Association,
Union of Evangelical Students of India,
Parent Teacher Association,
Astronomy Club,
Eco Club,
Brains Trust,
Best Arts,
Medical Club,
Alcohol and Drug Information Center,
Tourism Club,
Science Forum,
Planning Forum,
Community Extension Cell,
Women's Cell, and
SC/ST Cell.

Ranking

Football club

Mar Thoma College is famous for its Football teams, both men and women. The College has produced many National and State level players. C The football team is trained by the Kerala State Sports Council coaches and the Physical Directors of the College. Sports hostel facilities provided for the women players with the assistance of the Sports Council and the college management. The college conducts an intercollegiate football tournament.
The club has won the Kerala Premier League in 2015–16 season and finished runners up in 2014–15 season

Notable alumni