Regulations, Scheme, Curriculum & Syllabi Five Year Integrated Master of Science Programme (2020-21 Academic year onwards) Institute for Integrated Programmes and Research in Basic Sciences (IIRBS) Mahatma Gandhi University Kottayam-686560 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Sl.No Contents Page No Rules & Regulations 4 1 Fees Structure 5 General Scheme: Foundation Level Courses (I to VI Semesters) 8 2 General Scheme: Advanced Level Courses (VII to X Semesters) 10 Out line of the Curriculum (I to VI Semesters) 11 List of Courses under Chemistry Major 13 List of Courses under Physics Major 13 3 List of Courses under Life Sciences Major 14 List of Courses under Computer Sciences Major 14 List of Courses under Environmental Sciences Major 15 Outline of the Curriculum (VII to X Semesters) 15 List of Courses under Chemistry Major 15 List of Courses under Physics Major 16 4 List of Courses under Life Sciences Major 17 List of Courses under Computer Sciences Major 18 List of Courses under Environmental Sciences Major 19 Detailed Syllabi for Foundation Level Courses (I-VI Semesters) Semester I 21 Semester II 26 5 Semester III 33 Semester IV 39 Semester IV, V & VI Core Courses 45 6 Chemistry Major Elective Courses 53 Core Courses 58 7 Physics Major Elective Courses 65 Core Courses 72 8 Life Sciences Major Elective Courses 80 Core Courses 87 9 Computer Sciences Major Elective Courses 92 Core Courses 97 10 Environmental Sciences Major Elective Courses 105 11 Second Language Elective Courses for Semester III & IV 110 12 General Elective Courses for Semester IV 115 3 Institute for Integrated Programmes and Research in Basic Sciences (IIRBS) MahatmaGandhiUniversity, Kottayam Programme Five Year Integrated Master of Science (Integrated M.Sc.) Preamble: A knowledge centre comprising of Sophisticated Instrumentation Facility, instructor-led classroom teaching and technology–enhanced learning techniques, first of this kind among the universities in Kerala, namely Institute for Integrated Programmes and Research in Basic Sciences (IIRBS), has been instituted directly under Mahatma Gandhi University in 2008. The Institute aimed to provide intellectual, instrumental as well as experimental support for pursuing excellence in basic science branches and is expected to contribute to the talent pool of researchers and specialized technicians. Subsequently, the Institute launched a Five year Integrated Interdisciplinary Master of Science (Chemistry, Physics and Biology) programme in the year 2009 for the students who completed their plus 2 with sciences and mathematics. Now, Mahatma Gandhi University is starting innovative Five Year integrated interdisciplinary Master of Science programmes in five disciplines in the academic year 2020-21, at Institute for Integrated Programmes and Research in Basic Sciences (IIRBS). This unique programme structure offers courses in basic science subjects (Physics, Chemistry and Life Sciences) along with Computer Science and Environmental Science. The curriculum is designed and framed in accordance with the CSS regulations of the University. However, due to the unique interdisciplinary nature of the programme, certain separate rules and regulations are applicable for these Integrated Master of Science Programmes. Therefore, the CSS rules and regulations of the University shall be applicable for those instances which are not mentioned in these regulations. RULES & REGULATIONS 1. Name of the Programme: Integrated Master of Science in appropriate disciplines. It shall be abbreviated as Integrated M.Sc. 2. Offered Disciplines: a) Chemistry (CH) b) Physics (PH) c) Life Sciences (LS) d) Computer Science(CS) e) Environmental Science(ES) 3. Duration:The duration of the Integrated M.Sc. programme shall be 5 years (10 Semesters). At the end of the programme a student shall be awarded the Integrated M.Sc. Degree in the discipline concerned. 4. Annual Student Intake: 20 students (4 each for five disciplines) 5. Training levels : There are mainly two levels of trainings, Foundation Level courses: All 20 students shall be trained in the first six semesters for the foundation level courses which shall be equivalent to the B.Sc. level programmes in their major disciplines. Advanced level courses: 4 students each from five disciplines shall be trained in the final four semesters for the advanced level courses which shall be equivalent to the M.Sc. level programmes in their major disciplines 6. Eligibility for Application: Students who have passed Plus-Two (+2) in Science stream with minimum 60% marks or equivalent grade are eligible for application. Relaxation in minimum marks for reservation categories shall be applicable as per the existing rules and orders issued by the university. 4 7. Mode of Selection: The admission to the programme shall be based on a national level common screening entrance test conducted by the university followed by an Interview. A rank list shall be prepared by giving weightage for the marks obtained for entrance examination and Interview in the 80:20 ratio, respectively. Allotment to various disciplines shall be based on the priority of the students in the rank list. Reservations and other admission procedure shall be followed as per University rules and orders. 8. Monitoring of the Programme: Academic activities of the Integrated programme shall be monitored and evaluated by an Institute Programme Advisory Committee (IPAC) which will be constituted by the Vice-Chancellor by including the faculty members of the University and other institutions (if required). The Honorary Director of the Institute shall acts as the convener of the IPAC. The IPAC shall also function as the faculty council of the Institute and pass board for finalizing the grades of the students in every semester. 9. Programme Over view: This programme follows 3+2 year pattern with initial six semesters of graduate (B.Sc.)level or Foundation level courses followed by four semesters of Post graduate (M.Sc.) level or Advanced level courses. At admission time, students shall be allotted to any one of the five ‘Major’ disciplines offered based on their merit and option. However, students shall be allowed to change their major discipline after completion of the first and second semesters, subject to the recommendation from IPAC and approved by the Vice- Chancellor. In such situations, the maximum number of students allotted to a particular discipline (CH/PH/LS/CS/ES) shall not exceed Ten (10) per batch. Such allotment to a discipline shall be based on the merit of the students, assessed through the combined results of the first and second semester examinations declared in the form of Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) at the end of the first year. 10. Course structure and highlights: A ‘major’ course means a course from the discipline in which a student gets admission. The curricula for first semester are completely common for all disciplines and all courses are mandatory. Second to fourth semesters consists of common/optional courses from the offering disciplines as well as general courses. Mathematics courses are spread across initial four semesters and is mandatory for all in the first semester . Manadatory English language courses form part of first and second semesters, while second language courses (either Malayalam, Hindi, Sanskrit, Arabic or French) are included in the third and fourth semesters. Option to choose an open course from integrated M.A. programme is provided in third semester. Fourth semester also consist of core and elective courses from the major discipline. Fifth and sixth semesters exclusively consist of core and elective courses from the opted discipline with a minor research project at end of the sixth semester. Seventh to tenth semester consist of advanced level courses in the major dsicpline Final (10th) semester is completely set aside for a major research project and followed by Viva- Voce. The major research project shall be done under the guidance of a supervising teahcer at IIRBS/statutory teaching schools of the university or under the guidance of an external supervisor at any national/international institutions of repute approved by the IPAC. Open course in the nineth semster shall be opted from any other teaching schools of the campus. Students shall be allowed to choose elective courses from SWAYAM or similar; instead of the offered electives or as an add on course. There shall be flexibility for Board of Studies/Expert Committee/IPAC for updating the content of course(s) and to include new open courses and elective courses depending upon the advancement 5 of knowledge in various disciplines. However this has to be got approved by the Vice-Chancellor before the commencement of the semester involving the course. 11. Credits: The total credit for Integrated M.Sc. programme shall be 200 for 10 semesters in which 120 credits for Foundation level (first six semesters) and 80 credits for Advanced level (last four semesters) courses. These credits shall be spread across core courses, electives, open courses, seminars and minor/major project/dissertation. However there shall be flexibility in the requirement of minimum/maximum credits for core and elective courses per semester as well as for whole programme. 12. Course code: Each course shall have a unique coding pattern with four abbreviated components including the following; Programme code (IMS) Course type (C-for core, E-for elective, O-for open course), Three digit course number in Arabic numerals in which fitst digit reperesents the semester