Sophia College for Women
(Empowered Autonomous)
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COLLEGE PROFILE


Introduction
Sophia College (autonomous), founded in 1940, is affiliated to the University of Mumbai. The Governing Body of the Society for the Higher Education of Women in India runs the College. The Religious Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and lay staff form the staff of the College.
The Society of the Sacred Heart was founded in France in 1800, by St. Madeleine Sophie Barat. It is dedicated mainly to the all-round education of youth. There are now a number of schools and colleges of the Society all over the world, besides widespread innovative non-formal involvements. According to a long-standing tradition, the staff takes a personal interest in the harmonious growth of each student entrusted to their care.

Sophia College (autonomous) is a Christian Minority Institution. Students of all denominations are welcome. The main goal of Sophia is the relentless search for Wisdom, through an education that is holistic and transformative.

Institutional Distinctiveness
A core principle of the college is the persistent search for wisdom, through a comprehensive education system that is relevant for the present as well as the future. Sophia College with its sprawling, and beautiful campus with rich diversity, sufficiently motivates one to engage with, appreciate and benefit from its galaxy of empowering attributes. An effort to get involved with the overall growth and well-being of our students is the purpose that we strive towards; this being one means by which our educational vision is taken forward.
Its our hope that through the varied assets of experiences here in Sophia College, everyone will find meaning, and that their lives may be positively transformed.
Dynamic campus experiences that call for healthy and enriching lifestyle would be one of our priorities. We will certainly adapt to changing situations. There will be scope for blended learning, and self-learning with support from teaching staff, experts and through various e-resources. Plans related to these will also continuously evolve; much depending on specific situations prevailing in India, Maharashtra and more specifically, in our city Mumbai.
Being a women’s college at the outset, Sophia College focuses more on the overall development and transformation of women to the rediscovery of their fuller potential through the holistic education that they engage in here. The best means for empowerment of women, we think, is to educate the young minds in our society especially the women themselves which enable them to transcend and outgrow the patriarchal and restrictive frames of our society. With this view, our college, through various activities like webinars, conferences, discussion forums, artistic, cultural, and theatre events provide adequate structures for students to explore their possibilities and grow beyond the gender restrictions and find themselves as individuals. Thus, we stand for wisdom that leads to discretionary ability to discern and decide between the proper and the improper.

Milestones in the History of Our College
During its 80 years Sophia has been committed to responding to the changing needs of women in our society:
During the 1940s, the period of the Freedom Struggle and the early years of Independence, the College focussed on Home Science as well as on the Arts and the Humanities. Stress was also laid on inculcating pride in our national identity.
(The motto of this College, Urdhva Mula, and the crest highlight this).
In the 1950s, as post-independent India was making her entry into the technological world, education in Science was first introduced (initially up to the Inter Science level and from 1967 up to the B.Sc. level, later extended to the M.Sc. level in three subjects).
In the 1960s a thrust was given to the social dimension of education.
During the 1970s importance was given to vocational education.
In the 1980s research was given a boost.
Excellence and ‘Quality Assurance' were the in-words in the 1990s.
In the first two decades of the 21st Century our focus is on transformative education through networking and collaboration as well as through outreach work and extension of educational services to the community with special emphasis on the needs of women.
Through it all, our commitment to women’s empowerment, to excellence and to integrity have grown deeper and stronger.

Down the corridors of time
A brief history of the Sophia College (autonomous)

  1. The campus and land in the vicinity belonged to the erstwhile East India Company. A part of the vast property was given to the Parsi family of Ashburner in the early 19th Century
  2. The main building was named SOMERSET HOUSE after Sir Henry Somerset one of the Commanders-in-chief of the Bombay Presidency.
  3. 1800 –The Society of the Sacred Heart is founded by Madeleine Sophie Barat.
  4. 1882 – The property was acquired by the Honorable Badruddin Tyabi. He built Somerset Annexe the nucleus of the present science building.
  5. 1917 – Mr. Hormusji Nosherwanjee Vakeel bought the property and added the east-west wing.
  6. 1923 – The house was purchased by the Maharaja of Indore, who used it as a winter residence.
  7. 1937 – The Maharaja of Bhavnagar bought the house.
  8. 1939 – His Grace Archbishop Roberts S. J. of Bombay invites the Sacred Heart nuns to start a women's college in Bombay.
  9. 1940 – The Society of the Sacred Heart bought the Somerset House, Somerset Annexe, some out-houses and the grounds.
  10. 1940 – The Home and Social Culture centre is formally declared open by His Grace Archbishop Roberts and the name Sophia College (autonomous) (AUTONOMOUS) is adopted; Mother Andersson is the first principal.
  11. 1941 – The ARTS FACULTY is started. The University of Bombay grants temporary affiliation to the college for First year and Intermediate classes.
  12. 1942 – Extension of affiliation is granted for Bachelor of Arts classes.
  13. 1945 – Sophia motto, crest and colours adopted.
  14. 1950 – The University of Bombay grants permanent affiliation to the college.
  15. 1952 – THE SCIENCE FACULTY is started with classes upto the Intermediate Science level.
  16. 1966 – THE SILVER JUBILEE YEAR : The Intermediate Science course is extended upto the Bachelor of Science degree
  17. 1975 – Junior college is introduced.
  18. 1978 – The Post graduate Diploma Course in Clinical Analysis is started.
  19. 1990-91 – THE GOLDEN JUBILEE YEAR
  20. 1993 – The Post graduate Diploma course in Quality Assurance in the Food and Pharmaceutical Industries is introduced.
  21. 2001 – The Sophia Centre for Women's Studies and Development is inaugurated.
  22. 2003 – The Bachelor of MASS MEDIA Course is introduced.
  23. 2011 - Certificate Course in Bioinformatics is introduced.
  24. 2011 - PhD Programme in Applied Biology is introduced.
  25. 2013 - Bachelor of Science - Information Technology is introduced.
  26. 2018 – College was granted status of Autonomy.

Organogram

Dean & Administrator

Dr. (Sr.) Ananda Amritmahal

Dr. (Sr.) Ananda Amritmahal brings distinguished scholarship, and a wealth of experience in higher education through her roles as Dean and Administrator of Sophia College for Women (Autonomous). Her appointment strengthens the long-standing commitment of the college to women’s education and the pursuit of excellence, through a rich, achievement-oriented, campus culture. Sister Ananda has been instrumental in enhancing the reputation of the college and in fostering collaborations.
Sister Ananda was formerly Principal of Sophia College, and Associate Professor and Head of the Department of English. She is also the Honorary Director of the Sophia Centre for Women’s Studies and Development. During her tenure as Principal, the college received several accolades, which include achieving the exceptionally high NAAC score of 3.70 on a scale of 4. It is also under Sister Ananda’s leadership that the college had the distinction of applying for, and securing autonomy in July 2018. All through her academic career, Sister Ananda has demonstrated a strong commitment to teaching while also continuing a robust engagement with research and exploration.
A seasoned academician with commendable contribution to Women’s Studies, Sister Ananda’s publications include her book, Relatedness and Resistance: A Feminist Critical Analysis of Some Indian Women Writers, as well as several research papers in reputed journals. She is very often invited as a guest speaker and resource person for academic courses, training programmes and workshops. She was awarded the Smt. Savitridevi Phule Adarsh Shikshika Puraskar (prize for exemplary teachers) on 26th January 2008, by the University of Mumbai, for her contribution to the field of women’s education and empowerment. Dr (Sr) Ananda Amritmahal was awarded the prestigious Fulbright Teaching Fellowship as Visiting Lecturer at Loyola University, Chicago for the spring semester of 2012 and she was also appointed the Gannon Visiting Research Scholar at Loyola during the same period.
Her areas of specialisation are Women’s Writing, Feminist Literary Criticism, and Indian Writing in English. Her doctoral thesis was on “Feminist Critical Perspectives on Indian Women’s Writing, with special reference to Shashi Deshpande and Mahasweta Devi”. Her other research interests include women mystic poets, Children’s Literature, and the place of myth and fantasy in shaping our responses to life. She is actively interested in Feminist Theology and Scripture reading. She brings all these varied interests and her rich experience of higher education to her work as Dean and Administrator of the College.

Total number of students from 2014 to 2021

Class Intake capacity 2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018 2018-2019 2019-2020 2020-2021
SYBA 480 345 391 408 396 412 388 454
TYBA 360 243 248 291 292 297 353 418
SYBSc. 120 109 106 105 106 108 110 81
TYBSc. 102 102 102 104 105 109 109 75
SYBMM 72 64 68 68 67 64 70 66
TYBMM 72 56 65 68 64 65 64 70
FYBSc. (IT) 60 48 49 45 42 37 39 43
SYBSc. (IT) 60 35 36 43 46 41 35 37
TYBSc. (IT) 60 0 34 32 52 43 42 38
M.Sc. Part I 35 34 34 35 35 35 35 35
M.Sc. Part II 35 34 33 34 34 35 34 35
Class 2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018
FYBA Actuals lntake capacity Actuals lntake capacity Actuals lntake capacity Actuals
FYBA 520 500 528 500 516 515 516 489
FYBSc 138 125 132 125 138 152 138 120
FYBMM 69 66 72 72 72 72 72 72
2018-2019 2019-2020 2020-2021
lntake capacity Actuals lntake capacity Actuals lntake capacity Actuals
530 480 530 494 530 520
138 120 144 89 120 63
72 60 72 72 72 71

Total Number of staff

Sr. No Details Sanctioned Posts Filled Posts Vacant Posts filled on Ad-hoc basis by the Management
1 Teaching 51 37 10
2 NonTeaching 49 38 10

College Infrastructure

Sr.

No.

Room/Hall No.

Designation of the Room/Hall

Area of the

Room/Hall

1

Admin

Admin Office

239.132 sq.ft

2

Library

Library

5433.25sq.ft

3

A.V. back

Audio Visual room (back)

750 sq.ft

4

A.V. front

Audio Visual room (front)

750 sq.ft

5

29

classroom

180 sq.ft

6

28 A

classroom

580 sq.ft

7

28

classroom

600 sq.ft

8

27

classroom (science building)

1200 sq.ft

9

26

classroom (science building)

360 sq,ft

10

25

classroom (science building)

500 sq.ft

11

24

classroom (science building)

1200 sq.ft

12

23

classroom (science building)

900 sq.ft

13

22

classroom (science building)

390 sq.ft

14

21

classroom (science building)

900 sq.ft

15

Sci. Aud

Science Auditorium

1600

16

37

IT classroom

750 sq.ft

17

36

IT classroom

750

18

35

classroom

2000 sq.ft

19

34

classroom

300sq.ft

20

33

classroom

400 sq.ft

21

32

classroom

400 sq.ft

22

31

classroom

1000 sq.ft

23

30

classroom

1000 sq.ft

24

A.V.

Audio Visual Hall

2000 sq.ft

25

20

classroom

240 sq.ft

26

20

classroom

240 sq.ft


 

27

19

classroom

240 sq.ft

28

18

classroom

240 sq.ft

29

15

classroom

681 sq.ft

30

14

classroom

678 sq.ft

31

13

classroom

760 sq.ft

32

12

classroom

804 sq.ft

33

11

classroom

804 sq.ft

34

10

classroom

805 sq.ft

35

9

classroom

483 sq.ft

36

8

classroom

236 sq.ft

37

7

classroom

234 sq.ft

38

6

classroom

286 sq.ft

39

5

classroom

172 sq.ft

40

4

classroom

885 sq.ft

41

3

classroom

1150 sq.ft

42

2

classroom

17211.37

43

1

classroom

1205 sq.ft

 

CUC: THE COLLEGE UNION COMMITTEE

The Sophia College Students' Association was originally started in July 1944 as it was felt necessary and expedient that there should be an organisation where students could develop the qualities of leadership and inculcate a spirit of democracy.

The CUC or the ‘College Union Committee’ is the body which is completely elected and/or nominated by the students of Sophia College (Autonomous). It comprises Class Representatives (CRs), Club Secretaries, Cultural Committee (PRISM) leaders, and the Public Relations Team. It is headed by a Core team which includes the Student Body President, Cultural Secretary, General Secretary and Treasurer. The Principal, Coordinator of Students, and College Warden are ex-officio members and act as advisors without the right to vote.

The CUC seamlessly adapts to any situation which is faced by the students. The CUC is directly or indirectly in charge of all the extracurricular activities that take place in Sophia College (Autonomous). The numerous clubs and associations create enriching opportunities for students on campus all year round. The CUC organises and assists the organisation and implementation of any activity that comes under the purview of Sophia College (autonomous) such as Teacher’s Day, College Day, Convocation etc.

The CUC plays a monumental role in bridging the gap between the students and the College. The Core Members of the CUC are also a part of various college committees, such as the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC), Grievance Committee, Placement Cell, Kaleidoscope etc, which ensures appropriate representation of the student's voice at every stage.

The College Union Committee is a force to be reckoned with, which strives to uphold Sophia ethos and values. Being a part of this committee is considered to be one of the most prestigious positions that a student can hold in the college.