The Department of Geography was established in 1995. The first College Service Commission (CSC) appointed faculty Dr. Panchali Majumdar joined the department in July, 1996 along with Smt. Bulbul Chakraborty, as the laboratory attendant. Honours course was started in 1997 owing to the high demand. The first Geography Honours batch completed their course in the year 2000 under the University of Calcutta and a good percentage of students were awarded 1st class degrees almost every year since. With the creation of West Bengal State University (WBSU) in 2008, the affiliation of the college (and hence, the department) was transferred to the new university. Dr. Sukla Hazra, the former principal, actively continued teaching and research in geography from 2005 to 2022. CSC substantive post faculties Dr. Pinaki Sarkar and Dr. Anwesha Haldar joined the department in 2005 and 2020 respectively. Today, the department has a faculty strength of 5 full-time faculties, with Mr. Rajarshi Dasgupta and Mrs. Subhasree Singha Roy Chatterjee as State Aided College Teachers, several professors and subject experts as visiting faculties, and one skilled laboratory assistant, Mr. Subhendu Singha. Currently, the department offers B.Sc. Honours and General courses in Geography, affiliated to WBSU, at the undergraduate level. Postgraduate courses (M.Sc./M.A.) in Geography was started, initially 2014-2016 through the Directorate of Distance Education, Vidyasagar University (DDE, VU), Medinipur, and from 2016 in regular mode, approved and affiliated by WBSU. In addition to these full-time academic programs, the department also offers certificate courses in Geospatial Science, and Climate Science.
Being a post-graduate department, the quality of lectures and preparation for higher education is taken on from the graduation level. Exposures to academic discussions have encouraged students to find interest in the subject. Eminent professors associated with the department includes Prof. Dr. Mamata Desai (Rtd. Director, Netaji Institute of Asian Studies), Prof. Dr. Subir Sarkar (Rtd. Dept. of Geography, North Bengal University), Prof. Dr. Lakshmi Sivaramakrishnan (Rtd. Dept. of Geography, Jadavpur University), Prof. Dr. Sumana Bandopadhyay (Head, Dept. of Geography, University of Calcutta), Prof. Dr. Sunando Bandopadhyay (Dept. of Geography, University of Calcutta), Prof. Dr. Sunil Kumar De (Dept. of Geography, North Eastern Hill University, President, International Association of Geomorphologists), Prof. Dr. Subhamita Chaudhuri (Head, Dept. of Geography, WBSU), Prof. Dr. Lakshminarayan Satpati (Director, UGC-MMTTC, University of Calcutta), Prof. Dr. Sanat Kumar Guchhait (Dept. of Geography, The University of Burdwan), Prof. Dr. Sukla Basu (Dept. of Rural Studies, WBSU), Prof. Dr. Soumendu Chatterjee (Dept. of Geography, Presidency University), Prof. Dr. Azizur Rahman Siddiqui (Dept. of Geography, University of Allahabad), Prof. Dr. Pradip Sikdar (IISWBM, University of Calcutta), Prof. Dr. A.K.M. Anwaruzzaman (Dept. of Geography, Aliah University), Prof. Dr. Tarun Mondal (Dept. of Geography, Kalyani University), Prof. Dr. Abhay Shankar Sahu (Dept. of Geography, Kalyani University) and Prof. Dr. Sujit Mandal (Dept. of Geography, Diamond Harbour Women's University) among others.
Dr. Kalyan Rudra, (Chairman, West Bengal Pollution Control Board) and a former faculty of Geography has been a constant advisor in the departmental activities. The students have received specialized trainings and have participated in several environmental awareness programs from the organization. The students regularly participate in WBPCB programs. The department frequently hosts special lectures and seminar with resource persons of national and international repute. In the last academic session, noteworthy special lecturers by the esteemed resource persons such as Prof. Dr. Dipendra Nath Das (Professor, Centre for the Study of Regional Development, School of Social Sciences & Rector-II, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi), Dr. Raktim Ray (Lecturer & Director of Studies Bartlett Development Planning Unit, University College London, UK), Dr. Tapati Banerjee (former Principal scientist, ICAR-NBSSLU and former Director, NATMO), Dr. Rimi Roy (Principal, Vivekananda College, Madhyamgram), Dr. Chinmoyee Mallik (Assistant Professor, Dept. of Geography, WBSU) and Dr. Chandan Surabhi Das (Associate Professor, Dept. of Geography, Darjeeling Government College) highly benefitted the UG & PG students. The department also organizes regular workshops on various topics of relevance in geography, environment and geospatial sciences. The department collaborates with the Indian National Cartographic Association (INCA), ISRO Regional Remote Sensing Centre - East (RRSC-East) in Kolkata and National Atlas and Thematic Mapping Organization (NATMO) to celebrate National Cartography Day and conduct Inter-School Map Quiz for school students. Workshops and trainings are conducted for School Teachers to support them in upgrading and preparing for the modern challenges.
The department awards prizes to the students who secure the highest marks in the Honours and Post-graduate programs. Research is an integral part of the department and it has attracted Junior Research Fellows (JRFs) to pursue their Ph.D. course in this department. So far, three research scholars has been awarded the Ph.D. degree by WBSU from this department and further three are to submit their thesis. Our faculties, students and ex-students regularly present their research in national and international conferences, seminars and workshops. They have published in several prestigious journals and book chapters in leading international publishing houses. The department boasts of a published edited volume where all the faculty members together collaboratively edited a book titled “Geographies of the Indian Subcontinent: Cutting-edge methods in 21st Century Research” published by Springer in 2024.
Peer learning, ‘earn-while-you-learn’, healthy debates and discussions are encouraged among the students of geography, with active involvement of the alumni and support of the teaching staff. Students also take part in several extra-curricular activities, including poster competitions, quizzes, cultural programs and art and craft sessions. These have led them to take on their skills in entrepreneurships in cake baking, handicraft and jewellery making etc. Most UG students go on to higher education, while many others have been enrolled in trainings, professional courses, and few are well established in the job market with respectable designations in government and private sectors. Six of the recent PG students have cleared the UGC-NET and wishes to pursue a Ph.D. degree while one has enrolled and another has been recently awarded a Ph.D. Others are either employed or are entrepreneurs themselves. Additionally, several of our students are involved with NGOs and philanthropic work.
The Department of Geography, East Calcutta Girls’ College believes in education for girl-child is not only a necessity for their own self-sufficiency, but also to become responsible citizens of India by helping others to learn. Hence the department actively strives to foster an inclusive environment for holistic development of the students.
