Department of Biotechnology at Himachal Pradesh University, Summer Hill, Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) was established in the year 1995 with major funding from state Government and Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology, Govt. of India. The major objective(s) of the department are:

•      Development of trained manpower in Biotechnology.

•      Research & Development activities related to development of Himachal Pradesh.

•      And to promote interaction between Biotechnology based industries and university.

The department is presently running both long-term as well as short-term Programmes. The long-term Programmes are M.Sc. Biotechnology teaching programme and Ph.D. in Biotechnology. The short-term programme involves research training of students from other Universities and Institutions. The department has identified the following thrust areas for research activities:

•          Study of microbial diversity

•          Enzyme and fermentation biotechnology

•         Exploration, characterization and novel properties of extremophiles

The major components of Department of Biotechnology are; Faculty, Research Staff, Office/Secretarial staff, Students body (Society of Biotechnologists) and Alumni.      

The Department of Biotechnology has presently faculty strength of six. The faculty is ably assisted by the research staff (7) and supporting staff (Superintendent [Office], Superintendent [Store] and a Steno typist). The Faculty includes Professor (1), Reader (1), Lecturers (3) and an Instrumentation Engineer. One of the faculty members was awarded a DAAD fellowship for year 2001-2002. The faculty has specialization in the following areas:

Master of Sciences in Biotechnology (M.Sc. Biotechnology)

The admission to the M.Sc. Biotechnology Programme of Himachal Pradesh University is made through an All India Combined Entrance Test (AICET) conducted by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi on behalf of Govt. of India, Department of Biotechnology, (DBT) for the twenty participating Universities throughout India

Semester 1         

Course 1:            Remedial course

           Course 2:            Biochemistry

            Course 3:            Microbiology

            Course 4:            Genetics and Molecular Biology

            Course 5:            Instrumental methods of Analysis

Semester 2         

Course 6:            Recombinant DNA Technology

Course 7:            Immunology and Immunotechnology

Course 8:         Cells and Tissue culture Techniques

Course 9:            Computer and Bioinformatics

Semester 3       

Course 10:            Biochemical Engineering

            Course 11:            Fermentation Technology

            Course 12:       Enzyme Technology           

Winter Training 

Semester 4           

Course 13:            Environmental Biotechnology

            Course 14:            Biobusiness Management

            Course 15:       Special Paper (Any One)

• (1)    Biocatalysis and Biotransformation
• (2)   Food Biotechnology
• (3)   Plant Biotechnology
• (4)   Animal Biotechnology 

Project Report, Seminar and Viva-Voce

Master of Philosophy  in Biotechnology (M.Phil. Biotechnology)

Semester 1

Course 1:           

Research Methodology, Scientific-Writing, Project Management in Biotechnology and BioindustryInternal Assessment                                                                

Course 2:         (One of the following options)                                               

1.      Bioprocess Technology

2.      Enzyme Technology

3.      Recombinant DNA- Technology

Internal Assessment    

Semester II

M.Phil. Dissertation evaluation (Through external examiner)          Viva-voce of Dissertation (Open)                                    

The Internal Assessment shall comprise (i) First House Examination (ii) Second House Examination of 10 marks each and (containing 20 multiple-choice questions of 0.5 marks each), & (iii) An Assignment of 5 marks in each course.

The students enrolling for the Ph.D. programme in Biotechnology are selected on the basis of any one of the following criteria:

1.               CSIR/UGC (NET) qualification.

2.               M.Phil. Degree obtained before Dec 31, 1993.

3.              Two publications in referred journals.

The Department has procured a total of 572 books out of the DBT and UGC grants. The subject/area breakup of collection of books is as follows:

In addition to above books, the Department of Biotechnology subscribes following journals in the area of Biotechnology:

Major equipment in the Department of Biotechnology:

  For detail contact the Chairman, Department of Biotechnology, H. P. University, Shimla-5. INDIA. [shimladbt@yahoo.co.in]