Established in the year 1947, Stella Maris College is an autonomous Catholic institute of higher education for women. It is located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The college was founded by Mother Mary of Passion in the year 1877 and is managed by the Sisters of the Institute of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary. The college is affiliated to the University of Madras. The College has an enrollment of nearly 5,500 students from diverse backgrounds, communities and nations. It has been accredited with an ‘A’ Grade by NAAC.

It provides both undergraduate as well as postgraduate courses. For UG, various specialisations like History & Tourism, Sociology, English, Maths, Physics, Visual Arts, Commerce, Accounting, etc are available. For PG, specialisations like Mathematics, Economics, English, Fine Arts, Social Work, are being offered by the institute.

Stella Maris College Highlights

Established | Type 1947 | Autonomous
Affiliated With University of Madras, Chennai
Recognised By UGC (University Grants Commission) NAAC
Courses Offered BA, BSc, BCom, BCA, B.Voc, MA, MSc, MSW, MPhil, PhD
Admission Mode Merit as well as Entrance Based
Official Website Stella Maris College
Facilities Available Hostel, Library, WiFi, Cafeteria Partnership with foreign Universities

Stella Maris College Rankings

Stella Maris College is well rated by several college ranking bodies. A glimpse for the same be found below:

BODY/ INSTITUTION RANKING YEAR
Indiatoday 13 for Arts 2020
India Today 8 for Science 2020
India Today 16 for Commerce 2020
Outlook 7 for Overall 2020
Outlook 18 for Commerce 2020
The Week 11 for Commerce 2020

Stella Maris College Courses

The college provides 25 specialisations under six branches in undergraduate programmes having three shifts, 15 specialisations under five branches in postgraduate programmes having two shifts with Masters in Philosophy and PhD. The following table depicts the most popular courses of the college –

COURSE DETAILS
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
  • Duration – 3 years
  • Specialisation Offered – History & Tourism, Sociology, Economics, English and Communication Skills.
  • Operated in 2 shifts i.e. Morning and Afternoon
  • Eligibility – Candidate must have qualified 10+2 from a recognised education board.
Bachelor of Science (BSc)
  • Duration – 3 Years
  • Specialisation Offered – Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Plant Biology, Advanced Zoology and Psychology
  • Operated in 2 shifts i.e. Morning and Afternoon
  • Eligibility – Candidate must have passed 10+2 from a recognised board and shall have PCM as their core subjects in 12th.
Bachelor of Commerce (BCom)
  • Duration – 3 Years
  • Specialisation Offered – Commerce, Corporate Secretaryship, Accounting and Finance, Hons.
  • Operated in 2 shifts i.e. Morning and Afternoon
  • Eligibility – Candidate must have passed 10+2 from a recognised board having a commerce background.
Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA)
  • Duration – 4 Years
  • Specialisation Offered – Art or Design
  • Eligibility – Candidate must have passed 10+2 from any recognised board.
Masters of Science (M. Sc.)
  • Duration – 2 Years
  • Specialisation Offered – Mathematics, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology, IT, Physics and Chemistry
  • Eligibility – Candidate must have any of the following bachelor’s degree in disciplines of Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Computer Science, Microbiology, Agriculture, Nutrition and Dietetics, B.V.Sc., M.B.B.S., B.D.S. and B.E. or equivalent as accepted by the University of Madras.
Masters in Arts (MA)
  • Duration – 2 Years
  • Specialisation Offered – Economics, English, History of Fine Arts, International Studies, Public Relations and HRM
  • Eligibility – Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree.
Masters in Philosophy (M. Phil)
  • Duration – 1 Year
  • Specialisation Offered – Economics, Mathematics, English, Fine Arts and Social Work.
  • Eligibility – Candidates must have completed their post-graduation in the respective specialisations.

Stella Maris College Admissions

For most of the UG courses, one must have passed 10+2 with the minimum required score. Similarly, for PG programmes, one should have a bachelor’s degree. For getting enrolled into BA (English) course and PG programmes, one must qualify the entrance examination for the same. For courses like BVA, one shall have to appear for an aptitude test which will be based on drawing and designing.

How to Apply?

  • The application form of the college is available online and can be found on the official website of the college.
  • Application forms for admission to the M.Phil. and PhD. Degree Programmes are issued by the University of Madras.
  • Applicants have to pay the application fee through Internet banking, credit/debit card only.
  • Applicants shall have to fill out all the basic and necessary details such as personal information, educational background and other qualifications appropriately.
  • The candidates who get shortlisted will be called upon for the interview. Hence, the final selection will depend upon the overall performance of the candidate.

Stella Maris College Placements

The college has a dedication placement and career guidance cells that conduct recruitment drives every year. The Cell invites big MNCs on-campus recruitment drives to give maximum job opportunities to the students. The name of top recruiters are listed below:

  • Deloitte US
  • Pearson Test of English Academic
  • Ernst & Young GDS
  • McKinsey Global Services
  • KPMG
  • Paper True
  • Deloitte India
  • Barclays Bank
  • ICICI Bank
  • Wipro Ltd
  • Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)
  • Yes Bank

Here’s a tabular representation of all the big firms which recruited students of Stella Maris and their average CTC in the past few years.

COMPANY NAME AVERAGE SALARY
Axis Bank INR 370000 per annum
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) INR 270000 per annum
Ernst & Young INR 455000 per annum
HCL Technologies INR 215000 per annum

Stella Maris College Scholarships

The college provides various types of scholarships to worthy candidates. The scholarships are government based namely,

  1. SC/ST Special Scholarship
  2. OBC Scholarship
  3. Arunachal Pradesh Award of Stipend
  4. Minority Scholarship
  5. MBC Scholarship and,
  6. Chief Minister’s Prize Money Award.

There are also private scholarships available for the students at SMC funded by –

  • Maharani Vidyavathi Devi of Vizhiyanagaram Trust
  • UDIS Forum
  • Shri K R Sundarajan Charities from Meenakshi College for Women
  • Sree Venkateswara Students Hostel
  • Sri Sai Trust
  • The Tamil Nadu Education Trust
  • Shri M Bhaktavatsalam Centenary Celebration Committee Trust

Source:Stella Maris College

Stella Maris College Facilities

The college has several facilities that offer much more convenience to the students. Following is a list for the same –

  • Library: The library of the college is located in a two-storey building and is fully automated with a wide collection of the latest books, periodicals and CDs. There are 112367 books and 9953 journals and e-journals in it. The Library functions in a networked environment and maintains three servers and over 60 PCs to support its various operations and services. The top floor of the building houses the Postgraduate Library and the research cubicles. The library is open every day except for Sundays and the working hours are 8 am to 6 pm.
  • Hostels: There are around five hostels affiliated with the college with a limited number of seats. Hostel applications are to be submitted along with the course application form. The names of the hostels are Our Lady’s Hostel, St. Joseph’s Hostel, Nava Nirmana Hostel, Klemens Hostel and Snehalaya Hostel.
  • Banking Services: There is an Indian Overseas Bank branch within the campus that offers banking and other related facilities to the students, for instance, an ATM.
  • Extracurricular Activities such as NSS, NCC and Social Awareness Programme.

Stella Maris College Faculty

The college has a faculty strength of 264 members with most of them holding a PhD degree. As per a review from one of the students “The teachers are very helpful and well qualified. They conducted several assessments to improve our skills in various aspects as a part of the curriculum.” There are 27 Heads of Departments in the college.

Stella Maris College FAQs

Ques. Is there any reservation of seats in the Stella Maris College?

Ans. Yes, about fifty per cent of the seats are reserved for the minority Catholic community as it is an autonomous Catholic institute.

Ques. Is Stella Maris or MCC a better college?

Ans. Both are equally good in terms of academics and will give you a good platform to explore extracurricular activities as well. Although, SMC is more disciplined as compared to MCC.

Ques. Are cell phones allowed inside the campus?

Ans. Yes, cell phones are allowed inside the campus but you can not use them while any learning activity. If caught, a fine of INR 2000 is applicable.

Ques. What types of questions are asked in the interview for admission?

Ans. It always keeps changing but the crux of it would be prepared for questions like why do you want to join SMC, what are your plans to pursue, what course shall you be going for and why, etc.

Ques. What is the difference between aided and self-financing programmes at Stella Maris College?

Ans. Aided programmes are maintained by the government through fee subsidies. On the other hand, self-financing are those programmes which are relatively costly and hence the cost of the same will have to be borne by the students.