| Senate of Serampore College (University) | |
|---|---|
| Senate of Serampore | |
| Latin: Gloriam Sapientes Possidebunt | |
| Motto | The wise will possess glory |
| Established | 1818 |
| Type | University under Section 2 (f) of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956. |
| President | Bishop Isaac Mar Philoxenos |
| Location | Serampore, West Bengal, India |
| Campus | Semi-Urban |
The Senate of Serampore College (University) is located in Serampore Town, in Hooghly District, West Bengal, India.
Serampore was granted the status of university in 1829, making it India's first institution to have the status of a university.[1]
The college was founded by the missionaries Joshua Marshman, William Carey and William Ward (the Serampore trio), to give an education in Arts and Sciences to students of every "caste, colour or country" and to train a ministry for the growing Church in India (See: Christianity in India).
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The Senate of Serampore College (University) runs the academic administration of all its affiliated theological colleges. The Council of Serampore College holds a Danish Charter and had the power to confer degrees in any subject, which it currently exercises only for conferring theological degrees as recommended by the Senate.[2]
The present Master is the Rt.Revd.Dr.John S. Sadananda, Bishop of Karnataka Southern Diocese of the CSI.[3]
Several theological Colleges and Seminaries all over India including Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College.
King Frederick VI of Denmark originally granted a Royal Charter giving the Senate of Serampore College the status of a degree granting university[4]. The Senate of Serampore College (University) is a University within the meaning of Section 2 (f)[5] of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956[6] (as modified up to 20 December 1985).
In fact, Serampore was the first institution[7] to be given the status of a university in India.
It confers its own degrees in Theology under the power vested by the Charter and Act of Serampore College.
Since Serampore was then a Danish colony, King Frederick VI, the King of Denmark, issued Serampore College its Royal Charter of Incorporation on 23 February 1827, in Copenhagen, Denmark (Charter, 1, Charter, 2, Charter, 3). The charter came in response to Joshua Marshman's visit to King Frederick in August 1826; the charter gave Serampore College the privilege of awarding degrees in Arts and Theology. William Carey, Joshua Marshman, and John Clark Marshman (Joshua's son) were designated as members of the first Council. At its opening, the Trio released a prospectus which proposed "A College for the instruction of Asiatic Christian and other Youth in Eastern Literature and European Science." The College was open to all persons of any caste or creed, and the founders ensured that no denominational test would apply to faculty members. The charter has also been confirmed by the Bengal Govt Act. IV of 1918.
The status accorded by the Danish Charter has since been re-affirmed for the study of Theology[8] and now forms the basis for degrees of all levels conferred by over forty theological colleges throughout India, and is administered by the Senate.It was incorporated by Royal Charter of 1827 and Bengal Government Act. IV of 1918.
Presently, the Senate of Serampore College (University) restricts itself to award of degrees pertaining to theology.
The following are the degrees awarded to students through its affiliated colleges throughout India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka:
| Officers of the Senate |
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About 50 colleges are affiliated, including:
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