GCU Academic Council approves seven postgraduate programmes

Lahore: The Government College University, Lahore is initiating seven new postgraduate programmes this year which include two highly modern professional degree programmes, LL.M (Master of Laws) in Forensic Justice and MS in Child Guidance and Educational Counselling. The university’s Academic Council have approved the new programmes after detailed deliberations in its 15th Annual meeting which was chaired by Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Khaleeq-ur-Rahman.

The Academic Council also approved the courses, admission eligibility criteria, credit hours, number of seats, fee structure and other relevant rules and regulations for the new programmes which also include MSc Chemistry, MA Islamic Studies, certificate for professionals in Hypnosis and postgraduate diploma in child and adult psychotherapy.

“The new programmes are placed before the Academic Council after the approval from concerned board of studies and board of faculties where the detailed planning, modern courses, national and international scopes and market studies for the new programmes are also discussed,” said GCU Academic Council Secretary and Registrar Dr Muhammad Akhyar Farrukh .

Talking to media, Vice Chancellor Prof Rahman said that all arrangements and planning were completed and the new programmes would be initiated this year after the final approval by the university’s Syndicate. However, he said, that approval from the Pakistan Bar Council would also be taken for initiating the LL.M programme. He said that GAT would be mandatory for admission to LL.M in Forensic Justice.

He said that modern education had become complex and multidisciplinary and it was not possible for a single department of a university to possess all the knowledge, equipment, and techniques required, so this time the university’s, Political Science and Law departments had collaborated with the Chemistry Department, which was already offering MS Forensic Science, for launching a highly competitive, qualitative and international standard LL.M in Forensic Justice programme. The Academic Council also decided that LLM would be an evening programme so that professional practising lawyers could easily take admissions.

The Vice Chancellor said that the university had already successfully initiated 27 new programmes in the last three years which included PhD Computer Sciences, PhD Applied Physics, PhD Islamic Studies, MPhil Applied Physics, MS Industrial Psychology, MSc Physical Education and MS Geography. He said that scholarships, hostel accommodations, transport, laboratories, libraries, footpaths, classrooms, lecture theatres, meeting rooms, examination centres and other facilities were also increased and upgraded keeping in view the increasing number of students in wake of these new programmes.

The Academic Council also approved amendments and additions to the courses of various academic programmes including MPhil Environmental Sciences, MPhil Applied Physics, BSc (Hons) Biotechnology, BSc(Hons) Microbiology, BSc(Hons) Physics, BA (Hons) Punjabi  and MS Pharmaceutical Chemistry. Prof Rahman pledged that GCU would provide best faculty to teach the new programmes and courses. The Vice Chancellor also showed his firm resolve to initiate the law degree programme soon.