Thapar University's Review and Verdict

Thapar University, now renamed Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, is NAAC A+ grade Deemed to be University. Thapar University was established in the year 1956 and is amongst the oldest universities  in India. The campus size of this university is 250 acre. It offers various courses such as B.E, B.Tech, BE+MBA, M.E, M.Tech, M.Sc, MA, MBA, MCA, and PhD. The university has secured a spot in the prestigious NIRF Ranking 2023 in various categories. It was ranked 40th in the overall category, 20th in the engineering category and 22nd in the university category. Apart from this ranking, the university has also managed to garner a stellar reputation internationally as it has been ranked  in “601-800” band, worldwide in the Times Higher Education World University Ranking 2023. It has also been accredited by NBA. The engineering programmes have also received the ABET accreditation.

The average package offered to the students in the year 2022 was  Rs.11.93 LPA while the highest is Rs. 55.45 LPA. Some of the top recruiters from Thapar University are J.P. Morgan, ICICI Bank, CISCO, Deloitte, Amazon, HSBC, Tata Motors etc. 

These facts do not make it as perfect as it sounds. There are also prominent challenges that the university grapples with. The increasing size of the batch makes it overcrowded and the fee charged is quite high. Many students have expressed this concern on various online platforms. The total number of students in the year 2023 was 12,030 and the university has projected that in the year 2025 this number will go up to 14,000. With such huge numbers there should be a plan to increase the faculty count on which the university is not focussing. The faculty student ratio at Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology is 16:1. Let’s find out the various pros and cons of Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology given here in this article.

Thapar University NIRF Ranking: Journey From Good to Great 

Along with these NIRF Ranking, there are certain more rankings for Thapar University which are mentioned below. 

• It ranked among 1001-1200 in the QS World University Ranking in 2023
• It has been ranked  in “601-800” band, worldwide in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023.
• 160th position in the Times Higher Education Emerging Economies Rankings 2022. 
• 144th position in Asia in the Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2021. 

Our Take:
The observation which can be derived from the above-mentioned information is that the ranking of Thapar University has improved significantly. The NIRF Ranking 2023 has shown improvement in University, Management, Engineering and Overall categories from the previous year. This improvement shows that the institution is consistently evolving and putting more effort into making this place better for knowledge sharing and research. 

Thapar University Accreditations and Collaboration

• National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), UGC 
• Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) 
• National Board of Accreditation (NBA) 

To educate the students of Thapar University it has collaborated with various international institutions so that candidates can get international exposure and accordingly they can prepare for their career. The campus has international collaborations with Trinity College Dublin, University of Twente, University of Texas Dallas (US), The University of Queensland, Australia and University of New South Wales. 

Our Take:
The campus has been awarded NAAC A+ which itself speaks about the quality of education it is delivering. It also clearly shows that Thapar University has performed well in all the parameters that are taken into consideration for this prestigious accreditation. Along with this, ABET and NBA accreditation has also added to  the value and credibility of the campus. To educate the students of Thapar University at the global level the campus has collaborated with international universities and it is helping students for knowledge sharing and learning new technologies. 

Thapar University Academia and Batch Size

Thapar University offers various courses and some of the important features adopted by Thapar University are a semester-wise credit system, Choice Based Credit System (CBCS), letter grades, continuous evaluation of the student’s performance, and course-wise promotion. This process helps the students in choosing courses and accordingly pursue their education with their capacity and interest. 

Thapar University admission is done in two ways, 50% of seats will be filled by the candidates on the basis of their performance in the entrance exam and the other 50% of seats are to be filled on the basis of the merit of the qualifying  exam. The campus accepts JEE Main, GATE, NEET, CAT, MAT, GMAT, and CMAT exams for admission. 

Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology provides its educational programmes through three distinct units - centres (13), departments (10) and schools (7). They are primarily designed to fulfill the academic requirements of the campus

Thapar University Schools

• L. M. Thapar School of Management 
• School of Humanities & Social Sciences 
• School of Mathematics 
• School of Physics & Materials Science 
• Thapar School of Liberal Arts & Sciences (TSLAS)
• School of Chemistry & Biochemistry (DST-FIST Sponsored) 
• School of Energy and Environment (DST-FIST Sponsered) 

Thapar University Departments

• Computer Science & Engineering
• Department of Biotechnology
• Distance Education (DDE)
• Electrical & Instrumentation Engineering
• Electronics & Communication Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering Department
• Basic & Engineering Sciences (Dera Bassi Campus)
• Chemical Engineering
• Civil Engineering

Thapar University Centres

• Alumni Relations link
• Center for Industrial Liasion & Placement
• Center of Excellence in Emerging Materials
• Central Workshop
• Centre for Academic Practices and Student Learning
• Centre for Training & Development
• Centre of Information and Technology Management
• Disability Resource Centre
• Experiential Learning Centre
• Nava Nalanda Central Library
• Science & Technology Entrepreneur's Park
• TIFAC Core In Agro-Industrial BioTechnology
• Venture Lab

Batch Size

The batch size of Thapar University vary across various programmes offered by the university. Here is the course wise batch size of Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology.

Thapar University Batch Size

Our Take:
Thapar University is amongst the largest campuses in North India as it has a substantial number of students. The campus follows various modus operandi for grading and marking for the students which makes it unique from others. One of the USPs of  the campus is that it has created different schools to cater quality education for different disciplines i.e. engineering, liberal arts, mathematics, science and medical and individually they are progressing and helping in the progress of this university.    

The batch size of all the courses exceeds the number of approved intake at Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology. This shows that every year more number of students enroll to the programmes offered at this university. But one important aspect to be considered here is to have a balanced teacher is to student ratio so that the individual needs of the students can be catered. The student faculty ratio of the university is 16:1 which is not a great figure. In order to ensure a rich academic experience for the students, the university must increase the faculty size. 

Thapar University Courses & Fees

Thapar University offers a total of 56 courses. There are various UG, PG and PhD level courses offered by the institution. The details of some of the Thapar University courses and their first-year fees are mentioned below.

Our Take:
One of the most talked about issues of Thapar University is its course fees. Students have opined that the fee charged for each course is comparatively higher that other colleges and universities located in Punjab. Students and parents have expressed their views on the high fees on Quora and have said that this will ultimately close the doors for meritorious students who come from a weaker economic backgrounds. Students coming from financially affluent families can easily get admissions here as the batch size increases every year. The university must consider this thing and reassess its fee structure so that the financial barries for meritorious students is removed and it has talented students fully capable of pursuing their academic aspirations. 

Thapar University Faculty

The foundation of a good university is laid on the basis of the quality of education and faculties. Thapar University faculties are recruited through rigorous academic procedures and that’s why they skill the students in the best manner. There are around 400 plus faculty members on the campus who teach in different departments and educate the students. 

Dr. Seema Bawa 

                                            Dean Outreach and Professor

Our Take:
Though the number of faculties who teach at Thapar University is more than 400, if we compare it with the ideal student and faculty ratio then it should be lower than 1:15. Since the number of students are much more than the number of faculty and the ratio is 1:16, the campus needs to find a solution for this.  

Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology Infrastructure

Spread across 250 acres, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology boasts about its world class infrastructure. It has various infrastructural facilities for its students such as well equipped laboratories, hostels, cafeteria, saloon, grocery shop, stationery shop, ATM, smart classrooms, library and many more. The university says that it will also construct new academic buildings and hostels by 2025. Now let’s have a look at the infrastructure of Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology.

Thapar University Hostel

There are 16 hostels on the campus. Out of them, 9 are for boys and 7 are for girls. and it has facilities like water coolers, water purifiers, a washing machine, a common TV room, and a common gym. The hostel fees vary between Rs. 37,000 to 57,000 per semester while the mess fee is 16,800 per semester. 

Thapar University Sports Facilities

The institute boasts for its sports facilities including the  state-of-the-art facilities such as an international-standard synthetic athletic track, basketball court, synthetic tennis court, and indoor badminton court. These amenities are designed to inspire students to actively engage in various sports and activities. Along with this, there are some other infrastructural facilities i.e. tennis court, lawn tennis court, cricket ground, football ground, hockey ground, badminton hall, chess room, and yoga room.  

The sports department of Thapar University organises various sporting events like Thaparlympics, Inter year competition, Inter Hostel Games (IGNITE) and ‘URJA’ (A National level tournament) etc.

Thapar University Classrooms and Seminar Halls

The university has a total of 133 classrooms and seminar halls. All classrooms at Thapar University are ICT-enabled and equipped with smart boards, audio-video recording facilities, wifi etc. Furthermore, the university department-based computer centres with over 2604 computers with modern hardware and software for students. 

Thapar University Library

The university central library, Nav Nalanda Central Library is a five-storied building with a seating capacity of 800. The library has more than 1.45 lakh books, 3316 thesis, 4381 print standards, 13004 bound volumes and subscriptions to 13 newspapers. The university also has a digital library that can be accessed by students 24x7. The e-library has more than 2 lakh books, 12,000+ journals and various other reading materials. 

Thapar University Students' Welfare

The campus has created the Students Consultative Committee (SCC) in order to take feedback from their students. The committee has representatives including college officials as well as 200 students from various disciplines. SCC holds a meeting at least twice a semester. It has also created a counselling cell under which different services are provided to the students. 

Thapar Institute Counselling Cell (TICC) Services

• Counselling Services
• Academic Services
• Crisis Services
• Outreach Services
• Referral Services

Our Take:

Thappar University has extensive infrastructure that enhances the educational journey of the students. The classrooms facilitates interactive learning of the students. The Nava Nalanda Central Library is gigantic and is built in 7182 square meters. The campus is vibrant and extra curricular activities are organised throughout the year. The university provide on campus residential facilities to its students. However students have given a mixed review about the hostels at Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology. They have said that the facilities are great but the hostel charges are quite high. The hostel charges per semester ranges from Rs 26,000 to Rs 46,000 per semester.

Thapar University Alumni

The alumni of the university are the most valuable asset. The alumni of this university proudly call themselves as Thaparian. The campus has an official database of around 24,000 alumni. Going by the records the students from Thapar University are placed in top MNCs as well as in top government departments as IAS, IPS and IFS. The campus organises various alumni meets such as Alumni /Founders Day each year in October to facilitate their alumni. The details of some of the alumni are given below.

Our Take:
Thapar University has a legacy of more than 50 years. The statistics about the alumni of the campus states that the university has a robust alumni network.  

Thapar University Placement Statistics

The university ensures that its students have a promising career opportunities. It organises placement drive every year where various companies along with top tier companies take part. As per the placement report for various years we can analyse that the total number of job offers have been consistently increasing. Let’s have a look at the data regarding Thapar University placement.

Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology Placement Trends

Thapar University Top Recruiters

Thapar University Internship

The campus provides internship and industrial training to the students. In the year 2022,  365 students got the internship while previously 352 students in 2021 and 316 students in 2020 bagged the internship offers.  For most of the students, the stipend amount ranges between Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 30,000. Some of the top recruiters for internships are Samsung, Smart Energy Water, Mentor Graphics, Nagarro, Ericsson etc.   

Thapar University Internship  2022

Our Take:  

As per the placement reports of Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, a diverse array of job opportunities are offered to the students enrolled in different programmes. The number of students getting placed have also increased year by year. But when compared with the total number of students placed with the total number of students enrolled, the output is not satisfactory. Even students have the same opinion, while interacting with them we found out that most of the students think that there must be more number of placement opportunities for them. Therefore the university must think on this line and ensure that maximum number of students get placed and the gap between the total number of enrolled students and the students placed is narrowed.

Thapar University Diversity 

There is a 50% seat reservation under Punjab quota while taking Thapar University admission. Hence it helps a lot of students from nearby regions to take this benefit. The student count is 12,030 at present. 

Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology Gender Ratio

Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology Demographics

Our Take:
Thapar University is substantially diversified. Seeing the overall number of students it has maintained a good male to female ration of 2:1. On the other hand, the number of students outside the campus also signifies its demand among students. Students hailing from outside are more in number irrespective of the fact that the university reserves seats for home state students. This clearly states that this university has been a choice for the students belonging to different states. Also the number of international students makes it evident that the university is a preference globally as well however the headcount is less. The university ideate ways and measures to increase the international admissions. 

Thapar University Location

 Thapar University is 250 acres and is located in Patiala city of Punjab state.  Its distance from Patiala city is around 4.5 km. The campus is well connected with all the transportation i.e Air, Rail and Road. The address of the university is Bhadson Road, Adarsh Nagar, Prem Nagar, Patiala, Punjab. 

Thapar University: Expectation Vs Reality - CLD Verdict

By checking the expectations from students at large and the reality of the Thapar University campus we have concluded that Thapar University is a premier institution which has a significant number of students. Its NAAC accreditation, NIRF Ranking, good quality of hostels, and library and  placement make it a popular choice for students. But there are certain areas of concern that need to be addressed by the authorities such as faculty student ratio, fees charged for the course and placement opportunities.

Final Review Check box: