Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University (ISc-BHU) is a constituent institute of
Banaras Hindu University
Banaras Hindu University (BHU), formerly Benares Hindu University, is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916. The university incorporated the Central Hindu College, ...
,
Varanasi
Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
which offers courses in
Zoology
Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...
,
Botany
Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
,
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...
,
Computer Science
Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...
,
Geography
Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
,
Mathematics
Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
,
Physics
Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
,
Geology
Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...
,
Geophysics
Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and Physical property, properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists conduct i ...
,
Chemistry
Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
,
Statistics
Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a s ...
.
History
Faculty of Science was established in 1916, when a series of lectures were delivered by Nobel laureate
C. V. Raman at the Department of Physics. In the month of December 2015, it was upgraded to Institute of Science.
Organization
Institute of Science's administrative head is the
director
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''D ...
. The director is responsible for all aspects of the Institute's operations, including budgets, administration, planning, support services, institute appointments, curricula and student affairs. The director is appointed by an executive body and reports to the
vice-chancellor
A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...
of the university.
The Institute of Science keeps itself alive with regular academic activities like seminars, workshops, conferences. It is equipped with advanced and sophisticated laboratories. Faculty members have liaison with research institutions of repute in India and abroad.
A large number of the teachers of the Institute have received distinctions and honors like Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship, FICCI Award, TIFR Fellowship etc. and several are fellows of the various academies. The Institute is currently headed at the director level by Sanjay Kumar, and previously by
Anil Kumar Tripathi. Satyanshu Kumar Upadhyay is the Dean of the Faculty of Science.
There are six ''Centers'' and thirteen different Departments of which many are centres of advanced study and research in the Institute of Science that offer
Undergraduate
Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...
(UG),
Postgraduate
Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...
(PG) and Doctoral Degrees in all the field of modern science.
Courses

The institute offers
undergraduate
Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...
(
B.Sc),
post graduate
Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...
(
M.Sc
A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...
), and
Ph.D courses in various courses under the departments and centres in the institute. It also offers M.Sc. (Tech.) in Geophysics and MCA courses (which is offered at both the Department of Computer Science and RGSC, BHU).
Research Centres
*Centre for Brain Research
*Centre for Genetic Disorders
*Centre for Hydrogen Energy
*Centre for Nanotechnology
*DST - Centre for Interdisciplinary Mathematical Sciences
*Interdisciplinary Centre for Life Sciences (
a.k.a. ''DBT-BHU Interdisciplinary School of Life Sciences'')
*Seismic Imaging Centre
Journal of Scientific Research of the Banaras Hindu University
The ''Journal of Scientific Research of the Banaras Hindu University'' is an
open-access
Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which nominally copyrightable publications are delivered to readers free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 de ...
scientific journal
In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication designed to further the progress of science by disseminating new research findings to the scientific community. These journals serve as a platform for researchers, schola ...
. It is published since 1950 by the Institute of Science and is
double-blind
In a blind or blinded experiment, information which may influence the participants of the experiment is withheld until after the experiment is complete. Good blinding can reduce or eliminate experimental biases that arise from a participants' expec ...
peer reviewed
Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...
.
Notable alumni
*
C. N. R. Rao
*
Jagdish Shukla
*
Jayant Narlikar
Jayant Vishnu Narlikar (19 July 1938 – 20 May 2025) was an Indian astrophysicist who performed research on alternative cosmology. He was also an author who wrote textbooks on cosmology, popular science books, and science fiction novels and ...
*
Kamalesh Chandra Chakrabarty
Kamalesh Chandra Chakrabarty or K. C. Chakrabarty, (27 June 195226 March 2021) was an Indian banker who served as one of the four Deputy Governors of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) (India's central bank) from 15 June 2009 to 25 April 2014, res ...
*
Lalji Singh
Lalji Singh (5 July 1947 – 10 December 2017) was an Indian scientist who worked in the field of DNA fingerprinting technology in India and pioneer of Assisted reproductive technology, where he was popularly known as the "Father of Indian D ...
*
Satish K. Tripathi
Satish Kumar Tripathi is an Indian-American academic, a computer scientist and academic administrator. He is the first foreign-born president of the University at Buffalo (UB), the flagship of the State University of New York (SUNY) system.
*
Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar
Sir Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar (21 February 1894 – 1 January 1955) was an Indian colloid chemist, academic and scientific administrator. The first director-general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Bhatnagar is revere ...
*
T. V. Ramakrishnan
See also
*
Banaras Hindu University
Banaras Hindu University (BHU), formerly Benares Hindu University, is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916. The university incorporated the Central Hindu College, ...
*
List of educational institutions in Varanasi
The following is a list of educational institutions in Varanasi. Varanasi (known earlier as Benares) is a city situated on the banks of the River Ganges in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and is approximately 800 kilometers(497 miles) southeas ...
References
External links
*
{{Education in India
Banaras Hindu University
University departments in India
Universities and colleges in Varanasi
Universities and colleges in Uttar Pradesh
Universities and colleges established in 1916
1916 establishments in India