BASE: A New Opportunity in Economics

BASE University is a new school promoted by the Govt of Karnataka to promote economics education in this country on par with internationally reputed colleges. While many will be hesitant to join a new college funded by the government, this university is very well run and is progressing daily on several fronts, be it having a well functioning large campus or having good faculty. The admission process was fairly simple. Write the CUCET, get a good score and you're eligible for admission. However, I believe the college is endeavoring to get its own test process soon. The college was new and untested when I joined. However, the promise of receiving a good education in an underrepresented field such as economics is very well documented and I am mostly satisfied with the way my education has progressed at BASE.

The course caters to almost all aspects of theoretical economics as well as providing a good base into quantitative methods. The undergraduate part of the integrated masters course focuses more on developing economics fundamentals and having a solid understanding of statistics and probabilities as these are used repeatedly in this field. There is a decent student faculty ratio at BASE with about 50 students per batch (presently 4 batches) and about 10 permanent faculty. There are also several visiting faculty from reputed universities like NLSIU, IIMB, Bangalore University etc. Almost all faculty have or are in the latter stages of their PhDs and while they might be on the youngish side, they are very talented in what they do and are good teachers. There are 2 internals and a final exam per semester as well as several projects over the course of my study. They aren't very hard if you pay attention in class.

Students are trained in research and data analysis hence they get opportunities with consultancy firms and government orgs. The former provide a stipend while the latter are not guaranteed with stipends in their internships.

Students are eligible for internships from their 4th year and placements from their 5th year of the integrated masters course (same as masters 1st and 2nd years). Since we are new, we are making connections with several top consultancy firms as well as NGOs and government agencies for internships with the same firms targeted for placements as well. No students placed yet so no details on packages or placements.

Currently the students pay about 1.1 to 1.3 lakh per year including hostel facilities. The mess fee is about 3000 a month. So it comes to about 1.7 lakh a year. Factor in your own expenses and probably closer to 1.8 lakh. I think they are hiking the fees for new batches but I think as a government university they will put a cap at some point so it is not too extravagant. I am a general category student so I have no knowledge of scholarships. Presently, there are no merit-based scholarships either.

New university , so not much on the fest front as student body has 150-200 active students max. We did conduct several intra college activities and fests to keep student life vibrant and active. The library is well stocked and is constantly increasing its quantity and quality of books as well as having online and offline subscriptions to several reputed newspapers and journals. The classrooms are well enabled and are very modern. Not much sports at the moment but there is a vast Bangalore University campus just outside the gates so students can be active and exercise in their free time.

The hostel rooms are very roomy and are well equipped for student life. The rooms on lower level are shared between three students and the rooms on the upper levels by two students. Each student gets a bedframe, a mattress, a pillow, a metal almirah and a desk with three drawers as well as a common dustbin and shoe rack. The meals are decent and there is an attempt to provide a mix of north and south Indian food to cater to each student. However, since we are in Bengaluru, the cooks are better at south Indian dishes. 30k all amenities excluding food which is about 3k a month.