PATNA WOMEN’S COLLEGE is the first institution of higher learning opened to cater to the educational needs of women in Bihar. Bishop B.J. Sullivan S.J., Bishop of Patna (Founder) and Mother M. Josephine A.C. Superior General of the Apostolic Carmel named it Patna Women’s College and presented it as a gift to the Women of Bihar, thereby placing at their disposal an opportunity for higher education. The College is run by the Catholic Religious Sisters of the Apostolic Carmel, an indigenous educational body founded in 1870.
Thousands of motivated and empowered women have passed through the portals of this college and have entered various fields of life, many making a mark in our country and abroad.
The college has come a long way from the time the pioneers envisioned and undertook the difficult task of establishing a women’s college at a time when only a few truly enlightened and far-sighted persons were prepared to support this infant project in a place where higher education for women was frowned upon, if not rejected outright.
In the year 1952, a Special Status was given by the Government of Bihar and it became a ‘Constituent College’ of Patna University. On 25.07.2007, the Government of Bihar, officially declared Patna Women’s College as a ‘Religious Minority College’.
The College whose hallmark has always been Quality and Excellence, has been accredited by NAAC with ‘A’ grade for three consecutive cycles with CGPA 3.51/4 in 2010 and CGPA 3.58/4 in 2015. The college also has been accorded as ‘College with Potential for Excellence (CPE)’ status from UGC in three phases in 2004, 2010 and 2015. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has conferred Autonomous status to Patna Women’s College in January, 2018 which was further notified by the Parent University (Patna University) in July, 2018.
Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) and Semester System have been introduced in July 2018. This is the only college in the state to have taken this initiative for UG courses.
The college provides holistic education through UGC approved 26 undergraduate degree programmes in all the major streams of Humanities, Sciences, Commerce & Management, Education, 9 Post Graduate degree programmes and 4 Post Graduate Diploma programmes.
