Budget For Best Colleges In Bengaluru: What It Costs To Live, Study In The City

An IT hub it may be but every year, the private and public universities in Bengaluru, Karnataka, attract thousands of undergraduate students to their Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science – BA and BSc – programmes as well.

The standard three-year bachelor’s degrees are offered in subjects such as Philosophy, Economics, Political Science, Geography, Sociology, Literature, History, Psychology, Anthropology, Library Science, Archaeology, Education, Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology, Mathematics, Computer Science and many more.

Depending on whether you are in a public university or a private one, your fee may be as high as Rs 12 lakh per annum without any financial aid or as low as around Rs 21,000. Apart from the fee structures and based on conversations with students currently pursuing BA and BSc courses in Bengaluru, we have attempted to provide estimates of cost of living, entertainment and travel which should help families budget for higher education in the city. The cost details given for cafeteria, entertainment, and travel expenses are an approximate figure deduced based on the students' responses.

Christ University

Christ, deemed-to-be University in Bengaluru, is a standalone institution authorised to award degrees but not established through any state or central law that is necessary for a full-fledged university. It is located on Hosur Road. The university offers a wide array of undergraduate and postgraduate courses with multiple specialisations. It is also believed to be one of the best and most expensive private universities to study in. It offers 46 undergraduate courses out of which 18 lead to BA and 15 to BSc degrees. Some of the BA disciplines are Economics, Psychology, English, Political Science, Media Studies, Media and Communication, Music, Journalism and History, Sociology, Philosophy, English Literature, Theatre Studies, and Performing Arts.

The university provides separate residential hostel facilities to female and male students. The girls’ hostel is located on the main campus; the boys’ hostel is located close to the main campus but outside it. In the girls’ hostel, single, twin and triple sharing rooms are available. Fees can be paid in full at once or in instalments. Both hostels have facilities such as a gym, study hall, a common kitchen with all the required amenities, cafeteria, playground, a prayer hall and library. The table below shows the fees and other expenses.

Accommodation in nearby apartments and hostels would cost around Rs 15,000 per month, excluding food and other expenses.

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Azim Premji University

Azim Premji University is on Sarjapura Road. Undergraduate BA courses are offered in Economics, History, English and Philosophy; BSc courses are in Biology, Mathematics and Physics.

The university offers scholarships in the form of fee waivers to the students based on their family income. For a three-year undergraduate BA or BSc programme, students with 50% scholarship will have to pay a tuition fee of Rs 6.5 lakh for the entire programme.

Likewise, students with family income below Rs 4 lakh per annum are given 100% fee waiver and 75% waiver is given to students with family income ranging between Rs 4 and Rs 8 lakh per annum. The table below shows the fees and other expenses.

Jain University, Bengaluru (Image: Official website)

Jain University

Jain university offers 16 BA and 39 BSc courses. The BA courses are in English, Psychology, Journalism, Sociology, Economics, Journalism and Mass Communication and BSc ones in Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Genetics, Chemistry, Microbiology, Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Digital Filmmaking, Renewable Energy, Forensic Science and more.

The university offers separate residential spaces for girls and boys on a triple and quadruple-sharing basis. The table below shows the fees and other expenses.

Accommodation outside the campus, either in paying guest (PG) rooms or in apartments, would cost around Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 per month, excluding food and other expenses. Students staying outside the campus usually stay in Jayanagar which is an expensive area.

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Maharani Lakshmi Ammani College for Women

Maharani Lakshmi Ammani College for Women is a women's general degree college located at Malleshwaram. This college is affiliated to Bangalore University. Every year, more than 2,000 students enrol for Bachelor’s degree courses. The most preferred subjects for Bachelors degree programs are Kannada, Journalism, Psychology, Economics, Political Science, History, BSc Zoology, Microbiology, Chemistry, Botany, Biotechnology, Mathematics and Physics. Students who get a high percentage in the first year of the course can apply for scholarships.

The table below shows the fees and other expenses.

The college does not provide hostel facilities. Students either have to live in rented apartments or in paying guest (PG) rooms, the cost for a month will be between Rs 5,000 and Rs 8,000.

Jyoti Nivas Pre-University College

Jyoti Nivas Pre-University College is in Koramangala. BA courses are available in History, Economics, Sociology and Psychology while the BSc courses are offered in Mathematics, Biology and Computer Science. The table below shows the details of fees and other expenses.

The hostel facility is offered only to Catholic students.

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Mount Carmel College, Bengaluru (Image: Official website)

Mount Carmel College

Mount Carmel College offers 16 BSc courses and 11 BA courses in Psychology, English literature, Journalism, Economics, Sociology, Political Science, Nutrition and Dietetics, Chemistry, Human Development, Biotechnology, Zoology, Interior Design Management, Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, Microbiology and more. The table below shows the fees and other expenses.

St. Joseph’s College

St. Joseph’s College, also affiliated to the public Bangalore University, is an autonomous higher education institute. The institute offers 13 BA and 12 BSc undergraduate courses. The different BA streams offered by the college are Journalism, Economics, Psychology, English, Visual communication, Public Policy, Political Science, History, Sociology, International Relations, English and more. The BSc courses include Computer Science, Economics, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Electronics, Statistics, Biotechnology, General, Environmental Science, Microbiology, and Zoology.

There are nearly five hostels on the campus with facilities like badminton court, basketball court, volleyball court, a spacious ground for cricket and football. The table below shows the fees and other expenses.

The tuition fee increases from second year onwards.