Serampore College (Teaching) and Serampore College (University)
In the development of the Serampore College after 1910, the teaching activities of the College were organized in two Departments: Arts-Science-Commerce Department and the Theology Department. The Arts-Science-Commerce Department of the College as a teaching institution was affiliated to the University of Calcutta. The Calcutta University was the first among the universities to accept Serampore degrees from its inception and recognize the BD degree as an equivalent to its BA degree. Other universities soon followed suit.
The College in its teaching aspect is referred to as Serampore College (Teaching). The Theology Department functions on its own right as a teaching institution in Theology at the College. The Theology Department of the College is not an affiliated college to the Senate of Serampore College (University), but is an integral part of the Serampore structure.
Senate of Serampore College (University)
The Senate of Serampore College, as noted, is the creation of the Serampore College Act 1918. Article Eleven of the Act, assigns to the Senate the duty to frame courses of studies and make rules for the conduct of examinations. The Act empowers the Senate to determine the eligibility of candidates for degrees, diplomas and certificates to be conferred by the Council. In exercising its rights, and functioning as a University, it confers its own diplomas and degrees, namely, the Diploma in Christian Studies, Diploma in Pastoral Care and Counseling, and the degrees of Bachelor of Theology, Bachelor of Divinity, Bachelor of Christian Studies, Master of Theology, Doctor of Ministry and Doctor of Theology.
The Senate of Serampore College is to be understood as the arm of Serampore College (University) in this sense and has reference to the interests, concerns and activities of Serampore College as a University. It is in the administration of the University functions of the College that the Senate operates. The Senate is empowered to make rules and regulations for the convening of its meetings and for the proper conduct of its business.
The actual mode of conferring distinctions, under the Charter and the Act, remains wholly within the discretion of the Council. Though the College is authorized to grant degrees in Faculty of Theology, there is a provision for it in the Act (see Article 13) to grant degrees in any branch or branches of knowledge provided it fulfils certain conditions and satisfies the State Government; a privilege the College has not so far utilized.
The College through its Senate has served as a centre for theological training for ministry of the Church in India and the neighbouring countries in South Asia.