Student Life

Your stay will be at the FERAL field campus about seven km outside the hustle and bustle of the town. You will have some lectures on campus, with a primary focus on field work at the Kalivelli wetlands and the Chunnambar estuaries coupled with visits to the local jetties.

Housing & Meals

For the FERAL program in Pondicherry you will live in thatched-cabins, located about 20 meters from their research/study center. There is limited access to the Internet at the research/study center. Bathroom/shower facilities are within five meters of the thatched-cabins. Two FERAL professors live about 200 meters from the thatched-cabins and will often invite students to their home for dinner, cookouts, or to watch cricket on television.

FERAL Facts

• Two desktop computers
• One laptop
• A small library
• Opportunities to play volleyball
• Opportunities to participate in the tree nurseries and kitchen garden

The Climate

The climate in India can range from monsoons in the southern part (monsoon season is from June-August) to more moderate temperatures in the north. It starts to become very warm and humid in March. The average rainfall and temperature information for Pondicherry is:

Trips & Activities

Throughout the BCA Pondicherry program, you will visit a number of sites and have several overnight stays during your travels to different locations including the following:

Porto Novo

Known as Parangipettai - "the place of foreigners" in Tamil, Porto Novo is a small fishing village on the banks of the Vellar River.  Your stay will be on campus at the Annamalai Centre for Advanced Studies in Marine Biology. You will also visit the Pichavaram Mangroves, one of the largest patches in south India.

Mangalore

Your stay here will be under the aegis of the Fisheries College. Classroom lectures, lab sessions and field visits would be the order of the day. We would also be doing a few days of fieldwork on the beaches of Marvanthe, about 110 km north of Mangalore.

Goa

Local stay will be at the guesthouse of the National Institute of Oceanography, which would also conduct lectures and a day on field. The mid-semester break is scheduled to coincide with close of study here and you will have the opportunity to soak in the sun, sand and sea for a week.

The Andamans

You will experience the beauty of the islands during your stay at Havelock, one of the islands of the Andaman group. Dives in the reefs, beach transects and walks in mangroves will be part of the studies.

Tuticorin

Classes will be held at the Suganthi Devadason Research Institute. Students will also travel about 60 km north-west to Vembar to interact with an NGO, People's Action for Development, which works extensively with the fisher community along this coast.