B.Sc. Biological Techniques and Specimen Preparation (BT&SP) is a UGC-sponsored vocational course sanctioned to the Union Christian College by the UGC by its Communication No. F.3 1/95 (VE) dated 23, June 1995. The Mahatma Gandhi University appointed an inspection commission for ascertaining the facilities available for starting this course at U.C College, and this commission visited the College on 2, September 1995 and submitted its report to the University. In its report, the commission had stated, ” The course content of B.Sc Zoology (Biological Techniques and Specimen Preparation) is rich enough that students of this course shall be given priority for admissions to post graduate courses in Microbiology, Bio-technology, Tissue Culture, Immunology etc. Moreover they shall be eligible for courses for which B.Sc Zoology students are eligible.” The Mahatma Gandhi University then granted affiliation to the course in our college soon after.

As per the guidelines of the UGC (Vocationalization of First Degree Education page x, paragraph 4), and with a view to facilitating vertical mobility we further enriched the course considerably by adding 3 additional Main papers covering Physiology, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Developmental Biology, Comparative Anatomy and Ethology, and replacing the Subsidiary subject Botany with Biochemistry. This has made the course content equivalent to, if not higher than, any undergraduate course in Biology offered in the State of Kerala. The Mahatma University by its Order No. Ac. AIII/2/1243/97 dated 19, February 1998 granted eligibility to the BT&SP students to pursue M.Sc. programmes in Biotechnology, Biological Techniques, Microbiology Biochemistry, Bioscience, Immunology, Tissue Culture, Museology, and also declared them eligible for courses for which B.Sc. Zoology students are eligible.

The students also undergo a 4-week practical training in Medical Lab Techniques at the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Medical College, Kolencherry, and a 3-week practical training in Tissue Culture at Synthite Industrial Chemicals Ltd, Kolencherry, as per MoUs with the two institutuins. For this, the students receive Certificates from the respective institutions.

The UGC itself had its inspection of our College specifically to evaluate the conduct of the BT&SP course in 1997, and expressed its high appreciation for the course content and for the efficient way in which the course was conducted. The NAAC Accrediatation team (2000) and the NAAC Reaccreditation team(2005) which visited the College also expressed their great satisfaction regarding the syllabus and the mode of functioning of the course. The NAAC Reaccreditation team, in addition, appreciatively requested a copy of the enriched syllabus of this course, and we gave it to them.

Graduates of BT&SP have so far pursued higher studies in a variety of disciplines, a sample of which follows: (1) M.Sc. Biotechnology (M.G University, Bharathiyar University, Periyar University, Amrita Deemed University), (2) M.Sc. Microbiology ( M.G University, Punjab Technical University), (3) M.Sc. Plant Biotechnology (Reading University, U.K.), (4) M.Sc. Biochemistry/ M. Phil. Biochemistry (M.G University, Bharathiyar University), (5) M.Sc. Biophysics (M.G University), (6) M.B.A. (Bharathiyar University), (7) M.S.W. (Rajagiri College of Social Sciences), (8) M.H.A. (M.G University), (9) M.Sc. Zoology (M.G University), (10) M.Sc. Medical Documenattion (M.G University), (11) M.Sc. Biotechnology cum Bioinformatics (SRM-Madras), and (12) P. G. Diploma in Dialysis Therapy (Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences). Several of our students have obtained top ranks in their Masters programmes (e.g., First Rank in Biotechnology, Bharathiyar University, Third Rank in M.Sc. Biochemistry, Bharathiyar University).