University of Petroleum and Energy Studies BA+LLB Review By Navsirat Kaur

UPES School of Law was established in 2007 and now it’s one of the rank holders in the top 10 private law colleges in India. UPES is recognized by UGC. National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has accredited UPES with a B grade. Apart from national accreditation, UPES has international accreditation too by various bodies. In my opinion, though the admission process, inclusive of entrance test and interviews, is transparent and fair, the college somewhere aims to admit as many students as possible. Coming to the management of the college, there is a division of various departments making it easy for the students to approach their problems. Though the management tries to keep everything fair, the only problem faced by maximum students is the high fees demanded by the college.

I am a 4th-year student of B.A.LL.B (Hons.) with specialisation in Energy Laws which is an integrated course generally of 5 years. I got admission to this college by securing satisfactory marks in LSAT-INDIA, followed by being selected for admission in an interview. The interview includes group discussion as well as one-on-one interviews. The reason behind choosing energy laws as my specialization course was to step into the sector which is going to be flourished in near future. BA subjects were taught majorly in the first year and later on legal subjects were introduced as the semesters passed by. The specialization subjects started in the third year when BA was completed. Coming to my expectations, till now the best part of studying in this college is that you get a specialization course along with your law degree. One can select a Specialization course from a plethora of choices such as Energy Laws, Criminal Laws, Corporate Law, Taxation Law, and many more. Moreover, I found the courses and the teaching up to a good mark and very helpful.

I must admit, one thing that this college is best at providing is the quality of faculty. There are around 90-100 legal professors, permanent as well as visiting faculty, who are specialized in teaching different subjects. All the faculty teachers are either from National Law Universities or highly reputed universities of India. We all know the times are tough for the last one and a half years, but the thing which must be appreciated is that the faculty of UPES never failed to put in their full efforts in online teaching. From subject doubt clearance to practical issue solving, most of the faculty is always available for the betterment of their students. Apart from that, UPES regularly collects feedback regarding the teaching and the behavior of the faculty in the class.

UPES promises to provide placements to the maximum students studying in the college, and for that, they also provide training starting from the end of the fourth year of law. There is also a placement and Internship cell in the college for student assistance. Top firms and companies such as Khaitan & Co. and others are known for visiting the campus placement every year. The highest package that is of 12 to 15 lakhs per annum is provided to only a few fortunate students whereas the commonly provided package ranges from 4 to 5 lakhs per annum. Even though in the year 2020, UPES declared that They managed to successfully place 75% of the students and the highest package was 15,00,00 per annum, still many of my seniors seemed to be unhappy about the same. Due to the ongoing pandemic, there is a possibility that in the near future the placements might decrease, or even There might be chances of New opportunities, hence affecting the placement record.

There are a total of 4 campus hostel buildings in UPES, 3 for the boys and 1 for the girls. The one for the girls is almost equal to 2 boys' hostel buildings. Girls hostel has one upper hand that is the availability of balcony, which is missing in boys hostel. All the hostel buildings have separate wardens and security measures inclusive of security guards, CCTV cameras, and a daily attendance system. Males are not allowed in girls hostels and the same is the case with boys hostels apart from parents. If we talk about the mess, boys and girls have separate messes with almost the same menu. The quality of food is much better than any other college. Non-veg is provided twice a week i.e. on Wednesdays and Sundays, however, dessert is provided every night which can be ice cream, gulab jamun, custard, or even shahi tukra. The last entry timings are also fine according to me which usually range between 7-8 depending upon the ongoing season. There are general stores, saloons, and beauty parlors available in respective hostels. If one doesn’t want to reside in-campus hostels, there are vast choices for off-campus hostels and PGs too generally located within walking distance.

There are two campuses of UPES, One is bigger whereas the other campus is comparatively smaller. Law and business programs are taught on the smaller campus. There are 6-7 buildings which include a school of Law, school of business, hostels, and food court. Libraries and auditoriums for each school are built inside the respective school. The law school also includes separate moot courtrooms fully furnished just like a real courtroom. Since, the law colleges of five storey, two elevators apart from the staircase are also there. Coming to the medical and emergency support, an infirmary is there with a female and a male doctor and also an ambulance is always on the go in cases of swear emergencies. The fun part is that there are 2 cafeterias and a food court present, and one cafeteria is opened 24x7.

Campus life experience can differ from student to student as the campus is situated on the outskirts of Dehradun mainly 7 to 8 km away from Premnagar. No doubt the college tries their level best to provide a good campus life experience to the students, but there might be boredom on some days. There are numerous clubs, committees, and fun activities in the college such as dance clubs, the committee is related to study, event organizing committees, and many more which helps in making student life fun. For learning and connection building purposes, There will be enough activities which a student has to take care of. Coming to the fest and celebrations, the famous Urja fest and Ignite fest happens once a year, which often involves big celebrities and personalities. UPES also started a unique trend, in which every Wednesday they organized a fun event which could be a Zumba session, open mike, dance performances and Ramp walks. These events are really fun and help in making good memories. There might be issues of transportation but what is a student life if you don’t know how to handle challenges. lastly, with friends, every campus life becomes special and memorable.