History of the Degree Programme
Certificate Course
During the year 1958, the Agronomist, Prof. K.A. Jalihal, was designated by the College of Agriculture, as Associate professor of Agronomy – Extension and deputed to teach the subject of Extension. Consequently, a certificate course in “Extension Methods” was introduced as optional subject for 60 final B.Sc. (Agri.) students of the college of Agriculture, Hebbal in the then Mysore University during 1958-59. Prof. R. Daranikinath and Dean J.H. Mcleod, Extension Training Specialist of University of Tennessee, India Agricultural Programme, T.C.M. provided expert guidance in formulating syllabus for the certificate course. The participation certificate issued in 1959 laid the foundation of extension teaching in the country.
UG Course
By considering the student interest in the course and taking congnizance of the importance, the Departmetn of Agricultural Extension came into existence during 1960-61 with Prof. K.A. Jalihal as Head of the Department and the subject Agricultural Extension was introudeced as compulsory subject in the course curriculum of B.Sc. (Agri.) degree. From 1962-63 the course was offered as Agricultural Extension with practical component of Village Stay Practicals of eight weeks undergone by Bachelor Degree Programme students in Agriculture, Horticulture, Agril. Marketing and Cooperatio, Sericulture, Forestry and Agricultural Engineering.
M.Sc. (Agri.) in Agricultural Extension
With the establishment of UAS, Banglaore in 1964, Trimester system of teaching was adopted in the academic year 1966-67 and radical changes were brought into the theory and practical components of the course. Looking into the enthusiasm of the students for higher studies in extension, the need for starting PG programme was felt by the university authorites and so the Masters Degree Programme in Agricultural Extension was started during 1967-68 and the intake of students was restricted to a few in the beginning. Dr. R. Dwarakinath formulated the new courses for PG programme with suitable credit hours and also served as guide for some of the M.Sc. (Agri.) extension and thus became the architect for laiding foundation for PG programme. The IFFCO Chair of Professor Cadre was established during 1981and the professor was offering courses and guidance for PG Students.
Ph.D. programme in Agricultural Extension
In view of the popular demand for Ph.D. programme by the students of state ans well as Southern states like Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, backed up by the well experienced and highly qualified faculty, and availability of books and Journals in the subject, the Department started offering Ph.D. course in Agricultural Extension from the academic year 1974-75. Prof. R. Dwarakinath and Dr. K.A. Jalihal and Dr. H.S. Hanumanthappa with the help of USAId specialists developed advanced PG Courses with course credits and contents for offering Ph.D. scholars. Then onwards the teachers developed and used advanced AV aids, ICT tools and Digital equipment effectively for teaching PG scholars. Druing 1977, Dr. Channegowda, M.B. became the first doctoral student of the department by submitting the thesis on Influence of different methods involving print information and farmers communication behaviour – an experimental study under the guidance of Dr. K.A. Jalihal. From then the intake for the degree programme gradually increased to ten scholars currently including the ICAR deputed students from across the country and globe.
- Ph.D. Degree Awarded from the period 1977-2010
| Year | No. of students awarded |
| 1977-80 | 5 |
| 1981-90 | 21 |
| 1991-2000 | 32 |
| 2001-2010 | 42 |
| 2011-till date |
USAID Deputation
With the USAID funding, six teachers were deputed in sixties and seventies for higher studies in agricultural extension which improved their proficiency and updated knowledge and skills in the subject of Agricultural Extension and ultimately benfitting the academic and professional excellence in offering PG Programmes.
Revision of Courses / Syllabus: Periodically the Doctoral curriculum and syllabi were revised with addition of portions of frontier developments in the subject and from 2010-11 the syllbauses were revised as per ICAR guidelines. Accordingly now, a total of 75 credit hours need to be completed by the scholars, which include 15 credit hours of major subject, 10 credits of minor subjects, 5 credits of supporting subjects in addition to 3 credits of Qualifying Examination , 4 credit hours of Seminars and 38 credit hours of Research.
Awards and Recognitions
Awards and Recognitions for Master’s Programme
In every academic year, the academic excellence in Masters Degree programme in Agricultural Extension are recognized with five awards namely The UAS Gold Medal for General Merit, Dr. K.A. Jalihal Gold Medal, Dr. R. Dwarakinath Gold Meddal, Smt. Krishnamma Siddappa Godl Medal and LAg’s Foundation Karnataka Gold Medal.
Awards and Recognitions for Doctoral Programme
National Awards: Jawaharlal Nehru Awards for Ph.D. Thesis
Three Doctoral theses were awarded the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Award durin g1985, 1990 and 1994. The first one was on the study on the Suject Matter Specialists in the training and Visit System of Karnataka State: A role Analysis by Dr. Y. Katteppa under the guidance of Dr.M.K. Sethu Rao. The second was on Job Competence and Job Performance of Agricultural Offcers in Training and Visit System of Andrapradesh by Dr. Nagi Reddy under the guidance of Dr. V. Veerabhadraiah. The third one was on Study on Management Efficiency and Economic Performance of Sericulturists in Karnatka by Dr. N. Nagaraja under the guidance of Dr. M.K. Sethu Rao.
University Awards
In every academic year, the Ph.D. scholars’ academic excellence in Doctoral programme is recognized with three awards instituted in the University namely UAS Gold Medal for General Merit, Dr. K.A. Jalihal Gold Medal and Dr. R. Dwarakinath Gold Medal.
Further the scholars of the programme have also received the competitive awards Dr. Premnath Agricultural Science Foundation Gold Medal and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Award for Best SC/ST student .
With all these growth and achievements the Department of Agricultural Extension grew in its stature and became a most sought after department for higher studies in Agricultural Extension.
Objectives
- To provide quality higher education in the field of Agricultural Extension
- Capacity building and human resource development in Leadership, Communication, Strategies for Technology application and information dissemination, organisational Performance Evaluation and Impact analysis of developmental programmes.
- To conduct strategic research in agricultural extension through masters and doctoral degree programmes
- To address extension educational problems in the farming sector through the conduct of PG Research and Extension outreach programmes.
- To plan and execute innovative, novel and customised ways of dissemination agricultural technologies to different stakeholders of agriculture.