The Department of Botany, established in 1952, is one of the leading Departments of India in the field of teaching and research in plant sciences. For about four decades after its establishment, the Department was recognized for teaching and research in the areas of Palaeobotany, Algology, Mycology and Experimental Botany.

After that, in keeping pace with the advances in various aspects of Plant Sciences, the department introduced courses on Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Developmental Botany, Tools and Techniques in Botany, Quantitative methods and Plant Biotechnology. The Department has academic autonomy and has been revising its syllabi every three years. The Department has also implemented the Credit System for grading M.Sc. students since the year 2000, which offers flexibility in the structuring and assessment of courses.

The Department has undertaken research projects in the areas of crop biotechnology, plant physiology, plant pathology, medicinal plant biology and secondary metabolites and algal biotechnology for which it has received generous funding from Government funding agencies like UGC, DBT, DST, CSIR, MOEF, BRNS, ISRO, etc. Many of the faculty members have active collaborations with scientists from Institutes in or outside India.