The Department of Zoology at Sri Venkateswara College started with the inauguration of the Science Block in 1973-74 to teach B.Sc (General) B Group with just two teaching faculty, Dr. R. C. Saxena and Dr. E. Vijayan and eighty students. Soon after, the B.Sc. (Hons.) Zoology program started in 1974 and went on to become one of the most sought-after departments to study Zoology at an undergraduate level.

At present, the department offers two courses: B. Sc. (Hons.) Zoology, M.Sc. Zoology. Moreover, the department also participates in the teaching of B. Sc. Life Sciences and B. Sc. (Hons.) Biological Sciences. Other than teaching the students of these courses, the department offers various Generic Elective (GE) courses for students of other departments as mandated by the NEP framework. Papers like Insect Vector & Diseases, Human Physiology, Food, Nutrition & Health, Lifestyle Disorders, Economic Zoology Public Health and Epidemiology, Model Organisms in Research are very popular among the students. The department also offers various Discipline Selective Elective Courses (DSE’s) like Wildlife Conservation and Management, Integrative Systems Biology And Bioinformatics, Reproductive Biology and Assistive Reproductive Technology, Ethology, Fish and Fisheries, Parasitology which can be opted by students of any discipline as their GE.

The Department has well-equipped laboratories, a state of art museum, departmental library with good collection of books which supplements the college library. The department has two advanced research laboratories (Animal-Plant interactions lab and Fish immunology lab), where students can enroll for Ph.D. degree, Masters dissertations and Undergraduate internships. The dynamic faculty with diverse specializations and interests work hard to not only impart knowledge but to inculcate scientific culture among students. In order to cater to the bright students who take admission in our courses, the faculty are eager to learn at every stage and enhance their research acumen and academic skills by regular training programs. Students are encouraged to participate in internships and trainings, conferences, poster presentations as well as given opportunities to publish research articles and book chapters. By adopting the blended teaching learning approach, a major focus is given on the active learning strategies, such as group discussions, subject/paper presentations, field-based research projects and value-added experiments. The students are taken to Institutes of Eminence in related disciplines and field trips, excursions for practical learning outside the confines of the classroom.

The department has also an active and vibrant Zoological society ‘Evolvere’ that organizes a variety of academic and extra-curricular activities throughout the year for holistic development of students. The Society also releases an annual magazine ‘Phoenix’, which provides a platform to bring out the creative expression of students. The years of undergraduate college life at the Department of Zoology in SVC helps bring out the latent talent of all students by providing a disciplined yet fun-filled environment.