Fergusson College was established on January 2, 1885 by Deccan Education Society (DES), which was founded by the stalwarts of the Indian Freedom Movement – Lokmanya Tilak, Gopal Agarkar, Vishnushastri Chiplunkar and Madhavrao Namjoshi.
The college is named after James Fergusson, then governor of Bombay, who took keen interest in the development of the New English School as well as the Fergusson College and was the first patron of the Deccan Education Society.
The Fergusson College imparts instruction to nearly 5500 undergraduate and postgraduate students in natural sciences, computer, electronics, IT at graduate and postgraduate level, humanities and social sciences.
The college campus has an area of 65 acres and comprises of gothic architectural buildings, well-equipped laboratories, a library having a collection of over 3,00,000 books, cafeteria and medical facility. The college also has a semi-gothic designed amphitheatre that can seat 1000 persons.
The sports infrastructure includes gymkhana office, two large sports ground for cricket, football, hockey, athletics, a table tennis hall, six tennis courts, two badminton halls, two basketball courts, a gymnasium and a Judo hall. Besides the college also has two standard sized basketball courts, two volleyball courts – one each for girls and boys, two kabaddi courts for girls and boys and a running track of 400 meters. Facilities also include changing rooms and toilets for girls and boys, adjacent to the courts.
Undergraduate courses
B.A. (Bachelor of Arts) in: Economics, English, French, geography, German, Hindi, history, logic, Marathi, philosophy, politics, psychology, Sanskrit, sociology & geology.
B.Sc (Bachelor of Science) in: Mathematics, statistics, botany, biotechnology, chemistry, computer science, electronic science, environment science, mathematics, microbiology, organic physics, statistics & zoology
Vocational undergraduate courses
B.Sc. (physics) with vocational still photography & audio-visual production
B.Sc. (electronic science) with vocational electronic equipment maintenance
B.Sc. (botany/zoology/chemistry) with vocational biotechnology
Postgraduate courses
M.A. (Master of Arts) in: Economics, English, Marathi, psychology
M.Sc (Master of Science) in: Analytical chemistry, biochemistry, biotechnology, botany, computer science, electronic science, environmental science, geology, chemistry, microbiology & physics
Special PG courses
Master of Computer Applications (MCA)
M.Tech (Industrial mathematics with computer applications)
Autonomous 1 year courses
Basic course in still photography (since 1983)
Nursery development & garden maintenance (since 1986)
Basic course in color photography (since 1998)
Postgraduate diploma in counseling psychology
M.Phil and Ph.D programs
Botany, chemistry, electronic science, mathematics, physics & zoology
Information on online admission forms is available at college website www.fergusson.edu
The college received the Best College Award of Pune University in 2002-03. It was accredited with Grade A in the first NAAC assessment in 2004 and then again in the reassessment done in 2010.
The college has hostel accommodation for boys and girls. There are 6 hostel blocks, 4 blocks for boys and 2 blocks for girls. The total intake capacity of the hostel is 587 students (427 boys and 160 girls).