The Faculty of Life and Allied Health Sciences (FLAHS) is home to three independent departments: Biotechnology, Food Technology, and Allied Health Sciences. Each offers academic programs that promote a multidisciplinary approach and encourage interdisciplinary research. All Bachelor programs offered by the Faculty are honors programs and — in the last year of the program — students participate in an internship with the University or with allied institutions. 

FLAHS students benefit greatly from sharing a campus with well-established healthcare institutions like the Ramaiah Memorial Hospital and the Ramaiah Medical College and Hospital. Students of the Department of Allied Health Sciences, for instance, gain rigourous hands-on training at the hospitals from their second semester. This ensures that they have a competitive edge over their peers. 

Recognizing the urgent need for well-trained public health professionals in India, the Faculty has aligned its efforts with those of the Government of India by offering Masters and Doctoral programs in Public Health. These courses focus on different aspects of public health including public health administration, program management, epidemiology, research and evaluation, and policy formation. Our partnerships with local government bodies, NGOs, civil society, and international health organisations also offer students tremendous exposure to various health systems, their operations, as well as global health issues. These experiences help mould them into competent and compassionate public health leaders of tomorrow. 

The Department of Biotechnology offers BSc and MSc in Biotechnology. It also has an MSc in Molecular and Cell Biology. Research is an essential component of the academic programs offered by the Department and a strong focus is also placed on fundamental and translational research. State-of-the-art laboratories designed and equipped to support research — even at the molecular level — are also available to students and faculty members. The Department’s cell culture research is particularly promising. 

Over the years, the Department has proved its research capabilities with successful partnerships and collaborations with national and international research institutes and organisations. It continues to work towards the promotion of bedside-bend-bedside type of research which will have implications not just on local health care delivery systems, but on international ones as well. 

The Department of Food Technology studies the various technologies used in the food supply chain, right from harvesting to consumption. The programs offered by the Department focus on the science of food, food processing, the interaction of food and machines, development of novel food products, storage, preservation, and packaging. They also deal with food safety, quality analysis, and distribution. Students therefore learn about post-harvest processing, how to minimize food losses in the supply chain, how to improve efficiency in processing, preservation of food quality by scientific packaging, and storage processes to increase the shelf life of food. 

The Department also aims to create skilled professionals who can effortlessly take on multidisciplinary roles in academia, research, and industry, thereby creating a cadre of independent practitioners, consultants, and entrepreneurs. 

Plans to offer MSc programs in allied health science specialties are also in the pipeline. These will also pave the way for Doctoral programs.