Poll: India's top Arts colleges

The results of the 14th India Today annual survey of the top colleges in India were declared last week. The poll ranked 1,500 colleges in the streams of science, arts, commerce, medicine, engineering and law.

Earlier this week we featured the country's top science colleges and top commerce colleges and asked you to vote for your top pick.

Today we take a look at the top 10 arts colleges in the country and what sets them apart from the hundreds of others.

Move on to the next slide and register your votes on the last page of the slideshow...

Taking the top spot this year is LSR, Delhi, moving up from second place last year.

The college's intergrated BA programme offers a wide choice of subjects designed to provide a rich blend of theoretical and practical knowledge. Along with the regular courses in economics, history, maths, psychology and political science, the college also offers application courses in creative writing, translation, computer application, life crisis management and theatre performance among others.

Another aspect that sets this institution apart is its focus on research and its unique student and faculty exchange programme that encourages learning beyond the classroom.

Slipping one spot down to number 2 is Loyola College, Chennai.

The college offers courses right up to the PhD level in the subjects of English, economics, history and social work. At the undergrad level, the arts programme is supported by 10 departments that include foreign languages, French literature, social work and philosophy.

The college also has well-established reaserch centres on campus which include the Institute of Dialogue with Cultures and Religions, Loyola Institute of Social Science Training and Research, Loyola Institute of People Studies and Research Academy for Cumulative Excellence (RACE).

Some of the famous names that have studied here include C Rangrajan, former governor of the RBI, Verghese Kurien and tennis star Vijay Amritraj.

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Staying put at number 3 is Delhi's oldest and one of its most prestigious colleges St Stephen's.

Established in 1881, the college has a reputed arts honours programme that is ably supported by its experienced faculty and current programme design. The college also has a vast aray of extracurricular activities and clubs that ensure a well-rounded education.

Some of the prominent Stephenians include Mani Shankar Aiyar, Kapil Sibal, director Shekhar Kapoor, author Amitav Ghosh, quizmaster Siddhartha Basu and many others.

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St Xavier's also stays put, at number 4, this year thanks to its continued focus on quality education.

The college has been rated A+ by the NAAC and was also recently granted autonomous status. The college offers a well-recognised bachelor's programme in arts (honours) and also offers master's programmes.

Some of the famous names that have studied here include businessmen Adi Godrej and Mukesh Ambani, film producer Ismail Merchant, conductor Zubin Mehta, actors Anil Kapoor, Shabana Azmi and many more.

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Continuing the rich Xavier's tradition is St Xavier's, Kolkata, also staying put at number 5.

The first autonomous college under Calcutta universiy, its bachelor's programme offers majors in English, political science, sociology, Bengali, history and film studies.

Many of the college's alumni have gone on the achieve success in their fields. Some of the well-known names include cricketer Sourav Ganguy, actor Utpal Dutt, former WB CM Jyoti Basu.

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Moving up one spot to number 6 is Presidency College, Kolkata.

Established in 1817, it is the oldest educational institution in India and has a long and rich tradition of imparting quality education. Apart from its bachelor's programme (honours), it also has well-recognised course at the master's and PhD level.

Some of the college's famous alumni include former president of India Dr Rajendra Prasad, LS speaker Somnath Chatterjee and actor Ashok Kumar.

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Moving up three spots is Fergusson College, Pune.

Established in 1884, it is the oldest college affiliated to Pune University and is today accredited as an A grade institution by the NAAC.

At the bachelor's level it offers 17 disciplines, supported by full-fledged departments, student associations and robust infrastucture.

Some of the well-known names to have studied here include Gujarat CM Babubhai Patel, flautist Miling Date, adman Prahalad Kakkar and actress Smita Patil.

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Moving down 3 spots from number 5 is Christ College, Bangalore.

The college offers bachelor's degrees in seven diciplines apart from its international twinning programmes with foreign universities. It was one of the first few colleges to apply for and get NAAC accreditation and is currently rated as an A+ insititution.

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Retaining its ranking from last year, Stella Maris stays at number 9.

Established in 1947, the college began with just 32 students and has today over 3,000 students on campus. An autonomous institution, it offers 13 undergrad and 14 postgrad programmes.

The subjects offered under its arts programme include history, sociology, economics, English and history of fine arts.

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 And closing out the top 10 is new entrant Miranda House, which moves up from number 11 last year.

Founded in 1948, the college is housed within the Delhi University campus and has over 2,500 students enrolled. It has a number of departments supporting its arts programme, which offer subjects that include geography, music, philosophy, Sanskrit and Bengali.

Some of the college's well-known alumni include politicians Brinda Karat and Sheila Dikshit, filmmaker Mira Nair and actress Nandita Das.

Move on to the next slide and register your votes.