Department of Cooperative Management & Rural Studies:
Department of Cooperative Management and Rural Studies of Faculty of Commerce of M.S. University of Baroda is a progressive department of the University. Praised by several expert committees and experts on Co-operation, the Department of Cooperative Management and Rural Studies, has done pioneering and praiseworthy work in teaching and research on Co-operation. The Department of Cooperative Management and Rural Studies is the only university department in the state of Gujarat and perhaps one of the very few in the country, imparting education in the area of co-operatives. The department offers Post-Graduate Degree and Diploma courses and also the Ph. D. programme.
The Department of Cooperative Management and Rural Studies since its inception has been playing a vital role in providing education in the thrust areas of co-operation. The department is also active in carrying out training programme for its students and teachers. Impressed by the academic profile of the department as well as recognizing the importance of the co-operative education in India, the UGC, in the 1960s, had given a special grant for the construction of an independent building for the Department of Co-operation.
To further widen the scope of area of studies of department, the department has been renamed to Department of Cooperative Management and Rural Studies. The department carried out the complete revision of the course content and titles of papers of all the courses offered, in year 2008. To cater to the need of demand for employment in cooperative sector, the Department has reintroduced Under-Graduate Diploma in Co-operation.
Most recently, under the IX Plan, the department has received UGC grant to set-up:
Center for Research and Training in Cooperative Banking and Micro Finance. The department has recently taken up the initiative to place all its students under rigorous training programmes in co-operatives to get exposure to the practical aspects of the co-operative practices of doing business. This initiative has been introduced on a volunteer basis in collaboration with the well-known co-operative firms.