STUDENTS WITH 4-YEAR GRADUATE DEGREES CAN DIRECTLY PURSUE PHD, AS ANNOUNCED BY UGC
UGC chairman Jagadesh Kumar on Wednesday stated that, students with four-year undergraduate degree can directly pursue Ph.D programmes.
He further added that universities can decide whether to offer a three-year Honours degree or a four-year undergraduate programme. 3-year undergraduate courses won’t be discontinued until the 4-year programme is fully implemented.
Honours degree programmes are referred to as four-year programmes in the new credit and curriculum framework for undergraduate courses, which was announced earlier this week.
“It is left to the universities,” he said in an interview on Wednesday, December 14. He was asked whether it is mandatory for universities to migrate to the four-year pattern for Honours degrees.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) chairman also said candidates with four-year undergraduate degrees can directly pursue a PhD and they will not require a Master’s degree. Describing the benefits of the four-year undergraduate programme (FYUP), Kumar said,
“The first advantage is that they do not have to do a Master’s degree to join a PhD programme. They can also take a single or double major to gain a deeper knowledge of a given discipline,”
The UGC announced the curriculum and credit structure for undergraduate programmes on Monday, giving students a variety of entry and exit options, the option to choose between a single major and a double major, as well as interdisciplinary subject options.
“Since multidisciplinary courses, ability enhancement courses, skill enhancement courses, value-added courses, and internships are embedded in the FYUP, it will enhance the opportunities for students to take up employment or go for higher studies,” he said.
The UGC on Monday notified the curriculum and credit framework for undergraduate programmes which will provide students with multiple options for entry and exit, a choice between single major and double major and interdisciplinary choices of subjects.
The framework has been developed by revising the existing Choice Based Credit System. Under the programme, students will only be able to pursue a four-year honours degree rather than a three-year course like the present. Honours degrees will also be offered in two categories — honours and honours with research.
CLICK BELOW TO GET COMPLETE DETAILS
