Students holding a four-year undergraduate degree may have the option to pursue a one-year master’s program, and all postgraduate (PG) students will be permitted to switch disciplines or opt for alternative learning modes, including offline, distance, online, and hybrid, according to the draft University Grants Commission (UGC) norms for postgraduate courses.

The UGC has developed a draft curriculum and credit framework for PG courses, set to be made public soon. In line with the recommendations in the new National Education Policy (NEP), students completing a four-year bachelor’s program with honors/honors with research may be eligible for a one-year master’s program.

While it may seem there are three designs for PG programs—1-year master, 2-year master, and an integrated 5-year program—the draft norms highlight the diverse curricular frameworks resulting from factors such as creditization of work experience, combinations of disciplines, and emerging subjects like AI and Machine Learning.

The draft norms state that a student is eligible for a master’s program in a discipline corresponding to either the major or minor discipline(s) in the UG program. The university can admit students to the master’s program based on their performance in the UG program or through an entrance examination. Additionally, students are eligible for admission in any discipline of master’s programs if they qualify the national or university-level entrance examination in the discipline of the master’s program.

Furthermore, the UGC proposes that students who completed four-year UG, three-year UG, two-year PG, or five-year integrated UG PG programs in STEM subjects can be eligible for admissions into ME, MTech, and related areas.

For students in a two-year PG program, there is an exit option after the first year, where they will be awarded a postgraduate diploma. The NEP provides the flexibility for students to change their career path with a postgraduate degree, and the draft norms aim to accommodate these changes.

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