What is ‘Design your own College Degree’ concept & list of institutes that offer it?

In this age of innovation, exploration, expression and freedom, more and more institutes have started given students a choice on the degree they will secure on completing a particular course. Although this is not a new concept world-over but Indian institutes are picking up speed to get their courses as well as way of imparting education in-line with international counterparts.

In India, ‘Design your own College Degree’ concept was introduced by colleges offering Liberal Arts as a course. Liberal Arts is a new way of education and more and more institutes/ colleges have started offering these courses in India.

Earlier, there was a myth that Liberal Arts colleges offered subjects related to humanities, performing arts and fine arts only. The truth of the matter is that Liberal Arts includes not only humanities subjects but also subjects from science and commerce streams.

Also Read: Best Liberal Arts Colleges in India: Courses, Seats, Admission Process

What is ‘Design your own College Degree’ concept?

Already a very popular concept in the West, ‘Design your own Degree’ programmes have recently gained popularity in India. With main stream media not covering it, most individuals are not aware that such a concept exists in India. However, many colleges/ institutions are already giving students the chance to study subjects of their own choice as part of a course selected by them.

As part of this concept, students can select their own minor and major subjects at the very start of the course which can include a combination of subjects from languages, statistics, mathematics, sciences, arts and the likes. Apart from this, courses offered under the concept of ‘Design your own College Degree’ not only offer academic-oriented subjects but also provide an opportunity to study subjects such as journalism, photography, music, dance, etc.

Further, depending on the subjects studied by a student during the entire duration of their programme, the degree would be issued to them.

Who offers ‘Design your own College Degree’ Courses in India & Admission Process?

A handful of colleges/ universities in India offer students an opportunity to design their own degree. Some of the educational institutes where students can pursue a course in which they can select their own subjects are mentioned below:

Name of the College	Admission Through
Cluster Innovation Centre, University of Delhi	DUET
Ashoka University	Ashoka Aptitude Test
FLAME University	FEAT
Symbiosis School of Liberal Arts	SET or SAT
KREA University	KREA admission process
Azim Premji University	Azim Premji National Entrance Exam
School of Liberal Arts and Basic Sciences, SRM University	SRM admission process
School of Liberal Studies, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University	PDPU SLS entrance exam

Design your own College Degree: Type of courses offered

Some of the most interesting course combinations are offered at colleges who provide students with an opportunity to design their own college degree.

Delhi University’s Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC) provides students an opportunity to pursue such a course under the meta-college concept. As part of this, students can pursue the subjects of their choice and that too from any of the 80 colleges that fall under the ambit of University of Delhi. The course offered at CIC is of eight semesters and students can select the subjects that they want to study from four streams namely, Journalism, Counselling, Historical Tourism as well as Arts & Design. However, candidates need to note that while pursuing CIC’s course they will be assigned mentors for the duration of their programme but the final decision of allocation of courses and colleges shall rest with the CIC. Also, candidates are informed that Semester 1 and Semester 6 of the course will be taught at CIC only.

Further, aspirants can go through the type of courses, streams and specialisations offered in Design your College degree programmes in India.

Name of College	Courses Offered
CIC, DU	BA (Hons) Humanities & Social Sciences Streams Offered – Arts & Design, Counselling, Historical Tourism and Journalism.
Ashoka University	BA BSc MA Majors Offered – Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Computer Science and Entrepreneurship, Economics, Economics and Finance, Economics and History, English, English and Journalism, English and Creative Writing, History, History and International Relations, Mathematics, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Politics, Philosophy, Economics, Politics and Society, Psychology, Sociology and Anthropology.
FLAME University	BA BSc Majors Offered – Humanities, Physical Sciences, Natural Sciences, International Studies and Psychology, Environmental Studies, Marketing, Advertising & Branding, Film & TV, Journalism, Entrepreneurship, Literary & Cultural Studies, Digital Marketing & Communications, Finance, Operations, HRM, Applied Mathematics, Dance, Theatre, Music, Sociology, Design, Public Policy, etc.
Symbiosis School of Liberal Arts	BA BSc Major Specialisations – Mathematics & Statistics, Computer Studies, English, Economics, Psychology, Sociology, Philosophy, Anthropology, Media Studies, Business Studies, International Relations and Political Science & Public Policy. Minor Specialisations – Biology, Women and Gender Studies, History, Film Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Physics, Performing Arts and Law.
KREA University	BA BSc Core Courses – Literature and the Arts, Mathematical Reasoning, Social Analysis and Historical Immersion, Scientific Reasoning, Philosophical Perspectives Across Cultures and Creative Expression. Skill Courses – Writing & Oral Communication, Introduction to Topics in Computer Science, Data Analytics, Design Thinking and Ethics. Majors offered for BA – Economics, History, Social Studies, Politics, Arts and Literature Majors offered for BSc – Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science, Mathematics, Environmental Studies and Psychology.
Azim Premji University	Post-graduate programmes (MA or MSc) Specialisations Offered – History and Ethnography, Language and Literature, Art and Aesthetics, Music and Performing Arts, Science and Sports.
School of Liberal Arts and Basic Sciences, SRM University	BA BBA BCom BSc Streams Offered – Humanities, Social Sciences, Commerce, Business Studies and Physical Sciences.
Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University	BA BBA BCom BSc MA MSc Majors Offered – Communication Skills, Basic Science, Social Sciences, Management, Humanities, Performing Arts, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Commerce, etc.