No BA, BSc, BCom at Delhi University anymore!

Delhi University (DU) will finally break away from the traditional BA, BSc, and BCom programmes from this academic year. Instead, the seats designated for all these programmes will be merged together. Hence, the overall intake of the varsity will remain the same; and students who get entry at the undergraduate level this July will be able to choose their own courses from any of the three streams – arts, commerce, or science.

New entrants for DU admissions will now register for two subjects – one subject as Discipline I and the other as Discipline II. The course for Discipline I will begin from the first semester onwards and the student will get an ‘Honors’ degree in this subject at the end of four years. The Discipline II course will begin from the third semester, giving the student another choice of subject to be taken up at the Master’s level course.

In the four-year degree structure at DU, students will cover:

• 11 foundation course papers,
• 5 application course papers, and
• Discipline I and II course papers.

The foundation course will focus on personality development of students. It will include one paper each on English and a modern Indian language. Students will be able to choose foundation courses too, which will include science and life, IT, communication skills, environment and health, and mathematical ability. The foundation course will also have two papers on value-based education for which there will be no exams.

The change in degree structure at DU will align it with international practices. Like foreign universities, DU students will also have a chance to pursue degree programmes across disciplines and streams.

The new undergraduate degree course will have several exit options:

• A student can exit at the end of the second year with an associate baccalaureate degree.
• At the end of the third year, a student can exit with a baccalaureate degree.
• Students who choose to study the fourth year will have to cover two project-based research papers in seventh and eighth semesters in Discipline I courses. They will be awarded with an ‘Honors’ baccalaureate degree or a B.Tech degree.