Delhi University has cleared a big change for students who finish the new four-year undergraduate programme. They can now go straight into a PhD, without doing a masters first.
Who can apply
The Executive Council has set some conditions though. Students need a CGPA above 7.5 to even apply. Their undergraduate research project also has to be published in a Scopus indexed journal, so that’s a must, not optional. And if selected, they’ll do their PhD under the same teacher who guided their UG dissertation.
A few things are still unclear
One council member, Aman Kumar, said it’s still not decided whether these students will do their PhD at their own college or move to the university department for their subject. He also flagged that these students won’t be able to sit for the NET exam later, since NET requires a postgraduate degree.
Not everyone on the council agreed with the plan. Member Mithuraaj Dhusiya said skipping any interview or entrance test before a PhD admission is risky, since there’s no real way to judge if the student’s research is actually strong enough for doctoral level work.
Other decisions taken
The council also approved a new semester abroad option, where UG students can study for a semester at a foreign university through tie ups. It cleared the university’s accounts for 2025-26, including hostel and provident fund accounts. And DU’s School of Open Learning got the green light to start one year postgraduate courses in five subjects, MA Hindi, MA History, MA Political Science, MA Sanskrit, and MCom.
