MANY institutes, today, put out advertisements that promise a PG degree alongside undergraduate programmes like BSc or BTech degrees. Some institutes even promise a Master’s degree once you complete two years of work experience after a UG degree.
It is almost similar to a literal ‘buy-one-get-one-offer’. The justification that some of these institutes offer is about saving student’s time and money. If you could do a UG+PG in three years you do save two years.
Regulations in India, with respect to duration of a degree are very clear and well-defined. An undergraduate degree must be of at least three year’s duration, and a Master’s level degree must normally have two year’s of study. So if any college offers you a postgraduate degree in three years, it definitely is illegal.
More over there is a Government notification, which prohibits the perusal of two degree programmes simultaneously. So evaluate carefully, what is on offer, before you sign up, and never fall for a PG degree in three years after 10+2.
It is a scam.
If at all saving time is the objective, then Dual Degrees and Integrated programmes are the only legal ways you must consider. Both the methods would help you save a semester or a year.
Dual Degrees
For example, at BITS, Pilani, if you register for the five year’s integrated MSc programme and score above a certain minimum in your first year, you could technically opt for related subjects and if you score sufficient credits in the rest four years, you could earn a dual degree. But the operative word here is “sufficient credits”.
| Issues to remember |
Can you get a PG after 10+2?
You will have to study for five years at least to get a PG degree. Anything less than hat is illegal. An year can only be saved if you combine a BE with an MBA. |
Who approves dual Degrees?
The universities need no approval to offer dual degrees. But you must earn the required number of credits for each programme. And foreign universities invariablly look at individual course credits. |
Is there a flip side to the dual degree?
Yes. It does not give you the kind of depth that a normal programme would give you. It also is very taxing in terms of its time demands. |
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The premise of a dual degree is that when the core courses for two related but different subjects remain common, a committed and hard working student could save time by claiming exemptions for the courses in the second stream that he or she has pursued in the first stream and proceed to do only courses that are different. In other words, the length of the programme gets reduced due to careful selection of courses, but the academic rigor does not.
But there are two caveats here. One, dual degrees invariably compromise on depth. In other words, in the need to offer a compressed curriculum, the number of electives one could do in both the streams would be of absolute minimum, primarily because of time constraints. Two, the amount of work one has to take on, would be much higher than a normal degree.
Integrated Programmes
Here, the institute offers a UG & PG degree together or combines a BE/BTech degree with an MBA. But normally the integrated programmes only let you save a year only if its a PhD-level programme.
The five years integrated MSc at, say IITS, have no savings in terms of time. At times a BE/MBA combination also lets you save an year.
The only caveat here is the programme would be so focused in the discipline that you choose, hence unless you are very clear about what you want, the course could get a bit overwhelming.