UG courses aplenty at Delhi’s other universities

Usha Albuquerque

Students in Delhi are spoilt for choice! Not only are there some of the country's best medical, engineering, fashion design, architecture and law institutes in Delhi, but it can also boast of some of the top universities for the sciences and social sciences.  Besides, students have access to India's top Central University in the city, along with not just one, two or three - but six government universities, besides several private ones as well. So if you are unable to make it to the college or course of your choice in any one university you have options in at least five others. Let's see what is on offer 

Jawaharlal Nehru University

Jawaharlal Nehru University another central university draws students from every corner of the country and from every group and strata of society to its 10 Schools and four special centres covering subjects from computation, environment and physical sciences to social sciences, molecular medicine and law & governance. Several centres in these Schools have been declared by the UGC to be Centres of ‘Excellence’. These include the Centre for Historical Studies, Centre for the Study of Social Systems, Centre for Political Studies, Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Centre for the Study of Regional Development, all in the School of Social Sciences, in addition to the School of Physical Sciences, School of Life Sciences and School of Environmental Sciences in the Science Schools which have also received the UGC recognition as Centers for Excellence.

All the courses at JNU are at the post-graduate level except for the language courses open to undergraduate students. The School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies is the only institution of its kind in the country where facilities for teaching and research in most of the major foreign languages are available.  

Of interest to UG students

n Undergraduate students can apply for the integrated five years master’s programme in the School of Languages, Literature and Culture Studies of the university. These five-year integrated BA/MA programmes and part-time Certificate and Diploma courses are available in the major modern European languages French, German, Russian, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Persian and Arabic, and focus on languages, literatures, translation, interpretation and culture studies. 

On successful completion of BA (Hons.), a student will be eligible to seek registration to the first year of the MA programme (i.e. fourth year of 5-year MA) in the respective language, without having to go through the entrance examination again subject to his/her fulfilling minimum eligibility requirements.

n Admission is on the basis on an entrance exam

Ambedkar University  

Ambedkar University is the new kid on the block, set up by the Government of the NCT of Delhi in 2007. It is a public university with a campus-based, unitary structure with research, postgraduate and undergraduate programmes catering exclusively to the study of humanities and social sciences. With its mission to play a pivotal role in improving understanding amongst cultures and to transform human    experiences into lessons for the future, the University has set up various Schools and Centres in fields of Development Studies, Human Ecology, Human Studies, Educational Studies, Law, Governance and Citizenship, Business, Public Policy and Social Entrepreneurship, Culture and Creative Expressions and Design which will offer doctoral and masters programmes. Of interest to UG students n Currently, the School of Undergraduate Studies offers several programmes in the social sciences, humanities, mathematical sciences and liberal studies. These include two types of BA Honours degrees: n BA Honours with a major in a single discipline. n BA Honours with a major in Social Sciences and Humanities in three disciplines. BA Honours with majors in a single discipline include Economics, Sociology, History, Psychology and Mathematics. The BA Honours in Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) is a unique programme as it allows students to explore three disciplines/ disciplinary areas of the School in some depth over three years while obtaining the wider benefits of a liberal arts education. Students completing the SSH Major will be eligible to apply for MA programmes at AUD and other institutions in the same way as single-subject BA Honours graduates. In addition, SSH students can convert their degrees to BA Honours with Dual Major with an extra year of study. What should also bring cheer to students in Delhi is that AUD being a state university of the NCT of Delhi reserves 85 per cent of seats for candidates from the NCT of Delhi with 15 per cent seats being open to candidates outside the NCT of Delhi. Admission requires a minimum of 50 per cent in Plus II from a recognised board and is based on merit. Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University This is one university that offers a wide range of 80 academic programmes covering practically all disciplines from engineering, medicine, law and management to design, mass communication, architecture and hotel management. The university has 100 affiliated institutes; of these, 76 are self financed and 24 are owned and managed by the Govt. of NCT of Delhi/Govt. of India. Of interest to UG students nOf interest to many Delhi students from the commerce stream will be the popular BBA programme , and recently introduced, BCom (Hons), and BA Economics ( Hons) for which admission is not on the 'dreaded and sky-rocketing" cut-off marks, but on the Common Entrance test for all admissions. Besides the regular Engineering programmes, on offer are also dual degrees in engineering. These include: BTech/MTech(Dual Degree) (Information Technology) nBTech/MTech(Dual Degree) (Computer Science & Engineering) nBTech/MTech(Dual Degree) (Electronics & Communication Engineering) nBTech/MTech(Dual Degree) (Bio-Technology) For students interested in a career in Computers, but not necessarily in Engineering, there is the Bachelor of Computer Applications, while those looking for a career in mass communications can target the Journalism & Mass Communication course. In addition are practical job oriented vocational courses leading to a bachelor's degree. nBJ(MC)(Bachelor of Journalism & Mass Communication) nBCA (Bachelor of Computer Applications) nBachelor of Vocation (B.Voc) Programmes in - (a) Applied Arts (Only for Female Candidates) (b) Automobile (c) Construction Technology (d) Interior Design (Only for Female Candidates) (e) Mobile Communications (f) Power Distribution Management (g) Printing and Publishing (h) Refrigeration & Air Conditioning (i) Software Development The admissions to the programmes of studies in the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) are primarily through common entrance tests (CET) conducted by the University or designated agencies accepted by the University or on merit of the qualifying degrees. The university also offers Lateral Entry into the second year of the BTech programmes for diploma holders who have completed a three-year diploma programme in several branches of engineering/technology with a minimum of 60 per cent marks in aggregate from any recognised diploma awarding institute/university/board recognized by AICTE. The engineering disciplines include — computer engineering, automobile engineering, chemical, civil, construction engineering, and other disciplines as well as plastic engineering, printing technology, tool & dye making, and public health & environmental engineering.