Students who complete four-year undergraduate programmes at the University of Delhi will now be able to pursue a PhD directly. The latest move, approved by the Academic Council on Friday (July 25), has invited dissent from several council members, who expressed reservations about the university’s decision owing to concerns over reservations and scholarships, as reported by PTI.
The decision formed part of a series of measures ratified at the meeting of the Academic Council (AC), which also included renaming the School of Open Learning (SOL) to the Centre for Distance and Online Education (CDOE), instituting a scholarship in the name of former Union minister Arun Jaitley, and launching new academic programmes.
Amendments to the PhD regulations were approved following the AC’s consideration of the suggestions proposed by the Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Council (RIEC). The revised norms state that students who complete their four-year UG degree will be declared eligible to enrol in PhD programmes, with the necessary provisions also receiving the council’s approval.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the recent development, some AC members submitted a dissent note, contending that the revised ordinance does not clearly specify how reservation norms would apply to students with four-year UG degrees who become eligible for direct doctoral admission. They argued that such students have been clubbed with master’s and MPhil degree holders despite constituting a distinct category, raising concerns that reservation provisions could be compromised.
Signed by AC members Maya John and Latika Gupta, the dissent note further raised questions about the rule limiting university-funded non-JRF fellowships to 16+1 candidates per department, saying it remained ambiguous how other full-time PhD scholars without fellowships would support their research.
They sought clarity on reservation norms for candidates seeking direct PhD admission through the undergraduate route and requested that research assistance be provided to non-JRF scholars.
SOL to be Renamed; Late Shri Arun Jaitley Scholarship Announced
“The AC further approved the renaming of the School of Open Learning to the Centre for Distance and Online Education (CDOE) to align the university with the University Grants Commission’s 2022 regulations governing institutions offering distance and online education. The designation of the head of the institution will also change from principal to director,” according to PTI.
Another significant move was the setting up of the ‘Late Shri Arun Jaitley’ scholarship for undergraduate sports students. Three scholarships, with a combined annual value of Rs 50,000, will be awarded every year for 20 years from a corpus of Rs 10 lakh, with at least one scholarship reserved for a female student. The inaugural award ceremony is proposed to be organised on August 13.
Besides these, the council gave a nod to the launch of a certificate course and a diploma course in Sanskrit Buddhism in the Department of Buddhist Studies from the 2026-27 academic session. In addition, it permitted the introduction of a Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT) programme at the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya National Institute for Persons with Physical Disabilities from the same academic session.
Furthermore, the AC ratified five new Skill Enhancement Courses under the Undergraduate Curriculum Framework (UGCF) 2022. These include courses on entrepreneurial mindset, design thinking, venture development, entrepreneurial communication, investor pitching, and library and information literacy skills.
During the meeting, the members extended their congratulations to Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh on his re-appointment. Singh remarked that Delhi University’s position in the QS World University Rankings 2027 improved to 322 from the 521-530 band in 2022, making it the highest-ranked Indian university in the rankings.