DU allows exit from even semester, scraps GE requirement for PG admissions

In a bid to provide greater flexibility to undergraduate and postgraduate students, University of Delhi has allowed students to exit a UG programme and done away with the requirement of general elective papers for postgraduate admissions in minor disciplines.

DU issued detailed guidelines on the implementation of the ME-ME scheme under the National Education Policy (NEP). In another notification, the university said that students will no longer be required to choose specific GE papers in order to pursue a minor discipline under the Undergraduate Curriculum Framework (UGCF) 2022.

DU PG admission rules: GE paper

"In supersession of all previous notifications regarding the provisions of mandatory GEs, it is notified that there shall not be any mandatory requirement for the students to choose any particular general electives to make such discipline a minor for the purpose of seeking admission in the postgraduate programme in that discipline in the university," the DU notification read.

Earlier, the university had made it mandatory for the students to take at least three GE papers from a list specified by each department to qualify a subject as a minor, along with the option to choose four additional GE papers.

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A senior university official said this structure was initially introduced to maintain academic standards and ensure subject familiarity for PG applicants. "After UGCF was implemented, each department had a set list of GEs that students had to follow in order to pursue that subject as a minor and later apply for PG in the same," the official said. However, with PG admissions being conducted based on the Common University Entrance Test (CUET PG), the university has decided to discontinue the mandatory GE requirement.

"Since PG admissions are through entrance exams, students are being assessed independently. There's no need to restrict their GE choices anymore," the official added. The revised rule for DU PG admissions 2025 now allows students to select any paper from the available pool of the particular department, and still be eligible to pursue that discipline for a PG degree.

DU multiple entry-exit guidelines

As per the DU ME-ME guidelines in line with the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines, students will be allowed to exit a programme at the end of every even semester, subject to the fulfillment of the credit requirements.

For UG programmes, students exiting the course after the first year or two semesters of a programme will get an undergraduate certificate while those exiting after two years or four semesters will receive a diploma. Candidates who exit after three years or six semesters will be eligible for a bachelor’s degree whereas those who leave after four years or eight semesters will be awarded an honours or research degree.

In case of PG courses, students will get a PG Diploma upon making an exit from the first year, master’s degree after two years post obtaining a bachelor’s degree or after one year post getting an honours degree, and a doctoral degree.

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The re-entry provision permits aspirants to re-enter a programme of study in which they have been enrolled, after exiting in between the course. Earned credits will be valid for redemption for a maximum of seven years.

A student who avails multiple exits in course of their studies in a particular programme will have to ensure that the credits earned in the first year remains valid till the end of the tenure of the programme schedule – two years for undergraduate diploma, three years for bachelor’s degree or honours degree (as applicable) and four years for bachelor honours degree, honours with research or honours with entrepreneurship (as applicable), taking into consideration the validity of credit for a maximum period of seven years from the year the credit is earned.

(with inputs from PTI)