The University of Delhi has announced that students can now pursue two degree programmes simultaneously within the university. Official notification released by DU mentions that students can pursue one degree in regular mode from DU affliated colleges or departments and the other in Open and Distance Learning (ODL) mode from the School of Open Learning. All those students who have already got themselves enrolled in a degree programme at the university can also choose to pursue two degrees at the same time. However, there is a catch. Those students will not be allowed to pursue two similar academic programmes at once, such as B.Com (Hons.) and B.Com (Pass), even if one of them is taken in the ODL format.
How to Pursue Two Degrees Simultaneously
Students who opts for two degrees simultaneously should know that it is mandatory to meet all academic requirements for both programmes separately. In other words, candidates will have to attend classes, complete and submit internal assessments on time and give presentations and meet promotion criteria for each degree.
To eliminiate the situation where students will have to study mandatory courses twice, DU has announced that students can complete the compulsory courses for the programme they enrolled in first irrespective of the fact that it is regular or ODL Mode.
For example, if a student first enrolls in a regular programme, they will have to complete the mandatory courses for that programme. If enrolled in an ODL programme first, the compulsory courses for that programme will take precedence.
For UG programmes, the enrolled students will have to complete mandatory courses such as Environmental Science (EVS) or Ability Enhancement Courses (AEC) for the programme they enroll in first. For instance, a student pursuing two undergraduate degrees will study the AEC language and EVS courses as part of their regular programme, while for the second ODL degree, they can either choose a different AEC language or opt for a Skill Enhancement Course (SEC) or a Value Addition Course (VAC).
In a similar situation, if a student is pursuing two B.A. programmes at the same time, then instead of repeating a Generic Elective (Language) course, they can opt for courses from the open Generic Elective (GE) pool to avoid duplication. However, the project work that has to be completed in the final year must be submitted seperately for each degree pursued. The students will not be allowed to combine credits earned from the two different programmes to obtain a major or minor in any discipline.
(With inputs from PTI)