NEW DELHI: Delhi University has announced a direct admission route to PhD programmes as a one-time measure for those who completed the four-year undergraduate programme this year, reports Sugandha Jha.In a press release issued Friday, DU said, “In the interest of the first batch of students who have completed the FYUP in 2026, the university will admit students who have 7.5 CGPA (7 CGPA for SC/ST) and above in the FYUP directly to the PhD programme, only for the academic session 2026-27, as a special measure as per rules of the university.”DU Registrar Vikas Gupta told TOI that those who are eligible will have to sit for an entrance test, dates for which will be announced soon. Aspirants will not be required to appear for an interview.Gupta added that the relaxation was limited to the first batch of FYUP students, given the teething issues faced by the inaugural batch. “This will not be applicable for upcoming batches. The modalities will be decided later if the same has to be rolled out for other batches later,” he said. The university has also amended its PhD ordinance to enable FYUP graduates meeting the prescribed criteria to apply directly for doctoral programmes.The decision was taken in a meeting of the university’s executive council on July 30. Gupta said it followed reports of confusion and challenges surrounding the implementation of the new system for the first FYUP batch.The decision, however, faced objections by some executive council members who said the proposal was not thorough and could cause difficulties for students. For example, if a student applies for a teaching position, she requires a master’s degree. If FYUP students choose to go for the PhD programme, they may have to do a master’s degree after. Similarly, students who go through this route will not be able to give the NET exam since a postgraduate degree is an eligibility criteria. They also said admitting students to PhD programmes without any interview would mean that there is no credible method to ensure that the student’s research is academically viable and valid, as per PhD standards.TOI had reported Friday that FYUP graduates across universities, including DU, were entering an academic vacuum, as a limited number of one-year PG programmes was forcing many students to take up the traditional two-year masters’ degree and that the proposal to allow direct admission to PhD programmes was yet to take off.The university said 75,948 students took admission in the FYUP in 2022-23. Of them, 40,005 exited after the third year in 2025. The university said FYUP was designed to bring research and entrepreneurship into undergraduate education and align Indian degrees with global standards.
