UGC Extends Validity, Allows Admission To Two MPhil Programmes Till 2025-26 Academic Session

UGC has extended the validity of two MPhil programmes and authorised student admissions until the 2025-26 academic session.

UGC has extended the validity of two MPhil programmes.

Source : UGC

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has extended the validity of two MPhil programmes and authorised student admissions until the 2025-26 academic session. Despite the discontinuation of the MPhil degree, the commission has opted to extend the validity of MPhil in Clinical Psychology and MPhil in Psychiatric Social Work, offering a partial relaxation to the UGC PhD regulations.

The UGC's Minimum Standards and Procedure for Award of PhD degree regulations 2022 ceased the MPhil program in line with the recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP).

“Considering the vital role played by clinical psychologists and psychiatric social workers in delivering mental health services, the UGC has decided to extend the validity of MPhil in Clinical Psychology and MPhil in Psychiatric Social Work till 2025-26 academic session only, in partial relaxation to the above regulations,” the commission said in an official notice.

Accordingly, the higher education institutions can admit students to these MPhil programmes till 2025-26 academic session only, UGC added.

In December of last year, the commission instructed universities to halt admissions to the MPhil program following its discontinuation.

The UGC regulations on PhD degrees mandated a four-year undergraduate degree with a minimum 75% marks or its equivalent grade as the eligibility criteria for PhD admissions in colleges and universities. “Higher Educational Institutions shall not offer the M.Phil. (Master of Philosophy) programme,” the UGC PhD regulations read.

UGC Removes 'De-Reservation' Draft Guidelines From Website

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has withdrawn the draft guidelines proposing the 'de-reservation' of reserved posts in faculty recruitment at higher education institutions. UGC chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar said that the guidelines have been removed from the website as the deadline for feedback submission on the draft has passed. A controversy arose on Sunday over the UGC's draft guidelines, which suggested that any vacancy reserved for SC, ST, and OBC candidates would be 'declared unreserved' if an insufficient number of candidates from these categories were available.