Regulatory Provisions

(For detailed Regulatory Provisions for Academic Collaboration kindly visit: https://www.ugc.gov.in/pdfnews/4555806_UGC-Acad-Collab-Regulations.pdf)

Eligibility

The Indian and Foreign Higher Educational Institutions shall be eligible to offer Twinning, Joint Degree and Dual Degree programmes provided they fulfil the following eligibility criteria: –

  1. Any “Indian Higher Educational Institution” (i.e., a university within the meaning of Section 2(f) or an institution deemed to be university under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956) which is accredited by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) or any other Agency authorised in this behalf, with a minimum score of 3.01 on a 4-point scale at the time of application;

    or

    which figures in the top 1000 of Times Higher Education or QS World University ranking at the time of application;

    or

    which figures in the top 100 in university category of National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) at the time of application;

  1. Any “Foreign Higher Educational Institution” (i.e., a Higher Educational Institution duly established or incorporated or recognised in a foreign country and offering academic and research programmes at the undergraduate and/or higher levels) figuring in top 1000 of Times Higher Education or QS World University ranking at the time of application.

Twinning Programme

  1. “Twinning Programme” shall be a collaborative arrangement whereby students enrolled with an Indian Higher Educational Institution may undertake their programme of study partly in India, complying with relevant UGC Regulations, and partly in the Foreign Higher Educational Institution.
  2. The degree offered under such twinning programmes shall be awarded by the Indian Higher Educational Institution only.
  3. Under twinning programme, credits earned by the students at a Foreign Higher Educational Institution shall be counted towards the degree awarded by the Indian Higher Educational Institution. However, credits earned by the student from the Foreign Higher Educational Institution shall not exceed 30 per cent of the total credits for the programme.
  4. Credits to be earned by the Indian students from the foreign institution and credits earned by the foreign students from Indian institutions shall be obtained through conventional mode (“Conventional mode” means a mode of providing learning opportunities through face-to-face interaction between the teacher and learner in regular class room environment but does not exclude supplementary instructions if any for the learner through use of online).
  5. Each institution shall issue a transcript for their respective courses, with a remark indicating that the student has taken certain modules at the partner institution, wherever applicable.
  6. The Indian Higher Educational Institution shall ensure that the credits earned by the students from the Foreign Higher Educational Institution shall not be from overlapping course contents/curriculum.
  7. Fees as applicable for the entire duration of the programme (including courses imparted by the Foreign Higher Educational Institution) shall be made public at the time of admission. Fee structure should be reasonable so as to make quality Higher Education accessible and affordable to all sections of the society.
  8. Any degree to be awarded under such twinning programme must be in conformity with the provisions of section 22 (3) of the UGC Act, 1956 and shall also be in conformity with the norms, standards and requirement for award of such degree, as laid down by the statutory authority concerned.
  9. The collaborating Higher Educational Institutions shall make provisions for exit pathways for students who are unable to complete the Twinning programme with clear specification with respect to future acceptance of credits earned by the students.

Joint Degree Programme 

  1. For a “Joint Degree programme”, the curriculum shall be designed jointly by the collaborating Indian and Foreign Higher Educational Institutions and, upon completion of the programme, the Degree is awarded by the Indian Higher Educational Institution and the collaborating Foreign Higher Educational Institution with a single Certificate.
  2. Any Joint degree programme to be offered shall conform to the nomenclature and duration of the degrees as specified in section 22 (3) of the UGC Act, 1956 and shall also conform to minimum eligibility and other norms and standards to offer such degree programme.
  3. The students must earn at least 30 per cent of the total credits from each of the Indian and Foreign Higher Educational Institutions. Credits to be earned by the Indian students from the foreign institution and credits earned by the foreign students from Indian institutions shall be obtained through conventional mode.
  4. Credits earned for the course(s) in an institution shall count towards the degrees jointly awarded by both the institutions.
  5. The collaborating Higher Educational Institutions shall ensure that the credits earned by the students shall not be from overlapping course contents/curriculum and the student shall submit to only one examination and evaluation process for each of the courses by the institutions in which he/she has registered for that course.
  6. In case of a doctoral degree programme, students must have a supervisor at each institution. The student shall spend a minimum of one semester in each of the collaborating institutions during the study programme. However, the student shall submit a single thesis adhering to a framework jointly devised by the participating institutions.
  7. Fees as applicable for the entire duration of the programme (including courses imparted by the Foreign Higher Educational Institution) shall be made public at the time of admission. Fee structure should be reasonable so as to make quality Higher Education accessible and affordable to all sections of the society.
  8. Each Higher Educational Institution shall issue a transcript for their respective courses, with a remark indicating that the student has taken certain modules at the partner institution.
  9. The collaborating Higher Educational Institutions shall make provisions for exit pathways for students who are unable to complete the Joint Degree programme with clear specification with respect to future acceptance of credits earned by the students.
  10. All other provisions related to offering of Joint Degree Programme shall be decided mutually by the participating institutions conforming to the respective rules, regulations and laws of their respective institution and country.

Dual Degree Programme

  1. “Dual Degree Programme” shall be a programme jointly designed and offered by the Indian and Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in the same disciplines/subject areas and in the same level. The degrees for such programme shall be conferred by the Indian and Foreign Higher Educational Institutions, separately and simultaneously, upon completion of degree requirements of both the institutions. This shall not in any way be construed as two degree programmes in separate disciplines/subject areas and/or levels being pursued simultaneously.
  2. Under the Dual degree programme, the degrees to be offered by an Indian Higher Educational Institution shall conform to the nomenclature and duration of the degrees as specified in section 22(3) of the UGC Act, 1956 and shall also conform to minimum eligibility and other norms and standards to offer such degree programme.
  3. Prospective students must meet the admission requirements of both the Indian and Foreign Higher Educational Institutions and shall apply to and be admitted separately to both the institutions.
  4. The students must earn at least 30 percent of total credits from the Indian institution. Credits to be earned by the Indian students from the foreign institution and credits earned by the foreign students from Indian institutions shall be obtained through conventional mode.
  5. Credit earned for the course(s) in an institution shall count towards degrees to be awarded by both the institutions.
  6. The collaborating Higher Educational Institutions shall ensure that the credits earned by the students shall not be from overlapping course contents/curriculum; and the student shall submit to only one examination and evaluation process for each of the courses by the institutions in which he/she has registered for that course.
  7. In case of a doctoral degree programme, students must have a supervisor at each institution. The student shall spend a minimum of one semester in each of the collaborating institutions during the study programme. However, the student shall submit a single thesis adhering to a framework jointly devised by the participating institutions.
  8. Fees as applicable for the entire duration of the programme (including courses imparted by the Foreign Higher Educational Institution) shall be made public at the time of admission. Fee structure should be reasonable so as to make quality Higher Education accessible and affordable to all sections of the society.
  9. Each of the Higher Educational Institutions concerned shall issue a transcript for its respective courses, with a remark indicating that the student has taken certain modules at the partner institution.
  10. The collaborating Higher Educational Institutions shall make provisions for exit pathways for students who are unable to complete the Dual Degree programme with clear specification with respect to future acceptance of credits earned by the students.
  11. All other provisions related to offering of Dual Degree Programme shall be decided mutually by the participating institutions conforming to the respective rules, regulations and laws of their respective institution and country.