DU Says Honours Students Have Up to 52 More Subject Credits Than Major Students

The Delhi University has justified its decision to prioritise four-year Honours degree holders over students with a Major in the same subject for its newly introduced one-year postgraduate programmes.

In its September 3 speaking order, DU’s Grievance Redressal Committee said students in single-discipline Honours or Honours with Research programmes can acquire up to 132 credits in a specific discipline, compared with a minimum of 80 credits for students pursuing that discipline as a Major within a multidisciplinary undergraduate programme.

The university has cited this difference of up to 52 credits as evidence of greater subject-specific academic exposure among Honours students.

DU’s argument assumes particular significance because the one-year postgraduate route, introduced for the 2026-27 academic session alongside the existing two-year PG programmes, compresses postgraduate study into just two semesters. The GRC said students entering the one-year programme must already have substantial grounding in their chosen discipline to handle rigorous conceptual study and research within the shorter duration.

The issue arose after students challenged DU’s admission framework for programmes such as the one-year MA Political Science, where Honours candidates are considered ahead of Major candidates under the programme-specific priority system.

DU has maintained that the distinction was not introduced during the admission process. According to the university, the eligibility criteria were approved by its Standing Committee of the Academic Council in November 2025, followed by approvals from the Academic Council and Executive Council in December 2025. The relevant resolution was uploaded on the university website in January 2026, months before admissions began.

The larger dispute, however, remains unresolved. A separate petition challenging the Honours-over-Major preference is pending before the Delhi High Court, with the matter listed for September 18, 2026. The court has not yet ruled on the legal validity of DU’s allocation system.

“Education Post has accessed the university’s detailed reasoning and will publish the full exclusive report on DU’s one-year PG admission criteria and the ongoing legal challenge.”