Dual degree courses: Why and how to get them

Dual degree courses: Why and how to get them

For decades, our education system has followed a conventional approach to learning. But in recent years, we have been proactive in adopting new pedagogical trends aimed at fostering skill development and better learning outcomes. But the biggest deterrent to embracing novel developments has been the slow rate of social acceptance.

Many important factors have been responsible for bringing about a slow but definite change in mindset, including the government’s increasing focus on competing with developed economies where impetus is given to nurturing a knowledge economy rather than just equipping its citizens for survival. This applies in the case of pursuing higher education degrees as well. The Indian education system tends to follow certain conventions, which are set on pursuing one single degree like engineering, medicine etc. However, in some metros, the trend of pursuing dual or integrated degrees, is slowly gathering pace.

DUAL AND INTEGRATED PROGRAMMES In dual degrees programmes, graduates in a particular discipline can also pursue a master’s degree as a part of the same course, provided they have the aptitude for it. In regular programmes, the batch of master’s students may have graduated from diverse disciplines and will require a more solid foundation and understanding of the master’s curriculum. Dual or integrated programmes are usually available after Class 12 but a few are available after Class 10 and graduation as well. Some typical examples are dual BTech-MTech and integrated BBA-MBA.

It has been found that at least 30% of the graduate syllabus is repeated in the master’s programme. So when a student who has graduated from a particular programme chooses to pursue a master’s degree in the same discipline, most of what he/she will learn has already been taught at the UG level. Integrated or dual degree programmes avoid this repetition, helping students gain more advanced knowledge and specialise in the subject while truncating the time taken to complete the master’s degree.

Admission to the master’s degrees is generally more stringent than regular ones. In the case of a dual BBA-MBA programme, if a student wants to pursue an MBA degree after graduating from any other discipline, he/she is subjected to various selection processes in the form of entrance tests or interviews, to prove their eligibility for MBA programme.

In dual or integrated degree programmes, students are spared from these processes as they have already been selected through a higher eligibility bar and foundation of the master’s syllabus is already inculcated during graduation.

Some integrated course programmes, especially in the fields of biotechnology and information technology , make internships mandatory in their curricula, giving students the industry exposure. ALTERING PERCEPTIONS Despite offering numerous benefits, dual and integrated programmes face a major challenge of social acceptance. This is primarily due to the conventional thought process prevalent in our society. Even if a student is interested in seeking admission to these programmes, their parents who are the primary decision makers, discourage them, largely owing to the lack of awareness about benefits and the scope offered by these programmes. Conventions are deep rooted, hence it will take time to bring changes in perception.

NEW AVENUES Our education system is at crossroads, transiting from a conventional to a more global approach. Internationally accepted education trends are slowly seeping into our system. One such programme is the horizontal dual degree that allows students to pursue degrees of two different disciplines at the same time. Although it is an accepted and fairly prevalent programme in foreign universities, the concept has not been recognised and accepted by the UGC.

One of the main reasons is that students and parents are more inclined towards conventional, reputed degrees. A similar concept is already being implemented by some universities in the form of open minors which is recognised by the UGC as well. For instance, a student pursuing BTech may also study a minor course in fashion design or psychology. Such a system is expected to shift the perception of horizontal dual programmes and perhaps, increase their popularity.

The author is head of admissions at Lovely Professional University

Source | Hindustan Times | 3^rd April 2019