Four Year Under Graduate Programme
A brief introduction to Sacred Heart College – Undergraduate Programme (Honours)
Introduction
A four-year undergraduate programme, a beacon of innovation in the educational landscape, is introduced in Kerala this year. Embracing the ethos of enrichment and expansion, this contemporary model offers students an extended academic odyssey, rich with possibilities for intellectual growth and personal development. This write up is an attempt to describe what FYUGP(Four Year Undergraduate Programme) is all about in simple words. This is intended to be read by all undergraduate aspirants, who have just passed out their higher secondary course and are yet to start their college/university education.
UG Programmes, so far
Till the academic year 2023-24, a typical Arts or Science Undergraduate programme comprised of 6 semesters spread across three years. During the programme, a student would study various courses from a main subject and two subsidiary subjects (closely related to the main subject) in addition to acquiring language skills, in English as well as a different language chosen by the student. Once admitted to a programme, the student will have to complete the set of courses stipulated by his/her college/university and upon successful completion of all courses (indicated by the number of credits acquired by the student) the degree will be conferred by the university to which the college is affiliated. Changes in main (major) or subsidiary (minor) subjects were not allowed. Under the three-year UG programme framework a student had to earn 120 credits to be awarded a degree.
In the ever-evolving landscape of higher education, the transition from the traditional three-year undergraduate system to the contemporary four-year model marks a profound shift in academic paradigms.
Let us try to understand a few technical terms, which are essential to understand the conduct of FYUGP.
Programmes, Courses and Syllabi
In university education, we have programmes which comprise of different courses. For example an undergraduate Physics programme (leading to a B.Sc. Physics degree) will have a number of courses on various topics in Physics. Computational Physics and Electrodynamics are two examples of such courses. For the student to be awarded with a degree, he/she has to successfully complete a minimum number of courses and earn sufficient number of credits. Successful completion is indicated by passing examinations (and other assessments) which are given as the course progresses.
The syllabus of a course is a document which details the topics taught in that particular course as well as the assessment methods and books of study. The syllabus of a programme list all the syllabi of courses a well as many other academic details about the programme.
Credits And Semesters
Credit is a unit by which the course work is measured. It determines the number of hours of instruction required per week in a semester. For example a three-credit course would require three hours of teaching a week. Loosely speaking, a year comprises of two semesters (ideally 5 months each) and a vacation period (2 months). Each semester will have eighteen weeks, with five working days each.
FYUGP
From the academic year 2024-25 onwards, a student can start his/her undergraduate education as earlier by taking up a main subject (called as major, hereafter) and two subsidiary subjects (called as minors) and progress as earlier. However, the student can study one more year (i.e., a total of eight semesters of study) and have the flexibility to earn an undergraduate honours degree or undergraduate honours degree with research, hence the name FYUGP. The FYUGP conducted at Sacred Heart College is known as Sacred Heart College – Undergraduate Programme (Honours). One needs to obtain a minimum of 177 credits to get a honours degree and a minimum of 133 credits to get a (3 year) UG degree. In addition to obtaining a honours degree, a student entering into FYUGP will have the following flexibilities, which are the salient features of FYUGP.
Salient Features
- Possibility to choose one of the chosen minors as a major by the start of second year.
- Possibility to finish the study by sixth semester and choose to have an undergraduate degree (without honours).
- Possibility to join Ph.D. programme after completing undergraduate honours with research.
- Possibility to take a break from studies and continue at a later time.
- All the credits earned by a student will be registered/stored in academic bank of credits (ABC) set up by the Government of India.
- Possibility to move to a different institution and continue studies, using the credits earned till then.
- Possibility to gain internship/work experience during undergraduate programme.
- Possibility to attempt NET exam and obtain a job/JRF (after completing honours).
- Possibility to do a one-year Postgraduate course, instead of 2-year courses conducted at present.
- Possibility to choose any two subjects as minors.
Possibility of Honours With Research
We have seven approved research centers in our college. Furthermore we have faculty members with Ph.D. available in all departments (subjects). Hence all students joining our FYUGP can have the possibility to finish with a honours by research degree.
Undergraduate Programme (Honours) - SHC UGP Majors And Minors
Aided Programmes:
Majors
Available Minors
Self-Financing Programmes:
Majors
Available Minors
FYUGP Syllabus / List of Courses
The list of courses we are planning to offer to the first batch of FYUGP students of our college maybe accessed by clicking here (List of Courses). Currently we are in the process of finalising the syllabus and getting it approved by MG University, Kottayam, to which the college is affiliated. The syllabi of all FYUGP programmes offered by our college will also be published at our website in due time.
Want To Talk To Us?
Our college has a team of faculty members assigned with the task of acting as advisors to students. Every department has a Senior Faculty Advisor (SFA) who may be contacted to clarify any doubts about the FYUGP programme, offered by the department. Kindly contact the respective advisor to get your doubts cleared. Their contact details may be found by clicking here.
SENIOR FACULTY ADVISORS
Aided Programmes
Self-Financing Programmes
How To Apply
Should you choose to join with us for your UG studies, you may lodge your application by filling in the form provided at our admissions page (Click Here).
Concluding Remarks
The information is provided as a guideline to UG aspirants. This document is a work in progress. So do keep checking, to get updated information on FYUGP. Missing links etc. will be made active soon.
We hope that the information provided above has given you a brief introduction to FYUGP (or SHC-UGP). In case you have any doubts/queries, feel free to contact us via the SFA contacts given above. Wishing you all thee best in your learning endeavors.
Further reading / Information
- SHC-FYUGP Regulations – Click Here
- MGU-FYUGP Regulations – Click Here
- KSHEC – FYUGP – Click Here
- UGC guidelines on FYUGP – Click Here
- National Credit Framework – Click Here
- Academic Bank Of Credits – Click Here