Is MPhil Degree Invalid? UGC Warns Students That MPhil Is No Longer A Recognised Degree

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued a notification on 27 December warning students against pursuing Master of Philosophy (MPhil) programmes from universities.

This alert follows the fact that despite UGC having cancelled the MPhil degree, some universities continue to offer it.

"It has come to the notice of the UGC that a few universities are inviting fresh applications for MPhil (Master of Philosophy) programme. In this regard, it is to bring to the notice that the MPhil degree is not a recognised degree," UGC stated in an official notification.

MPhil is a 2-year postgraduate academic research course.

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Has UGC discontinued the MPhil degree?

At the start of 2022, UGC had officially notified that it would be scrapping the MPhil programme from 2022-23 onwards, in line with the NEP, 2020.

UGC emphasised Regulation No. 14 of the UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedures for Award of PhD Degree) Regulations 2022, which clearly prohibits higher educational institutions from offering MPhil programmes.

This regulation made MPhil invalid and scrapped the degree from the 2022-23 academic year onwards.

Discontinuation of MPhil was proposed under the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020.

The recent UGC advisory urged universities to take immediate steps to cease MPhil admissions for the upcoming academic year and advised students against enrolling in MPhil programmes.

Will every MPhil degree become invalid?

The draft UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedures for Award of PhD Degree) Regulations 2022 had stated that "MPhil awarded till the date of these new regulations shall remain valid."

What does NEP 2020 state about MPhil degree?

National education policy 2020 is an attempt to reform the Indian education system to make it effective. One such effort toward this is the removal of the M.Phil program which was an intermediate step between a postgraduate degree and a PhD degree.

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Students can now directly pursue a PhD after completing their postgraduate or a four-year undergraduate degree with research.

The decision to discontinue the M.Phil program was made to streamline the process of pursuing a PhD.

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