MU approves guidelines for the fourth year of four-year undergraduate programmes under NEP

For Honours degree, students must complete 160 to 176 credits over four years. The fourth year will focus on in-depth study of the major subject along with a 4-credit internship. Whereas for Honours with Research students opting for this track must complete a 12-credit research project or dissertation in their major subject during the seventh and eighth semesters. A minimum CGPA of 7.5 will be required.

Only colleges offering postgraduate programmes will be permitted to run the four-year Honours courses, while those with recognised research centres can offer the Honours with Research option.

The fourth year of the undergraduate programme is aligned with the first year of postgraduate studies. The framework is expected to ease academic mobility and create multiple entry and exit options for students. But its implementation will depend on institutional capacity.

Autonomous colleges affiliated to Mumbai University who were all set to roll out the first-ever fourth year of the undergraduate (UG) courses in June 2026 were eagerly waiting for the guidelines, as new academic year is only two months away.

The varsity’s academic council also proposed a regulatory framework for courses offered by autonomous colleges, mandating alignment with NEP norms, standardised course nomenclature, and strict adherence to university evaluation standards.

In another significant development, the academic council also approved direct second-year entry into MSc Nano Science and Nanotechnology for engineering graduates. As per varsity this move is aimed at promoting interdisciplinary education.