DU Academic Council adopts 4th Year UG research guidelines amid faculty concerns over workload, funding.
- 05, Jul 2025
The Delhi University Academic Council on Friday approved new guidelines for final-year undergraduate research and projects, even as faculty concerns over workload, funding, and unrealistic expectations.
The Delhi University Academic Council on
Friday approved new guidelines for final-year undergraduate research and
projects, even as faculty concerns over workload, funding, and unrealistic
expectations.
The Academic Council, DU's top academic
decision-making body, cleared the framework to regulate the dissertation,
academic project, and entrepreneurship tracks being introduced in the final
year of UG courses.
These guidelines were necessary as the
first batch under the UGCF has now entered its fourth year. The proposal will
now be presented before the Executive Council for final approval.
According to the approved guidelines, every
student opting for one of the three tracks will work under a faculty
supervisor.
Dissertations must be done individually,
while academic projects may be pursued solo or in small groups.
Entrepreneurship projects will require students to have studied two specific
elective courses. Faculty members -- including those without PhDs -- will be
eligible to supervise, with a maximum of 10 students per teacher, unless
otherwise approved by the college's Research Committee.
A monthly progress report must be submitted
to the Subject Research Committee, and every student must present their
progress before an Advisory Committee for Research.
Each college is expected to form a
three-tier research supervision structure: a College Research Committee (RCC),
Subject Research Committee (SRC), and an Advisory Committee for Research (ACR).
Funding for student research may be sourced
from internal college funds, alumni, CSR grants, or industry collaborations.
Colleges must also maintain a research repository and ensure anti-plagiarism
checks. Faculty are to undergo training in research supervision, and students
will receive orientation on ethics and citation practices.