Who's opting for DU's fourth year? More takers from Humanities, not Science or Commerce

Indian Express

3 days ago

Shalin Dan had always dreamed of studying at St Stephen's College. When he was admitted to its BSc Mathematics (Honours) programme three years ago, it felt like a goal fulfilled. But now, with Delhi University (DU) transitioning into a four-year undergraduate format in line with the National Education Policy, 2020, Dan has chosen not to continue.
'The first batch is always a trial batch,' said the 22-year-old, who now works as a merchandiser at a private firm. 'Seminars were held in our college, but even faculty members couldn't answer many of our questions. Especially in Mathematics, it didn't make sense to go in blindly without a clear research path.'
Dan is part of a cohort of science students across DU choosing to exit their undergraduate courses at the end of the third year, despite the opportunity to pursue a research-intensive fourth year and graduate with an 'Honours with Research' degree.
According to DU records, the fourth year — at least in this initial rollout — is being embraced more readily by students of Humanities and Languages programmes than those in Sciences and Commerce.
As of last week, 9,674 students across DU have opted to exit early, according to data accessed by The Indian Express. The last date to make the choice is July 31.
Tripti Mittal, (20), a BSc Mathematics (Hons) student at St Stephen's College, has chosen to stay on.
'I want to pursue a PhD in Mathematics. With the fourth year, I can bypass a full Master's programme… In seminars, we were told we could choose any topic in our subject of research,' she said.
At Miranda House — consistently ranked among DU's top five colleges by the National Institutional Ranking Framework — between 40% to 60% students of Science students have chosen to exit the undergraduate programme after three years. In Humanities, the figure is notably lower, with only 25%-35% of students of Political Science and History choosing to leave.
In the Commerce stream, too, not many are opting for the fourth year.
At Shri Ram College of Commerce, the most-preferred DU college, only 170 of 900 BCom (Honours) and 74 of 210 Economics (Honours) students are opting for the fourth year.
At Hindu College, another top-ranking DU college, Principal Anju Srivastava said that interest varies with the subject.
'In Sciences, around 30-35% students have expressed interest in the fourth year. History and Political Science may see more than 30% staying on, but Sociology and Philosophy may not see many takers. While English and Economics have more than 35% of the students opting to continue, Commerce may see less interest,' she added.
At Kirori Mal College, the split is nearly even. As of Wednesday, 472 students had opted to exit while 455 have chosen to stay on. The highest number of students exiting the college is 66 in BCom and 60 in BCom (Hons) out of the 472.
In the Sciences, specific departments are witnessing a sharper decline. In Physics, 40 students have exited, followed by Chemistry (38) and Mathematics (6). By comparison, in the BSc Programme Physical Sciences (with Chemistry), 38 students have chosen to leave.
The contrast is sharper when Languages are considered. While Hindi and Sanskrit have seen two students each opting out, four students have decided not to pursue Urdu, suggesting a stronger interest in research among students.
Kirori Mal College Principal Dinesh Khattar said the mixed response was understandable. 'It is quite natural for students to have a little insecurity. This is the first batch. They are bound to have doubts,' he said.
'So far, it looks like a 50-50 split across courses, but these numbers might change in the coming week.'
At Ramjas College, Principal Ajay Arora said, 'About 45-50% students would like to continue with the fourth year. This percentage is almost consistent across every course, including Humanities, Sciences, and Languages.' He added that more than 50% of Chemistry students are staying on.
The principal from a prominent North Campus college admitted that students of the Sciences are harder to retain in the fourth year. 'Many of them are either taking up jobs or opting for MA programmes elsewhere… Interestingly, students of Languages are showing more interest in research.'