JOIN USIf you have less than 13 years of education and aspire to pursue under-graduation in India, UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, or any other part of the educational globe, you will need to do the Bridge courses offered by various reputed universities, in every subject listed in their academic programmes.
For university experience
While Bridge courses serve as a tool to help students cope with graduate level studies, Pathway courses in a chosen field of study do the work of a connector for advanced studies. A bridging course is a period of preparation, with a planned academic curriculum that is offered to students, for the intellectual challenges of a university education and successful completion of which is recognised as a basis for admission to the university.
All courses and programmes in any given discipline one may choose, regardless of the country or university, have basic admission criteria. These are prerequisites for the student to fit into the programme with ease. The lacunae between knowledge in hand and knowledge required is what is being made good by the Bridge courses.
If you have had three years of graduation after Class 12, you have 15 years of education under your belt. Universities in the US look for 16 years of formal education before you are deemed fit for higher studies in their country. Most Indian students who wish to go to the US are faced with this problem of falling short by one year to qualify. This is where the helpful bridging comes in.
Range of programmes
Apart from addressing the subject requirement, Bridge courses also offer language competency in the official language of the country you have picked to study in. German universities appreciate and reward knowledge of Deutsche. The US and the UK look for proficiency in English, which explains the need for IELTS (International English Language Testing System) or PTE clearance for most students. International students from non-English speaking background have many English language programmes to improve speaking, listening, reading and writing skills to help them adapt to the university-level of functioning and learning.
In fact, module-specific Bridge courses are available to smooth things over and make you feel confident to take on the challenges of graduate school. Further, these courses are so structured to introduce a whole new way of approaching and studying the subject. As Roshni, an aspiring student of Analytical Mathematics pointed out, “Apart from the teaching methodology, there is a greater demand made on the student’s ability to understand and construct complex logical arguments, to deal with higher levels of abstraction and problem solving — different and exciting, not to mention challenging. Without the Bridge course, I would have been kind of overwhelmed.”
Paving the way
Pathway programmes are offered at various levels to facilitate moving forward. There are undergraduate foundation certificate courses for freshers and for those who have not quite made the grades, undergraduate international year certificate which is like a bridge for students from other countries, and even a pre-masters before progressing to partner universities who validate and accept the certificate.
Typically, Bridge programme students hold a two-year college degree, and are seeking advancement in their profession by obtaining a four-year or graduate degree. This is a formal partnership between two post-secondary institutions that provides students with advanced standing in a degree programme at one institution as recognition of previous academic experience in a similar field of study in a partner institution. Universities in Canada also offer short-term professional and technical programmes for undergraduates and help in the job market.
Win-win
A Bridge programme agreement works three ways — Bilateral, Multilateral and Concurrent. A Bilateral agreement between two institutions basically underlines similar programme content. Therefore, students transferring from one university to another can use initial credits towards the completion of another programme at the partner institution.
Multilateral agreement is between an institution and several other institutions that offer related programmes of interest. The completion of one programme will directly lead to a specific degree programme in another university.
Last but not the least, this is for the ambitious. Concurrent agreement, as the word suggests, is a collaboration between two institutions, whereby students will work towards two sets of qualifications (such as a diploma and a degree) at the same time, and on the same campus. If you are one of the shortlisted students for a tuition-free, university sponsored Bridge programme, you will experience international perspective, grow as a person and gain a deeper appreciation through interaction with other cultures.
Crossing bridges
In any postgraduate study, the foundation programmes are to ensure that students from different educational background are on par before stepping into their first year. This is so because students from different streams can choose to do a PGD (postgraduate diploma) or a master’s degree in any discipline.
For instance, a student from engineering background may want to do a management programme. A short Bridge course in Accounting or Economics will help him or her in coping with business studies, even as a student of Commerce would want to learn basic Information Technology or need a language lab to help with communication and sales. These Bridge programmes can be as short as a week’s crash course or extend to a full length one year programme, depending on your need and the challenges presented by the subject.
The first year focuses on core subjects, which are necessary for professions in all streams of the programme specialisations. The second year is earmarked for specialisation.
Indian context
Interestingly, at the postgraduate level, it was the Indian University which proved more demanding, especially for students who wished to pursue MPhil or PhD in Humanities. Students studying here were at an advantage because the format for postgraduate programmes in India was a two-year module, whilst in the UK, it was one year. The UK programme was not recognised by the Indian Universities, posing an impasse for students who had a one-year postgraduate course certificate. In 2013, the India–UK six month Bridge course was launched to resolve this issue. Now, Indian PG students studying in UK universities are eligible for MPhil or direct PhD programmes in India.
In a new bid to encourage educational programmes, the Ministry of Human Resource Development has also given the nod to recognise one-year management courses done in the UK, provided the student does a six-month internship in an Indian company. The corporate corridor has opened its doors to trainees with diverse skills. The internship programme does the work of a Bridge course, with hands on training to combat real-world situations. Many of the gaps in our knowledge and understanding could be because of limited exposure and our cultural background. The quest for knowledge clearly indicates the right aptitude and application, which is precisely why we are pulling down walls and building bridges instead.