Now, VTU engineering students can graduate one semester early

Undergraduate engineering students starting classes at VTU-affiliated colleges in the upcoming academic year can get their degrees one semester early.

The Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) is introducing a system, whereby it will award BE/BTech degrees to students before the regular course duration of eight semesters ends. But there are riders.

Under the university’s new guidelines for BE/BTech degrees, ‘extraordinary’ students can get their degrees in the seventh semester itself.

Students can simultaneously attend the classes for both the seventh and eighth semesters and complete the course early, VTU vice-chancellor Prof Karisiddappa told DH.

Students can register for a minimum of 28 credits each semester and complete them before the final semester.

The total credits for the entire course will be 160. If a student can finish all the 160 credits in the seventh semester, he/she doesn’t have to physically attend the class for the eighth semester, Karisiddappa added.

There will be, however, no reduction in the curriculum for students. In effect, if they wish to get the degree in seven semesters, they will have to study for the seventh and eighth semesters in one ago.

The university will issue the course completion certificate to students who complete it early, but the degree certificate will be awarded only after the eighth semester.

Students can spend the remainder of the course duration preparing for competitive exams to take up higher studies.

The system is currently in place in the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). VTU is the first university in Karnataka to introduce it.

“This is based on the National Education Policy. We are giving students multiple entry and exit options,” a university official said.

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