What is the distinction between Master’s Certificate and MA Degree?
We’d like to underscore the distinction between our fully online Master’s Certificate program (level 1 and 2) and our Govt. of India accredited MA Samskrit degree program. Though the course work and assessment model is identical for both the programs, joining the MA degree program requires adherence to additional University terms and conditions laid down by Govt. of India as follows.
- You must be able and ready to abide by the MIT-ADT University rules and regulations. MIT-ADT University is a state private university under Govt. of Maharashtra, and is recognized by UGC (a regulatory body in India).
- You must be ready to visit the Pune campus for taking the final paper-based exams for at least a week at the end of every semester (typically 1st or 2nd week of December and May).
- In addition, you must attend on-campus lectures at least once during a semester (usually clubbed with your exam visit).
- Minimum 80% attendance in all interactive lectures (online or offline) is mandatory to be able to appear for exams in each semester.
- You must furnish the required documentation including your prior degrees and migration certificate at the time of admission before commencement of the course (i.e. July 1).
Since meeting the above conditions could be inconvenient for most NRIs, we’d highly recommend students residing outside India to enroll in the Master’s Certificate program, which waives the campus visit requirement; but is only recognized by Hindu University of America (HUA), based in Florida, USA, and MIT SVS for higher studies (MPhil and PhD) in Samskrit. If you are not keen on a university degree; but are studying for knowledge’s sake, this is an attractive and convenient option.
What are the roles of MIT SVS and HUA in this program?
At this time, the academic responsibility of this Master’s program (both certificate and degree flavors) is with MIT SVS, including course content, teaching, certification and accreditation.
HUA is associating with MIT SVS to provide front-end non-academic administrative support for convenience of students residing outside Indi
Currently, HUA can offer degrees that are recognized by the state of Florida; but not yet accredited (quality-assured) by the Federal Government. It is working to obtain such accreditation over the next couple of years.
I need an accredited MA degree; but cannot travel to India for exams. Do you offer exam centers in the US?
Unfortunately, MIT-ADT University is currently not allowed by UGC regulations to conduct accredited degree programs in distance mode. That means, final exams must be conducted within our Pune campus or within the state of Maharashtra. This is due to pending UGC verification, which is expected to be over soon.
UGC rules have been relaxed to allow NAAC certified universities to offer distance mode programs. If all goes well, we hope to get that certification by 2020-21. At that time, one can enroll as a fresh MA degree student; but skip all the classes and directly write the end-sem exams in December and May.
We will then also be allowed to setup MIT-ADT University-certified exam centers in the US.
Is this Master’s Certificate program recognized for pursuing MPhil and PhD programs?
It is recognized by MIT-ADT University and Hindu University of America for pursuing their MPhil and PhD programs, and elsewhere.
Can we study at our pace and pass one course at a time?
Yes, the certificate version allows you to study at your own pace, and you’ll pay for only the courses you take in a semester.
Our rate is USD 150 per credit. We have 4 courses per semester @ 3 credits each.
If you take only one course (== subject) in the next sem, you only pay 150*3 = 450 USD.
Course == subject, and comprises 1 or more credits. Each credit is 15 hours of class effort.
Officially, the UGC allows one to complete a 2-year MA in up to 3 years.
However, there are prerequisites for many of the subjects, and each subject is offered at a specific time of a year. So, we recommend taking two courses per semester.
If I take fewer credits on a slower basis, then the tuition fee wouldn’t have to paid per semester (i.e. $1800); but rather based on the number of credits, right?
Yes.
Does the Mimamsa course also include Uttara Mimamsa / Vedanta?
Vedanta is taught as a separate course. Mimaamsa = Purva Mimaamsa
What are the timings of the online classes ? What if they are inconvenient for some time zone?
Tentatively, 8 to 9:30pm India time, is the timing for the online classes.
One needs to prepare to commit a solid 9 hours per week of class time in full-time mode.
That means 1.5 hours per class for 6 slots in a week (3 per course).
One can opt to take only 2 courses in a semester, which might bring it down to 3 slots per week.
So, to do a serious master’s level Samskrit course, that is the kind of time commitment it takes.
One can always fall back on recordings if online class timings don’t suit.
We haven’t finalized the exact slot timings; but we cannot afford to teach the same class twice to accommodate multiple time zones, since we engage senior scholars, and we need to go by their convenience. For some subjects we can engage younger faculty where such things are possible.
Can we start as a certificate now and get it converted to a degree later?
Yes. You can do up to half of the MA courses now in certificate mode via HUA. Later, you can formally enroll into the MIT-ADT University’s MA Samskrit degree program, transfer HUA credits to MIT-ADT and do only the remaining courses via MIT-ADT, and get an accredited MA degree from MIT-ADT University.
What is the difference between the same course with 3 credits for students from US and 5 credits for Indian students?
In India, credits reflect the complete load of the student, including home study, for a course, whereas a US credit reflects class time only. In the US, a student is expected to put double the class time for personal home study for a course. That’s why 12 credits per semester is considered full load in the US, since it roughly corresponds to 36 hours of total effort.
Whereas in India, the minimum number of credits per semester is 20 and their hours’ equivalent varies. There are three types of ‘credits’ – lecture, tutorial and practical. Among them 1 lecture/tutorial credit is 12-15 hrs; but 1 practical credit is double that effort, which corresponds to 30-40 hours of overall effort including self-study, assignments, etc.
So if a course is of 1 credit in the US, the student is expected to put in 15 hours of class time and 20-30 hours of home study outside classroom.
To bring parity in the effort for foreign and Indian students, we call the same course as a 5-credit one for Indian students and split them as 3+2 credits where 3 means 45 hours of classes and 2 means 30 hours of personal effort. So students, both from India and US, get the same value for their money from a teaching/training perspective.
I have passed Kovida from Samskrita Bharati. Am I exempted from taking the Samskrit Language Proficiency Test?
Passing the SLPT is an eligibility criterion for admission into the Masters’ program in Samskrit / MA Samskrit. Whatever be your background of Samkrit learning, it is imperative for you to attempt the SLPT and pass it to move forward in the admission process.
