Calcutta University has set aside 80% of its postgraduate seats for undergraduate students who exit colleges at the end of their third year, the vice-chancellor said on Friday.

CU has around 6,000 postgraduate seats.

Of the 80%, 60% of the seats will be reserved for students exiting from CU-affiliated colleges.

Students pursuing the four-year undergraduate programme have the option of exiting at the end of their third year under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

They may then enrol in a two-year postgraduate programme.

Those who complete the four-year programme in July next year will be admitted to a one-year PG programme, and 20% of CU seats will be reserved for them.

A CU official said they fixed such a proportion because a bulk of the undergraduate students are likely to exit after “graduating with one major” after the third year.

“If seats remain vacant in the two-year master’s programme, they will be made available to students who graduate with honours after completing the fourth year in 2027,” the official said.

Vice-chancellor Ashutosh Ghosh said all students will have to take admission tests to be eligible to pursue a two-year master’s programme.

“A combination of equal weightage to the admission test and undergraduate performance will be considered for students from CU-affiliated colleges while screening them for the master’s level,” VC Ghosh said.

“Those from non-CU-affiliated colleges will be screened solely based on their performance in the admission tests,” he said.

Earlier, students of the CU-affiliated colleges were admitted to the two-year master’s programme based only on graduation marks.

Before the NEP 2020 came into force in 2023, the duration of the UG programme was three years for all students, and the PG programme two years.

A CU official said that students graduating with honours or honours combined with research next year will be admitted to the one-year PG programme based solely on marks.

CU regulations say that students obtaining a CGPA (cumulative grade point average) equivalent to 75% marks after the first six semesters “may opt for honours with a research degree course in the 7th and 8th semester”.

These students will graduate with honours combined with research next year.

Those with a CGPA of less than 75% will get an honours degree on completing the fourth year.

Explaining the need to introduce admission tests, the VC said marks alone cannot determine a student’s “potential to pursue a postgraduate programme”.

The postgraduate departments want more stringent screening, a CU official said.

Metro reported on December 27 that the university had asked its postgraduate departments whether they wanted to admit students to their master’s programmes through admission tests or continue with the marks-based system.

Department heads, particularly in the humanities, are of the view that marks do not reflect a student’s aptitude for pursuing a master’s degree.

They want to screen all students — both from CU-affiliated colleges and other universities — through admission tests, the official said.

St Xavier’s College on Park Street and three colleges run by the Ramakrishna Mission admit postgraduate students through admission tests.