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Overview of the Undergraduate Curriculum
August 2022
Vision for Undergraduate Studies
“Shiv Nadar University offers an undergraduate curriculum that is unique and
unprecedented in India.
The curriculum requires all students to take courses in a range of subjects,
while also specializing in a subject of their choosing: a combination of
disciplinary depth and multidisciplinary breadth.
“The overall structure of SNU’s undergraduate curriculum is designed to foster
students’ ability to integrate critical thinking, interpretive skills, scientific
exploration and normative principles into their world-view and to prepare
them as future leaders in a complex, changing, and unpredictable world.”
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The Undergraduate Curriculum
•
Minimum Credit Requirements (as of 2022):
Major
Core + Elective
University Wide
Electives + Core
Common Curriculum
Total Credits
B.Tech.
118
42*
160
B.Sc. (Research)
B.A. (Research)
B.M.S.
108
42*
150
*Minimum 18 credits from each of University Wide Electives and Common Core Curriculum
*6 floating credits can be chosen to balance breadth and depth
Additional Qualifications:
– Specialisation (within a Major): earned from Major Elective credits.
– Minor (outside the Major): earned from University Wide Elective credits.
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Student Load
• Credits are of 3 types: Lecture, Tutorial, Lab
• 1 Lecture or Tutorial credit equals 1 class hour/week
• 1 Lab credit equals 1 Lab session (2-3 hours)/week
• In SNS and SoE, student contact hours are higher than the credit hours,
due to labs.
• SHSS and SME have a higher load of reading and writing exercises to be
completed by students outside of class.
• Each credit hour requires 2-3 hours of self-study by the student.
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The “Typical” Student
• In this slide we ignore variation across Schools in favour of a rough
estimate of the load on a typical student.
• The typical credit load in a semester is 19.5 credits.
• The typical contact hours/week is then about 23 hours.
• The corresponding self-study time is about 39 hours (@2 hours/credit).
• The total study load on the student is 62 hours/week.
• Total over the semester is 62*15 = 930 study hours.
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Benchmarking
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• Our credit system is essentially based on the US model and is also similar to
IITs.
Typical
Minimum
Maximum
18-21
12
27
Berkeley
15
13
21
Cornell
15
12
18
IIT Delhi
20
12
26
SNU
• European Credit Transfer System:
– A typical semester has 30 ECTS credits.
– Each ECTS credit corresponds to 25-30 study hours.
– So a typical semester has 750-900 study hours. (SNU: 930)
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Core Common Curriculum
University Wide Electives
Economics
Provides flexibility to choose courses across
Schools
Major
(Computer
Science &
Engg.)
Bio Informatics
University
Wide
Electives
+
12-15%
Life Sciences
Physics
Mathematics
Marketing
English
And many more…
+
Indian History and Society
World History and Society
75%
Minor
(Marketing)
Mandatory subjects a student
must know to understand the world we live in
Culture & Communication
Core
Curriculum
25%
12-15%
Physical & Biological System
Cognition & Intelligence
Technology & Society
Environment & Ecology
Empirical Reasoning &
Analysis
Core Common Curriculum
The Core Common Curriculum provides the students a broad-based understanding of the world:
• Its physical, biological and social systems.
• The historical development and modern formation of global society with an emphasis on India.
• The ability to employ empirical and interpretive methods to evaluate and critique a range of
human activities: science and technology; political, economic and social systems; literature, art,
culture and human communication.
Student has to do at least one course from 6 of the following categories:
1. Indian History and Society
5. Cognition and Intelligence
2. World History and Society
6. Technology and Society
3. Culture and Communication
7. Environment and Ecology
4. Physical and Living Systems
8. Reasoning and Analysis
A typical CCC course is 1.5 credits and runs for a half-semester at 3 hours/week. The timetable has a
12-2 slot on MWF dedicated to CCC.
Examples: Literature, Identity and Theatre; Drugs and Natural Remedies; Scientific Reasoning and
Discoveries; Information, Ethics and Policy; Environmental Studies; Chemistry of Colour and Art
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University Wide Electives
• A University Wide Elective is a non-CCC course which is not part of the
student’s Major.
• A course may be a Major course for one student and a University Wide Elective
for another student.
• For example MAT101 is a Major course for Mathematics, Physics, Economics
and Chemistry but a University Wide Elective for B.Tech.
• Very few courses are UWE for every student.
– Courses offered by departments which do not offer Majors, e.g.
Communication.
– “School Wide Electives” which are offered by a School rather than a
department.
• Issue: Design the timetable to maximize availability of UWEs.
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Minors
Minors
A Minor is an optional second focus area apart from the Major. A Minor is achieved
by concentrating the University Wide electives in one area of study. Main benefits:
• Enables the student to develop more complex thinking skills and a greater
capacity for interdisciplinary work.
• Increases the student’s value in the job market.
• Opens up a wider range of specialization during higher studies.
The required credits for a Minor vary from 18 to 24. (UGC: 24 credits in a discipline
make you eligible for a Masters)
1024 Minors were awarded to 2579 undergraduates during 2015-21.
(Last 3 years: 201/446 in 2019, 211/495 in 2020, 169/380 in 2021)
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Economics
English
History
International Relations
Sociology
Mathematics
Physics
2019
24
27
2 23 51
7
2
4
9
2 10 32
6
2020
40
19
5 19 26 16
7
7
9
4
8 41
1
2021
26 2*
6 12
6
9 18
1 5*
9
Electronics & Comm. E
3
1
3
1
1
7
6
2
1
1
Mechanical Engineering
SNS
Electrical Engineering
Computer Science
Chemical Engineering
Big Data Analytics
SHSS
Civil Engineering
6 15 29 12 12
Chemistry
SME
Biotechnology
Design
Dance
Communication
Archaeology
Management
Popularity of Minors
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SOE
Double Minors! (2021)
Megha Biswas
English
1.Economics 2.International Relations
L Gitanjali
History
1.Archaeology 2.English
M Ragamalika
Sociology
1.Dance 2.History
Qudret Bal
Sociology
1.English 2.Design
Shayeri Mukhopadhyay Sociology
1.English 2.History
Prenish Baniya
Biotechnology
1.Chemistry 2.Economics
Thanya Sekhar
Biotechnology
1.Chemistry 2.Dance
Sanjana Sood
Economics
1.English 2.Management
M N Kailash
Physics
Mayank Jain
1.Economics 2.International Relations
1.Computer Science and Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
2.Economics
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Variable Structure of Minors
Minor
Minimum
Credits
15
Structure
Communication
18
Free choice from department’s UG courses.
Computer Science
20
For EEE/ECE: 1 core + 4 elective
Others: 2 core + 3 elective
CSD101 is not counted here, is a pre-requisite, and is core for
BTech, Maths, Economics.
Design
20
5 courses in a recommended sequence.
Economics
22
16 core and 6 elective credits.
Management
18
Any 5 UWEs offered by SME with a minimum GPA of 6.5 from
those courses.
Mathematics
20
At least 8 credits from `basic’ courses and at least 8 credits from
`advanced courses’. Note: Many students have at least 8 credits
of core Maths courses in their majors.
Grades
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Grade
A
A-
B
B-
C
C-
D
E
F
Grade
Point
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
2
0
Grade Point Average = Weighted average of grade points, using credits as weights
SGPA = Semester Grade Point Average
CGPA = Cumulative Grade Point Average
• D is lowest passing grade.
• Graduation requires CGPA of at least 5.
• CGPA dropping below 4 at any stage from 2nd semester onwards leads to
termination of registration.
• 2014 Grading Policy and Practices Review Committee: The realized Grade
Point Average for a particular course be between 6.5 and 7.5.
Academic Awards
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• The Dean’s List recognises the top 10% students from each
School/Department every semester. The School-wise SGPA cut-offs:
Monsoon 17 Monsoon 18 Monsoon 19
SHSS
9.18
9.50
9.37
SME
9.33
8.95
9.48
SNS
9.24
9.40
9.40
SoE
8.93
9.05
9.09
• Graduation Awards:
– Graduation with Distinction:
– Graduation with High Distinction:
– Graduation with Highest Distinction:
8.5 ≤ 𝐶𝐺𝑃𝐴 < 9
9 ≤ 𝐶𝐺𝑃𝐴 < 9.5
9.5 ≤ 𝐶𝐺𝑃𝐴
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• Thanks