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UG and PG degrees in India, explained

5 min read · Updated 9 Nov 2026

Indian higher education runs in three layers: undergraduate (UG), postgraduate (PG) and doctoral. Here's what each common degree is, how long it takes, and how you usually get in.

Undergraduate (after Class 12)

  • B.A., B.Sc., B.Com — 3 years, or 4 years with honours/research under the four-year UG framework many universities now follow. Entry: Class 12 marks or CUET-UG for central and many other universities.
  • B.Tech / B.E. — 4 years, engineering. Entry: JEE Main, JEE Advanced (IITs), or state engineering exams.
  • MBBS — about 5.5 years including a one-year internship. Entry: NEET-UG. BDS, BAMS, BHMS and other health degrees also use NEET-UG.
  • B.Arch — 5 years. Entry: NATA or JEE Main (Paper 2).
  • Law — integrated BA LLB / BBA LLB in 5 years (CLAT for national law universities), or a 3-year LLB after any degree.
  • BBA, BCA, B.Des, B.Pharm — 3–4 years; entry by university or national tests depending on the institution.

Postgraduate (after a degree)

  • M.A., M.Sc., M.Com — usually 2 years (1 year after a four-year honours degree at some universities). Entry: university tests or CUET-PG.
  • M.Tech / M.E. — 2 years. Entry: mostly GATE.
  • MBA / PGDM — 2 years. Entry: CAT for IIMs and many others; XAT, CMAT, MAT and institute tests elsewhere.
  • MD / MS (medicine) — 3 years after MBBS. Entry: NEET-PG.
  • LLM — 1 year at many institutions. Entry: CLAT-PG or university tests.

Doctoral

A Ph.D. usually takes 3–5 years. Entry is through university tests, UGC-NET, GATE or institute interviews, depending on the field and the institution.

Grades along the way

Most universities now grade in SGPA (per semester) and CGPA (overall) on a 10-point scale. Employers and PG admissions often ask for a percentage — and each university publishes its own conversion rule.

In short

  • UG is 3–5 years; PG is usually 2.
  • Almost every route has a gate: Class 12 marks or an entrance exam.
  • Convert CGPA with your own university's rule.

Sources

UGC curriculum and credit framework for UG programmes; information bulletins from NTA (CUET, JEE Main, NEET-UG, UGC-NET), NBEMS (NEET-PG), the IIMs (CAT), the GATE organising IIT and the Consortium of NLUs (CLAT). Durations and routes can change — check the current bulletin.