India: A center for learning

India has one of the largest higher education programs.

Higher education in India has gone through a big paradigm shift and become more international. With over 226 universities and thousands of colleges affiliated to them, about 428 engineering colleges and technological institutes, more than a 100 medical colleges, scores of agricultural institutes and many other specialized centers of learning and research cross cutting across disciplines, India can claim its position as one of the leading countries providing quality higher education.

Universities and institutes

There are three principle levels of qualifications within the higher education system in India. These are bachelor/undergraduate level, masters/post-graduate level and doctoral/pre-doctoral level

Diploma courses are also available at the undergraduate and postgraduate level. The academic session is yearly and generally starts in July or August while admission starts in the month of May/June on the basis of written examination or interview. Some universities/institutes reserve a limited number of seats for foreign students/NRI students, which are given on the basis of the applicant's academic record. The Jawaharlal Nehru University, Indian Institutes of Technology and the Indian Institute of Science are some of the internationally acclaimed institutes for a higher degree in life sciences. Some of the important universities offering high technology courses in this arena are the University of Hyderabad, Anna University, Madurai Kamaraj University, Institute of Chemical Technology, Pune University and a few other universities.

Scholarships

Every year a few scholarships are offered to international students according to the terms and conditions of the cultural exchange program signed between the Indian government and the government of the respective country, for studying, training and research in various fields. There is a General Cultural Scholarship Scheme (GCSS), where scholarships are awarded annually to international students belonging to certain Asian, African and Latin American countries for the undergraduate, postgraduate degrees and for pursuing research at Indian universities. Other international scholarships available are Commonwealth Fellowships, Technical Cooperation scheme of the Colombo plan, Reciprocal Scholarship Scheme and the SAARC Scholarship scheme.

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