Aspirants with any undergraduate degree and adequate Sanskrit knowledge are eligible to apply for the MA Sanskrit (Applied Indic Knowledge Systems) program. There is no age limit to apply for this program. Further –

• Applicants should have studied Sanskrit as a subject in their Undergraduate program
• Students with familiarity of Sanskrit either from high school or other non-formal means will be considered, if they demonstrate satisfactory knowledge of spoken and written Sanskrit

The MA Sanskrit (Applied Indic Knowledge Systems) programme consist of four semesters spread over two years. Under exceptional circumstances if a student is unable to earn the required number of credits for the award of degree they will be given an extension of up to one year to do so.

Students must successfully complete courses amounting to 72 credits to be awarded their degree. The courses are offered in 3 modes: Foundation, Core and Elective.

Foundation courses are designed to:

• give a clear understanding of caturdaśa vidyāsthāna (achieved through the ‘Indian Knowledge Systems 1 & 2’ courses)
• to stress on the importance of research and encourage learners to strive for excellence in research
• introduce Sanskrit literature through the works of great poets (achieved through the ‘Sanskrit literature – An Appreciative Enquiry’ course)
• give an overview of major principles in Bharatiya Darshanas (achieved through the ‘Indic Philosophy – Foundational Principles’ course)

The purpose of Core courses is:

• to teach writing skills in Sanskrit (achieved by the ‘Advanced Functional Sanskrit’ course)
• equip learners to understand the language of classical texts in Sanskrit (achieved by the ‘Sanskrit Grammer’ course)
• to give learners exposure to diverse elements of Sanskrit literature, specifically poetry and drama
• to emphasize the philosophy of Indian life as seen through the Upaniṣads
• to encourage the students to look at the laukika śāstra-s, such as Arthashastra, from different perspectives

Elective courses are designed to allow interdisciplinary exploration, so that learners can pursue their own interests and goals by creating a learning programme of their choice. They are available in 4 streams:

• Language and Linguistics
• Culture, Literature, Aesthetics, Poetics
• Human Sciences (Social Science, Economics, History & Political Science)
• Ethics, Law and Governance
• Philosophy Psychology and Yoga

In addition, students must also complete three mandatory courses: ‘Seva’, ‘Yoga and ‘Ayurveda’. These are zero-credit courses designed to give students an impetus towards self-development and personality growth.

The semester-wise break-up of courses is as given below:

To be eligible for the award of the MA degree, students must satisfy the criteria listed below.

• Students must get a P grade or above (grade point 4 or above) in all foundation courses, core courses, and in at list six elective courses.
• At the end of 4 semesters, students must have successfully earned at least 72 credits.
• At the end of 6 semesters, students must have a CGPA of 5.5 or above.
• In addition, students must have met the completion requirements for all the self-immersion courses.