CENTRE FOR HISTORICAL STUDIES

Guidelines for M.A History Students (Monsoon 2020)

I. Course Structure

The M.A. programme carries a total of 64 credits. Students are advised to distribute these
over four semesters with 16 credits per semester.

I.1 Overview Course

Overview courses or the compulsory courses seek to go beyond narrow themes and
regions to explore the inter-connections between different processes within social
formations. Three overview courses and one methodology course are offered during the
semesters shown.
1. Ancient Society First Semester 4 Credits
2. Medieval World Second Semester 4 Credits
3. Capitalism & Colonialism Third Semester 4 Credits
4. Historical Method Third Semester 4 Credits

All students credit these courses.

I.2 Specialization: Lecture Courses

Every student has to specialize in a particular period of Indian History. The Centre offers
specialization in Ancient, Medieval and Modern History. All students must decide on
their specialization before they join the Centre. Each student will do a minimum of 20
credits of lecture course and one seminar course in his/her period of specialization [Total
of 24 credits]

For every period specialization, there is a set of introductory courses, offered in the first
two semesters. These courses seek to provide a general perspective of the period,
introduce students to historiographical debates and dominant historical trends, and equip
students with some technical expertise.

I.3 Theme Specialization

In addition to the period specialization students may opt to specialize on a theme. This is
to allow a deeper study of a theme of interest, which may go beyond the limits of the
period of specialization. The following are such themes:

1. Economic History
2. Social and Popular Movements
3. State and Power
4. Ideology, Culture and Society

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A minimum of 16 credits is necessary for specialization on a theme. This must include a
seminar course in the 4th semester.

While period specialization is compulsory, theme specialization is not.

I.4 Non-Indian History

All students are expected to credit two non-Indian History courses.

I.5 Open Options

A total of sixteen credits is for open options. A full choice may be made from the
following categories of courses:

a. Languages – total 4 credits, to be done in two2- credit courses in the 3rd& 4th
semesters.
b. Additional courses in the period of specialization.
c. Courses in other periods.
d. Courses in other social sciences, outside the CHS. To do such courses,
applications must be made to the faculty, stating reasons for selecting these
courses.

1.4 Seminars
Two seminar courses of 4 credits each have to be taken in the fourth semester. At least
one seminar paper will be in the period of specialization. Those who have chosen a theme
specialization must choose their second seminar paper on that theme.

Seminar courses are meant to introduce students to original research.

I.6 Four Credit and Two Credit Courses

Most of the courses offered by the Centre carry 4 credits. Some 2- credit courses are
offered as open options. Students are advised to take two 2- credit courses in lieu of one 4
credit course.

I.7 Language Courses

These are optional. They are available as 2-credit courses in the 3rd and 4th semesters.
Those who plan to do research in history would find these courses useful.

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II. Distribution over Semesters

The course will be spread over four semesters:

First Semester:
Ancient Society 4 Credits
Three from Period Specialization 12 Credits

16 Credits

Second Semester
The Medieval World 4 Credits
One or Two from Period Specialization 4/8 Credits
One or Two Open options 4/8 Credits
One Non-Indian History 4 Credits

16 Credits

Third Semester
Capitalism and Colonialism 4 Credits
Historical Method 4 Credits
Open Options (including language)
/ Non-Indian History 4+4 or 4+2+2

14 Credits or16 Credits

Fourth Semester
Two Seminars 4+4 Credits
Open options/
Non-Indian History 4+4 Credits or 2+4 Credits
------------------------
14/16

Total 64 Credits

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III. Tutorials and Seminar Papers

III.1 Tutorials

Four- credit lecture courses:

• For all four credit lecture courses students write two tutorials and appear for an
end semester examination. The grades for the tutorials constitute 50% of the
credit for the course. Attendance in tutorial discussions is compulsory as
discussion carries weightage in assessment. (However, there is no discussion of
tutorials written for overview courses and Historical Method. Students are advised
to enquire about the manner of evaluation in each of these courses from the
particular course instructor.)

• A tutorial is an original essay written by the student. Copying from any source
will be penalized. All tutorials will be checked for plagiarism.

• Tutorial essays must be concise and of approximately 2000 words.

• A tutorial must be written approximately every ten days following a schedule

announced at the semester’s beginning. Tutorial essays are to be submitted in the
Centre’s office / e-mail before 5 p.m. on the due date. Please ensure that the
submission is recorded in the office register. Grades are deducted for delay in
submission. Tutorial scripts are not returned to students, so copies must be
retained by them.

Two- credit courses:

These courses will usually begin with about six two-hour lectures, which will be
followed by two short notes and one extended essay. Not all these courses will
have end semester examinations. (Students are expected to find out from the
course instructors about the mode of evaluation of specific courses)

III.2. Mid semester examinations/ Sessionals

For some courses, students will be expected to appear for a mid-semester
examination and write one tutorial apart from having an end semester
examination. For the language courses, evaluation will be on the basis of sessional
tests and the end semester examination.

IV. Clearing of Courses

• All courses must be cleared. Getting an `F’ grade in a course does not amount to
clearing the course. A minimum CGPA of B minus is required for qualifying for
the M.A. degree.

• In order to be eligible to appear in the end-semester examination a student has to

clear both tutorials/sessionals by scoring a grade higher than `F’ in both.

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 • Clearing’ tutorials means submitting both tutorials within the stipulated dates and
attending discussions for both tutorials. By not doing so a student fails in the
sessionals and automatically becomes ineligible to appear in the end semester
examination, thereby failing in the entire course.
• In other words, clearing one tutorial/sessional does not entitle a student to
appear in the end-semester examination.

• Tutorials/seminars must be written in one’s own words on the basis of the

readings etc. done by the student. Copying from book, articles or downloading
and pasting from the net amounts to plagiarism and may attract a penalty of an
`F’, grade.

V. Seminar Papers: To be completed in the fourth semester

Regular seminar meetings throughout the semester are compulsory:

Discussions and written scripts are both taken into account for assessing grades.
Seminar papers are to be submitted at the office by the due date to be announced
in the 4th semester.

VI. Other Rules and Regulations

▪ In any one semester a student normally registers for courses carrying 16-18
credits. In exceptional circumstances, she/he may take upto 24 credits, inclusive
of courses that are being repeated to improve grades.

▪ A student must complete a minimum of eight credits in a semester in order to be

promoted to the next semester.

▪ A student will be allowed to repeat a course with the recommendation of the

Centre, but no course can be repeated more than once. When a course is repeated,
the previous grade in the course will be cancelled.

▪ The student may take additional courses with the recommendation of the Centre,
and the CGPA would then be calculated with the highest grade for 64 credits, not
over the total of courses registered. The grade for the compulsory courses,
however, would always be taken into account.

▪ Registration of courses is the sole responsibility of a student. No students will be

entitled to any grade in a course unless he or she has formally registered for it
within the period specified by the university. At the beginning of each semester,
members of the registration committee will be available for advice.

▪ Late registration may be allowed to a student, in exceptional cases subject to the

proper justification given by him/her, upto a maximum period of 3 weeks from
the commencement of semesterA student will be allowed to withdraw from a
course for which he or she has initially registered, not later 2ndSeptember 2014

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 ▪ A student may wish to add courses after initial registration, by either dropping a
course she/he has registered for, or as an extra course. The last date for adding
courses for the monsoon semester is 2ndSeptember 2014.

VII. A student should inform the Chairperson of the Centre through the teacher in-
charge of the course in the following cases:

▪ Absence from a sessional or end-semester examination. The application should be

submitted immediately before or after the specific examination. If the absence is
on medical grounds, a medical certificate must be attached to the application.

▪ If a student wishes to extend the M.A. programme beyond 4 semesters the

application should be submitted at the end of the fourth semester. The statutes
permit two additional semesters but accommodation is usually not available for
such students.

VIII. Zero Semester:

If a student is unable to carry on with the required course work due to prolonged illness,
he or she may apply for a zero semester and do an additional semester in lieu of that. The
following is the procedure to apply for a zero semester.

• Report to the JNU Medical Officer immediately after falling ill. For day scholars,
a treatment record at a government authorized hospital/clinic is mandatory.

• Inform the Chairperson of the Centre about the illness and his/her inability to
participate in the programme

• If the student happens to be outside Delhi when he or she falls sick, the
Chairperson must be informed and medical documents from the recognized
Government hospitals supplied.

• Application for a zero semester must be made on a form available at the office of
the Centre.

• Applications must be made well before the end of the semester for which a
student is seeking a zero semester.

IX. Students are assigned advisors from amongst the faculty. For any queries,
doubts and problems related to their academic life or personal well-being, students
may consult their advisors.

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 Guidelines for M.Phil (Monsoon -2020)

The M.Phil programme is made up of coursework and a dissertation. The coursework has
to be completed in the first two semesters before the dissertation can be written and
submitted. Altogether a student earns a total of 26 credits. These are distributed as
follows:

I. Coursework 14 credits + Dissertation 12 credits = M.Phil Total 26 credits

• The M.Phil programme provides two ways of earning course credits. (students
who have done their M.A. in history for JNU follow combination (a) while
students from other disciplines and/ or universities may be advised to follow
either combination (a) or combination (b).

• Students must note that they are required to clear every single course for which
they register every consecutive semester, or they will have to leave the M.Phil
programme. Courses cannot be repeated in the following semester.

• No student admitted to the course shall be eligible for the award of M.Phil, degree
unless he/she secures 24 credits in all out of which at least 14 credits shall be for
course work (including Research Techniques/Methodology) and at least 6 credits
for the dissertation.

Monsoon Semester Winter Semester

(a) 1 Seminar 4 credits 1 Seminar 4 credits

1 Historiography 2 credits 1 Language 2 credits
1 Language 2 credits

8 credits 6 credits

(b) 2 Lecture Courses 4 credits 1 Seminar 4 credits

1 Historical Methods 2 credits 1 Language 2 credits
1 Language 2 credits

8 credits 6 credits

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I.1 Each student will be allotted an advisor/ supervisor . The 2-credit Historiography
course for the students who have done M.A. History from JNU is usually done with the
Supervisor. It involves writing an essay on a historiographic theme. This paper will be
presented to the faculty, fully written out.

II. Tutorials

• Students opting for option (b) will do two lecture courses on offer for the MA
programme. These will be selected in consultation with the faculty. Students will
write two tutorials and appear for an end semester examination. The second
tutorial will be longer than the first (see below). The grades for the tutorials
constitute 50 percent of the credit of the course. Attendance in tutorial discussions
is compulsory as discussion carries weightage in assessment. (However, there is
no discussion for tutorials written for overview courses of for Historical Method.)

• A tutorial is an essay that seeks to present ideas in the writer’s own words. If
passages (or even sentences), from a book (or from any other source including the
internet), are simply copied out then it is termed plagiarism, considered to be the
equivalent of stealing, and will earn the student an “F” grade.

• The first tutorial must be concisely written in around 2000 words; the second
essay is expected to be 3000 words long.

• Tutorial essays must follow a schedule announced at the beginning of each

semester. Tutorial essays are to be submitted in the Centre’s office, before 5 p.m.
on the due date. Please ensure that the submission is recorded in the office
register. Grades are deducted for delays in submission. Tutorial scripts are not
returned to students. Please keep a copy.

III. Seminar papers

Seminar meetings have to be attended throughout the semester. Discussions in the

course of the semester and written scripts at the end of the semester are both taken
into account for assessing grades. Seminars papers are to be submitted at the office by
the due date.

IV. Synopsis presentation

Students have to present the synopsis of their dissertation in the fourth semester, on
dates decided by the faculty.

V. Language Courses
Language courses are assessed on the basis of sessional tests and an end semester
examination. Appearing for these and clearing them is compulsory.

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VI. Other rules and regulations

a. Registration of courses is the sole responsibility of a student. No student

will be entitled to any grade in a course unless he/she has formally registered
for it on the scheduled date.

b. Late registration may be allowed to a student, in exceptional cases subject

to the proper justification given by him/her, upto a maximum period of 3
weeks from the commencement of the semester. Students proceeding on field
work must notify the Dean’s office, through the Centre, well in advance to
avail of late registration.

c. No student shall be allowed to add a course or substitute a course for

another course later than two weeks from the date of commencement of
the Semester. A student wishing to drop a course must do so as early as
possible but in no case later than two weeks from the date of commencement
of the semester.

d. Repeating a course towards improvement of grades is not permissible. All

courses for which a student registers are to be cleared within that semester.

e. Revaluation of a course is permissible within three weeks of the

declaration of results for that semester.

f. The coursework shall be completed within the first two consecutive

semesters, and the whole M.Phil programme (including dissertation) within
four consecutive semesters.

g. The M.Phil degree will be awarded only to those who have a minimum
CGPA of 5.5 in the general category and 5.0 in the reserved category.

VII. No candidate admitted to a course of research for the M.Phil degree shall:
• Undertake any employment, and if employed must seek study-leave from his/her
employer;

• join any other course of study; or

• appear in any examination other than those prescribed by the Department/ Centre
concerned without the prior permission of the Committee for Advanced Studies
and Research.

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 Guidelines for Ph. D (Monsoon -2020)

I. The Ph.D programme is made up of coursework and a Thesis. The coursework

has to be completed in the first two semesters before the thesis can be written and
submitted. Altogether a student earns a total of 14 credits in the course work. These are
distributed as 8 credits in the first semester and 6 credits in the second semester.

Monsoon Semester Winter Semester

(a) 1 Seminar 4 credits 1 Seminar 4 credits

1 Historiography 2 credits 1 Language 2 credits
1 Language 2 credits

8 credits 6 credits

a. A minimum of two years registration is required before a Ph.D dissertation can

be submitted.

b. A Ph. D synopsis presentation has to be made after two semesters and within
three semesters after presentation to ensure confirmation in the programme. This
presentation is made to the faculty.

c. A Ph.D dissertation should be submitted within four years from the date of
confirmation to the Ph.D programme.

II. Zero Semester

If a student is absent for a long period on legitimate medical grounds she/he will be
permitted to apply for a zero semester or a zero year in case a student could not
continue with the academic programme during that period due to:

• illness and hospitalization;

• or due to accepting a foreign scholarship/fellowship;
• These are subject to the fulfillment of requirements as laid down by the
regulations.

• Such zero semester/year shall not be counted for calculation of the duration of the
programme in case of such a student.

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III. Removal of Name of a Student from the Rolls of the University.

The name of candidate shall stand automatically removed from the

rolls of the University if he/she;
• Fails in any course prescribed for Pre-Ph.D/Ph.D programme.
• Fails to submit his/her thesis within four years from the date of his/ her
confirmation to the Ph. D programme.
• The Committee for Advanced Studies and Research/Special Committee of the
School/Special Centre, at its discretion, may remove the name of a student from
the rolls of the University if he/she is found to lack interest and motivation for
research.

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