IGNOU: Admission 2026, Courses, Fees, Placements, Ranking, Reviews

Yes, all IGNOU degrees are valid for any purpose, whether you are appearing for any entrance exams or employment exams. It has recognition at the national as well as international levels. IGNOU is a recognized university under the UGC and a government university. Adding further, an IGNOU degree is approved by the Distance Education Bureau (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) as well. Additionally, IGNOU provides free UPSC CSE coaching to scheduled caste candidates at no cost. Every year, IGNOU invites applications from scheduled caste students for free coaching of UPSC IAS (prelims and mains).

IGNOU is a trusted and accredited distance education university. This central university was established by an ACT of parliament in 1985. IGNOU degree is equivalent to a degree granted by any recognised university in India. It is acceptable and valid overseas and in foreign countries with ease. This is because, IGNOU is a recognised university under UGC and is a governmental university too. An IGNOU degree is approved by DEC and AICTE.

Each and every course offered by IGNOU equip students with knowledge and skill-set in the concerned field. Since, IGNOU is an Open University, it is upon the students to take the responsibility and look for career opportunities in their field of study. It depends upon a student’s interest and aptitude for a particular course that eventually helps in securing the preferred job. As the past trends suggest, students who have pursued BEd, MBA, BSc and Journalism courses from IGNOU have found it easier to find jobs in the corporate sector.

Yes, you can get a job abroad. There are certain organisations that do prefer full-time graduation but getting rejected everywhere should not be the scenario. IGNOU is recognised globally as a university. There may be other reasons for the rejection like in the current scenario, hiring is very specific, so hence, maybe your qualification does not match. The post may require someone with experience. Your skillset may be lacking for the position that you have applied for. Relook at the job posts that you have applied for and then see if there are any other reasons.

Currently, in COVID 19 situation, the job market is very bleak and since you have just done your graduation and if money is not adequate necessary then try doing some additional courses like digital marketing, graphic design, website development. These would be an added advantage and would increase your job prospects too. Well, IGNOU provides distance learning degrees. If you are a graduate from IGNOU you might be able to take admission into some medium level foreign university but it will be a struggle to cope up with the regular programme that too in foreign.

If you wish you go abroad for MBA, it is advisable to take your graduation in regular mode in reputed universities like LPU and then take your chances in many credit transfer programs which can get you into reputed foreign universities and that too with much less expense.

IGNOU cutoff 2023 for the BEd and the Integrated BEd courses is based on the BEd Entrance test. As per the previous year, IGNOU cutoff 2023 ranged between 293 and 339 for the General category All India Quota. Tabulated below is IGNOU BEd cutoff 2023 for General All India:

Course	Cutoff 2023
Integrated B.A. + B.Ed. in Special Education	365
Integrated B.Com. + B.Ed. in Special Education	293
Integrated B.Sc. + B.Ed. in Special Education	339

The eligibility criteria for all MSc courses are as follows:

MSc specialisations	Eligibility
Food Nutrition	BSc (Home Science) specialisation in Food and Nutrition, Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition or PG Diploma in Dietetics and Public Health Nutrition or Graduate (BSc Hons) or equivalent (MBBS, BHHS, etc.) from the following background – Home Science/ Food Science and Technology, Life Science, Microbiology, Pharmaceutical, Catering along with the DNHE or CNCC or CFN offered by IGNOU (simultaneous admission for CFN/ CNCC is also permitted)
Counselling and Family Therapy	Bachelor’s degree in any subject from a recognised university
Environmental Science	Bachelor’s degree in any discipline Science/ Engineering/ Agricultural Science/ Forestry/ Veterinary Science from a recognised university
Mathematics with Application in Computer Science	- Graduate with a major or Hons in Mathematics with at least 50% aggregate - If the seats at a centre remain vacant then: Graduate with a BA/ BSc degree with Mathematics as one of the three main subjects with equal weightage, with at least 50% aggregate and 55% aggregate in the Mathematics

For more details on MSc fee, eligibility & selection,  click here. 

According to unofficial sources, Business Development sector has placed the most no. of IGNOU students. The sector-wise IGNOU alumni placement statistics are presented below:

Note: The above-mentioned alumni placement data is gathered from unofficial sources and hence may vary.

Indira Gandhi National Open University (popularly known as IGNOU) is one of the top names for distance/ part-time education in India. IGNOU is UGC approved & is accredited by the NAAC with Grade 'A+.'

IGNOU online courses make it easy for working professionals to upgrade their academic stature with the flexibility of learning from their preferred location, time & study mode.

As per the latest IGNOU NIRF report, the overall median package received during IGNOU placements 2025 was between INR 2.45 LPA and 2.85 LPA.

IGNOU BA (Hons) English course fee is INR 15,900. It is the total fees for three-year UG course. The given fee is as per the official website or sanctioning body. It is still subject to revision and hence, is indicative.

In case a candidate misses the deadline for IGNOU registration, he or she can write mail or contact the admission office for assistance. In case nothing can be done, he or she then needs to register in the next cycle. IGNOU conducts admission in two cycles-January and June. Admission to most of the courses is based on merit of the aspirants in the last qualifying exam. In case of courses such as B.Ed, PhD and PB BSc Nursing, admissions are offered based on entrance exam scores.

The Open University provides PhD programmes in different areas of specialisation. IGNOU PhD course admission is done based on accepted exam scores, followed by an interview round. Interested candidates should go through the eligibility and selection requirements before proceeding with the application formalities.

MBA course offered by IGNOU is among many popular courses offered by IGNOU that has good career scope. The MBA course at IGNOU comes with robust curriculum that equip students with all nuances of the Management sector. In order to get a job after pursing MBA from IGNOU, students need to stay updated with market trends and start applying for jobs two months before the completion of the course. Further, it will be good for students to enroll in short-term add-on courses in the niche domain be it Marketing, Finance, HR or Operations. These skills coupled with MS Office expertise can possibly help students find jobs after doing an MBA from IGNOU. Importantly, the Campus Placement Cell also help students get jobs through Job Fairs.

No, for admission to PB BSc nursing at IGNOU, students are required to apply and appear for a written test conducted by the university followed by a counselling session. Aspirants who meet the eligibility requirements need to appear for IGNOU OPENNET exam. Candidates get a seat in the course based on the exam score. The entrance test is conducted in offline mode via OMR sheets. Duration of the exam is 2 hours 30 minutes.

 It is compulsory to carry IGNOU ID-Card when appearing for the exam. However, in case a students forgets to bring the same, he or she can show an identity proof like Aadhaar Card, PAN Card, etc. Most of the exam centres accept identity proof in such cases but to avoid any kind of conflict, students must carry their IGNOU ID-Card along with an identity proof and admit card.

IGNOU results for PhD admission are out on the official website of the institute. Candidates who have at least 50% aggregate in the entrance test (45% aggregate in case of SC/ ST/ OBC (Non Creamy layers)/ Differently abled persons) are shortlisted for the interview subject to the maximum limit of five times of the available seats. The entrance test carries a weightage of 70% and 30% weightage is allocated to the interview/ viva.

All the admission forms submitted via the Online Admission System are scrutinised and confirmed for admission subject to the fulfilment of eligibility criteria. These forms are processed region-wise on a first-come-first-serve basis.