Integrated M.A. in Political Science 

at Pondicherry University, Pondicherry

Pondicherry University's Integrated BA + MA in History is spread over ten semesters. At the end of the course duration, students must have secured a minimum of 192 credits for the award of the degree. To gain these credits, students have to study various hard and soft core courses each semester and pass the respective examinations. For passing each hard core course, students get 4 credits, and for passing each soft core course, 3 credits. Moreover, students are free to choose any course offered by other departments as a soft core during a particular semester.

The reservation policy followed by Pondicherry University provides reservations for SC/ST candidates seeking admission to the courses offered by the university. As per the policy, a total of 15% of seats in each course are reserved for candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes and 7.5% seats for candidates belonging to Scheduled Tribes. This implies that a total of 22.5% of total seats of each course are reserved for SC/ST candidates.

Yes, students enrolled in the BA courses at Pondicherry University have to study two types of core courses, hard and soft. Theard-core courses are mandatory to be studied and cannot be changed. Students can choose soft-core courses as per their interests. Some of the core subjects included in the BA (H) curriculum at Pondicherry University are:

• Historiography and Historical Methods
• Introduction to the Study of Archaeology
• Introduction to World Civilizations
• Functional English
• Prehistory and Protohistory of India
• History of Western Political Ideas and Statecraft

Students who wish to get a good job after completing their degree must enhance their skill set while pursuing the programme. A BA course helps students cultivate knowledge of various domains such as Psychology, Sociology, History, English and more. However, most of it is theoretical knowledge. Employers often prefer students who showcase a set of both knowledge and employability skills. Listed below are some of the skills demanded in today’s corporate world:

• Digital Marketing
• HR Analytics
• Public Administration
• Foreign Language
• Graphic Designing
• Public Relations Management

To determine which specialisation is the toughest to get into, one can decide by comparing the cutoff scores. As per the 2022 cutoffs,  Integrated BA + MA in Social and Economic Administration and Law stood as the most competitive one with a score of 256. The cutoff for other courses ranged from 219-242.

Overall seats across various courses at Pondicherry University - Karaikal Campus goes up to 212. Pondicherry University - Karaikal Campus offers Degree courses including 5 PG courses. These programs are offerred in Full Time mode.

According to Pondicherry University NIRF report 2024, the key highlights of Pondicherry University placements 2023 as compared with 2022 and 2021 are presented below:

Particulars	Placement Statistics (2021)	Placement Statistics (2022)	Placement Statistics (2023)
UG 3-year median package	INR 2.5 LPA	INR 2.5 LPA	INR 3.1 LPA
UG 3-year total students	206	285	353
UG 3-year students placed	176	225	255
PG 2-year median package	INR 3.7 LPA	INR 4.3 LPA	INR 6.5 LPA
PG 2-year total students	1959	2145	2825
PG 2-year students placed	580	1464	1592
PG Integrated 5-year median package	INR 3.6 LPA	INR 4.3 LPA	INR 6.5 LPA
PG Integrated 5-year total students	144	160	184
PG Integrated 5-year students placed	39	75	78

Under the BSc programme, Pondicherry University offers various specialisations. These specialisations are distributed amongst the university’s affiliated colleges. Thus, each course may have different eligibility criteria depending on the college. However, the common eligibility criterion is a pass in Class 12.

According to Pondicherry University NIRF report 2024, the course-wise median package offered during Pondicherry University placements 2023 is presented below:

Course	Median Package (2023)
UG 3-year (BA, BSc, BCom)	INR 3.1 LPA
PG 2-year (MBA, MSc, MA)	INR 6.5 LPA
PG Integrated 5-year	INR 6.5 LPA

Further, the course-wise median salary trends witnessed during Pondicherry University placements over the past three years are presented below:

Course	Median Package (2021)	Median Package (2022)	Median Package (2023)
UG 3-year	INR 2.5 LPA	INR 2.5 LPA	INR 3.1 LPA
PG 2-year	INR 3.7 LPA	INR 4.3 LPA	INR 6.5 LPA
PG Integrated 5-year	INR 3.6 LPA	INR 4.3 LPA	INR 6.5 LPA

Yes, Pondicherry University offers a BSc programme with various courses spread across its affiliated colleges. The main campus of the university offers five-year MSc integrated courses for students wanting to pursue PG-integrated courses. Moreover, students seeking admission in regular three-year BSc courses can do so by applying at Pondicherry University’s affiliated colleges.