Academic Standing of Universities in India

*jyoti* · Oct 13th, 2005, 04:37

I am looking at graduate schools and am trying to weigh out different programs. Does anyone know a good way to a) find a list of universities that offer the program I want and b) (more importantly) to figure out how to judge the academic standing of such a university?

Your answer doesn't have to be program related, but I am intending to get a Master's in Linguistics focusing on compartive method/historical linguistics. I want to focus on South Asian languages, so there is a definite advantage to going to school in India. (I also don't mind if the program is in Hindi, altho I doubt it will be). I do want to get my PhD eventually, though, and want to make sure that the school I go to for a Master's is recognized internationally (I probably won't get my PhD in India). No matter how good the program is, if other schools don't recognize it or if the academic journals don't, then the degree is not worth a lot.

I've found a lot of information on European schools, for instance, but am having a hard time finding stuff from India. Maybe they just don't HAVE linguistics programs, which would be ironic... But probably I just haven't found the right avenue yet...

Thanks so much for your help!
Jyoti

GoanCanuck · Oct 13th, 2005, 08:44

Other than the IIT's and IIM's and possibly the IIS, none of the other universities in India have any standing internationally.

Merchant · Oct 13th, 2005, 09:39

Quote:

none of the other universities in India have any standing internationally.

That's not entirely true. India's best regarded colleges and universities, like St. Stephen's (Delhi), St. Xavier's (Mumbai and Kolkata), Jawarhalal Nehru University, and some others are well enough known in international academia. St. Stephen's and the two St. Xavier's alone have produced nearly all of the Indian writers and journalists you've ever heard of.

India is one large state-managed educational system, with colleges affiliated to universities, but the campuses aren't necessarily even in the same town. Some of the colleges have "deemed university status" and so grant their own degrees, but everything is done by qualifying exam anyway. You may study at some little college somewhere, which has a great program in linguistics, but your degree will say the University of Delhi, for example.

You should ask professors in the field of South Asian languages what they think. At the graduate level some lesser known places may have the top program in a certain field, and the famous places may have a weak or underfunded department. So an Indian institution's "international standing" may not even be relevant to your particular field of study.

claurianta · Oct 13th, 2005, 23:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoanCanuck

I can only speak what the situation in Canada is as far as schools/universities are concerned and the situation here is that none of the Indian universities have any standing. Not even IIT, IIM or St.Stephens college. The moment a company/employer in Canada looks at your resume and finds that you graduated from an Indian university, they don't bother unless you have worked for a Canadian company .

My employer here in Canada which is a multi-billion dollar corporation gets hundreds of applications every month from people who have graduated from prestigious colleges in India but they don't bother replying to a single application.

The only thing that an employer in Canada is interested in is whether a prospective employee has Canadian experience. This was learnt by me the hard way.

But this has much less to do with the quality of the education than it has to do with fitting in with the Canadian way of doing business.

kaushiks · Oct 13th, 2005, 23:22

jyoti, You should take long hard look at JNU (Jawaharlal nehru university), Delhi. Where as it may not be an IIT for humanities, It probably has the kind of reputation you seem to require. There are lots of foriegners there too. It has a good bachelors' for Japenese and other foriegn languages. It certainly is the best one for you. You could also look at Pune university, though i am not sure of its international stature. I must caution, be doubly sure about JUN's reputation abroad. My guess is, it should be ok but not the greatest thing for your career.

GoanCanuck · Oct 13th, 2005, 23:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by claurianta

But this has much less to do with the quality of the education than it has to do with fitting in with the Canadian way of doing business.

And how different is the Canadian way of doing business as compared to the American way of doing business?

I know a person who graduated from one of the best engineering schools in India but he could not get a job in Vancouver even though there were vacancies in his line of work. He moved to California and got a job in less than a month.

crvlvr · Oct 13th, 2005, 23:39

here is some info on the top colleges in india http://indiaeducation.info/usefullin...opcolleges.asp

while indian colleges may not be recognized in the US business world, a huge percent of the graduate students in the US come from India. So, the admissions offices in the universities in the US may be familiar with the standings of indian coleges. that could be a place to start?

GoanCanuck · Oct 14th, 2005, 00:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaushiks

jyoti, You should take long hard look at JNU (Jawaharlal nehru university), Delhi.

Yeah, JNU does have a good languages department.

*jyoti* · Oct 14th, 2005, 19:53

Thanks guys, for all the help. I will definitely do as Merchant suggests and try and hunt down some professors who might know more about South Asian programs (there are none where I am at, unfortunately) and see what they have to say about schools in South Asia. And, I'll check into the schools mentioned.

Engineering, etc, is a little different than linguistics--largely because there are more schools that have engineering programs, etc, than linguistics (especially linguistics research in South Asian languages) so they have more openings and less stringent entrance qualities. And, it sounds like Indian schools are more recognized for business and technology than other areas (And almost all of the indian students I know are business and engineering). So, I will check them out, but warily!

crimsonriver · Oct 14th, 2005, 20:57

Quote:

I can only speak what the situation in Canada is as far as schools/universities are concerned and the situation here is that none of the Indian universities have any standing. Not even IIT, IIM or St.Stephens college. The moment a company/employer in Canada looks at your resume and finds that you graduated from an Indian university, they don't bother unless you have worked for a Canadian company .

My employer here in Canada which is a multi-billion dollar corporation gets hundreds of applications every month from people who have graduated from prestigious colleges in India but they don't bother replying to a single application.

The only thing that an employer in Canada is interested in is whether a prospective employee has Canadian experience. This was learnt by me the hard way.

Then it doesn't speak of the standing of Indian Universities. I study at an IIM and have exchange students from several European countries coming every semester. People routinely land international placements from here.. with upto 6 digit USD salaries..

In engg. Not only IITs but BITS, NITs and several other prominent institutes have quite a reputation.. atleast in US. And yes our degrees are very much recognized in the US. Infact a major portion of post grad enrollents in US comprise of Indian students..

GoanCanuck · Oct 14th, 2005, 23:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by crimsonriver

Then it doesn't speak of the standing of Indian Universities.

Yes it does. If you happen to have a degree from a British or Australian or any European university then the requirement of "Canadian experience" is immediately waived.

Hippie at Heart · Oct 15th, 2005, 00:03

I agree with Canuck,

crimson though its not in the domain of this thread but have a look at www.NotCanada.com
I belive most contents are true.

cyberhippie · Oct 15th, 2005, 00:07

That smacks of favouritism Goancanuck I'm an undeducated yokal but my understanding of at least some parts of the Indian education sytem is that they can readily compete all over the world.
Their university papers and ability to get the job done seemed unquestioned for a while both stateside and in Europe, until they brought the baby back to Bharat
In fact standards in some boarding schools in India, coupled with the cost of course are bringing a lot of new western pupils to a great standard of education in India "public Schools"

From your postings here on IM I'm sure you know that anyway and you are simply giving the Canadian situation "as is" which part of the "selfish me" can relate to

crimsonriver · Oct 15th, 2005, 00:13

just bcoz Cananda has some convention.. of a mandatory canadian work ex.. it doesn't make it a better bench mark than US, Germany, Britain.. and several other nations....

People go to Australia when they aren't able to crack the extremely competitive exams here in India..

Some obscure laws in a particular country can't be used to rubbish the standing of universities here....

talking of placements and jobs..
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...2302310900.htm

crimsonriver · Oct 15th, 2005, 00:25

As far as standing goes..

http://www.asiaweek.com/asiaweek/fea...eputation.html

@Goancanuck - but the general idea conveyed by ur posts pointed in that direction only...

Ps.. Sorry to have joined the argument.. but being a part of the academic system.. I feel compelled to bring facts to light..

Oct 13th, 2005, 04:37	#1
jyoti gori ferungi ladki Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Bangalore, usually Posts: 249	Academic Standing of Universities in India I am looking at graduate schools and am trying to weigh out different programs. Does anyone know a good way to a) find a list of universities that offer the program I want and b) (more importantly) to figure out how to judge the academic standing of such a university? Your answer doesn't have to be program related, but I am intending to get a Master's in Linguistics focusing on compartive method/historical linguistics. I want to focus on South Asian languages, so there is a definite advantage to going to school in India. (I also don't mind if the program is in Hindi, altho I doubt it will be). I do want to get my PhD eventually, though, and want to make sure that the school I go to for a Master's is recognized internationally (I probably won't get my PhD in India). No matter how good the program is, if other schools don't recognize it or if the academic journals don't, then the degree is not worth a lot. I've found a lot of information on European schools, for instance, but am having a hard time finding stuff from India. Maybe they just don't HAVE linguistics programs, which would be ironic... But probably I just haven't found the right avenue yet... Thanks so much for your help! Jyoti

Oct 14th, 2005, 19:53	#9
jyoti gori ferungi ladki Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Bangalore, usually Posts: 249	Thanks! Thanks guys, for all the help. I will definitely do as Merchant suggests and try and hunt down some professors who might know more about South Asian programs (there are none where I am at, unfortunately) and see what they have to say about schools in South Asia. And, I'll check into the schools mentioned. Engineering, etc, is a little different than linguistics--largely because there are more schools that have engineering programs, etc, than linguistics (especially linguistics research in South Asian languages) so they have more openings and less stringent entrance qualities. And, it sounds like Indian schools are more recognized for business and technology than other areas (And almost all of the indian students I know are business and engineering). So, I will check them out, but warily!

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Oct 13th, 2005, 08:44	#2
GoanCanuck Maha Guru Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Vancouver Posts: 2,969	Other than the IIT's and IIM's and possibly the IIS, none of the other universities in India have any standing internationally.

Oct 13th, 2005, 23:22	#5
kaushiks Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: don't live anymore Posts: 446	jyoti, You should take long hard look at JNU (Jawaharlal nehru university), Delhi. Where as it may not be an IIT for humanities, It probably has the kind of reputation you seem to require. There are lots of foriegners there too. It has a good bachelors' for Japenese and other foriegn languages. It certainly is the best one for you. You could also look at Pune university, though i am not sure of its international stature. I must caution, be doubly sure about JUN's reputation abroad. My guess is, it should be ok but not the greatest thing for your career.

Oct 13th, 2005, 23:39	#7
crvlvr Guru Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Hollywood Posts: 4,474	here is some info on the top colleges in india http://indiaeducation.info/usefullin...opcolleges.asp while indian colleges may not be recognized in the US business world, a huge percent of the graduate students in the US come from India. So, the admissions offices in the universities in the US may be familiar with the standings of indian coleges. that could be a place to start?

Oct 15th, 2005, 00:03	#12
Hippie at Heart Born Epicure Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: India Posts: 322	I agree with Canuck, crimson though its not in the domain of this thread but have a look at www.NotCanada.com I belive most contents are true.

Oct 15th, 2005, 00:07	#13
cyberhippie Account Closed by User's Request Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: the Netherlands Posts: 6,012	That smacks of favouritism Goancanuck I'm an undeducated yokal but my understanding of at least some parts of the Indian education sytem is that they can readily compete all over the world. Their university papers and ability to get the job done seemed unquestioned for a while both stateside and in Europe, until they brought the baby back to Bharat In fact standards in some boarding schools in India, coupled with the cost of course are bringing a lot of new western pupils to a great standard of education in India "public Schools" From your postings here on IM I'm sure you know that anyway and you are simply giving the Canadian situation "as is" which part of the "selfish me" can relate to

Oct 15th, 2005, 00:13	#14
crimsonriver The Nom@d... Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Some road.. somewhere... Posts: 325	just bcoz Cananda has some convention.. of a mandatory canadian work ex.. it doesn't make it a better bench mark than US, Germany, Britain.. and several other nations.... People go to Australia when they aren't able to crack the extremely competitive exams here in India.. Some obscure laws in a particular country can't be used to rubbish the standing of universities here.... talking of placements and jobs.. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...2302310900.htm

Oct 15th, 2005, 00:25	#15
crimsonriver The Nom@d... Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Some road.. somewhere... Posts: 325	As far as standing goes.. http://www.asiaweek.com/asiaweek/fea...eputation.html @Goancanuck - but the general idea conveyed by ur posts pointed in that direction only... Ps.. Sorry to have joined the argument.. but being a part of the academic system.. I feel compelled to bring facts to light..

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