Students returning with a foreign qualification to India need to procure an equivalence certificate from AIU if they seek employment with Indian Public Service (through bodies such as UPSC), with Indian Banks, with Indian Universities, seek further education (such as Masters with Indian Universities after a Bachelors from overseas or PhD after a Masters from overseas) or enter into professions where they need to demonstrate that they hold a certain level of qualification. For such students it is advised that the qualification obtained is in accordance with the advisory below:
Evaluation Division, Association of Indian Universities (AIU)
AIU House, 16-Comrade Indrajit Gupta Marg, New Delhi – 110002ADVISORY TO STUDENTS SEEKING ADMISSION TO PROGRAMMES OF STUDIES PROMISING QUALIFICATIONS/ DEGREES FROM FOREIGN UNIVERSITIES
Students seeking admission in such Programmes of Studies which promise award of Foreign Qualifications/Degrees are, hereby, advised to ensure that these programmes meet the eligibility requirements for according Equivalence as specified by the Association of Indian Universities.
Students are advised to read the Information Brochure of the AIU on Equivalence of Foreign Qualification/Degrees which may be downloaded free of cost from the AIU website (www.aiu.ac.in).
Given below is a gist of the eligibility requirements for equivalence of foreign qualifications/degrees and Students are ADVISED to ensure that the Programme of Studies and Institutions meet these requirements failing which the Equivalence shall not be granted
SEEKING ADMISSION TO SCHOOL AFFILIATED TO FOREIGN BOARD/OFFERING FOREIGN SYSTEM OF EDUCATION:
- Equivalence is granted only if (i) the foreign system of educationprescribes a minimum of 12 years of regular schooling; (ii) the school is affiliated by a Board that has been approved/recognised; (iii) the school leaving certificate has been issued by the Board that has been approved/ recognised/accredited in the country concerned;
- As American High School is not conducted by any Board, the School has to be accredited by one of the six recognised accrediting agencies in the United States.
- AIU shall accord equivalence to school level examinations on the fulfilment of the following conditions:
(a) the Minimum duration of the programme must be at least the same as prescribed for the corresponding level of qualification in India (i.e a minimum of 10 years of schooling for being equated with Secondary School Certificate Examination of the CBSE/other Boards in India; and a minimum of 12 years of Schooling for being equated with the Senior School Certificate Examination of the CBSE/other Boards in India);
(b) the candidate must have passed the Examination equivalent to the Grade 10 with a Minimum of 5 (five) subjects including English;
(c) the candidate must have passed the Examination equivalent to Grade 12 with a Minimum of 4 (Four) subjects except in case of the GCE ADVANCED (“A”) LEVEL Examination of the approved British Examination Bodies wherein the candidate must have passed the A Level examination with 2/3 subjects at Advanced Level; provided further that in case of Advanced Certificate of Secondary Education from Tanzania and Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education from Uganda which allow students to take courses at Principal and Subsidiary level, equivalence shall be issued by the AIU only if the students has obtained a minimum of two Principal and two Subsidiary Passes;
(d) the School Level examination has been conducted and certificate awarded by the Board/University duly approved and recognised by the Ministry of Education/concerned Ministry of the country to which the Board/University belong. Provided further that in case of the American High School Diploma where certificate is awarded by the School itself (not by any Board/University), the equivalence shall be given only if the School is accredited either by the State Department of Education in the United States or by one of the 6 (SIX) Regional Accrediting Agencies in the US, i.e. (i) Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges, (ii) New England Association of Schools and Colleges; (iii) North Central Association of Schools and Colleges; (iv) North West Association of Schools and Colleges; (v) Southern Association of School and Colleges; and (Western Association of Schools and Colleges)
IB Diploma/ Course (Certificate) AIU shall accord equivalence to both the IB Diploma and the IB Diploma Course (i.e. IB Certificate) provided that a student has secured a minimum of 24 credits and has passed a minimum of three subjects at Higher Level (HL) and three at Lower Level (SL);
4. Equivalence is not granted for qualifications that are awarded for studies undertaken OPEN/DISTANCE/ONLINE/VIRTUAL of HOME STUDIES/ PRIVATE Mode(s)/ certificate awarded in less than 12 years duration;
SEEKING ADMISSION TO PROGRAMME OF STUDIES PROMISING DEGREES AWARDED BY FOREIGN UNIVERSITIES FOR STUDIES UNDERTAKEN ON THEIR CAMPUS OF ORIGIN
1. Equivalence is granted to students if he/she meets the following eligibility conditions: (a) The degree has been awarded by a university which is duly approved/recognised/accredited in its own country; (b) The student has pursued the programme of studies as a full time regular student on the campus of the university in the foreign country; (c) The minimum eligibility qualification for admission to the programme of the study is at least the same as prescribed in India; and (d) The duration of the programme of study is at least the same as prescribed in India;
2. The minimum prescribed duration and minimum eligibility of various Programmes of Studies in India, shall be such as are specified by the University Grants Commission (UGC) vide Gazette Notification published from time to time;
3. As of now, Equivalence is not accorded to foreign degrees awarded under DISTANCE/OPEN/ONLINE/VIRTUAL/HOME STUDIES/PRIVATE mode(s) etc.
SEEKING ADMISSION TO PROGRAMME OF STUDIES PROMISING DEGREES AWARDED BY THE FOREIGN UNIVERSITIES FOR STUDIES UNDERTAKEN IN INDIA:
1. Equivalence is granted only if the following conditions are fulfilled: (a) the foreign university awarding the degree must be duly approved/recognised by the competent authorities in its own country and/or must be duly accredited by the recognised accrediting agency in its own country; (b) the institute/college/university where studies were undertaken in India must be duly approved/recognised by the competent authorities in India and/ or duly accredited by the recognised accrediting agencies in India; (c) the institute/college/university where studies were undertaken in India must be duly approved by the competent authorities in India (UGC/AICTE/ Government of India) to award degree of the foreign university; (d) the degree has been awarded in accordance with the Rules & Regulations framed by the Statutory/Regulatory Bodies in India; (e) the student has completed his studies as a full time regular student throughout the prescribed duration of the programme of the studies; and (f) that all other parameters as laid down by AIU for according equivalence to foreign degrees have been fulfilled;
SEEKING ADMISSION TO PROGRAMME OF STUDIES PROMISING DEGREES AWARDED BY FOREIGN UNIVERSITIES FOR STUDIES UNDERTAKEN IN THEIR OFFSHORE CAMPUSES/ COLLABORATING EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN OTHER COUNTRIES EXCEPT INDIA:
1. Equivalence is granted only if the following conditions are fulfilled: (a) the foreign university awarding the degree must be duly approved/recognized by the competent authorities in its own country and/or must be duly accredited by the recognised accrediting agency in its own country; (b) the offshore campus/collaborating educational institution where studies were undertaken must be duly approved/recognised by the competent authorities in the country where they are operating and/or is accredited by the accrediting agencies that has been duly recognised in that country; (c) the offshore campus/collaborating educational institution where studies were undertaken must be duly approved by the competent authorities in that country to award degree of the foreign university; (d) the degree has been awarded in accordance with the Rules & Regulations prescribed by the competent authorities of the country where the offshore campus/collaborating educational institution operates; (e) the student has completed his studies as a full time regular student throughout the prescribed duration of the programme of the studies; and (f) all other parameters as laid down by AIU for according equivalence to foreign degrees have been fulfilled;
SEEKING ADMISSION TO PROGRAMME OF STUDIES PROMISING DEGREES AWARDED BY THE INDIAN UNIVERSITIES FOR STUDIES UNDERTAKEN IN THEIR OFFSHORE CAMPUSES/COLLABORATING EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS ABROAD:
1. Equivalence is granted only if the following conditions are fulfilled: (a) The Indian University must have obtained due approval/permission from the concerned appropriate regulatory bodies/competent authorities in India (UGC/AICTE/MHRD/Government of India) for establishing and operating the offshore campus/entering into such agreements/MoUs with collaborating educational institutions; (b) The programme of studies for which the degree has been awarded for studies undertaken in the offshore campus/collaborating institution abroad has been duly approved by the concerned appropriate regulatory bodies/competent authorities in India (UGC/AICTE/MHRD/Government of India); (c) The offshore campus/ collaborating educational institution abroad has been duly approved/ recognised by the competent authorities/regulatory bodies of that country and/or has been accredited by the accrediting agency duly recognised in that country; (d) the degree has been awarded in accordance with the Rules & Regulations prescribed by the competent authorities of india as well as by the competent authorities/regulatory bodies of the country where the offshore campus/collaborating educational institution operates; (e) the student has completed his studies as a full time regular student throughout the prescribed duration of the programme of the studies; and (f) all other parameters as laid down by AIU for according equivalence to foreign degrees have been fulfilled;
SEEKING ADMISSION TO PROGRAMME OF STUDIES PROMISING DEGREES AWARDED BY THE FOREIGN UNIVERSITIES TO THE STUDENTS ADMITTED THROUGH PATHWAYS/DIPLOMA LEVEL INSTITUTIONS:
1. As of now, the AIU does NOT accord Equivalence to such degrees offered by the foreign universities where students are admitted through pathway/ diploma level institutions;
SEEKING ADMISSION TO PROGRAMME OF STUDIES PROMISING DEGREES AWARDED BY THE FOREIGN UNIVERSITIES FOR STUDIES UNDERTAKEN THROUGH OPEN/ DISTANCE/CORRESPONDENCE / ONLINE/VIRTUAL MODE etc:
1. As of now, the AIU does NOT accord Equivalence to such foreign degrees that have been obtained for studies undertaken through open/distance/ correspondence/online/virtual modes(s) etc ;
SEEKING ADMISSION TO PROGRAMME OF STUDIES PROMISING DEGREES AWARDED BY THE FOREIGN UNIVERSITIES IN SUCH DISCIPLINES WHICH ALSO ENTITLE THE HOLDER OF THE DEGREE TO PRACTICE A PROFESSION
1. AIU does not entertain applications for equivalence of such professional degrees awarded by foreign universities which also entitle the holder of the degree to practice a profession in India.
2. Thus, degrees in disciplines like Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Law, Architecture etc are presently outside the purview of the AIU as such cases are handled by the respective professional councils;
Issued in Public Interest on 25.07.2016 by the
Evaluation Division Association of Indian Universities (AIU) New Delhi, India; http://www.aiu.ac.in
Click to access AIU%20Advisory%20to%20Students%20Foreign%20Degree%2025.07.2016.pdf
RLS's Blog 
Dear Sir,
I have done MBA from UK (Regular) in 2011, but duration was 1year. Is it vaild by AIU or not?
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Dear Ravi Sir,
I have received a Bachelor of engineering degree fro Glasgow university, Scotland UK. in 2015. I have now applied to RBI for a job and they are asking me whether the university i is recognised in India. How can I Check. Can you please help me Sir,. The UGC says that the Govt of India had a MoU with Glasgow University from 2009 to 2014, But i graduated in 2015. So is that MoU still valid? How can i convince RBI people? that MoU expired so i cannot explain any further about whether my degree is valid in india or not.
Please help
Thanks
Sankalp Kumar
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I guess you can get British Council to give you some letter of support. My understanding is that there was a court order in India that indicated that if the degree earned overseas is at a recognised university and is of the same duration as in India, it will be deemed recognised. You may have to look for this court order.
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Dear Sir,
I have completed a masters degree in Australia full time 2 years but still AIU is not validating it because I received my degree 2.5 Months earlier. I did not do any fast track programme and the university website clearly states the degree is full time for 2 years.
I mean this is absurd, just because Australian Universities do not delay their process of granting degree my masters is not valid.
My argument is Indian 2 year masters degree is not 2 exact years of studies there are university breaks as well which together makes the study period and holidays a course duration of 2 years. The same is for my masters degree rather than waiting for the holiday period they granted the degree 2.5 months earlier unlike Indian universities which grants a couple of months later thereby, satisfying the 2 year duration.
I started my Australian degree on 23rd Feb 2015 and I received my Degree in December 2016. Now AIU is stating that this is not complete 2 years it is 21 months. Either Australian universities are making a fool out of students stating that it is a 2 year degree or Indian 2 years differ from Australian 2 years????????
If my Australian University would have waited for a couple of months to grant me the degree then the AIU would not have any problem because according to them I would have completed 24 months??? They need the exact months not a day less?
This is lame because I did not do any fast track course it’s just my university did not wait for the holiday period to grant the degrees.
My study period was over and we were in holidays at the time I received my degree.
I am confused please help?
Regards
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Dear Himanshu,
This is really baffling. Please contact help of Australian High Commission New Delhi (Department of Education and Training). You may contact the counsellor. They may give you a cover letter indicating that the said course is a 2 year degree and also your institution can give you a letter of support indicating that it was a 2 year degree. I am aware that they have issued some similar letter in past and that has helped in getting the AIU to give a favourable assessment. All the best.
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Thank you sir,
I am going to contact the Australian High Commission and ask them for a letter or statement because the university website also states that my degree is 2 years full time and I have not used any fast track method to complete the degree. My career is on the line here and all they care about is their 24 months. Even after all of this they reject my application I am going to file a RTI.
It would be highly helpful if you could please let me know if you have any contacts who faced this similar situation.
Regards,
Himanshu
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Make a request to the department at the AHC and you will find that they are supportive.
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Sir, we are Indian nationals employed in Ministry of health in Maldives. Our son has just completed his Cambridge GCE O level from a government school here. We are seeking his higher secondary from CBSE in India. Please advise us how do we proceed.
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I believe it should be fine. approach the school that you want your son to join in india.
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Dear sir,
I have studied outside india till bsc. Did my msc in india and a phd outside.
I got an aiu equivalence for my phd. Now again for a position here they are demanding me to produce equivalence for my lower education. Is this needed? Since I submitted all the lower certs for the phd equivalence.
Need some clarification.
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If your MSc is from India, why do they need equivalence certificate?
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Dear sir, thanks for responding.. i do not know why they are asking. How do i tackle this sir? Your suggestions are appreciated. Any ways to find out what is the real rule? I am likely to be terminated with this reason
Thanks
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Dear Sir,
My name is Chandu. I finished my B.Tech in Electrical and Communication Engineering, India. Then I finished my Master of Science in the the Department of Interdisciplinary Program in Robotics, South Korea. Also, I recently completed my PhD in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, South Korea. I completed my MS and PhD from Pusan National University (World ranking 400-500).
My question is: My MS and PhD thesis works are not related to my Departments. My Thesis work mainly related to Energy (similar to Material Science department). So, Can I get my equivalent degree certificate or not from India?
I am confused sir?
Please help me.
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Dear Sir,
I am a student from Pearl Academy of Fashion and have completed my bachelor’s degree in Fashion Media Communication. We were awarded a degree from Nottingham Trent University. And now that I’m planning to do my masters I have come to the understanding that it’s not recognised by many universities in India. I wanted a little clarity on this? If you could please let my know whether my degree is valid in ANY govt university in Indian?
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I have done my bachelor’s degree in electrical nd electronics from university of Leicester uk . From where I can validate my degree
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I didi my graduation in 3 years from uk but Aiu refused to validatemy degree what shd i do?
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what was your 3 year degree in and from which institution.
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Hello Sir,
I did my Masters from the University of Wolverhampton, UK. I am planning to do Ph.D. in India now. Is my university listed in AIU? is the equivalent certificate necessary to do Ph.D. here? If yes what is the process to get the equivalent certificate?
Thank you in advance..
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Sir.
I got PhD in Chemical Engineering from Spain. I studied MSc Chemistry in NIT, Trichy, India. I want to apply equivalence certificate. My degree equivalence belongs to chemical engg or chemistry?.
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Hello Mr. Ravi
Your blog is very informative and you are doing a great work by helping out aspiring students. Sir, I’ve got acceptance offer from the University of Bristol for MSc in Operations and Project Management. I have no plans to seek employment in India and but would be looking to work in European countries, China or the Middle East. Do you think it’s a good idea to go ahead with this offer? How would a degree from U of Bristol be valued elsewhere considering that it is constantly ranked among the 50 world universities?
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Dear Sir,
I am seeking application to the 3-year law course at GLC Mumbai. I have completed by Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania. Before that, I have completed by High Schooling from a boarding school in the US as well.
Now, the online CAP process for colleges in Maharashtra is asking me to choose what category I fall in – would I fall under a Maharashtra candidate or a foreign student? Depending on that, I will have to obtain an equivalence certificate for which I have to pay 13000 Rs? That is honestly pretty ridiculous. How am I supposed to know that this is required when I have a deadline of 1 week to fill in the CAP forms?
Why is the college application process so cumbersome ?
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We applied for HSC (+2) equivalent certificate on july 5 2018. Thru courier. We attached all the documents with attestation and DD. We don’t know about the status. Where to contact to know my application status? . I tried in the contact list from aiu.ac.in No one replied.
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Hello Sir, I am about to join a Joint Doctorate Program (PhD) from two reputed universities in Italy and Belgium. It is funded by the prestigious Marie Curie Fellowship. How would I know if my PhD will be recognized in India when I apply for jobs?
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Dear Sir, I have done my Bachelors in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University, USA and I need to apply for Equivalence Certificate for this in India. In the required documents they asked to submit :
1. A letter from the University stating therein the period of your full time studies on the campus of the degree
awarding university i.e. date of start of course and completion, thereof.
2. Copy of Offer Letter issued by the degree awarding university.
I am confused of what the offer letter means and also my degree itself and I-20 says I am full student, so what does a letter stating period of my full time studies mean?
I am not sure how to get these from my University. I graduated in 2017 May and I came India after that. I have all the copies of my 10,12th and Degree certificate and the grade list, Visa and I-20 copies but not the two as stated above. Can I visit AIU in person or whom do I need to contact Sir? I am appearing for an exam in December and then next year and so please help me asap Sir.
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Good evening sir,
My name is Akanksha Kashyap and i am seeking to take admission in USA for Masters in Journalism in mass communication.
USA follows a credit system and some universities provide the masters degree in one year or one and half years. Even though some universities offer a two year program, they also have a provision to award a degree before the completion of two years in the necessary credits are fulfilled.
But i am really confused that if i take admission in a university that awards me a masters degree from a university in a one year time or one and a half years time, will AIU recognize my degree?
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Good Morning Sir my name is Boineelo and i from Africa wishing to study nursing at India and along the process of seeking for school i met this issue of equivalence certificate truly speaking i still don’t understand a thing even after doing my own research.would you please kindly assist me.i can be reached on email boineelos@yahoo.com
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