Global Futures, Rooted in India: How Ashoka Creates Internationally Ready Graduates

Ashoka University, steeped in its Indian ethos, is simultaneously committed to preparing internationally equipped students. Our faculty comprises some of the best minds from over 30 countries, holding doctorates from some of the best universities worldwide (Cambridge, Oxford, Duke, Cornell, and so on), imparting students careful and rigorous training at par with Ivy League institutions.

Study Abroad and Research Tie-Ups

To further its vision of a globally relevant education, Ashoka has multiple research tie-ups with top universities abroad and offers students the opportunity to spend a summer or a semester abroad. Conversely, Ashoka welcomes visiting students every year from over 60 partner universities spanning 21 countries across five continents. Summer research opportunities are plenty, with opportunities to work with faculty at Ashoka and abroad in diverse areas of study, namely AI Technologies, Statistics and Data Science, Animal Science, Genetics Research, Global Development concerning Sustainable Food Supply Chains, City and Regional Planning, projects in anthropology and Public Policy like Resistance Strategies, and, of course, economic development.

We also have a dedicated Office of Postgraduate Studies, providing personalised care and attention, guiding students through graduate school applications, scholarships and higher education.

Alumni Placements Abroad

As a result of continued global engagement through their years at Ashoka, students do get placed in higher education and jobs worldwide. Alumni work at global organisations like Deloitte, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), EY and so on. Ashoka, in these eleven years, can also boast of its legacy of Rhodes scholars. Vighnesh Hampapura, English major from the class of 2021-22, Daksh Walia, MA Economics from the class of 2023 and, most recently, Taif Altaf, a Young India Fellow from the class of 2026, working on access to justice, due process, and the structural barriers that shape how citizens engage with the law in India to drive evidence-based policy reforms that strengthen justice delivery for all, have us all done us proud by bagging the competitive Rhodes scholarship. Alumni have also been awarded other prestigious scholarships like the Felix Scholarship and the McCall MacBain Scholarship.

Global Curriculum with Indian Relevance

Alongside its steadfast commitment to make Ivy League education affordable and accessible in India, Ashoka’s global curriculum seamlessly blends Indian values, issues and perspectives. While every English Major must take a course on Indian Literatures, besides a wealth of electives to choose from, departments like History, Political Science and Economics place a lot of emphasis on the study of the Indian context. For instance, the Department of History mandates four survey courses titled History of India I through IV, affording a thorough chronological grounding in Indian history. The Department of Political Science offers courses on Indian Politics and electives on vignettes of political life in India. We also have a dedicated Department of Sanskrit that teaches a classical Indian language through levels of complexity, while offering electives on the study of canonical and lesser-known Sanskrit literature.

Students Need Not Go Abroad for Global Exposure

Ashoka has always been propelled by this vision – to make Ivy League education accessible and affordable in India. Through its many endeavours, it has opened up avenues for global interaction – internationally recruited faculty, research opportunities, graduate support and a particularly tailored curriculum. Ashoka strives to give each student the experience of studying abroad in India.

– Written by Srishti Choudhury, English Major, Ashoka University