Undergraduate Transfer Students – Admissions Process and Related Policies

Admissions Process

Application

Registering and starting the Application Form

1. An applicant needs to register with a personal email address (Gmail, Yahoo or Personal Domain IDs preferred) to start an application form.
2. Use a personal email address and not a school or office-affiliated email address to ensure that they have access to this email address till the duration of their undergraduate degree programme
3. All communication from Ashoka University will be sent only to the applicant’s registered email address

Instructions to fill in the Application Form

1. The application form has multiple sections and is designed to capture all aspects of an applicant. The applicant is advised to carefully and thoughtfully engage with all the sections in the form
2. You can move from one section to the next only after you have filled all the mandatory fields in the section. You will be able to revisit these filled mandatory fields to edit them later on
3. The applicant should supply all relevant information in both mandatory and non-mandatory sections of the application form
4. The applicant should attach all mandatory documents to prevent the application form from being considered ‘incomplete’. The applicant’s photograph, government identification document, and examination mark-sheets should be clearly visible and not password-protected
5. The applicant should attach collaterals (certificates, photographs, artwork, writing samples, web-links, letters of experience/completion/appointment, etc) for optional sections to substantiate their listed activities and areas of engagement
6. The applicants are required to respond to the mandatory personal essay prompts. They should be written by the applicant and should aim to address the stated prompt/cue as genuinely as possible
7. The applicant should get the consent of the recommender before enlisting the recommender’s name on the application form
8. The applicant’s choice of preferred Majors under the Course Preference Section in the application form is only indicative in nature
9. Ashoka University also offers extensive support to its students for English language, writing, learning disabilities, medical, mental health, and counselling. Please find the details for these support centers here: Support at Ashoka. To enable the university to extend adequate support to the applicant during the admissions process and on campus (if made an offer of admission), the applicant is requested to submit all relevant details in the Support at Ashoka Section of the application form
10. Please make sure that you click SUBMIT after you finish completing your application form

Admissions Related Policies

Please find below all the policies relevant to Ashoka University’s Undergraduate Transfer Admissions. Read through all the policies carefully before submitting your application form.

Application Policies

1. An applicant must have completed a minimum of one full year of academic education in a university elsewhere and must have received their grades and transcript(s) for the year of study. Students with less than one full year of study in another university must apply as first-year students.
2. An applicant can only submit one application process for the undergraduate programme during one admissions cycle. Applicants who have already submitted an application form in the regular/fresh application process for incoming undergraduate students will not be eligible to apply within the same admissions cycle as a transfer applicant.
3. Applicants must have completed a minimum of one full year of academic education in another university and must have received their marks/grades and transcript(s) for the year of study to be eligible to apply for the Ashoka University Transfer Students Programme
4. Applicants who have completed a minimum of one full year of study in another university but do not have their final marks/grades and transcript(s) for one full year of study (including Trimester III/Semester II/Year I if yearly or annual examination system is followed), will be eligible to apply to the Undergraduate Transfer Students Programme but will be required to submit one full year of academic marks/grades and transcript(s) upon receipt if made an offer of admission to ensure that their offer of admission is valid
5. Applicants who have completed a minimum of one full year of study in another university and enrolled/completed one semester at Ashoka University through the Visiting Student Programme (VSP) are eligible to apply to the Undergraduate Transfer Students Programme and have their Ashoka University academic credits acquired through the VSP transferred.
6. Applicants with less than one full year of study in another university must apply as a first-year undergraduate applicant through the regular/fresh application process for incoming undergraduate students
7. Applicants can apply to Ashoka University’s undergraduate programme only once within a given academic year. If an applicant has already applied to the undergraduate programme as a fresh undergraduate in one admissions cycle, their application to the undergraduate programme as a transfer student within the same admissions cycle will be considered ineligible. Please note if applicants submit more than one application to the undergraduate programme as a fresh undergraduate and transfer student, the application that has been submitted first will be considered, any other application will be rendered ineligible
8. An applicant must submit:
   • Academic transcripts from their current/previous institution/university
   • A transfer certificate and/or a no-objection certificate from their current/previous institution/university
   • An essay response expressing their interest and reason(s) for applying to Ashoka University
   • A document detailing the number of courses, course titles, and the official course description of the courses that the applicant has taken at their previous institution/university (This will be required for the consideration of transfer of credits)
   • The syllabi of each the courses taken in their previous institution/university for which they are seeking transfer credit (This will be required for the consideration of transfer of credits)
9. The Office of Admission might require the candidate to furnish a Transfer Certificate and/or No-Objection Certificate from their current/previous University/College/Institution if the applicant receives an Offer of Admission and wishes to pursue it.
10. Misrepresentation of facts or any information in an applicant’s application form will result in cancellation of their candidature or withdrawal of their Offer of Admission
11. All decisions taken by the Admissions Committee are final. No request for re-evaluation of the final decision received by the applicant will be considered
12. The admissions process will be followed in its entirety on the basis of the merit of the applicant. No other formal or informal recommendations from any individual(s) will be entertained or considered.
13. Ashoka University only accepts transfer applicants for admissions beginning in the Monsoon semester (August/September) of each year. Complete applications must be submitted online through the application portal by the application deadline mentioned for each year. All dates and deadlines are decided and published by the Office of Admissions on the Ashoka University website.
14. Application Forms for Financial Aid will be open to candidates only post receiving a Firm Offer of Admission from Ashoka University. Students who have been made an offer of admission will be sent all the requisite details to be able to apply for financial aid. The application process for financial aid is a separate process that requires students to submit various financial documents. All details are on the Ashoka University website.
15. A student who has been made an offer of admission and has accepted their offer of admission on the portal and made the required Acceptance Fee and Semester 1 payments will be required to move into campus, register themselves, and attend the Orientation Week sessions, which will be followed by the classes for the Monsoon Semester. Students will not be allowed to join in the middle of any semester. There is no entry into the Spring Semester.

Admission Policies 

Once an applicant has completed all the components of the application process, the Admissions Committee will evaluate their candidature to shortlist them for the Interview Round. The Office of Admissions follows the policies given below:

1. Ashoka University does not have a policy of deferral of admission. An Offer of Admission is valid only for the semester in which the candidate has applied. If the candidate wishes to delay the joining by a semester or more, they will have to re-apply and participate in the entire admissions process 
2. A candidate who has been made an Offer of Admission will have to join at the start of the semester for which they have applied. A candidate will not be allowed to join in the middle of any semester
3. A candidate is eligible to receive a Firm Offer of Admission from Ashoka University based on their overall performance in their academic and non-academic pursuits as well as their performance in the Interview Round process. The academic parameters requires a candidate to submit grades/scores from Grades X to XII and undergraduate degree transcripts as applicable. 
4. Admissions decisions are rolled out at the end of each of the round within the Admissions cycle. Once a candidate has gone through the Interview Round, they can expect to receive the decision from the Admissions Office soon.

Academic Policies and Credit Transfers 

1. Ashoka University’s graduation requirement for the 3-year B.A./B.Sc degree mandates that students acquire a total of 108 academic credits regardless of their choice of Major plus 6 non-academic credits. These credits can be a combination of Ashoka University’s credits and Transfer academic credits
2. Ashoka University’s graduation requirement for the 4-year B.A./B.Sc (Honours) degree mandates that students acquire a total of 144 academic credits regardless of their choice of Major plus 6 non-academic credits. These credits can be a combination of Ashoka University’s credits and Transfer academic credits
3. Enrolled transfer students are encouraged to start with the Ashoka FCs/Core Requirements in Semester 1. They might not be able to do any courses toward their Major in Semester 1
4. Transfer Students can transfer academic credits from their previous institution/university toward their Ashoka University academic credits/graduation requirements. These will include course equivalents up to a maximum of 12 academic course credit equivalency toward Ashoka University’s Foundation Courses (3 FCs) and up to a maximum of one-third academic course credit equivalents toward their choice of Major (Pure or Interdisciplinary)
5. The Office of Admissions does not decide the number of academic credits that can be transferred for a Transfer student who has been offered admission. The Office of Admissions will contact the Office of Academic Affairs once the admissions offers are declared and handover all the previous university academic transcripts of offered transfer students. The Office of Academic Affairs will be responsible for verifying the equivalence of FCs, and will in turn connect with the various Departments for their inputs on the credit transfers for specific Major specific courses. The respective ‘Major’ Department will verify the course(s) equivalence and finalise the academic credits to be transferred. This information will be communicated to the student, who can then make an informed decision on whether they wish to transfer into Ashoka University
6. Once the academic credits to be transferred have been finalised and communicated to the student and the student has accepted their offer of admission, no negotiation or requests for additional credit transfers will be entertained by the Office of Admissions, the Office of Academic Affairs or the respective ‘Major’ Department
7. Enrolled transfer students are typically required to take all nine (9) Ashoka University Foundation Courses. However, if transfer students have course equivalents from their previous institution/university toward any of the Ashoka University Foundation Courses, the Office of Academic Affairs will verify these equivalent courses and transfer those credits but only up to a maximum of three Ashoka University Foundation Courses (12 academic credits). All remaining Ashoka University Foundation Courses will have to be taken by the transfer student during the course of their programme in order to graduate.
8. Applicants who have received an offer of admission through the Undergraduate Transfer Students Programme are eligible to have their Ashoka University academic credits acquired through the Visiting Student Programme (VSP) to be considered for transfer
9. Applicants who have received an offer of admission through the Undergraduate Transfer Students Programme are eligible to have any previously acquired undergraduate academic credits from Ashoka University courses to be considered for transfer
10. The Office of Admissions, in collaboration with the Office of Academic Affairs and the individual Majors’ Departments, will verify, finalise and notify transfer students of the number of credits/specific courses that will be transferred to their Ashoka University academic credits/graduation requirements
11. The University Grants Commission (UGC) requires students to be mandatorily enrolled in one or more universities for a minimum of three years to fulfil their graduation requirements
12. The University Grants Commission (UGC) requires students to complete their undergraduate programme within a maximum of five years in one or more universities to be granted an undergraduate degree

Educational Board-Specific Policies 

Please click here to read Ashoka University’s Educational Board-Specific policies.

Discipline-Specific Policies

Ashoka University has specific policies for particular disciplines/courses for students who wish to Major or Minor in any of the disciplines listed below:

Major or Minor(Disciplines)	Subject(s) Required in Grades XI and XII	Department-Specific Details
Economics, Economics and Finance, Economics and History, Politics, Philosophy and Economics	Mathematics	The Department will not make any exceptions to this policy
Mathematics	Mathematics	For the Department to make any exceptions, students will have to demonstrate to a Faculty Advisor that they have sufficient knowledge and grasp of Mathematics (equivalent to the CBSE/ISC Grades XI and XII Mathematics course). Students are required to take the Mathematics Foundation Course and the Calculus Course early on to assess if they will be able to pursue Mathematics as a Major or Minor
Computer Science, Computer Science and Entrepreneurship, Computer Science and Mathematic	Mathematics	The Department will not make any exceptions to this policy
Physics	Mathematics and Physics	For the Department to make any exceptions, students will have to demonstrate to a Faculty Advisor that they have sufficient knowledge and grasp of Mathematics and Physics (equivalent to the CBSE/ISC Grades XI and XII Mathematics and Physics courses). Students are recommended to take the Mathematics Foundation Course and the Calculus Course to pursue Physics as a Major or Minor

Please click here to read Ashoka University’s policies on Mathematics courses offered by various educational boards.