UGC's new regulations render psychology degrees in distance mode invalid: How it came about and what lies ahead for students

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has announced that degrees in psychology earned through distance and online mode are not valid anymore. This ruling impacts about 1.3 lakh students who have joined or graduated from BA, BSc, MA, and MSc psychology courses run through distance education. The UGC made this announcement two months back, and ever since, the commission has been receiving floodgates of complaints and inquiries from students and institutions as well.

The ruling implies that universities are no longer in a position to provide psychology as part of their distance or online courses, and degrees granted in such a mode will be deemed invalid from the academic year starting July-August 2025. Admissions in these courses have already been suspended this year. This step affects not only existing students but also those who intend to pursue higher studies or work in fields related to psychology.

Why the prohibition on distance learning psychology degrees was enacted

The UGC action is connected with the enactment of the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) Act, 2021, that came under a central statutory umbrella all allied health sciences. The NCAHP governs fields such as psychology, behavioural health sciences, microbiology, food and nutrition science, biotechnology, and clinical nutrition and dietetics.

Prior to the creation of the NCAHP, the allied health sciences profession was not regulated in most states. It was the lack of this uniformity that had resulted in different levels of curriculum and quality standards, as well as the spread of pseudocollleges and spurious regulating agencies. To counteract this, the NCAHP established model curricula and assumed responsibility for regulation of 10 allied health professions, including psychology and related behavioural health professions.

In response to this change, the UGC's Distance Education Bureau (DEB) revoked its approval for online and distance learning mode programmes in allied health science, such as psychology. This was ratified at the 592nd UGC meeting on July 23, 2025.

Effect on students and institutions

The withdrawal of recognition impacts a large number of programmes in universities all over India. The programmes are well-received, with the number of universities that offer such programmes surging dramatically from 17 in 2020-21 to 57 in 2024-25. Telangana and Tamil Nadu are among the states with the highest numbers of universities offering distance psychology degrees.

Under the new guidelines, universities will have to discontinue enrolling students in these programmes from the July-August 2025 academic year onwards. Degrees from distance education psychology courses after that will not be valid, leaving thousands of enrolled or aspiring students uncertain.

Next steps and developments going forward

The UGC has asked all the higher education institutions (HEIs) to adhere to the new guidelines. The commission also brought the matter up with the Ministry of Education, appealing for reconsideration of permitting psychology programmes under distance learning, yet no revision has been implemented.

The NCAHP remains to regulate the allied health sciences profession, prescribing standards and curricula for the regulated professions. Students who had previously completed their psychology qualifications through distance learning before the prohibition continue to be impacted in further education and employment opportunities, as the authenticity of their qualification has been compromised.

Students and institutions wait for further information about transitional arrangements or other routes, but for now the distance education psychology degree ban stays solid.