New academic session at DU classes to begin on August 1

This year, DU is offering 71,624 seats across 79 undergraduate programmes and 186 BA programme combinations in 69 colleges and departments.

Classes for the new academic session at Delhi University (DU) are set to begin on August 1, the university said in a notification issued on Thursday. With that date in mind, the second phase of undergraduate admissions is expected to commence early next week, officials said on Friday, following the release of the Common University Entrance Test Undergraduate (CUET-UG) results.

The first phase of admissions began on June 17 with the launch of the Common Seat Allocation System (CSAS) portal. (Archives)

“The schedule for the second phase will be released very soon. It will tentatively begin in the first half of next week, starting with a correction window for those who have already registered,” said DU’s dean of admission, Haneet Gandhi.

The first phase of admissions began on June 17 with the launch of the Common Seat Allocation System (CSAS) portal. This year, DU is offering 71,624 seats across 79 undergraduate programmes and 186 BA programme combinations in 69 colleges and departments.

In the second phase, candidates will need to map the subjects they studied in Class 12 to the CUET domain subjects, as the university will only consider domain papers that match or closely resemble subjects studied at the school level.

During the allocation-cum-admission round, candidates must ”accept” the seat offered to them. The respective college will then verify eligibility and documents submitted online. Once approved, candidates can pay the fee to confirm admission. Any inaction will be treated as non-acceptance of the allocated seat.

For the first time, DU will also ask for Class 10 marks, which will be used for tie-breaking if required.

An advisory issued by the university on Thursday said: “The University of Delhi will open Phase 2 of the Common Seat Allocation System (CSAS UG) in the coming week. All prospective applicants are advised to start applying for CSAS Phase I, if not done so far.”

While students are encouraged to complete Phase 1 before Phase 2 begins, the university clarified that registrations on the CSAS portal will remain open even after the second phase is launched.

Students have also been advised to start preparing a list of preferred programmes and colleges. The move is part of DU’s attempt to avoid the kind of delays that have plagued the academic calendar in recent years.

Last year, the academic session began on August 29, and mop-up rounds continued into early October. The delay was attributed to the late release of CUET-UG results. Since DU adopted CUET in 2022, the admission timeline has been tied closely to the result declaration. Subject mapping and seat allocation — critical steps in the process — can only begin after CUET results are out.

These delays have led to complications for both students and faculty. First-year students have had to sit exams during extreme weather conditions, while teachers’ summer breaks have been cut short due to extended invigilation duties. Several faculty members have also raised concerns over inadequate teaching time in the first semester as classes often begin late.

“We want to correct the academic calendar and start all semesters together,” Gandhi said. “That’s why the second phase of the admission process will be somewhat compressed this time.”

The university advisory also noted: “The University is likely to start its academic session from August 1, 2025. Hence, the duration of CSAS Phase 2 could be limited to a week.”