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MA in India Studies - Online Master's Program from JGU
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MA in India Studies - Online Master's Program from JGU

The Master of Arts in India Studies offered by the Jindal India Institute (JII) at O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) provides a unique opportunity to explore India's diverse facets. This one-year program covers politics, history, philosophy, business, technology, literature, music, dance, and cinema. Designed for global learners, it offers flexible online learning while maintaining academic rigor. Students benefit from expert faculty instruction, comprehensive digital resources, and a global learning community. The program emphasizes interdisciplinary understanding of India's role in shaping the contemporary world.

₹ 2,50,000

Course Start Date: February, 2026

Application Deadline: Closing Soon

Duration: 12 Months

Prof. Dr. Hindol Sengupta

Prof. Dr. Hindol Sengupta

Ms. Bhavika Behal

Ms. Bhavika Behal

Dr. Sugandha Nagpal

Dr. Sugandha Nagpal

English

English

Prof. Dr. Hindol Sengupta

Prof. Dr. Hindol Sengupta

Ms. Bhavika Behal

Ms. Bhavika Behal

Dr. Sugandha Nagpal

Dr. Sugandha Nagpal

Overview

Journey into the heart of India with JGU's MA in India Studies program. This unique online master's degree offers comprehensive study of India's diverse aspects - from ancient civilization to contemporary global influence. Learn from leading scholars in a flexible format.

Why MA (Master of Arts)?

JGU's MA in India Studies stands out as the only online master's program of its kind offered by an Indian university. Ranked No. 1 globally in THE Online Learning Rankings 2024, it provides expert faculty, comprehensive curriculum, and flexible learning options.

What does this course have to offer?

Key Highlights

  • Ranked No. 1 in THE Online Learning Rankings 2024

  • Only online MA in India Studies from Indian university

  • Comprehensive interdisciplinary curriculum

  • 100% online interactive learning

  • Global student community

  • Expert faculty from JGU

Who is this programme for?

  • Working professionals seeking India expertise

  • International students interested in India

  • Scholars pursuing India-focused research

  • Professionals working with Indian organizations

  • Individuals passionate about Indian culture

Minimum Eligibility

  • Bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognized university

  • Valid passport for international applicants

  • Govt. issued ID proof for Indian applicants

Not sure whether you qualify for this programme?

Admission Overview

The program follows a structured admission process including statement of purpose, essay submission, and document review. Academic structure comprises four terms with 64 total credits, delivered through interactive online learning.

Selection process

How to apply?

Curriculum

The curriculum spans four terms covering India's history, politics, philosophy, religions, arts, business, technology, and contemporary issues. Students can choose between dissertation and elective pathways in the final term.

There are 4 semesters in this course

The program consists of twelve core courses spread across four terms. Term 1 covers Indian histories, politics, philosophy, and academic writing. Term 2 explores international relations, social justice, entertainment, and research methods. Term 3 focuses on religions, business, technology, and performing arts. Term 4 offers environmental studies and choice between dissertation or electives.

Term I

Term II

Term III

Term IV

Programme Length

The program spans 12 months divided into four terms, requiring 12-15 hours of weekly commitment. The flexible online format allows students to balance studies with other commitments.

Whom you will learn from?

Learn from top industry experts who bring real-world experience and deep knowledge to every lesson. The instructors are dedicated to help you achieve your goals with practical insights and hands-on guidance.

Prof. Dr. Hindol Sengupta
Prof. Dr. Hindol Sengupta is a distinguished historian and author, known for his work on India’s rise and its intersection with international relations. He has held senior roles at Invest India and Fortune magazine and is a prominent columnist and filmmaker. His research spans comparative statehood, nuclear conflict, multiculturalism, and technology's impact on sovereignty. He holds degrees from several prestigious institutions including the Geneva School of Diplomacy and Oxford
Ms. Bhavika Behal
Bhavika Behal has an M.Phil. (Master of Philosophy) in Modern South Asian Studies from the University of Cambridge. Her M.Phil. thesis explored the evolution of photojournalistic images by highlighting patterns of continuity in the visual constructions of violence-prone regions in India by colonial and post-colonial regimes. Her current research interests revolve around questions of the representation of minorities through visual mediums such as photographs, films, and documentaries.
Dr. Sugandha Nagpal
Dr. Sugandha Nagpal is an Associate Professor at Jindal School of International Affairs. She holds a Ph.D. in International Development from the University of East Anglia. Her research interests span migration, gender, education, and urbanization. She has worked on projects related to gender dynamics, land acquisition, maternal health, and mental well-being across India, Kenya, and the UK. She is currently focused on internal migration and mental health initiatives.
Dr. Michal Erlich
Dr. Michal Erlich, Associate Professor at the Jindal School of International Affairs and Deputy Director of the Jindal India Institute, holds a Ph.D. from Tel Aviv University. Her research explores religion, well-being, and lived Hindu practices in India’s socio-cultural peripheries, with a focus on guru-bhakti, healing traditions, and marginalized communities. She integrates ethnography, history, and philosophy, bridging academic insights with public practice through mindfulness, art, and community engagement.
Prof. Dr. Sreeram Sundar Chaulia
Prof. Dr. Sreeram Sundar Chaulia is the Dean at the Jindal School of International Affairs (JSIA) and Director General of the Jindal India Institute. He specializes in diplomacy, foreign policy, comparative politics, international political economy, and humanitarian practices. With a background from renowned institutions like the University of Delhi, University of Oxford, London School of Economics, and Syracuse University, he has contributed extensively to international relations literature and is also a regular media commentator. His books include Modi Doctrine and Trumped.

Tuition Fee

The program fee is INR 2,50,000 for Indian students, with equivalent amounts for international students in their local currency. Payment can be made in installments, and financing options are available through Jodo monthly payment plan.

Fee Structure

Payment options

Financing options

Financial Aid

Need help understanding fees, EMI options, or scholarships?

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About the University

O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU), established in 2009, is a private deemed-to-be university located in Sonipat, Haryana, India. Founded as a philanthropic initiative by Naveen Jindal in memory of his father, O.P. Jindal, the university emphasizes a multi-disciplinary and research-oriented approach to education. JGU offers a diverse range of programs across various disciplines, including law, business, liberal arts, international affairs, and life sciences, with over 45 academic programs available.The university is recognized for its commitment to academic excellence and has been ranked as the No. 1 private university in India by multiple sources. It aims to foster a vibrant learning environment that encourages innovation, critical thinking, and global engagement among its students. With a focus on research and interdisciplinary studies, JGU seeks to address contemporary global challenges through education and scholarship.JGU's campus is designed to support an engaging student experience, featuring modern facilities and resources that enhance both academic and extracurricular activities. The university promotes a culture of inclusivity and diversity, welcoming students from various backgrounds and regions.

University

#601-650

QS World University Ranking

9,000

Total Enrollment

#601-650

QS World University Ranking

9,000

Total Enrollment

Featured Faculties

These are the expert instructors who will be teaching you throughout the course. With a wealth of knowledge and real-world experience, they're here to guide, inspire, and support you every step of the way. Get to know the people who will help you reach your learning goals and make the most of your journey.

Ambica Ghai

1,117

Students

2

Courses

Prof. Ambica Ghai is currently pursuing her PhD in Management with a specialization in IT and Systems at IIM Lucknow. Her research focuses on social media listening and monitoring, particularly examining the interplay between textual data and image analytics. This involves analyzing how images and text together can provide insights into consumer behavior and preferences.
Anshu Sharma

4.8

6

Reviews

2,434

Students

3

Courses

Anshu Sharma is an Associate Professor in the Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management (OB-HRM) area at Jindal Global Business School. She also serves as the Assistant Dean for the MBA-DFB Program and is the Executive Director for the Centre of Responsible Management. A Fellow of MDI, Gurgaon, her doctoral research, titled "Determinants of Organizational Learning Capability in the Digital Age: Role of Enterprise Social Media, Social Capital, and Informal Learning," received the Highly Commended Award at the Emerald Outstanding Doctoral Research Awards in 2017.
Chavi Asrani

2,539

Students

1

Course

Chavi Asrani is an Associate Professor with a strong academic background in economics and quantitative research. She holds a PhD from IIT Delhi and earned her Master’s in Economics with a Gold Medal from Loyola College. With expertise in economic theory, policy analysis, and research, she is dedicated to shaping the next generation of economists and scholars.
Dr. Rajdeep Pakanati

2,113

Students

4

Courses

Dr. Rajdeep Pakanati is an Associate Professor at the Jindal School of International Affairs, OP Jindal Global University. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Kakatiya University, a Master’s degree in Politics and International Relations, and an M.Phil. in International Law from Jawaharlal Nehru University. Additionally, he earned both a Master’s degree and a Ph.D. in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Delaware. His research primarily focuses on transparency and accountability issues, particularly the Right to Information, as well as the roles of India and China in international relations. Dr. Pakanati also has a keen interest in public international law.
Dr. Naresh Singh

431

Students

3

Courses

Dr. Naresh Singh is a Professor and Executive Dean at the Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, where he also directs the Centre of Complexity Economics, Applied Spirituality, and Public Policy. He serves as a visiting professor at the University of Ottawa's School of International Development and Global Studies. Dr. Singh has held several prominent international positions, including Executive Director of the Global Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor at UNDP, where he worked alongside notable figures like Madeleine Albright and Hernando de Soto. His previous roles include Director General in the Policy Branch of the Canadian International Development Agency and Principal Adviser on Poverty and Sustainable Livelihoods at UNDP in New York. He has taught on the LLM program at Loyola University Chicago's Rome campus and is an adviser to the Centre for Emergent Diplomacy in the USA. An international consultant for organizations such as UNDP, FAO, Commonwealth Secretariat, and ILO, Dr. Singh is globally recognized for his work on sustainable livelihoods. He holds a transdisciplinary Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences and has been a visiting professor at several universities in the U.S. and Canada, including Boston University, Harvard, McGill, and Waterloo.
Dr. Janardan Krishna Yadav

1,280

Students

1

Course

Dr. Janardan Krishna Yadav is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Jindal Global Business School, where he previously served as a visiting assistant professor at NIT Calicut, teaching customer relationship management. His research interests encompass experiential marketing, services, and tourism. Dr. Yadav has a strong academic background, having received a University Gold Medal for his Master in Tourism Administration (MTA) and being awarded the UGC-JRF in Tourism Administration & Management. He also holds an International Diploma in Tourism from IATA in Montreal and a Master of Science in Industrial Chemistry. As a Fellow of IIM-Kozhikode, his thesis focused on memorable tourism experiences and their behavioral outcomes. His research has been presented at international conferences across several countries and has resulted in publications with reputable publishers like Sage International and Nova Publications USA. Additionally, he serves as a scientific committee member of the European Institute for Research and Development (EIRD). Dr. Yadav's teaching interests include Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Digital Business Models, Consumer Behaviour, Tourism & Hospitality, and Services Marketing.
Madhura Lohokare

4.6

32

Reviews

15,173

Students

1

Course

Madhura Lohokare directs the Centre for Writing Studies (CWS) at O.P. Jindal Global University in Sonipat, Haryana. With a background in anthropology, her doctoral research focused on how urban exclusion shapes young men as gendered and caste-d subjects in Pune, India. Currently, her research interests revolve around critical writing pedagogies and the concept of care within writing education. At the CWS, she is committed to developing an inclusive pedagogy that fosters critical thinking and writing skills, teaching courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Additionally, she has mentored faculty in writing pedagogy to enhance their teaching practices.
Milindo Chakrabarti

431

Students

3

Courses

Prof. Milindo Chakrabarti has over 35 years of distinguished experience in academia, specializing in Microeconomics, International Trade and Business, Environmental Economics, Indian Economics, and Development Economics. He is currently a Professor at the School of Government and Public Policy at O.P. Jindal Global University in Sonipat, Haryana, and serves as the Director of the Centre for Sustainability in Noida. His extensive teaching career includes lectures at prestigious institutions such as Indiana University and the University of Southern California. Prof. Chakrabarti has held several high-profile international roles, including Executive Director of the Global Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor at UNDP and Principal Adviser on Poverty and Sustainable Livelihoods at UNDP New York. He is also an adjunct faculty member at the Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba, Canada, and serves as a Visiting Consultant for the Ministry of External Affairs' research and information system for developing countries. Recently appointed to the Advisory Committee on "Rethinking Development" by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), he has consulted for various ministries in India as well as international organizations like the World Bank and UNDP. His expertise spans policy development across sectors such as natural resources, rural development, and governance, having traveled extensively for academic assignments worldwide.
Mohan Kumar

536

Students

3

Courses

Ambassador Prof. (Dr.) Mohan Kumar has had an illustrious 36-year career in the Indian Foreign Service, culminating in his role as India’s Ambassador to France, where he significantly strengthened the Indo-French strategic partnership across various sectors, including defense, space, and energy. Prior to this, he served as Ambassador to Bahrain during the complex geopolitical landscape of the Arab Spring. Dr. Kumar is highly regarded for his expertise in international trade, having been India's lead negotiator at both the GATT and WTO, focusing on critical areas such as Intellectual Property Rights and Dispute Settlement. He has represented India at several WTO Ministerial Conferences and played a pivotal role in shaping India's relations with neighboring countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. He holds an MBA from the University of Delhi and a Ph.D. from Sciences Po in Paris. Since June 2018, he has chaired the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) and authored the book Negotiation Dynamics of the WTO: An Insider’s Account.
Prof. Lalit Pankaj

519

Students

2

Courses

Lalit Pankaj is an Assistant Professor in the Information Technology and Systems area at Jindal Global Business School, O.P. Jindal Global University, India. He teaches courses on Management Information Systems, Digital Transformation, Data Analytics, and Socio-Technical Systems. Lalit completed his PhD in Management Information Systems from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and holds a Master’s degree in Development Studies from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, along with a B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati. With five years of diverse work experience, he initially worked in software development before serving as a Prime Minister’s Rural Development Fellow (PMRDF) for three years, focusing on innovative ICT for development projects in underdeveloped districts in India. His research interests include the dialectic relationship between humans and ICT, specifically in areas such as Sociomateriality, ICT and Development, ICT and Organizations, Social Media, Affordances, and IT Emergence.
Rajeev Malhotra

232

Students

4

Courses

Rajeev Malhotra is a Professor and Director of Public Policy Programmes at the Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, O.P. Jindal Global University, Delhi NCR, India. With over 34 years of experience as a development economist and civil servant, he previously served as Economic Adviser to the Union Finance Minister of India until August 2012. His international experience includes working with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva from 2002 to 2008 and consulting for various organizations such as UNDP, UNICEF, and FAO across Asia, Africa, and the South Pacific. Dr. Malhotra's research interests encompass macroeconomic issues in development policy, fiscal policy, poverty estimation, human development, and the intersection of human rights and development. His notable publications include Economic Theory and Policy Amidst Global Discontent (2018), Delivering Development and Good Governance: Making Human Rights Count (2015), and India Public Policy Report 2014 (2014). He has made significant contributions to understanding economic policies and their implications for development.
Sreeram Sundar Chaulia

11,082

Students

3

Courses

Dr. Sreeram Chaulia is a Professor and Dean at the Jindal School of International Affairs, O.P. Jindal Global University, in Sonipat, India. He is a prominent opinion columnist for Indian newspapers in both Hindi and English, providing insights on world affairs, and he hosts the "Indian Diplomacy" TV show on Doordarshan, India's national broadcaster. Chaulia has authored several influential books, including International Organizations and Civilian Protection: Power, Ideas and Humanitarian Aid in Conflict Zones (2011), Politics of the Global Economic Crisis: Regulation, Responsibility and Radicalism (2013), Modi Doctrine: The Foreign Policy of India’s Prime Minister (2016), and Trumped: Emerging Powers in a Post-American World (2019). His latest work is Crunch Time: Narendra Modi’s National Security Crises. With a strong academic background, he holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and International Relations from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and has published extensively on topics related to diplomacy, foreign policy, and international political economy.
Swetasree Roy

1,741

Students

1

Course

Dr. Swetasree Roy holds a Ph.D. in Politics and Government from Louisiana State University (LSU). She also earned a Master’s degree in International Relations and an M.Phil. in East Asian Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Her research interests encompass international and domestic conflict processes, international institutions, political economy, and comparative political systems. Dr. Roy has published in Scopus-indexed journals with international readership. Before joining the Jindal School of Government and Public Policy (JSGP), she taught at universities in the United States and the UAE. Additionally, she worked as a policy analyst at LSU's Public Policy Research Lab.
Vatsalya Srivastava

209

Students

2

Courses

Vatsalya Srivastava is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, O.P. Jindal Global University, India. He serves as the Lead Advisor at AFC India Ltd. (formerly Agricultural Finance Corporation Ltd.), a government consulting organization focused on monitoring and evaluating socio-economic development projects. Vatsalya holds a B.A. (Hons) in Economics from Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, and an M.Sc. (Cum Laude) in Economics (Resources, Development, and Growth) along with a Research Masters (Distinction) in Economics from Tilburg University in the Netherlands, where he is currently submitting his Ph.D. dissertation. He has received several scholarships for his studies, including the Tilburg University Scholarship Program and the Koopman’s Scholarship. His research interests lie in applying Microeconomic tools, particularly Game Theory, to understand societal organization and to develop an economic paradigm that investigates the incentives and trade-offs underlying social, legal, and political institutions.

Career services

O.P. Jindal Global University offers robust career services aimed at preparing students for successful careers after graduation. The Career Development Office provides comprehensive support through personalized counseling sessions, workshops on resume writing and interview preparation, and access to job fairs featuring top employers from diverse industries.The university emphasizes experiential learning by facilitating internships that allow students to gain practical experience while studying. These opportunities not only enhance students' resumes but also help them build valuable professional networks that can aid in job placements.JGU maintains partnerships with numerous organizations to provide students with internship opportunities aligned with their career goals. The Career Development Office also organizes networking events where students can connect with alumni and industry professionals for mentorship and guidance.Additionally, the university offers online resources that include job listings, career advice articles, and tools for professional development. This comprehensive approach ensures that students are well-equipped to navigate the job market successfully upon graduation.

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Degree Course Image

₹ 2,50,000

Course Start Date: February, 2026

Application Deadline: Closing Soon

Duration: 12 Months

Frequently asked Questions

Below are some of the most commonly asked questions about this course. We aim to provide clear and concise answers to help you better understand the course content, structure, and any other relevant information. If you have any additional questions or if your question is not listed here, please don't hesitate to reach out to our support team for further assistance.