Amity University

[wow]

Amity University is an Indian university gets mentioned every once in a while on this board because it is WASC-accredited and offers a bunch of distance programs for relatively cheap. But I'm wondering if anyone here has actually attended. If I remember correctly, in the past there were issues because even though teaching was online, tests had to be taken at test centers in India. Has that changed in recent years? Has anyone from a U.S.-type educational system successfully been admitted? (Even for MA programs, they require foreign students to provide proof of high school education not with a diploma, but with a O-Level or and A-Level certificate or equivalent, which I have never heard of being available in the U.S.)

https://amityonline.com/

Scroll down near the bottom to see foreign student admission requirements:
https://amityonline.com/ma-in-psychology

[Mint Berry Crunch]

Amity University is an Indian university gets mentioned every once in a while on this board because it is WASC-accredited and offers a bunch of distance programs for relatively cheap. But I'm wondering if anyone here has actually attended. If I remember correctly, in the past there were issues because even though teaching was online, tests had to be taken at test centers in India. Has that changed in recent years? Has anyone from a U.S.-type educational system successfully been admitted? (Even for MA programs, they require foreign students to provide proof of high school education not with a diploma, but with a O-Level or and A-Level certificate or equivalent, which I have never heard of being available in the U.S.)

https://amityonline.com/

Scroll down near the bottom to see foreign student admission requirements:
https://amityonline.com/ma-in-psychology

At first, I thought Amity, New York. $4,400 for the full program fee and $1,100 per semester. Is it an option between paying for the full thing or per semester? Or is it a one time payment of $4,400 for program access followed by $1,100 per semester? I see the program takes 2 years. Wouldn't Walden University be a better option for students looking to do a Masters in Psychology via distance learning?

[wow]

At first, I thought Amity, New York. $4,400 for the full program fee and $1,100 per semester. Is it an option between paying for the full thing or per semester? Or is it a one time payment of $4,400 for program access followed by $1,100 per semester? I see the program takes 2 years. Wouldn't Walden University be a better option for students looking to do a Masters in Psychology via distance learning?

I haven't looked that far into any of the programs. This one is a new programs and requires internships in the fourth semester, so may not be open at all to people who reside outside India. My question was more general about this university, not trying to find the best program in Psychology.

[Jonathan Whatley]

Distance and online degrees in psychology have recently become unavailable in India. It’s actually big news in India with around 130,000 students and graduates affected.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has declared that psychology degrees offered through distance and online learning modes are no longer valid. This decision affects approximately 1.3 lakh [130,000] students enrolled in or graduated from BA, BSc, MA, and MSc psychology programmes conducted via distance education. The UGC’s announcement came two months ago, and since then, the commission has been inundated with complaints and queries from students and educational institutions alike. The decision means that universities can no longer offer psychology as part of their online or distance education programmes, and degrees awarded under such modes will be considered invalid from the academic session beginning July-August 2025. Admissions to these courses have already been halted this year.

UGC’s new rules invalidate psychology degrees in distance mode [and online mode] (The Times of India, September 30, 2025)

[wow]

Distance and online degrees in psychology have recently become unavailable in India. It’s actually big news in India with around 130,000 students and graduates affected.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has declared that psychology degrees offered through distance and online learning modes are no longer valid. This decision affects approximately 1.3 lakh [130,000] students enrolled in or graduated from BA, BSc, MA, and MSc psychology programmes conducted via distance education. The UGC’s announcement came two months ago, and since then, the commission has been inundated with complaints and queries from students and educational institutions alike. The decision means that universities can no longer offer psychology as part of their online or distance education programmes, and degrees awarded under such modes will be considered invalid from the academic session beginning July-August 2025. Admissions to these courses have already been halted this year.

UGC’s new rules invalidate psychology degrees in distance mode [and online mode] (The Times of India, September 30, 2025)

That's unfortunate. There are so many uses for a degree in psychology; not all of them involve counseling.

But I will note that the O-level/A-level requirement was posted on pages for other Masters as well. I didn't look at all of them, but many.

[SteveFoerster]

Distance and online degrees in psychology have recently become unavailable in India. It’s actually big news in India with around 130,000 students and graduates affected.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has declared that psychology degrees offered through distance and online learning modes are no longer valid. This decision affects approximately 1.3 lakh [130,000] students enrolled in or graduated from BA, BSc, MA, and MSc psychology programmes conducted via distance education. The UGC’s announcement came two months ago, and since then, the commission has been inundated with complaints and queries from students and educational institutions alike. The decision means that universities can no longer offer psychology as part of their online or distance education programmes, and degrees awarded under such modes will be considered invalid from the academic session beginning July-August 2025. Admissions to these courses have already been halted this year.

UGC’s new rules invalidate psychology degrees in distance mode [and online mode] (The Times of India, September 30, 2025)

Sometimes it seems the License Raj never ended. Anyway, that seems like a potentially huge market for distance learning universities in more liberal countries to serve.

[bjcheung77]

Yes, it's a little concerning for those who want to get the degree from India due to that issue. Having said that, if it's a subject matter is what you're looking at, you can review similar priced degree programs from CBE providers. If you can crank out the degree requirements in 3 months for Walden MS Psych, that's just $3300.

[wow]

Yes, it's a little concerning for those who want to get the degree from India due to that issue.  Having said that, if it's a subject matter is what you're looking at, you can review similar priced degree programs from CBE providers.  If you can crank out the degree requirements in 3 months for Walden MS Psych, that's just $3300.

Psych is one of the master's on my wishlist, but I was only using that one as an example, since Amity offers a lot of interesting masters degrees. I was really more curious about whether anybody from the U.S. has completed a degree there and how complicated the paperwork requirements are.