Online and Distance Education Programs in Hyderabad

Hyderabad is home to a lot of prestigious educational institutions. Several central universities and state universities are located in Hyderabad, which easily makes it an education hub. Students from across the country aspire to get into these universities. Most of these universities have a constituent body that is dedicated to Distance and Online Learning. While some offer only diploma programs in the distance/online mode, some universities offer full-fledged degree programs in this mode. Hyderabad is undoubtedly the best place for distance education since it provides a lot of opportunities. Here is a list of universities in Hyderabad providing online and distance programs. 

1. University of Hyderabad
University of Hyderabad (UoH) is a central research university located in Gachibowli, Hyderabad. It ranks 6th among universities according to NIRF. It was also recognised as an Institution of Eminence in 2019. The university has 12 academic schools with multiple other centres actively involved in teaching and research. UoH has a constituent body called the Centre for Distance and Virtual Learning (CDVL) which was established in 1994 that offers 16 one-year diploma programs. Some of CDVL’s courses are jointly offered with NAARM (National Academy of Agricultural Research Management), NIRD & PR (National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj), BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited), etc. 

Programs offered:
Diploma programs 
Upskilling programs (Certificate)

Duration:
Diploma- 1 year
Certificate- 6 months

Program structure:
The programs are divided into two terms. The classes are conducted online. There will be contact classes of 5 to 10 days in each term. The diploma programs that are offered include 
1.    Project Management
2.    Business Management
3.    Library Automation and Networking
4.    Cyber Laws and Intellectual Property Rights
5.    Communicative English 
6.    Criminal Justice and Forensic Science
7.    Technology Management in Agriculture
8.    Education Technology Management 
9.    Panchayati Raj Governance and Rural Development
10.    Hospital Management
11.    Health Care  Management
12.    Infection Prevention and Control
13.    Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
14.    Telecom Technology & Management
The two certificate courses are 
1.    Advanced Certificate course on Assisted Reproductive Technologies 
2.    Certificate Programme in Critical Care
The complete details regarding the course structures of each course are available in the prospectus here http://cdvl.uohyd.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Prospectus-2021.pdf. 

Eligibility:
8 of the 14 diploma courses only require the candidate to be graduate from a recognised university. The eligibility criteria for the rest of the courses are listed below with their short names. 
●    LAN- Graduate in Library Science
●    TMA and ETM- Graduate or Post Graduate with 2 years of experience
●    IPC- Graduate from Health, Medical,  Nursing and Allied Health Sciences or other graduates with 2 years of demonstrated experience in Health Care  Sector
●    AI & ML- Graduate with Maths as one of the  subjects in 12th Standard
●    TTM- Engineering graduates from Electronics branch / MSc or BSc with Electronics as subject with two years experience in Telecommunication
●    ART certificate course- Post Graduate degree with Biology as a subject
●    Critical Care- Graduates from Nursing, Medical  and Allied Health Professionals

Admission:
Candidates must fill in the application form available at http://cdvl.uohyd.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/CDVL-Application-Form-2022.pdf and send it to the Section officer of CDVL along with the attested copies of documents. Only those who pay the fees will be considered registered to the program. 

Fee:
The fees vary with each course. The fee begins from INR 9,000 and ranges up to INR 78,000. The fees for each course can be found in the prospectus. 

2. English and Foreign Languages University
The English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) is a central university dedicated to English and foreign languages and is located in Hyderabad. EFLU has 7 academic schools and 26 departments. It offers graduate, postgraduate and research programs in the regular mode while offering postgraduate diplomas and degrees through the distance mode. The School of Distance Education has three departments which are English Language Teaching, Linguistics and Phonetics and Literatures in English. 

Programs offered:
MA English 
Post Graduate Certificate in the Teaching of English
Post Graduate Diploma in the Teaching of English

Duration:
MA: 1-3 years
PGCTE and PGDTE: 1-2 years

Program Structure:
For MA English, the entire program consists of 64 credits. It consists of four courses divided into 5 blocks each. The detailed program structure is available here Programme Project Report (PPR) for MA English (Distance Mode). PGCTE consists of 7 courses and consists of 21 credits. The program structure is available at https://www.efluniversity.ac.in/images/Documents/UGC_DEB/Annexure-10-PPR-PGCTE2021.pdf. PGDTE consists of 5 courses and consists of 20 credits. Its program structure can be accessed here- https://www.efluniversity.ac.in/images/Documents/UGC_DEB/Annexure-11-PPR-PGDTE.pdf. 

Eligibility:
MA- Undergraduate degree with English as one of the subjects
PGCTE- MA in English or in an allied subject
PGDTE- PGCTE from EFLU

Admission:
There is no entrance test for admission to ODL courses. All eligible applicants who have paid the fee are provided admission. 

Fee:
MA- INR 5610
PGCTE- INR 6270
PGDTE- INR 6820

3. Osmania University
Osmania University is a public state university located in Hyderabad. Founded in 1918, it was the first university to be established in Hyderabad. The university has 12 schools and 53 departments and has 720 affiliated colleges. It offers UG, PG, PG diplomas, Research and certificate programs. The centre that offers distance education at OU is known as the Prof. G Ram Reddy Centre for Distance Education (PGRRCDE). Like some of the universities in the country, Osmania University also offers some distance and online program for working executives.

Programs offered:
●    PG
○    MBA, MCA
○    MA Urdu, Sanskrit, Telugu, Hindi, English
○    MA Philosophy, Sociology, Public Personnel Management., Public Administration
○    MA Economics, Political Science, History, Psychology
○    MCom
○    MSc Maths
○    MSc Statistics
●    UG
○    BA
○    BA Mathematics and Statistics
○    BCom
○    BBA
●    PG Diploma
○    Mathematics
○    English Language Teaching 
○    Business Management
○    Bioinformatics
○    Computer Applications

Duration:
UG- 3 years
PG- 2 years
PG Diploma- 1 year

Program Structure:
All PG programs and UG programs are divided year-wise except MBA and MCA which are divided into four semesters. PG Diploma programs are also taught year-wise except for the Diploma in CA, which consists of two semesters. The syllabus of each course is listed in the prospectus here http://www.oucde.net/applications/3057742762-2.pdf. 

Eligibility:
●    MBA, MCA- Any graduate with a minimum of 50% who has qualified TS ICET /AP ICET or entrance test conducted by PGRRCDE. MCA applicants should have studied Mathematics in 12th or UG
●    MA languages- Any graduate who has studied the subject in UG
●    MA Philosophy/ Sociology/Public Personnel Mgt./ Public Administration- Graduate in any discipline
●    MA Social Sciences- Graduate in the concerned subject. BCom graduates can also apply for Economics
●    MCom/MSc- Graduate in the concerned subject
●    UG courses- Pass in 12th or its equivalent. For Maths and Statistics, the applicant should have studied Maths in 12th
●    PG Diploma except Bioinformatics- Graduate in any discipline
○    Bioinformatics- B.Sc./ M.Sc / B.Sc.(Ag.)/B. Pharmacy / BVSc./ MBBS / BDS / BAMS / BUMS /BHMS / BE with 50% of marks 

Admission:
Eligible candidates must appear for entrance tests for MBA/MCA. The applications to these programs can be made here https://ouadmissions.com/cdeentranceexam/. Admission to the other courses is subject to fulfilment of eligibility. Online applications to the programs can be made here https://oupgrrcde.com/Registration/Student/Default. 

Fee:
BA- INR 4,000 per year
BCom- INR 5,000 per year
BBA- INR 8,000 per year
MBA- INR 10,000 per semester
MCA- INR 7,500 per semester
MCom/MSc Maths/ MA English- INR 6,500 per year
MA Psychology- INR 9,000 per year
Other PG courses- INR 6,000 per year
PG Diploma in Bioinformatics- INR 30,000
PG Diploma in CA- INR 8,000 per semester
Other PG Diplomas- INR 6,000