'Budget' study abroad programmes find many takers

CALL IT 'BUDGET' education or blended degrees. For an increasing number of students from India, they are just what the doctor ordered. The fact that they reduce the burden on the wallet is just one - but important reason for their attraction.

- MANU KAUSHIK

Consider this: A four-year bachelor's degree in the US costs 1-1.5 crore, including tuition fees and living expenses. Thanks to hybrid programmes offered by study abroad platforms like Leap, upGrad and Great Learning, the students can get the same degree by shelling out just 45-50 lakh. The firms have tied up with universities in the US, Germany, France, Canada, Ireland,

Finland, and others to offer the hybrid service.

Take the case of upGrad Abroad, which has partnered with 80 foreign schools, IIIT Bangalore and

IMT Ghaziabad. Under the programme, a student finishes part of the course in India, and then moves abroad to complete their education in the respective foreign universities. In the process, they end up saving a huge amount, and earn a foreign degree awarded to regular students of these universities.

For instance, through upGrad's collaboration with Germany-based IU International University of Applied Sciences, a BSc Computer Science course is spread over six semesters (or three years), wherein the first two semesters are taught online. The tuition fee for the first two semesters is 4.07 lakh. For the next four semesters, the students go to Germany and study on campus, where the tuition fee is about 10.8 lakh.