Archive · 19 Sep 2026
UGC Revises Allied Healthcare Degree Names From 2026-27
The UGC has changed the names of several healthcare degrees.
The new rules begin with students entering courses in 2026-27.
Master of Physiotherapy and Master of Occupational Therapy will no longer be given as broad, general degrees.
Instead, the degree will show the student’s chosen specialisation.
Examples include mental health, rehabilitation, sports sciences and paediatrics.
The rules also list updated names for many other healthcare courses.
Students who started before 2026-27 will keep the degree rules that applied when they enrolled.
The changes are meant to make each degree’s area of study clearer.
The University Grants Commission revised nomenclature for several allied healthcare degrees.
The changes will apply to students admitted from the 2026-27 academic session.
Master of Physiotherapy and Master of Occupational Therapy will no longer be awarded as general degrees.
M.PT and M.OT students will receive degrees identifying specific specialisations, including rehabilitation, mental health and sports sciences.
Students admitted before 2026-27 will continue under the earlier degree regulations.
- Who
- The University Grants Commission, following Central Government approval, revised the degree nomenclature.
- What
- It revised the names and specialisations of several undergraduate and postgraduate allied healthcare degrees.
- When
- The changes were published in the Gazette of India on August 27, 2026, and apply from the 2026-27 academic session.
- Where
- The changes apply to allied healthcare degree programmes covered by the University Grants Commission in India.
- Why
- The UGC said the changes are intended to identify students’ areas of specialisation more clearly and form part of the fifth amendment to its 2014 notification.
- Effective academic session
- 2026-27
- Publication date
- August 27, 2026
- Degrees changed from general format
- Master of Physiotherapy (M.PT) and Master of Occupational Therapy (M.OT)
- M.OT specialisations
- Includes musculoskeletal sciences, neurosciences, mental health, rehabilitation, geriatrics and sports sciences
- Other degrees listed
- Includes Medical Laboratory Science, Emergency Medical Technology, Anaesthesia and Operation Theatre Technology, and Health Information Management
- Earlier admissions
- Students admitted before 2026-27 remain covered by the regulations applicable when they enrolled
- Legal basis
- Fifth amendment to the UGC’s 2014 notification under Section 22(3) of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956