M.A./M.SC. in Habitat Policy & Practice

The M.A./M.Sc. in Habitat Policy and Practice program is envisaged to be focused on policy, planning and practice. Here, the term 'policy' is meant to cover different official-legal and administrative-instruments, for example, laws, rules, regulations, policy recommendations, project guidelines, government resolutions, procedures, and norms. These instruments, together, provide an official (policy) framework for the stakeholders to operate in the Habitat sector. Further, the term practice is used here to identify activities that more directly engage with formulating, implementing, analysing, evaluating, and advocating policies on behalf of different stakeholders. The program will involve training in policies from different sectors which are directly connected with the Habitat sector. To begin with, these sectors would include, for example, housing, livelihoods (poverty), transport and infrastructure, water and governance.

Key Features:

- The focus of the programme is on policy and related practice.
- The substance of the programme, to begin with, will be focused on urban and peri-urban issues and processes.
- The programme will start with multi-disciplinarity and strive to achieve inter- disciplinarity, the transition being driven by the needs and demands of the ground-reality.
- It would strive to bring together disciplines not only within social sciences or within physical or engineering/technical sciences, but disciplines from all these three groupings.
- Efforts to impart multidimensional understanding and multifarious capabilities will be founded on efforts-through a group of courses-to develop a perspective among students that is broad, socially inclusive, democratic, technically informed, and culturally as well as environmentally sensitive.
- Another distinguishing feature of the program will be its strong linkages with the ground-reality and commitment to respond to the needs and aspirations of different stake-holders, especially the disadvantaged and vulnerable sections of society. This understanding will permeate through and shape all the different components of the program.

Selection Procedure:

Weightage for the Different Components
Written Test = 70
Personal Interview = 100
Academic Background= 30
Written Test: The Written Test is in two parts. Part I is the Common Objective Test, which consists of 3 sections:

1. General Awareness/Knowledge about Current/ Contemporary Social Issues;
2. Analytical/Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Ability; and
3. Verbal Reasoning. The duration of the Test is 45 minutes. Part II of the Written

Eligibility for Personal Interview:
Short-listing of candidates for Personal Interview will be based on cut-off marks to be decided later by the Institute. Only short-listed candidates will be called for Personal Interview.