Allahabad University to offer 5-yr integrated yogic science course in 2025

Allahabad University (AU) is scheduled to offer a course in yogic science from the academic session 2025-26. The central university’s department of philosophy has designed this new course, dubbed the ‘5-year Integrated Course in Yogic Science,’ under the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, offering students multiple exit and entry options, AU officials informed.

Head of AU’s department of philosophy, Prof Rishikant Pandey, said that admissions will be available for 40 seats in the Yogic Science integrated course. Admission to this course will be conducted through the Common University Entrance Test (CUET). A certificate will be awarded to students who opt out after completing the first year of the course, a diploma after two years, a graduation degree in three years, an honours degree in four years, and a PG degree upon completion of the entire five years of study, he explained.

Prof Pandey stated that the aim of yoga is to develop the human personality holistically, focusing on physical, mental, and spiritual development. Today, yoga is considered important in health management at an international level, prompting AU to design this course to cater to the growing interest, he explained.

He noted that in the Gita, yoga is described as the efficiency of actions or the purification of actions. Yoga, including Ashtanga Yoga, falls under this. The modern yoga curriculum emphasizes asanas and exercise, focusing on maintaining good health.

Prof Pandey said that by adapting the knowledge derived from ancient Vedic traditions to meet modern needs, the knowledge tradition and cultural heritage of Indian wisdom can be spread worldwide. The curriculum of this new course has been approved by the top decision-making body for all academic affairs—the Academic Council of Allahabad University, he shared.