Calcutta University has decided not to conduct its planned computer-based centralised entrance examination for most postgraduate (PG) programmes this year after witnessing a substantial decline in applications. Admissions for the majority of humanities courses will now be based on academic merit, while a few science disciplines and selected humanities subjects will continue to admit students through entrance examinations.

According to university authorities, the number of applications received was significantly lower than the available intake across several departments. Since many programmes recorded fewer applicants than seats, a university-wide entrance test was considered unnecessary. Departments with comparatively higher demand will independently organise admission tests wherever required.

The university received nearly 1,400 applications for approximately 4,000 postgraduate seats offered by both the university and its affiliated colleges.

Science programmes attracted relatively greater interest, with around 1,700 applications for nearly 700 university seats. When affiliated colleges are included, the total number of science PG seats increases to approximately 2,900. Consequently, entrance examinations for selected science courses will still be conducted by the respective departments.

The admission tests are scheduled for July 14 and 15. Instead of hiring an external agency to conduct computer-based examinations, the university has chosen to manage the process internally.

Officials stated that the entrance examinations will follow a pen-and-paper format consisting of multiple-choice questions (MCQs). Candidates will be given 90 minutes to complete the examination, an increase from the previous one-hour duration. The handwritten format has also been adopted to simplify the process and minimise operational concerns.

Within the humanities faculty, only English and Journalism and Mass Communication will require entrance examinations due to relatively higher demand. Admissions to all other humanities programmes will be based solely on candidates' academic performance, as application numbers remain well below the available seat capacity.

University officials have linked the decline in postgraduate applications to the introduction of the four-year undergraduate degree programme, which began in the 2023–24 academic session. Students completing all four years are awarded an honours degree, whereas those exiting after three years receive qualifications such as "Graduate with a Major" or "Graduate with Two Cores and One Minor", depending on the programme structure.

Many students are reportedly choosing to continue into the fourth year to obtain an honours degree rather than enrolling immediately in postgraduate studies. Others are opting for one-year postgraduate diploma programmes instead of pursuing a conventional two-year master's degree.

The first batch enrolled under the four-year undergraduate curriculum is currently in its third year and has been allowed to either exit after three years or continue into the final year. After the postgraduate admission process concluded, the university found that application numbers across both science and humanities remained below 40% of the available capacity, leading to the revised admission strategy for the current academic session.