India, Dec. 3 -- Shiv Nadar University Delhi-NCR has launched India's first B.A. (Research) in Interdisciplinary Humanities and Social Sciences (IHS)-a four-year degree that aims to do something unusual in Indian higher education: offer the breadth of a liberal arts programme without the academic drift that often comes with complete free choice.

In a conversation with HT Digital, Vice-Chancellor Prof. Ananya Mukherjee said the idea for the programme came from three different constituencies who, surprisingly, wanted the same thing. "Bright school students who excel across subjects but don't want to be boxed into traditional degrees. Parents who want meaningful education but worry about employability. And employers who keep saying: knowled...