IGNOU BA Syllabus 2026: Check Latest and Revised Syllabus

IGNOU BA Syllabus 2026 covers semester‑wise core and elective subjects in arts, languages, social sciences and culture. It includes courses like English/Hindi communication, gender studies, environmental studies and more across six semesters for a 3‑year degree.

Table of Contents

IGNOU BA Syllabus 2026 Highlights
IGNOU BA Syllabus 2026
IGNOU BA Course Structure 2026
How to Download BA Syllabus IGNOU 2026?
IGNOU BA Regional Centres
Faqs

The IGNOU BA syllabus 2026 provides a thorough, adaptable, and learner-centered curriculum that is in line with both societal demands and current academic standards. It improves students' employability in fields including education, administration, social work, media, and public services in addition to preparing them for postsecondary education like MA, MBA, or professional courses. The core courses, discipline-specific electives, general electives, ability enhancement courses, and skill enhancement courses make up the structure of the IGNOU BA curriculum. History, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, Psychology, English, Hindi, Philosophy, Public Administration, and many other subjects are available to students. This multidisciplinary approach guarantees that students acquire both breadth across related subjects and depth in their chosen subject area, which is especially advantageous for competitive exams, further education, and career prospects.

The flexible credit requirements and duration of the IGNOU BA 2026 curriculum is another important aspect. Students can finish the program's 120 credits over a minimum of three years and a maximum of six years. Working professionals, stay-at-home moms, and students getting ready for government examinations would particularly benefit from this flexibility, which enables them to balance their education with personal and professional obligations without feeling pressured to perform well academically. High-quality study materials, audio-video content, online resources, and academic counseling sessions enhance the self-learning approach of the syllabus. Every course is structured into coherent blocks and modules that provide clear, approachable explanations of ideas. The IGNOU syllabus for BA 1st year also places a strong emphasis on ongoing evaluation through assignments, which have a big impact on the final assessment and promote consistent study and improved conceptual comprehension.

IGNOU BA Syllabus 2026 Highlights

The IGNOU BA course is a mix of different types of courses in each of the six semesters. However, the total number of credits to study in each semester is 22 credits. The IGNOU BA syllabus 2026 comprises 14 disciplines that have been listed below:

Anthropology
English
Economics
Hindi
History
Mathematics
Political Science
Psychology
Public Administration
Sanskrit
Sociology
Urdu
Education
Philosophy

Candidates can check the semester wise credit from the below tabe.

Semester	Course Types & Credits	Total Credits
I	Ability Enhancement (AECC) – 4 Language (MIL) – 6 Core Course 1 (CC) – 6 Core Course 2 (CC) – 6	22
II	AECC – 4 MIL – 6 CC – 6 CC – 6	22
III	Skill Enhancement (SEC) – 4 MIL – 6 CC – 6 CC – 6	22
IV	SEC – 4 MIL – 6 CC – 6 CC – 6	22
V	SEC – 4 Generic Elective (GE) – 6 Discipline Specific Elective (DSE) 1 – 6 DSE 2 – 6	22
VI	SEC – 4 GE – 6 DSE 1 – 6 DSE 2 – 6	22

Core Courses (CC): Your main subject(s)
AECC: Compulsory courses like Environmental Studies or Communication Skills
SEC: Skill‑based courses
GE: Generic electives you can select from other subjects
DSE: Discipline‑specific electives in advanced semesters

Also Read: IGNOU Regional Centers List 2026

IGNOU BA Syllabus 2026

By now, aspirants have an idea of the IGNOU BA course structure. To understand the IGNOU BA syllabus 2026, students need to understand the various components of the course, the Core Courses, Discipline Specific Elective Courses, Ability Enhancement Compulsory Courses, Skill Enhancement Courses and Generic Electives.

IGNOU BA Core Courses

There are 12 core courses in the IGNOU syllabus for BA 1st year 2026, four in languages and four each in the two disciplines that students will choose. These courses, offered in the first four semesters, help to develop a strong language and literature base in English or Indian languages like Hindi, Sanskrit, Urdu, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Odia, Gujarati, Punjabi, Manipuri, Kashmiri, Nepali, etc.

Core Courses (Languages)
Subject	Course Name
Subject	Course Code	First Semester	Course Code	Second Semester	Course Code	Third Semester	Course Code	Fourth Semester
Hindi	BHDLA 135	Hindi Bhasha: Vividh Prayog	BHDLA 136	Hindi Bhasha: Lekhan Kaushal	BHDLA 137	Hindi Bhasha: Sangpreshan Kaushal	BHDLA 138	Hindi Sahitya
English	BEGLA 135	English in Daily Life	BEGLA 136	English at the Workplace	BEGLA 137	Language Through Literature	BEGLA 138	Reading And Speaking Skills
Sanskrit	BSKLA 135	Sanskrit Bhasha o Sahitya	-	-	-	-	-	-
Modern Indian Languages	BUDLA 135	Study of Modern Urdu Prose and Poetry	-	-	-	-	-	-
	BMALA 135	Malayalam	-	-	-	-	-	-
	BGULA 135	Gujarati	-	-	-	-	-	-
	BODLA 135	Odia	-	-	-	-	-	-
	BMRLA 135	Marathi	-	-	-	-	-	-
	BTGLA 135	Telugu	-	-	-	-	-	-
	BTLLA 135	Tamil	-	-	-	-	-	-
	BKDLA 135	Kannada	-	-	-	-	-	-
	BNPLA 135	Nepali	-	-	-	-	-	-
	BMPLA 135	Manipuri	-	-	-	-	-	-
	BKMLA 135	Kashmiri	-	-	-	-	-	-

Along with the language core courses, the IGNOU BA programme also has eight core courses from any two disciplines of your choice. Fourteen disciplines of the School of Social Science, School of Humanities and School of Sciences are part of the BA course and are divided into five groups.

Core Courses (Discipline)
Subject	Course Name
Subject	Course Code	First Semester	Course Code	Second Semester	Course Code	Third Semester	Course Code	Fourth Semester
Anthropology	BANC 131	Anthropology and Research	BANC 132	Fundamentals of Biological Methods	BANC 133	Fundamentals of Social	BANC 134	Fundamentals of and Cultural Anthropology Archaeological Anthropology
Economics	BECC 131	Principles of Microeconomics-I	BECC 132	Principles of Microeconomics-II	BECC 133	Principles of Macroeconomics-I	BECC 134	Principles of Macroeconomics -II
History	BHIC 131	History of India from the Earliest Times Up To C. 300 CE	BHIC 132	History of India from c.300 to 1206	BHIC 133	History of India from c.1206 to 1707	BHIC 134	History of India from 1707 to 1950
Public Administration	BPAC 131	Perspectives on Public Administration	BPAC 132	Administrative Thinkers	BPAC 133	Administrative System at Union Level	BPAC 134	Administrative System at State and District
Psychology	BPCC 131	Foundations of Psychology	BPCC 132	Introduction to Social Psychology	BPCC 133	Psychological Disorders	BPCC 134	Statistical Methods and Psychological Research
Political Science	BPSC 131	Introduction to Political Theory	BPSC 132	Indian Government and Politics	BPSC 133	Comparative Government and Politics	BPSC 134	Introduction to International Relations
Sociology	BSOC 131	Introduction to Sociology	BSOC 132	Sociology of India	BSOC 133	Sociological Theories	BSOC 134	Methods of Sociological Enquiry
English	BEGC 131	Individual and Society	BEGC 132	Selections from Indian Writing: Cultural Diversity	BEGC 133	British Literature	BEGC 134	Reading the Novel
Hindi	BHDC 131	Hindi Sahitya ka Itihas	BHDC 132	Madhyakalin Hindi Kavita	BHDC 133	Adhunik Hindi Kavita	BHDC 134	Hindi Gadya Sahitya
Urdu	BUDC 131	Study of Prose and Poetic Forms in Urdu Literature	BUDC 132	Study of Urdu Classical Ghazal	BUDC 133	Origin and Development of Urdu Language	BUDC 134	Study of Urdu Nazm
Sanskrit	BSKC 131	Sanskrit Padya Sahitya	BSKC 132	Sanskrit Gadya Sahitya	BSKC 133	Sanskrit Natak	BSKC 134	Sanskrit Vyakran
Mathematics	BMTC 131	Calculus	BMTC 132	Differential Equations	BMTC 133	Real Analysis	BMTC 134	Algebra
Education	BESC 131	Education: Concepts, Nature and Perspectives	BESC 132	Structure and Management of Education	BESC 133	Curriculum, Teaching-Learning and Assessment	BESC 134	Education as Practice
Philosophy	BPYC 131	Indian Philosophy	BPYC 132	Ethics	BPYC 133	Logic	BPYC 134	Western Philosophy: Modern

IGNOU BA Discipline Specific Elective Courses

Discipline Specific Elective (DSE) courses are offered in the fifth and sixth semesters of the IGNOU BA course. These six-credit courses are intra-disciplinary. Get to know the IGNOU BA syllabus 2026 by looking at the table below:

Core Courses (Discipline)
Subject	Course Name
Subject	Course Code	Fifth Semester	Course Code	Sixth Semester
Anthropology	BANE 145	Applied Anthropology	BANE 146	Anthropology of Indigenous People
Economics	BECE 145	Indian Economy-I	BECE 146	Indian Economy-II
History	BHIE 141	History of China c.1840-1978	BHIE 142	History of Environment
	BHIE 143	History of Modern East Asia: Japan (c.1868-1945)	BHIE 144	Traditions of History Writing in India
	BHIE 145	Some Aspects of European History 1789-1945	-	-
Public Administration	BPAE 141	Right to Information	BPAE 142	Organisational Behaviour
Public Administration	BPAE 143	Administrative System in BRICS	BPAE 144	Social Policies and Administration
Psychology	BPCE 145	Counselling Psychology	BPCE 146	Industrial/ Organisational Psychology
Political Science	BPSE 141	Gandhi and the Contemporary World	BPSE 142	India’s Foreign Policy in a Globalising World
	BPSE 143	State Politics in India	BPSE 144	Introduction to South Asia
	BPSE 145	Democracy and Development in Northeast India	BPSE 146	Conflict Resolution and Peace building
Sociology	BSOE 141	Urban Sociology	BSOE 142	Indian Sociological Traditions
	BSOE 143	Environmental Sociology	BSOE 144	Reading Ethnographies
	BSOE 145	Religion and Society	BSOE 146	Marriage, Family and Kinship
	-	-	BSOE 148	Social Stratification
English	BEGE 141	Understanding Prose	BEGE 142	Understanding Drama
	BEGE 143	Understanding Poetry	-	-
	BEGE 145	Soft Skills	-	-
Hindi	BHDE 141	Hindi Sahitya	BHDE 142	Rashtriya Kavyadhara
	BHDE 143	Premchand	BHDE 144	Chhayavad
	BHDE 145	Kabir	BHDE 146	Hindi Kavita
Urdu	BUDE 141	Study of Poet Mirza Ghalib	BUDE 142	Study of Prose Writer Meer Amman Dehlvi
Sanskrit	BSKE 141	Ayurved ke Mul Adhar	BSKE 142	Rangmach aur Natyakala
Sanskrit			BSKE 150	Sanskrit Bhasha Vigyan
Mathematics	BMTE 141	Linear Algebra	BMTE 144	Numerical Analysis
Education	BESE 141	ICT in Education	BESE142	Lifelong Learning
Philosophy	BPYE 141	Metaphysics	BPYC 142	Social and Political Philosophy: Indian and Western

IGNOU BA Ability Enhancement Compulsory Courses

Ability Enhancement Compulsory Courses (AECCs) are of four credits each. Students can understand from the name that these are compulsory courses in the IGNOU BA syllabus 2026. In the first semester, students have the BEVAE-181 Environmental Studies and two AECCs are offered in the second semester - BEGAE 182 English Communication Skills and BHDAE 182 Hindi Bhasha aur Sampreshan.

IGNOU BA Skill Enhancement Courses

While there are several SECs offered in each semester of the IGNOU syllabus for BA 1st year 2026, students will have to choose only one SEC each semester from the third semester onwards.

Skill Enhancement Courses
Course Name
Course Code	Third Semester	Course Code	Fourth Semester	Course Code	Fifth Semester	Course Code	Sixth Semester
BANS 183	Tourism Anthropology	BANS 184	Public Health and Epidemiology	BPCS 187	Managing Human Resources	BPAS 186	Stress and Time Management
BPCS 183	Emotional Intelligence	BECS 184	Data Analysis	BSOS 185	Society through the Visual	BPCS 188	Application of Social Psychology
BPCS 185	Developing Emotional Competence	BPAS 184	Logistics Management	BEGS 185	English Language Teaching	BEGS 186	Business Communication
BEGS 183	Writing and Study Skills	BPCS 184	School Psychology	BHDS 185	Television Lekhan	BHDS 186	Samachar Sankalan aur Lekhan
BCOS 183	Computer Application in Business	BPCS 186	Managing Stress	BCOS 185	Entrepreneurship	BCOS 186	Personal Selling and Salesmanship
-	-	BSOS 184	Techniques of Ethnographic Film Making	-	-	-	-
-	-	BCOS 184	E-Commerce	-	-	-	-

IGNOU BA Generic Electives

Generic Electives (GEs) are the other type of elective courses that are available in the fifth and sixth semesters of the IGNOU BA programme.

Core Courses (Discipline)
Course Name
Course Code	Fifth Semester	Course Code	Sixth Semester
BEGG 171	Media & Communication Skills	BEGG 172	Language and Linguistics
BEGG 173	Academic Writing and Composition	BEGG 174	Creative Writing
BPAG 171	Disaster Management	BPAG 172	Governance: Issues and Challenges
BPAG 173	E-governance	BPAG 174	Sustainable Development
BPCG 171	General Psychology	BPCG 172	Youth, Gender and Identity
BPCG 173	Psychology for Health and Well Being	BPCG 174	Psychology and Media
BPCG 175	Psychology for Living	BPCG 176	Psychology of Gender
BSOG 171	Indian Society: Images and Realities	BSOG-176	Economy and Society
BSOG 173	Rethinking Development	BGDG 172	Gender Sensitization: Society and Culture
BPYG 171	Applied Ethics	BPYG 172	Philosophy of Religion
BABG-171	Understanding Ambedkar	BHDG 174	Vividh Shetra Patthay
BSKG 173	Adhar Sanskrit	-	-
BSKG 178	Prachin Bhartiya Rajniti	-	-
BHDG -175	Madhyakalin Bhartiya Sahitya aur Sanskriti	-	-

Also Read: IGNOU BA Solved Assignment Papers: Download Process, Benefits, & More

IGNOU BA Course Structure 2026

Before moving forward with the IGNOU BA syllabus 2026, candidates who are interested in studying BA at IGNOU should understand the course structure. The IGNOU BA course consists of 6 semesters and a total of 132 credits. Students have to study 22 credits in each semester. The credits can be further divided as:

72 credits of Core Courses
24 credits of Discipline Specific Electives
8 credits of Ability Enhancement Compulsory Courses
16 credits of Skill Enhancement courses
12 credits of Generic Electives

To get a broader understanding of the IGNOU BA syllabus 2026 structure, check out the table below:

Semester	Core Courses (CC) 12 courses x 6 credits	Discipline Specific Electives (DSE) 4 courses x 6 credits	Ability/ Skill Enhancement Courses (AECC/ SEC) 6 courses x 4 credits	Generic Electives (GE) 2 Courses x 6 credits	Credits
1st	English/ Hindi/ Indian AECC-1 22 Languages-1		AECC-1 Environmental Studies		22
	Discipline 1 Core-A
	Discipline 2 Core-A
2nd	English or Hindi 2		AECC 2 English/ Hindi Communication Skills		22
	Discipline 1 Core-B
	Discipline 2 Core-B
3rd	English or Hindi 3		SEC - 1		22
	Discipline 1 Core-C
	Discipline 2 Core-C
4th	English or Hindi 4		SEC - 2		22
	Discipline 1 Core-D
	Discipline 2 Core-D
5th		DSE-1 A	SEC - 3	GE - 1	22
5th		DSE-2 A	SEC - 3	GE - 1	22
6th		DSE-1 B	SEC - 4	GE - 2	22
6th		DSE-2 B	SEC - 4	GE - 2	22
Total	72 credits	24 credits	24 credits	12 credits	132

How to Download BA Syllabus IGNOU 2026?

All aspirants must be aware of how to download the IGNOU BA syllabus 2026. Check out the steps to download IGNOU BA syllabus given below:

Visit the official website of IGNOU, ignou.ac.in.
Find out the ‘Student Support’ tab at the top of the webpage.
From the drop-down menu, choose ‘Student Zone’.
Then click on the ‘Download’ option.
Scroll down to find the IGNOU BA syllabus list.
Download the IGNOU BA syllabus 2026.

IGNOU BA Regional Centres

Aspirants who have understood the IGNOU BA syllabus 2026 can check out the table below to get insights on the regional centres of IGNOU:

Particulars	Details
IGNOU Study Centres	2,000+
IGNOU Recognised Regional Centres	11+
IGNOU Regional Centres	56+
Top IGNOU Study Centres Cities	New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad, among others.

Also Read: How to Fill and Apply for the IGNOU Examination Form?

For more details, fill out our Common Application Form (CAF) to find the IGNOU BA syllabus 2026. You can also call on the toll-free student helpline number 1800-572-9877. For more updates regarding the list of law courses in India, stay tuned to CollegeDekho .

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FAQs

How are the courses evaluated?

Evaluation is conducted through term-end examinations and continuous assessment via assignments. Each course has a weightage assigned, and performance in both assignments and exams contributes to the final grade.

How are elective courses selected?

Elective courses allow students to explore subjects outside their major. IGNOU provides a list of optional courses, and students can choose according to their interests, career goals, or interdisciplinary aspirations.

Which subjects are included in the core courses?

The core courses depend on the chosen major subject such as History, Political Science, English, Sociology, or Economics. Each major has a series of mandatory courses designed to build comprehensive knowledge in the chosen discipline.

How many semesters does the IGNOU BA program have?

The IGNOU BA program is generally structured over six semesters for a regular completion path. However, since IGNOU follows an open and distance learning (ODL) system, students can progress at their own pace and complete the program in a minimum of three years.

How is the IGNOU BA syllabus structured?

The BA syllabus is divided into core courses, elective courses, and foundation courses. Core courses focus on the major subject, while electives allow interdisciplinary study. Foundation courses include language and communication skills, enhancing overall academic development.