B.A. (Hons.)

NLSIU pioneered and developed an integrated 5-year BA LLB (Hons.) degree that transformed Indian legal education. Several NLS graduates have pursued further degrees in humanities, social sciences, and business and then embarked on very successful careers in these fields.

As NLSIU develops into a multi-disciplinary university, in line with national and State education policies, the BA programme is an organic development from 35 years of experience in offering the integrated 5-year BA LLB (Hons.) programme. It builds on existing faculty expertise that can be delivered without having to develop an entirely new faculty. With the introduction of majors and minors in the BA LLB (Hons.) programme, our faculty will diversify immensely over the next few years. We take this new step with the hope that faculty and cohorts of students in diverse degree programmes will give and take from each other’s learnings and values. We hope that this will add meaningfully to holistic learning at the NLS and enrich all its programmes.

The NLS BA (Hons.) programme has been developed by Faculty Teams since August 2023 and approved by the Governing Bodies in 2024. Recently, the University also held an extensive stakeholder consultation with eminent academics and practitioners to provide their inputs and advice on the curriculum.

Key Features

The NLS BA is uniquely designed to include:

• Common Core Foundational Courses: All first-year students, whether enrolled in the BA or BA LLB programme, will take a series of shared foundational courses to build a strong academic base.
• Majors and Minors: Every student in the NLS BA (Hons.) programme will have the option of electing a major-minor combination, or a double major.
  The majors and minors will be in the same areas/disciplines that are currently taught within the BA LLB (Hons.) programme; These disciplines are 1) History, 2) Sociology & Anthropology, 3) Economics, and 4) Politics. We will expand these areas and disciplines as our faculty strength and diversity enhances over the years. Over time, we hope to introduce Philosophy, Literature, Environment Studies, Data Analytics as majors and minors.
• Open Electives: Across the three years of the programme, students who are on the major-minor track, will have to take 36 credits worth of open electives, which may not have anything to do with the focal areas of their training.
• Languages: An integral part of the curriculum is the opportunity to learn a selection of Indian languages.
• Practice Courses: Students will engage in hands-on learning through practice courses in emerging fields like AI & Machine Learning, Film-making, Business Consulting, User Experience Research, Digital Journalism, Creative Writing, Entrepreneurship, Policy Advocacy and Analysis.
• Internships: Students are required to complete at least one internship of a duration of at least one month in every year of the programme.
• Fourth Year: In the fourth year, students (invited to the fourth year on the basis of their performance in the first three years) will write a 20,000-word dissertation based on original research and be a TA or RA assigned to a faculty member or a research centre at the NLS. The four-year-track students will graduate with a BA (Hons. with Research) degree.

NLSIU announces admission to its 3-year BA (Hons.) programme with the option of an additional 4^th year. Classes for the first cohort of the programme will commence on July 1, 2025.

Interested in this programme? Fill out the form below with your details to receive further updates!

Eligibility

Any person who has secured the higher secondary qualification [10+2 or an equivalent examination or programme] from any recognized board or school of education is eligible to apply to the programme. Applicants in the general category should have graduated with an aggregate of not less than 55% of total marks. Applicants in the SC/ST category should have graduated with an aggregate of not less than 45% of total marks.

Students in the final year of their higher-secondary education are also eligible to apply for the programme. However, their provisional offer of admission shall be contingent upon the successful completion of their higher-secondary education with the minimum aggregate marks specified above. Selected applicants shall receive a provisional admission offer and be required to produce the mark-sheet/transcript showing that they have completed their higher-secondary education, failing which they shall lose their right to be considered for admission. Proof of completion of the qualifying degree has to be submitted no later than December 31, 2025.

Admission Process

The maximum intake for the NLS BA (Hons) Programme for the Academic Year 2025-26 is 60 and ONLY students qualifying as per the criteria set out below will be admitted. Admission to the programme will be through an all-India written admissions test: NLSAT-BA.

NLSAT-BA

All candidates seeking admission to the programme shall appear for the NLSAT-BA. The NLSAT-BA will have a single question paper comprising two parts – Parts A and B. All candidates shall be required to attempt both parts of the question paper. The examination shall be for a duration of 150 minutes.

Part A

Part A of the NLSAT-BA paper will consist of Multiple-Choice Questions  in Reading & Comprehension, Reasoning, and Quantitative Analysis, and shall be for a maximum of 75 marks. Each question will be of one mark. 0.25 marks shall be deducted for each wrong answer, and for each unanswered question.

Part A will constitute the first stage of the admissions process. A rank list of candidates will be prepared based on their performance in Part A of the NLSAT-BA. To be eligible for evaluation of Part B of the NLSAT-BA paper, a candidate should have secured more than zero marks in Part A of the paper. From amongst these eligible candidates, Part B of the NLSAT-BA answer scripts will be evaluated in a ratio of 1:5 based on performance in Part A. That is, five candidates per seat available will qualify for evaluation of Part B of the examination.

Part B

Part B shall consist of subjective questions, which shall be for a maximum of 75 marks.

Part B will have four short questions of 150 words each which will test critical thinking ability and analytical depth. They will be concerned with contemporary themes regarding India and the world.

Part B will have four options for one long essay (400 words) question. These questions will include a range  of themes from the domains of history, politics and governance, society, and economy, and require  a response to a prompt which could be a statement or a keyword.

A fresh and final rank list shall be prepared on the basis of cumulative performance in Parts A and B of the NLSAT-BA. Offers of admission shall be made according to this final rank list, subject to the candidate satisfying the following conditions:

(a)   The candidate should have secured more than zero marks in both Parts A and B of the NLSAT-BA.

(b)  The candidate’s cumulative score (sum of Part A and Part B) should be above the 75th percentile of the eligible candidates if they have applied under the General and EWS categories. Their score should be above the 40th percentile of the eligible candidates if they have applied under the SC/ST/OBC-NCL or PWD categories.

Admission offers will be made to the top 60 candidates on the merit list for each of the majors, prepared on the basis of cumulative performance in Parts A and B of the NLSAT-BA.

The final admission offers will be communicated on the admission portal in May 2025.

Note: The applicable reservations policy shall be applied at each stage of the admissions process.

Important Dates

• ‘Registration of Interest’ form for this programme shall be released on the NLS BA (Hons) programme page of the NLSIU website on December 10, 2024.
• Application forms for the programme will be available on NLSIU’s website in the first week of January 2025.
• Application fees of Rs. 2500 (Rupees Two Thousand Five Hundred only) shall be payable at the time of submission of the application.
• Candidates belonging to SC/ST/OBC-NCL/PWD/EWS category shall be required to pay Rs. 2000 (Rupees Two Thousand only).
• Applications shall be accepted till 11:59 pm on March 23, 2025.
• The NLSAT-BA will be held on April 27, 2025, between 10.00 am to 12.30 pm in specified centres across the country.
• The final admissions list will be published by the end of May 2025.
• Classes will commence from July 1, 2025.

Intake and Reservation

Seats shall be reserved as follows:

• Scheduled Castes – 15%
• Scheduled Tribes – 7.5%
• OBCs – 27%
• EWS – 10%

5% of the total intake shall be reserved horizontally for Persons with Disabilities (PWD);
30% of the total intake shall be reserved horizontally for women;
25% of the total intake shall be reserved horizontally (compartmentalised) for Karnataka Students.

Karnataka Students Category:

1. Candidates who have studied for not less than 10 years in a recognized educational institution in Karnataka shall be considered as ‘Karnataka Students.’

2. Candidates who have not completed ten years of study in Karnataka shall be eligible to apply under the Karnataka Students category if they fall under any of the below categories:

a. Children of defence personnel/ex-servicemen, who at the time of joining service, have declared their hometown to be in the State of Karnataka, and who have served or are serving outside Karnataka, corresponding to the candidate’s years of study outside Karnataka.

b. Children of employees of the Karnataka State Government who have served or are serving outside Karnataka, corresponding to the candidate’s years of study outside Karnataka.

c. Children of serving or retired employees belonging to the Karnataka cadre of the All India Services (IAS/IFS/IPS), who have served or are serving outside Karnataka, corresponding to the candidate’s years of study outside Karnataka.

d. Children of working or retired employees in the Central Armed Police Force service, who upon joining service declared their hometown to be in the State of Karnataka, and who have served or are serving outside Karnataka, corresponding to the candidate’s years of study outside Karnataka.

Illustration: If the candidate has studied in Karnataka for three (3) years, they must prove that their parents were serving outside Karnataka for at least seven (7) years, corresponding to their own period of study outside Karnataka.

If the candidate has not studied in Karnataka continuously for at least one (1) year, they must prove that their parents were serving outside Karnataka for at least ten (10) years corresponding to their own period of study outside Karnataka.

3. Eligible candidates must keep their Study Certificates issued by their educational institutions and other relevant documents ready to be submitted at the time of admission.

For further queries, please write to  

Read the official Admission Notification here.

Fee Structure | Academic Year 2025-26:

Admission fee (one time) – Rs. 13,000/-
Tuition and facilities fee (per annum) – Rs. 2,96,000/-
Housing fee (optional) (per annum) – Rs. 1,23,500/-
Total fee per annum – Rs. 4,32,500/-

One Time Refundable Deposit
Refundable deposits for SC/ST category students – Rs. 17,500/-
Refundable deposits for other students – Rs. 22,000/-

The total amount payable by SC/ST category students is Rs. 4,50,000/-.
The total amount payable by other students is Rs. 4,54,500/-.

Note:
* Fees mentioned above are provisional and subject to ratification by the University Governing Bodies.
* Housing Fee includes meal plan for breakfast, lunch, dinner and an evening snack.
* Day scholars may opt for meal plan at Rs. 74,500 (Mess Fee) per annum. The meal plan includes breakfast, lunch, dinner and an evening snack.
* Refundable deposit will be refunded either upon graduation or admission withdrawal. The refund will be subject to the deduction of applicable convocation fees, fees for issue of certificates, and other outstanding dues, if any.

Financial Aid

The University offers means-based scholarships. To know more about NLSIU’s financial aid options for students, click here.