IGNOU MAANY Project and Dissertation (MANP-101 and MANE-106): Codes, Synopsis Email, Fee and Format

How did MAAN become MAANY, and what happened to the old codes?

MAANY is IGNOU’s restructured Master of Arts (Anthropology), redesigned in line with NEP 2020 and the UGC credit framework. It has 18 courses and 80 credits, spread over four semesters of 20 credits each. The examinations are still held once a year: first and second semester papers together, then third and fourth semester papers together (Programme Guide 2026, pp. 6 to 7). The older programme, MAAN, does not appear in the July 2026 Common Prospectus. Its learners are still being served, though: IGNOU issued MAAN second-year assignments for the July 2025 and January 2026 cycles and set MAAN papers in the June 2026 term-end examination.

The two programmes use different codes, and the codes look alike, which is where students go wrong. The MAAN dissertation is MANP-001. The MAANY dissertation is MANP-101. No IGNOU document we have read maps each old course to a new one, so do not treat any MAAN code as “equal” to a MAANY code. Your admission or re-registration record decides which set applies to you.

If your record shows MANP-001, MANI-001 or MANI-003, you are in the old structure; the guide to the older MAAN project and dissertation codes covers those courses. Everything below applies to MAANY.

MANP-101 vs MANE-106: which one applies to you?

Every MAANY learner does MANP-101. Only learners who pick Ethnographic Training as one of their two Group B electives in Semester III also do MANE-106. Both courses are “project only”: no assignment and no term-end examination, with evaluation based entirely on what you submit (Programme Guide 2026, pp. 10 and 16).

Sources: Programme Guide 2026 pp. 8 to 10, 44 and 49; Common Prospectus July 2026 p. 27.

How the dissertation fits the four-semester journey

The MAANY dissertation sits at the very end of the programme, but the methods it needs are taught a year earlier. The table shows where each piece arrives.

When can the first MAANY students reach the dissertation?

The guide’s examination rule (p. 16) settles it. First-year courses can be examined only after one year of study, and second-year courses only after one year of second-year study. A learner who joined in January 2026 sits the first-year exam from December 2026, studies the second year through 2027, and can sit second-year exams from December 2027. A July 2026 entrant moves six months later. Second-year re-registration opens in November for the January cycle and in May for the July cycle (p. 12). The Programme Guide gives no separate deadline for sending the MANP-101 synopsis, so plan from these dates and watch IGNOU notices.

Two other figures in the official documents disagree, and you should know both. The guide prints the programme fee as Rs 18,700 (Rs 9,600 plus Rs 9,100), while the July 2026 prospectus prints Rs 9,500 a year, Rs 19,000 in total. The programme page gives 24 to 48 months as the duration, while page 16 of the guide also mentions completing all courses within five years. Pay and plan by the current notice on ignou.ac.in.

IGNOU MAANY Project Documents: Two Official, Two Still Unpublished

Students searching for a “MAANY project PDF” find copies of old MAAN material and sample files mixed with official ones. Keep the two kinds apart: only official documents set rules, and reference files only show a layout.

What kind of dissertation does MANP-101 expect?

MANP-101 expects a fieldwork-based research study on a topic of anthropological interest, in any sub-field. The course outline calls fieldwork “anthropology’s vital feature” and gives the learner freedom to “examine human concerns in any desired arena” (Programme Guide, p. 49). Its learning outcomes describe the work in order, and each one is a part your synopsis or report has to show.

Synopsis by Email: The MANP-101 Approval Package

The MANP-101 synopsis is sent for approval by email to manp101@ignou.ac.in, and fieldwork starts only after approval arrives (Programme Guide, p. 10). IGNOU has not published a MANP-101 proforma, so there is no box-by-box form to fill yet. The map below lists what the official documents do require, and marks the rest as practice to confirm.

When IGNOU publishes the MANP-101 manual and proforma, this table will be replaced by a box-by-box field map of that form.

The sample synopsis below shows one way to organise these parts on a fresh ethnographic topic. For the general structure IGNOU programmes use, see the IGNOU synopsis and proposal guide.

What are good MANP-101 dissertation topic directions?

A good MANP-101 topic is anthropological, narrow enough for one semester of fieldwork, and set somewhere you can reach again and again. The safest source of ideas is the MAANY syllabus itself: a topic built on electives you actually studied is easier to justify in the synopsis.

Before choosing, run three checks: can the question be answered in one semester, can you reach the site repeatedly, and does it use an anthropological lens rather than a general sociology or policy survey?

Field Site First: Why Anthropology Dissertations Run Late

Anthropology dissertations often run late for one reason: the field site is chosen for interest, not access. A community three districts away, a ritual held once a year, or informants who need months of trust all make strong proposals and difficult semesters.

Before you write the synopsis, make one scouting visit. Confirm you can reach the site cheaply and often, meet two or three people willing to talk, and find out whether you need anyone’s permission (a village head, an institution, a family). If the visit works, the fieldwork usually will. If it does not, change the site before you email the synopsis, because a new site after approval can mean a new proposal.

Submitting the IGNOU MAANY Project Report to SED

The finished MANP-101 dissertation (and the MANE-106 project report, if you took it) goes to the Registrar, Student Evaluation Division (SED), IGNOU, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi 110068. If the University provides an upload link, use only that link; no hard copy is then needed (Programme Guide, p. 10).

1. Receive the approval from manp101@ignou.ac.in and keep it safe.
2. Do the fieldwork as approved, keeping a field diary and consent records.
3. Write the dissertation against your approved objectives, with your guide’s review.
4. Attach a copy of the approval to the dissertation, as page 10 of the guide requires.
5. Submit to the SED address, or upload on the notified link.
6. Pay the project evaluation fee with the term-end exam form: Rs 500 for MANP-101 and Rs 300 for MANE-106 (Common Prospectus July 2026, p. 27).

The report format template shows a page order and chapter plan you can adapt. Each item is marked official or common practice, because the guide itself prescribes only the attached approval.

For posting and upload steps common to all IGNOU projects, read the IGNOU project submission guide. For the current cycle’s dates, see project submission last dates for December 2026. After submitting, track it with the IGNOU project status guide.

MANE-106 Ethnographic Training: the Semester III Project

MANE-106 is a 4-credit elective that tests fieldwork skills for learners interested in social and cultural anthropology (Programme Guide, p. 44). Its manual is meant to guide you through what fieldwork is, ethics, designing a proposal, reading literature, collecting data, writing field notes, keeping a field diary, using audio and video, and analysing findings. The result is a project report on a socio-cultural topic of your choice. The synopsis goes to mane106@ignou.ac.in, and the report follows the same SED route as the dissertation.

If you take MANE-106 alongside MANE-105 Ethnography, Semester III becomes a rehearsal for MANP-101. A small ethnographic project done well in Semester III often gives you the field contacts and methods for the dissertation that follows.

Questions Students Ask About the MAANY Dissertation

Official Sources Behind This Page

1. Programme Guide, Master of Arts (Anthropology) (MAANY), School of Social Sciences, IGNOU, 2026. Read in full, October 2026: pp. 6 to 10 (structure, project routes), 12 (re-registration), 16 (evaluation, exam timing), 22 (re-evaluation), 23 (communications), 36 (MAN-108), 44 (MANE-106), 49 (MANP-101).
2. IGNOU Common Prospectus, July 2026: p. 27 (project evaluation fee), pp. 76 to 77 (MAANY structure), programme fee table.
3. IGNOU programme page: MAANY, read 5 October 2026: duration 24 to 48 months.
4. IGNOU programme page: MAAN: MANI-001 and MANI-003 listed as theory and project courses.
5. MAANY assignment booklet, January 2026 session and MAAN second-year booklet, July 2025 and January 2026 (MANE-006 Social Stratification).

ignouproject.com is an independent service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by IGNOU. Rules quoted here come from IGNOU documents read in October 2026. IGNOU can change them, so check the current notice on ignou.ac.in before you submit.