MLIS, School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Library and Information Science
IGNOU MLIS Project (MLIP-002): what the official Programme Guide actually prescribes
MLIP-002 is the Project Work/Dissertation course of the IGNOU MLIS programme. The official MLIS Programme Guide treats it as a full course of 4 credits, requires a minimum of 50 per cent to pass it, and is the only MLIS course that carries no tutor marked assignment and no continuous evaluation. The synopsis goes to the Programme Coordinator, MLIS. The finished report goes to the Registrar, Student Evaluation Division.
Almost every page written about this course repeats the same four lines: it is 4 credits, pick a topic, find a guide, submit before the deadline. The Programme Guide published by the Faculty of Library and Information Science says a great deal more than that, and several of the things it says are the reason proposals come back. This page works through that document, the Common Prospectus of July 2026, and the master project table published by an IGNOU Regional Centre, and it marks clearly where the official record stops.
What MLIP-002 is, and why your Prospectus prints MLIP 2 instead
MLIP-002 is the project and dissertation course inside the Master of Library and Information Science. You will meet it written three different ways in three official IGNOU documents, and all three refer to the same course.
| Official document | How the code is printed | What it is called there |
|---|---|---|
| MLIS Programme Guide, Faculty of Library and Information Science | MLIP-002 | Project Work/Dissertation |
| Common Prospectus, July 2026, section 3.23 | MLIP 2 | Project |
| Regional Centre master project table | MLIP-002 | Project, Faculty of Library and Information Sciences |
MLIP 2, MLIP-2, MLIP 002 and MLIP-002 are the same course. Write the form your own registration record uses on the synopsis and on the report cover, because that is the form the evaluation records are keyed to.
Documents circulating on file-sharing sites describe an MLIS project under the code MLIP-005. No IGNOU source checked for this page uses that code for the MLIS project. The Common Prospectus of July 2026 and the MLIS Programme Guide both give MLIP 2 / MLIP-002. If you have seen MLIP-005 on a downloaded guideline file, confirm the code against your own registration record before you build a synopsis around it.
Where MLIP-002 sits inside the 40-credit MLIS structure
MLIS is a ten-course, 40-credit master’s degree. Eight of the ten courses are core and two are electives chosen from a list of six. Every course carries 4 credits, because the weightage is distributed uniformly across all ten. The Programme Guide places the project precisely: the first six core courses cover information areas, ICT applications and management, the seventh core course is Project Work/Dissertation, and the eighth is Internship.
That ordering matters more than it looks. It means MLIP-002 is not an extra tacked on to the end of MLIS. It is a core course with the same credit weight as Information Processing and Retrieval, and it sits alongside a second practical core course, MLII-105 Internship, which is separately assessed and has its own standard operating procedure published on the IGNOU website.
| Element | Official value | Where it is printed |
|---|---|---|
| Total courses | 10, of which 8 core and 2 elective | Programme Guide, Components of the MLIS Programme |
| Total credits | 40 | Programme Guide and Prospectus section 3.23 |
| Credits per course | 4, uniformly distributed | Programme Guide, Study and Teaching Methodology |
| One credit equals | 30 hours of student study time | Programme Guide, Study and Teaching Methodology |
| Study time implied by MLIP-002 | 4 credits at 30 hours, so 120 hours | Derived from the credit definition above |
| Blocks across the programme | 34 blocks, each of 3 to 5 units | Programme Guide, Structure of the Courses |
| Minimum duration | One academic year | Programme Guide and Prospectus master table |
| Maximum duration | Two years from the date of registration | Programme Guide, Examination and Evaluation |
| Programme fee | Rs 12,000 for the full programme | Prospectus July 2026, programme master table |
The 120-hour figure is not an IGNOU instruction and no official document prints it as a project workload. It follows arithmetically from the University’s own credit definition, and it is a more honest planning number than the page-count guesses that circulate online.
The Components table in the MLIS Programme Guide lists MLI-101, MLI-102, MLII-101, MLII-102, MLII-103, MLII-104 and MLII-105 under compulsory courses, then the six electives. MLIP-002 does not appear as a row in that table, even though the prose two pages earlier names Project Work/Dissertation as the seventh core course and Annexure III is devoted to it. The Common Prospectus of July 2026 does list MLIP 2 as a row. If your printed guide seems to omit the project, this is why. The project is compulsory regardless.
Which library science course code is actually yours
Four IGNOU course codes in this faculty get mixed up with each other, and two of them are project courses with different rules. Work down this list until one row describes your registration.
| If you are registered in | Your code is | What it is | Credits | Minimum to pass |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLIS, Master of Library and Information Science | MLIP-002 | Project Work/Dissertation | 4 | 50 per cent |
| MLIS, the same programme, second practical course | MLII-105 | Internship, governed by a separate SOP | 4 | See the internship SOP |
| PGDLAN, PG Diploma in Library Automation and Networking | MLIP-008 | Project | 4 | 40 per cent |
| MLIS, if you selected it as one of your two electives | MLIE-102 | Research Methodology, a taught elective, not a project | 4 | Standard course rules |
MLIP-002 and MLIP-008 sit under the same faculty, carry the same 4 credits and look almost identical in a course list. They are not run the same way. The Regional Centre master project table records MLIP-008 as carrying a maximum of 80 marks with a 40 per cent pass, a report submitted at the learner’s own Regional or Tele-learning Centre, and a viva-voce conducted in January. Against that, MLIP-002 carries a 50 per cent pass, a report sent to the Registrar at headquarters, and a blank entry in the viva column. Two codes, one faculty, different destinations and different pass bars.
Who your guide can be, in IGNOU’s exact terms
You choose your own guide. Annexure III of the MLIS Programme Guide states plainly that a student may choose her or his guide according to her or his choice, and that the proposal must be accompanied by a biodata of the guide, duly signed by the guide. What the Annexure then does is attach a pay-scale condition, and this is the part that most secondary sources drop.
| Route | Qualification IGNOU prescribes | The condition attached to it |
|---|---|---|
| a | Ph.D. in Library and Information Science | and working in Assistant Professor Scale or Pay Level 10 as per the 7th CPC |
| b | Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science with working experience in a library or information centre, or teaching LIS | in Assistant Professor Scale or Pay Level 10 as per the 7th CPC |
Route b is widely summarised online as “a master’s degree in LIS plus some experience”. The Annexure attaches the Assistant Professor Scale or Pay Level 10 condition to that route as well, not only to the Ph.D. route. A qualified and willing librarian who does not sit in that scale does not satisfy the printed criterion. Establish the guide’s scale before the biodata is signed, not after the proposal has been posted.
Who decides what: the three offices an MLIS project passes through
An MLIS student deals with three different IGNOU offices during a single 4-credit course, and each one accepts only its own paperwork. Sending the right document to the wrong office is the quietest way to lose a cycle, because nothing is rejected, it simply does not arrive where it is being looked for.
Routing map for MLIP-002, built from the MLIS Programme Guide, Annexure III, and the Examination and Evaluation section.
One detail on this map is worth repeating because it is counter-intuitive. The Study Centre is where an MLIS student spends most of the year, since the seminars and the fifty computer practical sessions are held there. The project never goes there. The synopsis goes to the faculty at Maidan Garhi, and the finished report goes to the Registrar, Student Evaluation Division.
The MLIS Programme Guide names the report destination as The Registrar (SED), IGNOU, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi-110068. The Regional Centre master project table names it as The Registrar (SR&ED) at the same address. Both point to the Student Evaluation function at headquarters, and the postal address is identical in both. Address the envelope to the Registrar at Maidan Garhi and confirm the current division name from your Regional Centre before dispatch.
The synopsis: what IGNOU asks for, and the one-route rule
The synopsis is the gate. Nothing in MLIP-002 may begin before it is approved, and the Programme Guide is specific about both the contents of the package and the way it travels.
- Select a topic in an area related to any area of your own MLIS courses of study, in consultation with a guide. The Programme Guide ties the project to your course list, not to the discipline at large.
- Obtain the guide’s biodata, duly signed by the guide. An unsigned biodata is an incomplete proposal.
- Send the proposal or synopsis, with the signed biodata, to the Programme Coordinator, MLIS, Faculty of Library and Information Science, School of Social Sciences, IGNOU, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi-110068.
- A soft copy of the synopsis may instead be emailed to the address the Programme Guide prints for this purpose.
- Send one route only. The Programme Guide advises students to send either the hard copy or the soft copy of the synopsis for approval, not both.
- Wait for the approval decision before starting the write-up. Work carried out on an unapproved topic is work at risk.
Step 5 is a genuine instruction, not a formality. Students who post a hard copy and then email the same synopsis “to be safe” create two proposals in the same queue under the same enrolment number. The Programme Guide asks for one route. Choose one, keep proof of dispatch, and follow up on that route.
The MLIS project dates that are published, and the ones that are not
IGNOU does not print the MLIP-002 calendar in the Common Prospectus. It appears in the master project table maintained at Regional Centre level, and the schedule there is not the generic 31 May and 30 November pattern that most project pages repeat.
| Stage | What the Regional Centre table records for MLIP-002 |
|---|---|
| Synopsis submission | 30 November of the corresponding year, for students admitted in the July session who intend to complete the programme the following June |
| Approval of the proposal | Before 31 January of the next year |
| Project report submission, June TEE | Before 30 April |
| Project report submission, December TEE | Before 31 October |
| Status of the course | Compulsory |
| Minimum marks | 50 per cent in the project and dissertation |
Two things follow from that table. The first is the size of the approval window: a synopsis lodged at the end of November is expected to be decided by the end of January, which leaves roughly three months of writing time before an April submission. The second is that the MLIS report window closes earlier than the generic dates in circulation. A student working to 31 May for a June cycle is working to the wrong month for this course.
These dates are published at Regional Centre level and IGNOU issues session notifications that can move them. Treat the table above as the documented pattern, and confirm the current session’s dates against the notification issued by your own Regional Centre before you plan around them.
The 13-part report order IGNOU prints, including the two parts almost nobody includes
Annexure III sets out the physical form of the report and then gives the sequence of its parts. The form comes first: typed in double space, on A4 size paper, in a bound form, and it must include a certificate from the guide stating that the work was carried out under her or his supervision and guidance.
The order IGNOU prints is as follows.
| # | Section | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Certificate | From the guide, confirming supervision |
| 2 | Acknowledgements | |
| 3 | Table of Contents | |
| 4 | Preface | Frequently omitted by students, printed in the official order |
| 5 | Introduction | |
| 6 | Review of Literature | |
| 7 | Objectives | Placed after the literature review, not before it |
| 8 | Methodology | |
| 9 | Findings | |
| 10 | Conclusion | |
| 11 | Bibliography | |
| 12 | Index | Frequently omitted by students, printed in the official order |
| 13 | Appendices | Questionnaires and instruments belong here |
The two parts students leave out
Preface at position 4 and Index at position 12 are in the official sequence and are the two that go missing most often, because the generic dissertation templates circulating online do not carry them. A Preface is not the same thing as an Introduction. It explains why you undertook the study and how the report is arranged, and it sits before the Introduction.
Why the position of Objectives matters
The sequence places Objectives at position 7, after the Review of Literature. That ordering carries an argument: the objectives are supposed to emerge from the gap the literature review identifies. A report that states its objectives before reviewing anything reads as though the conclusion was fixed first. Following the printed order is the simpler path, and it also produces a better-argued report.
How MLIP-002 is marked, and why 50 per cent is not the same as your degree’s 40 per cent
MLIS examination has two components: continuous evaluation at 30 per cent and the term-end examination at 70 per cent. MLIP-002 sits outside both of those mechanisms, and the Programme Guide says so twice.
| Component | Rule for MLIP-002 | Rule for the other MLIS courses |
|---|---|---|
| Tutor marked assignment | None. The Programme Guide names MLIP-002 as the single exception | One TMA per course, submitted to the Study Centre Coordinator |
| Continuous evaluation | None for project work and dissertation | 30 per cent of the course |
| Term-end examination | Not applicable. The project is assessed on the submitted report | 70 per cent of the course |
| Minimum to pass | 50 per cent | 40 per cent in assignments, 40 per cent in practicals |
Now the part that surprises students. To be awarded the MLIS degree, a candidate must score a minimum of 40 per cent in continuous evaluation and at the final term-end examination, and the division bands are 60 per cent and above for First, 50 per cent and above for Second, and 40 per cent and above for Third. MLIP-002 alone requires 50 per cent. The project therefore carries a pass bar ten percentage points higher than the degree’s own minimum, and the aggregate on which your division is calculated includes the project marks alongside theory and practicals.
Across the MLIS Programme Guide, the Common Prospectus of July 2026 and the Regional Centre master project table, IGNOU does not publish a word count for MLIP-002, a page count, a breakdown of how the marks are distributed inside the report, or a plagiarism percentage limit. Figures of 10,000, 15,000 and 20,000 words appear on other websites without a source. This page does not repeat them. Ask your guide and your Regional Centre what length is expected for your topic and method, and keep the official record as the authority on everything it does cover.
Whether there is a viva for MLIP-002
The Regional Centre master project table has a viva-voce column. For PGDLAN’s MLIP-008 that column says the viva is conducted in January. For MLIS MLIP-002 the column is blank, and Annexure III of the MLIS Programme Guide describes the assessment without setting out a viva procedure. The honest reading is that the documents examined for this page schedule a viva for the PGDLAN project and do not schedule one for MLIP-002. Practice can vary by Regional Centre and by session, so prepare to speak about your methodology and findings, and ask your Regional Centre directly whether a viva is being held for your session.
Choosing a topic your own course list can actually support
The Programme Guide gives one constraint on topic choice and it is narrower than most topic lists acknowledge: the student has to work in an area related to any area of her or his courses of study. Your courses of study are the eight core courses plus the two electives you selected, which means your legitimate topic space is defined by a list you chose at registration.
The six electives IGNOU offers are Preservation and Conservation of Library Materials, Research Methodology, Academic Library System, Technical Writing, Informetrics and Scientometrics, and Public Library System and Services. You take two. Those two, together with the core courses, are the areas your project can legitimately draw on.
MLIE-102 Research Methodology is an elective, not a core course. Project Work/Dissertation is compulsory for everyone. It is therefore entirely possible under the official structure to reach a compulsory research dissertation without having studied research methodology at all, because you chose two other electives. If you have not yet locked your elective choice and you intend to do survey or questionnaire work in MLIP-002, MLIE-102 is the elective that pays for itself twice.
Matching a topic to the courses behind it
| If your topic is about | The MLIS course that anchors it | What the report has to demonstrate |
|---|---|---|
| Cataloguing, metadata, indexing or classification practice | MLII-102 Information Processing and Retrieval | Command of bibliographic description standards and indexing systems, not just description of a library |
| Library automation software, digitisation or an OPAC study | MLII-104 ICT Applications | Hands-on familiarity, since this course carries twenty practical sessions |
| Staffing, budgeting, performance or user services management | MLI-102 Management of Library and Information Centres | A management framework applied to real library data |
| Citation analysis, productivity or growth of literature | MLIE-105 Informetrics and Scientometrics, if you elected it | Correct use of the bibliometric laws taught in that elective |
| Preservation, binding or conservation of materials | MLIE-101 Preservation and Conservation, if you elected it | Condition assessment against the standards in the course |
| Public library provision, policy or legislation | MLIE-106 Public Library System and Services, if you elected it | Engagement with library legislation and norms, not general commentary |
If a topic you like does not map to a row above, it is not automatically ineligible, but you should be able to say which of your registered courses it draws on before the synopsis reaches the Programme Coordinator. That single sentence, written into the proposal, does more for approval than a fashionable title.
A readiness check before you post the synopsis
Every item below traces to a line in the MLIS Programme Guide or the Regional Centre table. If any one of them is not yet true, the proposal is not ready to travel.
- The topic relates to an area of your own registered MLIS courses.
- Your guide meets route a or route b, including the Assistant Professor Scale or Pay Level 10 condition.
- The guide’s biodata is attached and signed by the guide.
- The synopsis is going to the Programme Coordinator, MLIS, at the Faculty of Library and Information Science, not to your Study Centre and not to the Registrar.
- You are sending one route only, hard copy or soft copy, not both.
- You have retained your own copy of the synopsis and proof of dispatch.
- You know which term-end cycle you are aiming at, and therefore whether your report deadline is the April window or the October window.
- You are not writing the report yet, because approval has not arrived.
Questions MLIS students ask about MLIP-002
Is MLIP-002 compulsory for the MLIS degree?
Yes. The Regional Centre master project table records MLIP-002 as compulsory, and the MLIS Programme Guide names Project Work/Dissertation as the seventh core course of the programme. There is no exemption route in the documents examined for this page.
Do I have to submit an assignment for MLIP-002?
No. The MLIS Programme Guide states that every student submits one assignment for each course except MLIP-002, for which there is no assignment. It also states that there is no continuous evaluation for project work and dissertation. Your assessment rests on the submitted report.
How many marks do I need to pass MLIP-002?
A minimum of 50 per cent. This is stated twice in the Programme Guide, in the Examination and Evaluation section and again in Annexure III, and it is confirmed in the Regional Centre master project table. It is a higher bar than the 40 per cent minimum that applies to the degree overall.
Where do I send the MLIS synopsis and where does the report go?
They go to two different places. The synopsis goes to the Programme Coordinator, MLIS, Faculty of Library and Information Science, School of Social Sciences, IGNOU, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi-110068. The finished report, one copy, goes to the Registrar at the Student Evaluation Division at the same campus address. Sending the report to the Programme Coordinator, or the synopsis to the Registrar, delays both.
Can I choose my own guide for the MLIS project?
Yes. Annexure III states that a student may choose her or his guide according to her or his choice. The guide must meet one of the two prescribed qualification routes and must sign the biodata that accompanies your proposal.
What is the difference between MLIP-002 and MLIP-008?
MLIP-002 is the MLIS project and MLIP-008 is the PGDLAN project. Both are 4 credits under the same faculty. MLIP-002 requires 50 per cent to pass and its report goes to the Registrar at headquarters. MLIP-008 is recorded at a maximum of 80 marks with a 40 per cent pass, its report is submitted at the learner’s own Regional or Tele-learning Centre, and the Regional Centre table schedules its viva in January.
Is MLII-105 the same as the project?
No. MLII-105 is Internship, a separate 4-credit core course of the MLIS programme, and the Programme Guide directs students to the detailed standard operating procedure for internship published on the IGNOU website. MLIP-002 and MLII-105 are two different compulsory courses that both have to be completed.
How long should the MLIS project report be?
No official IGNOU document examined for this page prints a word count or a page count for MLIP-002. What Annexure III does prescribe is the physical form, typed in double space on A4 paper and bound, and the thirteen-part order of sections. Agree a length with your guide that suits your method and sample, and do not treat the figures quoted on unsourced websites as a requirement.
How long does synopsis approval take?
The Regional Centre table sets the expectation rather than a guarantee: synopsis by 30 November, approval of the proposal before 31 January of the following year. That indicates an approval window measured in weeks rather than days, which is why starting to write before approval arrives is a poor use of the time.
My guide’s designation is not Assistant Professor. Is that a problem?
It can be. Both qualification routes in Annexure III attach the Assistant Professor Scale or Pay Level 10 as per the 7th CPC. A librarian or professional with the right degree but a different scale does not meet the printed criterion. Confirm the scale in writing before the biodata is signed.
Official sources used on this page
- MLIS Programme Guide, Faculty of Library and Information Science, School of Social Sciences, IGNOU. Components of the programme, Study and Teaching Methodology, Examination and Evaluation, and Annexure III, Guidelines for Project Work/Dissertation.
- IGNOU Common Prospectus, July 2026, section 3.23 Master of Library and Information Science, section 6.4 BLIS, section 8.10 PGDLAN, and the programme master table for eligibility, duration and fee.
- Projects and Practicals master table, IGNOU Regional Centre Chandigarh. Row 8 for MLIS MLIP-002 and row 17 for PGDLAN MLIP-008.
- Project/Dissertation Work Handbook (MLIP-002), eGyanKosh. Listed and consulted through its catalogue record. The full document was not read for this page and no figure has been taken from it.
Where to go next on this site
If you have reached the stage of posting the report rather than the synopsis, the step-by-step route, document checklist and binding notes are set out on the IGNOU MLIS project submission process guide. If your question is about MLII-105 rather than the project, the MLIS internship report guide for MLII-105 covers the workbook and report format. PGDLAN students should work from the PGDLAN project guide for MLIP 008 instead of this page. The general rules that apply across programmes are collected in the IGNOU project guidelines and in the IGNOU project course codes and credits directory.
BK Sahni iD 0009-0005-8092-459X
Founder, Shri Chakradhar Publication Pvt. Ltd. & ignouproject.com — helping IGNOU distance-learning students since 2010 (5,00,000+ students supported across MBA, MCom, MA & more). Author of IGNOU exam guides, solved assignments & project reference books.
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