Master of Philosophy
Indian universities offer M.Phil degrees mostly in the streams of arts, science and humanities. The duration is typically two years long. Several universities offer enrolment in their integrated M.Phil-Ph.D program and M.Phil degree holders are usually exempted from doctoral coursework requirement.
Diplom
The duration of the "Diplom" degree programmes differed depending on subject and university. An official average duration ("Regelstudienzeit") was set by law in each German state, usually being four years for a "Diplom (FH)" and 4, 4.5 or 5 years for a "Diplom / Diplom (Univ.)". In exceptional cases, universities were allowed to set longer average durations for certain subjects (HGRP1995 § 26 (3), NHG2007 § 6 (3), HmbHG2001 §53 (3)). However, due to the curriculum set by most universities in Germany, the 4, 4.5 or 5 years for a "Diplom / Diplom (Univ.)" were often exceeded.
Although being a first degree, because of its actual duration, the "Diplom / Diplom (Univ.)" was and is in Germany not considered as an equivalent to a bachelor's but rather to a master's degree, as also expressed by the equivalent ECTS credits for the "Diplom / Diplom (Univ.)".