An Indian student studying in Massachusetts has been held without bail pending hearing after he allegedly stabbed his assistant professor in the neck.

In the appearance at a Cambridge district court in Massachusetts, 22-year-old science student Nikhil Dhar from Kolkata, pleaded not guilty to the charges of armed assault with the intent of murder and battery with a dangerous weapon.

His victim Mary Elizabeth, 54, was admitted in intensive care but is expected to survive. Dhar stabbed Elizabeth on Thursday night at her home, 30 km from the campus, after dragging her out, witnesses said.

Elizabeth was quoted as saying that Dhar wanted to talk to her about his poor grades. The neighbours called the police when they saw the scuffle and a 21-year-old army reservist Carlos Madden chased Dhar and kept him cornered till the police arrived and took him into custody. Police recovered the knife from the scene.

According to the police report, Dhar said he had followed her to her house as he thought it was the last chance to talk to her about before the semester ended.

He alleged that he had not brought the knife with him and that she came out with it as she might have thought him to be a burglar.

A media report quoted Dhar's attorney as saying that it was a 'complicated case' with two sides.

Dhar, whose hearing comes up on Wednesday, is on a student visa. His mother is a middle school teacher in New York and his father a research scientist in India, police said.