Undergraduate students tackling tough subjects can receive tutoring from overseas for a small fee.

Syed Hussain, a Harvard graduate, said he came up with the idea of starting a Web-based global tutoring company when he had difficulty getting help from affordable tutors. He said tutors charged him $70 to $80 an hour.

“It wasn’t always easy to get in touch with them, as well,” Hussain said.

The start-up company, uProdigy.com, won the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology 100K Entrepreneurship Competition in the products and services category Feb. 8. Tutors must have a master’s degree at a minimum and take a formal English grammar exam to teach through the Web site.

“The majority of our tutors right now are from India but we’re also going to hire from other places, including the U.S.,” Hussain said.

Hussain was born in Rochester, N.Y. His mother is from Pakistan and his father is from India.

“India stuck out in the beginning because you have this enormous pool of highly educated people,” Hussain said.

Students can schedule their tutoring sessions in advance for an introductory price of $15 an hour. Tutors are available 24/7. Hussain said the interface is similar to AIM with VOIP.

Bernini Goitte, a junior in international business, was skeptical about speaking with tutors online.

“It depends on the class,” she said.

Goitte is paying a tutor $40 an hour this quarter for help with Math 132. She prefers being able to interact with the tutor in person.

“I can’t sit with him, work with him,” she said of online tutors. “I don’t think I would do that on the Internet.”

Matthias Katzfuss, a graduate student in statistics, also said it depends on the subject. Katzfuss tutors undergraduate students for free in Cockins Hall.

He said the Mathematics and Statistics Learning Center always has volunteers.

Similar to Goitte, he was skeptical about student demand for the online service.

“If it’s cheaper than face-to-face tutoring and as good (I would use it),” Katzfuss said.