Ph.D Regulations

• Applications will be invited by open advertisement in all leading newspapers / local announcement for all categories of candidates mentioned in section 2.
• Out of the applications received, the Departments will short-list the candidates to be called for written and test / interview to be conducted at the institute on a pre-announced date.
• Candidates qualified in CSIR-UGC NET for JRF / SLAT/ may be exempted from the written test requirements.

• Candidates whose selection is approved be admitted to Ph.D. program after payment of prescribed fees
• The candidates admitted to the Ph. D program will apply for registration for the Ph. D program in the prescribed form within one month from the date of admission.

• Immediately on admission the students are expected to undergo an orientation program in the concerned Department. This program is intended to familiarize the new students with research activities in the Department and establish rapport with the faculty.

At the end of the orientation program, each student will be permitted by the concerned Head of the Department to choose a Research Guide keeping the following in view.

• The preference and research interests of the student
• The research program of the Department with an equitable distribution of research students amongst the various research programs/ faculty members
• The interest of the concerned faculty member
• The student will choose the topic of his research based on the advice of the Research Guide.
• There shall not be more than one guide for a research scholar.

In areas where there is not enough expertise at the institute to guide a research scholar on a particular topic, an expert from a neighboring educational institution / R & D lab / Industry may be appointed as a Research Advisor after due approval by the appropriate authority at the institute. Even in such cases there will be a Research Guide identified from within the institute. The Research Advisor will be appointed on a specific request to the HOD of Research Programs from the Research Guide through the respective Head of the Department giving sufficient justification for the request. A detailed biodata of the proposed Research Advisor should be enclosed along with the request.

• Any faculty member of the institute who satisfies the following requirements is eligible to be appointed as a Research Guide.
• He / She should have Doctoral degree (Ph.D., D.Sc., or Dr. Ing) awarded at least one year for guide recognition.
• He / She should have research publications to his / her credit, of which at least one paper must be in a refereed journal on research work not included in his / her Ph.D. thesis.
• He / She should have a minimum of three years of service left at the institute.
• When a faculty member is to be appointed as a guide for the first time, he/she should make an application to be recognized as a guide enclosing his detailed curriculum vitae to Dean, Research.
• Faculty who are resigning will be forfeiting their claim as a research guide

When a research guide retires/resigns he/she will be permitted to continue as guide, subject to the condition that the Scholar is ready to submit the thesis within Six months. In all other situations, the Scholar will be permitted to choose a new guide without change in research topic.

A Doctoral Committee will be appointed for each Research Scholar to consider his/her research proposal, to prescribe the course work required to be undergone by the candidate and to continuously monitor the progress of the research scholar.

Research Scholars has to compulsory complete the following courses:

• Research Methodology and Publication Ethics – 4 credits
• Three Courses as Recommended by Doctoral Committee – 3 Credits each Course

Of the Three Courses, two shall generally be chosen from the regular master's Level courses being offered by the University. In case of non-availability of the courses at the master's Level, Courses can be self-designed by the Research Guide based on the needs & requirement of research areas of Research scholar.

• All Ph.D. scholars need to compulsorily secure an average of B grade. If not, the scholar shall repeat one or more courses till he achieves the prescribed minimum average.
• All Ph.D. coursework evaluation shall be as per the University Evaluation Regulations as applicable to master's Level Courses.
• The paper setting & evaluation for the specialized courses will be the sole responsibility of the research guide.
• All grade sheets pertaining to the coursework of all research scholars shall be issued by the Controller of Examinations.
• The coursework should preferably be completed within 12 months from the date of registration. A grace period of 6 months may be allowed by Dean, R&D based on the merits of the cases.
• Notwithstanding the above Regulation, the Doctoral Committee may give credit to courses already undergone by a Research Scholar in this institute or other institutions as part of his / her research program subject to the condition that he / she has secured a minimum of B grade.

A Research Scholar shall submit within two weeks before the end of each six- month period from date of registration, a written report of work done by him / her in the prescribed pro forma to the Guide who shall forward it to the Head of the Department with his remarks for consideration by the Doctoral Committee. The report should clearly indicate the progress achieved and cover the following points

• Thesis proposal status
• Course work completion status
• Progress made given during period of the report
• Publications if any
• Problems / difficulty if any
• Plans for future work

The Doctoral Committee shall meet once in six months and the Research Scholar is to make a presentation of the progress of his / her work to the committee. The first DC shall consist of External expert and make recommendations pertaining to the Courses to be prescribed to the Scholar. Of the two meetings, the midyear meeting of the Doctoral Committee comprising of Only Internal Experts is to be conducted with Dean R&I as Invitee (Without External Expert) The Doctoral Committee would review the progress and suggest further needs if required.

If the progress of the Research Scholar is not satisfactory, the Doctoral Committee shall record the reasons for the same suggesting corrective measures with recommendations for withholding the fellowship temporarily. The research Scholar shall be asked to appear before the Special DC within Three Months and demonstrate his/her progress and to get the fellowship reinstated. If the Special Doctoral Committee finds that the progress is not satisfactory the registration DC may recommend cancellation of PhD registration

• After successful completion of the course work a registrant for the Ph.D. degree is required to undergo a comprehensive Viva-Voce within a maximum period of two years (preferably within one and half years) from the date of registration. The CV will be conducted by the Doctoral Committee
• At the comprehensive examination the candidate will make a presentation of his research work and answer all the questions raised by the members of the examination board related to his research work. However, the emphasis of the comprehensive Viva Voce examination would also be on testing the knowledge of the candidate in the prescribed courses of the research Scholar.
• If a Research Scholar fails in the comprehensive Viva Voce examination in the first attempt, he or she may be allowed to appear once again, not earlier than four months and not later than six months from the date of the first examination. If the Research Scholar does not pass in this attempt also, his / her registration shall be cancelled by the Dean, R&D.
• Every Research Scholar must pass the comprehensive viva Voce examination and get his/ her candidacy confirmed before submitting the thesis for the research degree by Dean R&D.
• Research Scholars should submit application for appearing for comprehensive viva-voce examination duly forwarded through research guide and Chairperson DC along with comprehensive report to the Dean R&D.

• All Research Scholars (both internal and external) are required to enroll at the beginning of each semester (Fall/Winter) on the stipulated date till their submission of thesis.
• All Research Scholars (both internal and external) should pay the prescribed fees every semester at the time of Registration, till their submission of the thesis.
• The registration of a Research Scholar who has not enrolled in person for any one semester is liable to be cancelled by the University.

• The minimum period of study and research required from the date of registration for the Ph.D. program to the date of submission of thesis will be 30 months for full-time Research Scholars and 36 months for part-time Research Scholars.
• Special cases, if any, would be supervised by the Dean, R&D.

• Research Scholars can be permitted to take a break during their studies either on medical grounds or any other valid reasons, with specific permission from Dean R&D through Deans of respective Schools. The break period shall be for a maximum period of one year.
• If prior permission is not sought and obtained, it will be considered as a case of discontinuation and action will be taken to cancel the registration of such candidates. For permitting a break in studies on medical grounds, a certificate from the authorized Medical Officer is essential.
• For accepting a job / fellowship abroad: The student should have completed the minimum period of registration, course work, comprehensive examination, all theoretical and experimental parts of the work and should have commenced preparation of the thesis.
• The request has to be accompanied by a clear statement of status of research work, a copy of letter of appointment and a letter of assurance from the Research Scholar that he will rejoin the institute at the end of the break period to complete the remaining part of the work and / or to take to Oral Examination, as the case may be, required to qualify for the degree.
• Research Scholars who are permitted to break in studies should pay the applicable tuition and other fees to maintain their studentship.
• To be considered for approval of break in studies a Research Scholar should send the request at least a month in advance with all the relevant details and documents with specific recommendations of the Research Supervisor(s) and Head of the Department.

• When the thesis is nearly ready for submission, the candidate shall submit three copies of the synopsis of his / her research work through the Guide and Head of the Department to the Dean, R&D for consideration. This synopsis (not exceeding ten pages) is to be submitted by the candidate eight weeks in advance of the probable date of the actual submission of the thesis. This would facilitate finalization of panel of examiners for evaluation of the thesis, in advance.
• The candidate should give at least one colloquium on his thesis work in the Department before submitting the synopsis.
• It is Recommended that the candidate publishes at least Two papers (Scopus /SCI/UGC CARE) based on his / her thesis work in a refereed non-paid journal of repute before submitting his / her synopsis.
• The candidate should present the synopsis before the Doctoral Committee. The Doctoral Committee will, if it approves the work reported in the synopsis, permit the Research Scholar to submit the thesis. It will also recommend a panel of at least eight experts (four from India and four from abroad) in the subject area for evaluation of the thesis.

• The candidate shall within Three months of acceptance of the synopsis submit four copies of the thesis in a format as prescribed by the University.
• Thesis evaluation fee as notified by the University should be paid by the research Scholar before the Thesis Submission.

• Dean R&D in consultation with Vice Chancellor shall choose two examiners of repute for evaluation of the thesis from among the panel of examiners recommended by the Doctoral Committee at its synopsis meeting. Out of two examiners, one would be from outside the country and the other would be an expert within the country.
• Dean, R& D shall communicate with the two chosen examiners with a copy of the Synopsis and upon acceptance a copy of the Thesis shall be sent.

• Each examiner is expected to send a detailed report of his/her evaluation of the thesis within two months of receipt of the thesis. The report should highlight the contributions of the thesis, its strengths and weaknesses, modifications / corrections / clarifications if any needed and should include a definite recommendation regarding the acceptability of the thesis for the award of the Ph.D. degree.
• In case of undue delay in receiving the evaluation report from any examiner, the Dean, R&D shall appoint another examiner in his/her place for evaluating the thesis.
• If both the thesis examiners declare the thesis as ‘Not Commended’, the thesis would be rejected, and the candidate’s registration will be cancelled. However, if one of the two thesis examiners declares the thesis as ‘Not Commended’ the thesis shall be referred to a third examiner from the panel for his evaluation. If the third examiner also declares the thesis as ‘Not Commended’, the thesis would be rejected, and the candidate’s registration would be cancelled.
• If reports of two examiners after referral to a third examiner (if necessary) declare the thesis as ‘Commended’, the Doctoral Committee will consider the reports and recommend for conduct of an oral examination which will be conducted normally not earlier than two weeks from the date of the constitution of the Oral Examination Board.
• If an examiner suggests resubmission of the thesis after revision, the candidate will be allowed to resubmit the thesis with necessary revision.

• Candidates are required to defend his /her thesis at the University before the Oral Examination Board which is an Open Defense.
• Candidates who are permitted to leave the University without taking the oral examination are required to come for the Oral Examination at their own expense.

  The following is the composition of the Oral Examination Board

  • Dean, R&D - Chairman
  • School Dean /Head of the Department/ in which the candidate is enrolled - Member
  • Indian examiner of the thesis - Member
  • Guide / Research Advisor - Member / s
  • If the examiner of the thesis from within the country regrets his inability to attend the oral examination, another specialist in the subject would be nominated by the Dean, R&D from the panel of examiners recommended by the Doctoral Committee to conduct the oral examination
  • The Doctoral Committee members of the candidate concerned all the faculty and students at the University will be invitees to the Oral Examination. For this purpose, the Department concerned will give a very wide publicity for the oral examination throughout the University.
  • At the oral examination, the candidate will first give a presentation on his / her thesis work. The oral examination board then examines the candidate on his / her thesis work. The candidate is expected to answer satisfactorily all the questions raised by the thesis examiners, members of the oral examination board and the general audience present for oral examination. The oral examination board would, then, evaluate the performance of the candidate as ‘Satisfactory’ or ‘Not Satisfactory’.
  • If the PhD Defense Committee declares the performance of the candidate as ‘Not Satisfactory’, the candidate would be asked to reappear for the oral examination to be held not earlier than one month and not later than six months from date of the first oral examination.
  • If the oral examination board on the second occasion also evaluates the performance of the candidate as ‘Not Satisfactory’, the matter would be referred to the Doctoral Committee for a decision.
  • If the oral examination board evaluates the performance of the candidate at the oral examination as Satisfactory, the Chairperson of the PDC shall submit a report highlighting the proceedings of the oral examination board and signed by all the members of the board, along with a final corrected copy of the thesis to be lodged in the central library of the Institute.

Based on the recommendation of the oral examination board, the University would award the Ph.D. degree to the candidate after due approvals by the Academic Council and the Board of Management.

Notwithstanding all that has been stated above, the Vice Chancellor as the Chairperson of the Academic Council has the right to interpret or effect minor modifications as and when essential, to be ratified by the Academic Council.