Ph.D. SOP

Ph.D. Program SOP

Ph.D Offered in following disciplines:

1. Department of Agriculture
2. Department of Punjabi
3. Department of Library & Information Science
4. Department of Computer Science & Applications
5. Department of Defence and Strategic Studies
6. Department of Physics
7. Department of Statistics
8. Department of Engineering and Technology (CSE, CE, ME, ECE, EE, Food Technology)
9. Department of History
10. Department of Sanskrit
11. Department of Hindi
12. Department of Commerce
13. Department of Economics
14. Department of Performing and Fine Arts
15. Department of Philosophy
16. Department of Law
17. Department of Public Administration
18. Department of Yogic Science
19. Department of Botany
20. Department of Microbiology
21. Department of English
22. Department of Music
23. Department of Management
24. Department of Hospitality & Tourism
25. Department of Chemistry
26. Department of Mathematics
27. Department of Forensic Science
28. Department of Education
29. Department of Journalism & Mass Communication
30. Department of Environmental Science
31. Department of Political Science
32. Department of Physical Education & Sports
33. Department of Sociology
34. Department of Home Science
35. Department of Psychology
36. Department of Geography
37. Department of Zoology
38. Department of Fashion Design
39. Department of Social Work
40. Department of Biotechnology

GUIDELINES FOR Ph.D. PROGRAMME

Eligibility Criteria for Admission to the Ph.D. Programme

A candidate seeking admission to the Ph.D. programme shall possess any one of the following minimum qualifications, in accordance with the UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Award of Ph.D. Degree) Regulations, 2022, as amended from time to time:

Master’s Degree Route:

• A Master’s degree comprising one year/two semesters following a four-year/eight-semester Bachelor’s degree; OR
• A Master’s degree of two years/four semesters following a three-year Bachelor’s degree; OR
• A qualification recognized as equivalent to a Master’s degree by the competent statutory regulatory body, with a minimum of 55% marks in aggregate or an equivalent grade on a point scale wherever grading is followed.

Direct Four-Year Bachelor’s Route:

A four-year/eight-semester Bachelor’s degree programme with a minimum of 75% marks in aggregate (or its equivalent grade) shall also render a candidate eligible for direct admission to the Ph.D. programme.

Relaxation Criteria:

A relaxation of 5% marks in aggregate (i.e., a minimum of 50% for Master’s degree holders, and 70% for four-year Bachelor’s degree holders) shall be extended to candidates belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), Other Backward Classes Non-Creamy Layer (OBC-NCL), Economically Weaker Section (EWS), Persons with Disabilities (PwD), and such other categories as notified by the UGC or the Government of India from time to time.

Qualification from Foreign Educational Institutions:

Candidates holding qualifications equivalent to the above—awarded by foreign educational institutions accredited by an assessment and accreditation agency duly recognized in the country of origin—shall also be considered eligible, subject to verification of equivalence by the competent authority.

M.Phil. Holders:

Candidates who hold an M.Phil. degree awarded in accordance with the UGC Regulations then in force shall also be eligible for admission to the Ph.D. programme. Such candidates may be granted appropriate credit or exemption toward the Ph.D. coursework already completed during their M.Phil., subject to applicable UGC guidelines and the approval of the University.

CATEGORIES OF THE Ph.D. PROGRAMME

The University shall offer admission to the Ph.D. Programme under the following three categories:

Full-Time Ph.D.

Part-Time Ph.D.

Foreign National Students Ph.D.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF Ph.D. CATEGORIES

Full-Time Ph.D.

A Full-Time Ph.D. Scholar shall devote his or her entire time to research work under the guidance of a recognised Research Supervisor. Such a scholar shall be required to comply with all coursework, residency, periodic progress review, and research requirements as prescribed by the University and by the applicable UGC Regulations.

Part-Time Ph.D.

• The Part-Time Ph.D. category is intended for working professionals, faculty members, researchers, industry personnel, government employees, and other similarly placed eligible candidates who are unable to pursue research on a full-time basis.
• A candidate seeking admission under this category shall be required to submit a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from his or her employer, certifying that:
• The candidate is permitted by the employer to pursue Ph.D. research;
• The candidate shall be relieved from official duties for course work and other academic requirements as and when necessary; and
• the candidate is in a position to devote sufficient and uninterrupted time to the satisfactory completion of the research work.
• Part-Time Scholars shall, in all other respects, be required to fulfil the same academic and research requirements as are prescribed for Full-Time Scholars under the University Ordinance and the applicable UGC Regulations.

Foreign National Students Ph.D.

Foreign National Students, including Overseas Citizens of India (OCI), Persons of Indian Origin (PIO), Non-Resident Indians (NRI), and other eligible foreign applicants, may seek admission to the Ph.D. Programme under this category, subject to the provisions of the UGC Regulations and the prevailing guidelines of the Government of India.

Such candidates shall be required to fulfil eligibility requirements equivalent to those prescribed for Indian students and shall, in addition, comply with all applicable visa, immigration, and other statutory requirements.

PROCEDURE FOR ADMISSION

Admission to the Ph.D. programme shall be conducted strictly in accordance with the UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Award of Ph.D. Degree) Regulations, 2022, and shall comprise the following stages:

1. Publication of an admission notification indicating the number of seats available, discipline-wise.
2. Submission and scrutiny of applications received from prospective candidates.
3. Conduct of an entrance test, wherever applicable.
4. Conduct of an interview / viva-voce.
5. Preparation of the merit list.
6. Grant of provisional admission, followed by verification of original documents.
7. Registration to the Ph.D. programme upon successful completion of the foregoing stages.

Candidates holding a valid UGC-NET/JRF, UGC-CSIR NET/JRF, GATE, CEED, or any other qualification recognized by the UGC from time to time shall be considered for admission in accordance with the prevailing provisions of the Commission.

ADMISSION SESSIONS

With a view to providing flexibility to candidates and maximising research opportunities, the University may conduct Ph.D. admissions in multiple sessions during the course of an academic year. Tentatively, admissions shall be processed as follows:

Summer Session

Winter Session

The University reserves the right to conduct additional admission sessions, as may be warranted by the availability of research supervisors, vacant seats, and other institutional requirements.

RESERVATION OF SEATS

Reservation of seats in the Ph.D. programme shall be provided strictly in accordance with the UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Award of Ph.D. Degree) Regulations, 2022, and the prevailing reservation policy of the Government of Haryana, as applicable from time to time. Seats shall be reserved for the following categories:

• Scheduled Caste (SC)
• Scheduled Tribe (ST)
• Other Backward Classes (Non-Creamy Layer) (OBC-NCL)
• Economically Weaker Section (EWS)
• Persons with Disabilities (PwD)
• Any other category notified by the UGC or by the Government of Haryana from time to time

The percentage of seats reserved for each category and the manner of application of roster-based reservation shall be determined in accordance with the prevailing UGC regulations and the reservation policy notified by the Government of Haryana / Government of India, as amended from time to time. In the event a reserved seat in a particular discipline remains unfilled for want of eligible candidates, the same shall be carried forward or de-reserved in accordance with applicable government norms.

SELECTION PROCEDURE (SESSION-WISE)

Stage I — Application and Eligibility Screening

• Submission of the application in online or offline mode, as prescribed by the University.
• Verification of the candidate’s eligibility and scrutiny of supporting documents submitted along with the application.

Stage II — Entrance Test

Wherever an Entrance Test is conducted, it shall be structured as follows:

Candidates securing the minimum qualifying marks prescribed by the UGC or by the University, as applicable, shall be eligible to appear for the Interview/Viva-Voce.

Stage III — Interview / Viva-Voce

The Interview / Viva-Voce shall be conducted with a view to evaluating the following aspects of the candidate’s preparedness for doctoral research:

• Research aptitude of the candidate
• Depth of subject knowledge
• Feasibility and quality of the research proposal submitted by the candidate
• Availability of requisite research facilities and supervisory capacity within the University
• Potential contribution of the proposed research to the creation of new knowledge

Stage IV — Merit List and Admission

• Preparation of the merit list in accordance with University norms and applicable UGC Regulations.
• Allocation of seats on the basis of merit, category, and availability of research supervisors.
• Confirmation of admission upon verification of original documents and remittance of the prescribed fee.

EVALUATION/MERIT COMPUTATION MATRIX

For preparation of the combined merit list, candidates shall be evaluated route-wise as per the following matrix:

Ph.D. REGULATIONS REGARDING COURSE WORK

Clause 18: Ph.D. Ordinance, NIILM University

(In accordance with the UGC Minimum Standards and Procedure for Award of Ph.D. Degrees Regulations, 2022 — Effective from Academic Session 2024–25)

Coursework shall be treated as a prerequisite for the Ph.D. programme. Following provisional registration, all research scholars are required to complete one semester of coursework during their first year. It is mandatory to complete this coursework within the first four semesters to remain in the Ph.D. programme; a student who fails to do so shall be required to leave the programme.

Scholars must earn a minimum of 12 credits and a maximum of 16 credits.

Typically, a course refers to a “paper” and is a core component of the academic programme. Courses in the Ph.D. coursework are categorized into two types: Core and Elective.

• Core Course: A compulsory paper that all scholars must complete to fulfill the Ph.D. degree requirements.
• Elective Course: A discipline-specific course offered by the candidate’s department or by a related/sister department that supports the primary discipline, subject to mutual agreement between the concerned departments.

One credit is equivalent to 15 contact hours for theory-based teaching or 30 contact hours for practical/activity-based training.

Credits are represented in the format L:T:P, where:

• L stands for Lecture contact hours
• T stands for Tutorial contact hours
• P stands for Practical/Laboratory contact hours

The credit distribution is structured as follows:

• All Ph.D., entrants irrespective of discipline, shall be trained in teaching proficiency related to teaching/education/pedagogy/writing related to their chosen Ph.D. subject during their doctoral training period, that include assigning 4-6 hours per week of teaching/ research assistantship for conducting tutorial or laboratory work and evaluations.
• Course PHD-SEM 104 includes work on research article writing or seminar presentation. This course will be assessed internally without Semester End Examination.
• CoE will conduct Term/ Semester End Exam in PHD-ARM-101, PHD-DSC-102, and PHD-RPE-103.
• Advance Research Methodology course will include common research methodology and subject specific research methodology.
• Research Advisory Committee may provide choices in selecting the courses/ credits that facilitates the entrepreneur in the monetization of IP thus generated.
• RAC can also recommend UGC recognized online courses as part of the credit requirements for the Ph.D. programme.
• Paper- will comprise of the following two activities:
• External Assessment: Written Question Paper 70/39 (maximum passing marks 70, minimum passing marks 39)
• Internal Assessment: 30/16 (maximum passing marks 30, minimum passing marks 16)

Marks will be converted into letter grade and grade point as per following table:

The computation of the Semester Grade Point Average (SGPA) and Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) shall be done as per University Examination Ordinance or Examination Rules & Regulations issued time to time.

The result and grade sheet for the coursework will carry pass/ fail result.

COURSE WORK PAPER

Candidates who already hold an M. Phil. degree and have been accepted into the Ph.D. program, or those who have finished their M.Phil. coursework and have been given permission to continue on to the Ph.D. in an integrated course, may be exempted from the Ph.D. course requirements by the Department. All additional applicants accepted into the Ph.D. program must complete the Ph.D. coursework required by the Department.

The NIILM University attendance rules, a minimum 75% attendance is must require, will be applied to all full-time research scholars. For the duration of their coursework, part-time research researchers must, nevertheless, adhere to the same rules.

A Ph.D. scholar has to obtain a minimum of 55% of marks or a minimum CGPA of 6.0 in the UGC 10-point scale (or an equivalent grade/CGPA in a point scale wherever grading system is followed) in the course work in order to be eligible to continue in the programme and submit the thesis.

Registration will be automatically canceled if the required course work is not completed with a minimum of 55% of marks/a minimum CGPA of 6.0 within the allotted time. If the course work is not finished within a year, the RAC and DRC may suggest a six-month extension or suggest that the registration be canceled with the DRC.

There is no provision of improvement or special supplementary exam to be conducted. Coursework will be offered in four semesters of first two years with regular & supplementary exams to avail the opportunity to clear the coursework in 2 years. Failure to complete the course in 2 years means that the student has to leave the program.

DURATION OF THE PROGRAMME

1. The Ph.D. programme shall be for a minimum duration of three (3) years, including coursework, and a maximum duration of six (6) years from the date of admission.
2. A maximum extension of two (2) additional years may be granted through a re-registration process in accordance with the Statute/Ordinance of the Higher Educational Institution concerned. However, the total period for completion of the Ph.D. programme shall not exceed eight (8) years from the date of admission.

• Proviso: Female Ph.D. scholars and Persons with Disabilities (with more than 40% disability) may be allowed a further relaxation of two (2) years. In such cases, the total period for completion of the Ph.D. programme shall not exceed ten (10) years from the date of admission.

1. Female Ph.D. scholars may be granted Maternity Leave / Child Care Leave for up to 240 days across the entire duration of the Ph.D. programme.

ADOPTION OF UGC REGULATIONS

The University has adopted the UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Award of Ph.D. Degree) Regulations, 2022, together with all amendments, notifications, guidelines, and clarifications issued by the University Grants Commission from time to time, including UGC Public Notice No. F.4-1(UGC-NET Review Committee)/ 2024(NET)/ 140648 dated March 27, 2024, relating to the use of the UGC-NET score for admission to the Ph.D. programme.

All matters relating to admission, coursework, research supervision, progress evaluation, thesis submission, thesis evaluation, and the award of the Ph.D. degree shall be governed by the provisions of the University Ordinance, read together with the applicable UGC regulations.

In the event of any ambiguity or conflict between the provisions of the University Ordinance and the UGC regulations, the provisions of the UGC regulations, as amended from time to time, shall prevail.

CHECKLIST: RESEARCH SCHOLAR FILE