PhD Admission Procedure in Detail – Reference Guide

If you are planning to embark on a PhD journey as many lucky and brave ones have done before you, make sure to do your research on eligibility and PhD entry requirements early on. As First step student need to decide on the area of interest and the university one would love to pursue their doctoral degree. Look out for PhD admission notifications from the concern universities. Here you can find PhD/M.Phil Notification’s from various Universites across India

Before proceeding further you are recomended to read

Detailed Ph.D Admission Procedure:

A student seeking admission to Ph.D. course shall apply on a prescribed form. The application form, duly filled in by the student in his own hand and with a passport-size photo affixed on it along with xerox copies of the documents listed below, must be sent to the Academic Section of the Institute. Admission to the Ph.D degree course usually open once in a year for each Department in the University.

Eligibility: Students required to have 55% in Masters level education in relevant (to the proposed subject of research for Ph.D) subject. Some institutes/universities allow exception to this rule for engineers and doctors(for them B.E./B.Tech Or M.B.B.S. is enough).

Documents required:

  • Migration Certificate (No objection certificate from the University last attended), if you are a student of same university, you will not need this.
  • Passing/Degree certificate of the last qualifying degree examination
  • Mark-list of the last qualifying degree examination
  • Character certificate (from the head of the Institute from which the student has obtained his qualifying degree) – may not be a mandatory reqirement in some universities.
  • Documentary proof for date of birth
  • Gap certificate (if applicable)
  • Research Proposal *
  • No objection certificate from the employer (if employed)

* The Research Proposal shall be prepared by the student in consultation with his proposed guide and shall be signed by both. The title of the Ph.D. thesis suggested should be such that no work of similar nature has been done or is being done. Research Proposal shall consist of:

  • Current status of knowledge of the topic of research;
  • Aims of proposed research and methodology to be adopted;
  • Nature of the data to be collected;
    • Proposed method of analysis and interpretation;
    • Expected contribution to the knowledge of the subject; and
  • A detailed bibliography of the literature on the topic of research.

Note: Students shall note that their application may not be considered for admission if the above certificates are not enclosed with their application.

  • Admission to the Ph.D. degree programme shall be done through an Entrance Test. Students who have passed GATE/NET/SET/ M.Phil/JRF Examination in the relevant subject of the apex bodies as CSIR/UGC/ICAR/ICMR/DBT will be exempted from the Entrance Test (Refer to the notification for more details).
  • The concerned Departmental Committee may give exemption for Ph.D.Entrance Tests and Course Work to a deserving candidate. While giving the exemption, the Departmental Committee may consider research work/earlier Ph.D./experience done by the candidate. If a candidate already holds a Ph.D. degree in a related subject from a recognized University, he/she may be exempted from entrance tests and course work for admission to Ph.D.
  • For Entrance Test there would be two papers i.e. Paper I and Paper II. Paper I would be General Aptitude Test of 100 marks & Paper II would be subject wise of 100 marks. General Aptitude Test will have 50 questions with multiple choice covering Research & Teaching Aptitude, Logical thinking, General Comprehension, etc. The test shall be conducted by the University.  (Refer to the notification for more details)
    Second Written Test will be pertain to the subject to the Department concerned & the test shall be of 100 marks. i.e. 30 marks for Objective type exam and 70 marks for Descriptive type exam.
    After passing the both tests the student will be appear before the Department concerned.
  • Only those students who have passed entrance test or who are exempted from entrance test shall appear for an interview to be organized by the Department concerned.
  • At the time of interview, doctoral candidates are expected to discuss their research interest/ area.
  • Only the predetermined number of students may be admitted to Ph.D. programme.

While granting admission to students to Ph.D. Programme, the Institute will pay due attention to the State Reservation Policy.

Also See: Top PhD Entrance Exams in India

Language Test:

The medium of instruction for the Ph.D. degree programme in the institute will be English/Hindi/Regional Language. It is therefore essential that the student has a sound knowledge of concern language. To test this the student may appear for required language (medium of instruction) test .

  • The following student/s shall however be exempted from appearing for this Test:
    • who are native speakers of language the medium of instruction.
    • who are seeking admission through the Government of India Scholarship scheme (ICCR scholars)
    • who have migrated from an Indian University and have passed the Language (medium of instruction) test of that University
    • who have passed the test conducted by this Institute during their admission to an earlier degree course of this Institute.
  • The Test shall be of one to two and half hours duration and shall contain objective type questions in general and grammar. The paper will be of 100 marks. To be eligible to pass a student must secure 40 marks.

Medical Test :

To ensure that a student admitted to the Ph.D. degree has sound health, all students shall undergo a medical fitness test as detailed below. However, students who have already appeared for the medical test, conducted by the Institute, during their earlier admission to a degree course of this Institute, may be exempted from appearing for this Test.

Only those students who are found medically fit shall be admitted to the Ph.D. degree programme.

  • For medical fitness the students shall be subjected to the following tests:
    • HIV Test (Aids Test)
    • Chest Check-up (through X-Ray)
    • General Medical Test
  • Expenditure on these tests including incidental expenses shall be made by the Institute from the medical test fees collected from the student.
  • Only those students who are found medically fit shall be admitted to the Ph.D. degree programme.

See: The key to a successful PhD thesis?

Course Work :

The Course work is compulsory and will carry 20 credit. The bifurcation of these credits is as under :

  • 5 credits for Research Methodology which includes research methodology, quantitative methods, Computer Application, tools and techniques including instrumentation, communication skill, seminar presentation and review of published research.
  • 10 credits for subject specific (2 Subjects) course work.
  • 5 credits for field work, seminar and other academic activities.
  • Having been found prima facie eligible for admission to the course, the student will be given a provisional admission letter by which he/she can obtain Research Visa for study at this Institute. The letter shall be valid for a period of one year from the date of issue.
  • On receiving the Research Visa the student shall arrive at the department & shall submit the eligibility application and original and xerox copies of the certificates listed in (a) above as also the Research Visa. A student shall not be admitted to the course if he fails to submit the documents requested for.

The evaluation will be done by the concerned faculty of the Department.

After getting admitted in to Ph.D program, candidates shall be required to undertake course work organized by the Department as the case may be . The course work will be for a minimum period of one semester. The course work shall be treated as pre Ph.D. preparation.

Post Admission

  • At this stage students are registered for Ph.D with university.
  • It takes around 1 year from admission to Ph.D, for Next 2-3 years, depending on chosen subject and research proposal. Students do research and try to achieve the objectives.
  • Candidate need at least one publication in peer reviewed journals in some universities.
  • When research scholar & the guide feel that the objectives are achieved, candidate will be permitted to write and then present synopsis to the committee for formally giving permission for writing the thesis.
  • Once the committee is satisfied with research (that is when it deems research worthy enough for Ph.D), it permits research scholar to write the thesis. Now candidate write’s thesis, get it corrected from guide and then submit 3 copies to university with requisite fee and form.
  • University examines the thesis through experts in the field.
  • Up on approval, scholar proceed’s to final step, that is Open defense Or Viva of research in front of public and external examiner (which is appointed by University).
  • If the research scholar is successful in this stage, it’s done!
  • Candidate will be awarded PhD!

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