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Part-time degrees, no need to publish research: what new PhD regulations say

The ugc has notified new regulations on phd degrees, introducing a set of sweeping changes in eligibility criteria, admission procedure and evaluation methods. take a look at what's changed.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has notified new regulations on PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) degrees , introducing a set of sweeping changes in eligibility criteria, admission procedure and evaluation methods governing doctoral programmes in college and universities.

The mandatory requirement of publishing research papers in refereed journals or presenting in conferences has been scrapped. Part-time PhDs have been launched for working professionals, and there is a relaxation of 5 per cent marks in eligibility for admissions even for the new EWS category.

The Indian Express takes a closer look at the UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedures for Award of PhD Degree) Regulations, 2022 notified on November 7, which replace the Rules notified in 2016.

How will the changes impact doctoral aspirants?

First and foremost, the eligibility criteria for admissions have been changed. Anyone with a four-year/eight-semester Bachelor’s programme degree with a minimum 75 per cent marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade will be eligible for a PhD.

Those joining PhD programmes after a four-year UG programme can do so after a one-year Master’s degree. Graduates with conventional three-year UG degrees need to have completed two-year Master’s degrees.

So far, a Master’s degree with at least 55 per cent marks in aggregate was mandatory for doctoral aspirants. Many universities also insisted on using M.Phil as the gateway. Those who had completed their M.Phil dissertation and were awaiting viva voce could also be admitted to PhD programmes.

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The new Rules discontinue the M.Phil programme altogether. However, that will have no bearing on those holding or pursuing M.Phil degrees currently. Apart from reserved category applicants, those falling under the EWS bracket will also be granted five per cent relaxations.

Will there be changes in the procedure for admissions?

There are no major changes in the procedure for admissions. As was the norm so far, universities and colleges will be free to admit students through the NET/JRF qualification route as well as entrance exams at the level of the institutions. The entrance syllabus shall consist of 50 per cent of research methodology, and 50 per cent shall be subject-specific, the Regulations say.

The UGC has for now dropped its plan to stipulate that of the annual intake of PhD candidates in every institution, 60 per cent would have to be reserved for NET/JRF-qualified individuals.

Where the selection is done by entrance tests conducted by individual universities, a weightage of 70 per cent will be given to performance in the written test, and 30 per cent to the interview.

Based on the feedback from stakeholders, the proposed common entrance test for PhDs has been left out of the new Regulations.

Do the new Regulations change the way research supervisors function?

Eligible professors, associate professors, and assistant professors can continue to guide up to eight, six, and four PhD candidates respectively at any given time, as earlier.

However, earlier, professors, associate professors, and assistant professors could also guide three, two, and one M.Phil scholars respectively over and above their PhD candidates. The MPhil programme has been scrapped under the new National Education Policy, 2020.

The new Rules also bar faculty members with less than three years of service left before superannuation from taking new research scholars under their supervision.

Each supervisor can also guide up to two international research scholars on a supernumerary basis over and above the permitted number of domestic PhD scholars. Universities and colleges have been allowed to frame their own rules governing admissions of international PhD students.

How does the UGC plan to improve the quality of doctoral education and research?

It has introduced a new requirement for PhD scholars, irrespective of discipline, to train in teaching / education/ pedagogy/ writing related to their chosen subject during their doctoral period. They may also be assigned four to six hours per week of teaching/ research assistantship for conducting tutorial or laboratory work and evaluations.

Earlier, to ensure the quality of their output, research scholars had to appear before a Research Advisory Committee once in six months and present the progress of their work for evaluation and further guidance. They will now have to do this every semester.

The new Regulations retain the clause that mandates institutions to develop a mechanism using “well-developed software applications to detect plagiarism in research work”.

Why has the requirement to publish research papers in peer-reviewed journals before the submission of a PhD thesis been scrapped?

The UGC has been grappling with this issue for quite some time, particularly with the proliferation of so-called “predatory journals”, where many doctoral scholars were found publishing their research in return for a fee. In 2019, a UGC panel had recommended that publication of research material in such journals or presentations in conferences organised by their publishers should not be considered for academic credit in any form.

In draft regulations floated in March this year, the UGC had proposed universities be allowed to draw up their own guidelines in this area and sought public feedback on replacing the term “must” with “desirable”. But in the final regulations, that requirement has been dispensed with altogether.

Prof M Jagadesh Kumar, who is the UGC chairperson, said by removing the mandatory clause, the commission is trying to ease some pressure of scholars so that they can focus more on high-quality research. “That will automatically lead to their research finding space in top journals,” he said.

In a study involving one central university and an IIT between 2017 and 2019, the UGC found that in the case of the university, as much as 75 per cent of the submissions were in journals which are not Scopus-indexed. The IIT, where such submissions are not mandatory, saw 79 per cent scholars making it to Scopus-indexed journals. That also appears to have guided the UGC’s decision.

What is the provision for part-time PhDs?

This is a new category introduced by the regulations. Although an existing feature in the IITs, for most universities and colleges, this will be new.

The eligibility conditions are the same for both full-time and part-time candidates. Their PhD work will be assessed in the same way as is done for the full-time PhD students.

However, in addition to meeting the regular criteria, the part-time PhD candidates will also have to produce a No-Objection Certificate or NOC from their employer. Apart from stating that the prospective part-time PhD candidate employee is permitted to pursue studies on a part-time basis, the NOC will have to spell out that they will be given sufficient time for research work. The workplace will require facilities in the employee’s field of research as a doctoral scholar.

Over the years, annual enrolment figures in PhD have risen, but it still accounts for a very small share of the higher education pie. Between 2015-16 and 2019-20, the enrolment at PhD level increased from 1,26,451 to 2,02,550 (0.5 per cent of the total enrolment in higher education), according to the latest available All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) report 2019-20. Also, most PhDs in India are in the field of engineering and technology, followed by natural sciences.

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Part-time PhD courses for working professionals likely to be rolled out

The regulations allow part-time PhD programmes, provided applicants satisfy eligibility conditions for full-time PhD programmes. The changes will come into effect in the upcoming academic session.

Universities in India will now be able to offer part-time doctoral programmes to working professionals, provided they attend at least six months of the course full time, according to officials at the high education regulator.

The provision will be a part of the UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Award of Ph.D. Degree) Regulations, 2022, which will soon be notified by the education ministry, officials of the University Grants Commission said on Saturday.

“Their PhD work will be assessed in the same way as done for full-time PhD students. The applicants for the part-time PhD will be working professionals and, hence, they won’t be eligible for PhD fellowship,” UGC chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar said.

The doctoral candidates will have to attend at least six months of course work in full time. The professionals will also need to submit a no-objection certificate (NOC) from employers.

“The applicants for part-time PhD will have to provide a NOC from their organizations stating that the employee is permitted to pursue studies on a part-time basis, the employee is permitted to devote sufficient time for research, facilities in the employee’s field of research are available at the place of work, and the employee will be relieved from duty, if required, to complete coursework,” Kumar said.

Many Indian Institutes of Technology, including the one in Delhi, offer part-time research programmes with similar norms. Officials at several central universities, including Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University, said they do not currently offer part-time PhD courses presently.

“No such provision is there in Delhi University. All PhD programmes are offered in regular, full-time mode to ensure high quality research,” said Rajesh Jha, political science professor at Rajdhani College.

“PhD is a full time course in JNU. However, the university allows teaching and research fellows employed only in Delhi-NCR to register as candidates,” an official said, seeking anonymity. “Working professionals from other fields are not allowed as of now.”

Affiliated universities will be allowed to set their own criteria for the part-time courses. “Since universities are autonomous, the academic councils of the universities will be allowed to decide their own entry qualifications for the part-time PhD programmes,” a UGC official said, seeking anonymity.

The commission had in March issued a draft of the amendments it made to the rules related to doctoral courses, proposing several changes, including making undergraduates who have done four-year programme and with a minimum CGPA of 7.5 eligible for PhD admissions.

The commission is also doing away with the mandatory requirement of publishing research papers in peer-reviewed journals for the submission of PhD theses.

Fareeha Iftikhar is a Special Correspondent with the national political bureau of the Hindustan Times. She tracks the education ministry, and covers the beat at the national level for the newspaper. She also writes on issues related to gender, human rights and different policy matters. ...view detail

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UGC notifies new regulations on PhD degrees, here's what has changed

The ugc has announced new norms for phd degrees that include significant modifications to the qualifications for admission, the application process, and the evaluation procedures.

•  Students who have completed a four-year

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First Published: Nov 10 2022 | 10:37 PM IST

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Home » UGC » UGC Rolls Out Part-Time PhD For Working Professionals – Check Details

UGC Rolls Out Part-Time PhD For Working Professionals – Check Details

13 July 2022, NEW DELHI: The University Grants Commission (UGC) is likely to allow part-time PhD programmes for working professionals from the next academic year. According to the proposed UGC regulations, any PhD completed full-time or part-time will be considered regular mode. 

To be eligible for the part-time PhD program, working candidates will have to produce a no-objection certificate (NOC) from their respective organizations. UGC has initiated this regulation, taking into account the many working people who cannot take long leaves to pursue PhDs. The new regulation will be applied to every central and state Indian university.

This article will discuss the eligibility criteria and other information regarding this regulation in detail. Working people who wish to pursue part-time doctoral programmes are advised to read the whole article before applying for the same.

UGC Part-Time PhD – Eligibility Criteria

• The assessment process for both full-time and part-time PhDs is the same.
• Candidates will have to submit a no-objection certificate (NOC) from their employers.
• The NOC must clearly state that the employer will allow the candidates enough time to do their research work.
• Employers will have to submit an undertaking stating that candidates will be relieved from the duty to attend the coursework. 
• Candidates must have a four-year undergraduate degree or a two-year postgraduate degree to be eligible.

UGC Part-Time PhD – Supervisors and Guidance 

• Permanent faculty members who hold a PhD degree and work as professors or associate professors with over three research publications to their names can become PhD supervisors for candidates.
• Part-time PhD candidates will work mostly independently, but will be under regular consultation with their respective supervisors.
• Candidates must complete their course work before seeking guidance from their supervisors.

Who is eligible for a part-time PhD?

Any person working or not working who has either a four-year graduate degree or a two-year postgraduate degree is eligible for the part-time PhD. In addition to this, candidates must have obtained a no-objection certificate (NOC) from their respective employers.

What are the specifications for NOC?

The NOC must mention that the employer will allow sufficient time for the candidate for the research work and that they will be relieved from the job for their coursework.

Is a part-time PhD approved by the UGC?

A part-time PhD is going to be approved by the UGC as a regular mode of PhD.

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New Delhi: Students who have completed a four-year undergraduate course will be eligible for direct admission to a doctorate programme, the University Grants Commission (UGC) said in its revised PhD regulations notified earlier this week.

The new PhD regulations — “University Grants Commission (Minimum Standards and Procedures for Award of PhD Degree) Regulations, 2022” – says a candidate should have a minimum of 75 percent marks in “aggregate or its equivalent grade on a point scale wherever the grading system is followed”.

In case the candidate does not have 75 percent marks in a four-year undergraduate program, she has to pursue a one-year master’s programme and score at least 55 percent.

The new admission rules further say, “A 1-year master’s degree programme after a 4-year bachelor’s degree programme or a 2-year master’s degree programme after a 3-year bachelor’s degree programme or qualifications declared equivalent to the master’s degree by the corresponding statutory regulatory body, with at least 55% marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade in a point scale wherever grading system is followed.”

No more publishing in peer-reviewed journals 

The UGC has removed the clause, “publishing paper in a peer-reviewed journal”, as mandatory for a PhD.

PhD regulations of 2016 had said that PhD scholars “must publish at least one (1) research paper in a refereed journal and make two paper presentations in conferences/seminars before the submission of the dissertation/thesis for adjudication”.

Talking about this, UGC chairperson Professor M. Jagadesh Kumar said, “Publication of research papers in peer-reviewed journals may not be mandatory anymore, but it does not mean PhD scholars should stop doing that altogether.”

He added: “Focussing on high-quality research will lead to publications in good journals, even if it is not mandatory. It will add value when they apply for employment or post-doctoral opportunities.”

Part-time PhD allowed with clause 

For a PhD, individual institutions can also hold their own entrance tests to admit students, the new rules state. The candidate then need not write the National Eligibility Test (NET) or similar exams. The “entrance test shall consist of 50 percent research methodology and 50 percent subject specific,” the rules say.

The commission was  planning on reserving 40 percent seats for students who qualified through NET, but that clause did not make it in the final notification as there was no consensus.

Apart from this, the commission has also allowed candidates to pursue a PhD through part-time mode, “provided all conditions are fulfilled”.

As per the rules, the institute will require a “No Objection Certificate (NOC)” from the appropriate authority in the organisation where the candidate is employed.

The NOC should clearly mention that she is permitted to pursue studies on a part-time basis. “His/her official duties permit him/her to devote sufficient time for research; if required, he/she will be relieved from the duty to complete the course work,” the new rules say.

The regulations are applicable with immediate effect from the date of notification. Any PhD registered after 1 July, 2009 shall be governed by the regulations of 2009 or 2016, the notification further adds.

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