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SRM UNIVERSITY
Ph.D Regulations 2014


1. DEFINITIONS AND NOMENCLATURE

In the Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires,

i. University means SRM University

ii. Programme means Doctoral Programme leading to the award of Ph.D. in
Engineering and Technology / Science and Humanities / Medical and Health
Sciences.

iii. DRCC means Department Research Co-ordination Committee.

iv. Chairperson means the Head of the DRCC.

v. Supervisor means any faculty member of the University or outside the University
who has been recognized by the University to guide the research scholars.

vi. Doctoral Committee means a Committee constituted by the University for each
scholar to monitor the progress of his/her research work.

vii. Research Co-ordinate mean Head of the Institution / Department / Organization of
the Part-time (Ext.) scholar where he/she is employed.

viii. Scholar means any candidate admitted by the University either under Full-time or
Part-time category for pursuing research for the award of Ph.D.degree of the
University.

ix. Course means a theory subject/a practical subject of PG programme / a directed
study prescribed by the Doctoral Committee for the scholar to undergo as a part of the
Ph.D. Programme.

2. CATEGORIES OF Ph.D. CANDIDATES

There shall be three categories of Ph.D. candidates.

i. Full Time candidates: All candidates who pursue full time research in this University
shall belong to this category.

ii. Part Time (Internal) candidates: All candidates employed in SRM University who
pursue part time research in this University shall belong to this category.

iii. Part Time(External) candidates: All candidates working in Industrial units,
Colleges, Government departments, Research organizations or other Institutions,
sponsored for pursuing Ph.D. Programmes in this University while continuing to serve
in their respective Institutions /organizations recognized as Research Centers by


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SRM UNIVERSITY
Ph.D Regulations 2014

SRM University shall belong to this category. They shall pursue research in their place
of employment and /or in this University.

3. RESEARCH OUTSIDE THE UNIVERSITY

During the course of the Ph.D. Programme, for reasons approved by the Doctoral Committee,
a candidate may be permitted by the University to spend upto one year in an Institution or on
a project approved for the purpose, outside the University for carrying out research in the
areas related to the subject of investigation.

4. ELIGIBILITY

Minimum academic qualification required for admission is that the candidate should
possess a PG Degree / PG Diploma of two years duration recognized by the
respective statutory bodies for pursuing research.

5. ADMISSION PROCEDURE

i. The number of available seats in the various specializations under different disciplines
will be determined well in advance and will be notified in the University website/
advertisement.

ii. The candidates desirous of pursuing Ph.D. degree shall submit the application in the
prescribed form through proper channel wherever applicable, before 31st March /
30
th
September, each year to the Director (Research). The application form and the
necessary details are available in the SRM University website.

iii. The applications received will be sent to the respective Faculty Directors who will
Forward the same to the Chairpersons of the Department Research Coordination
Committee (DRCC) of the departments. The DRCC will consist of all the recognized
guides in the department and a recognized guide from another department of the
University nominated by the respective faculty Directors. If the Head of the
department is a recognized guide he/she will be the Chairperson. If not, he/she will
nominate one of the recognized guides of the department as the Chairperson of
DRCC. The DRCC shall screen the applications and conduct written and oral
examinations. The DRCC will select the candidates based on their performance in the
written and oral examinations. The DRCC will also fix the guide for each candidate
taking into account the preference of the available guides and the candidates if any.

iv. The respective DRCC will forward the list of selected candidates along with the
applications of all the candidates to the Director(Research) through the Directors of the
respective faculties.

v. The Director (Research) will seek the approval of the Vice-Chancellor for the
provisional registration of the selected candidates.



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SRM UNIVERSITY
Ph.D Regulations 2014

vi. The Candidates whose registration has been approved by the Vice Chancellor shall be
provisionally admitted to the Ph.D. Programme by the Director (Research) with
intimation to the concerned Faculty Director, HOD, guide, the candidate, and the
sponsoring institution, if any.

vii. On receipt of the Provisional registration of the candidates, the guides of the students
shall recommend a panel of Six names for forming the Doctoral Committee for their
respective students and send the same to the respective Faculty Directors through the
respective Heads of the Departments. The Faculty Director shall form the Doctoral
Committee as in item 9 below, get the approval of the Vice-Chancellor and then
communicate the same to the Director (Research) for record and to the respective
guides through the respective Heads of the departments for further action.

viii. The date of provisional registration shall be of 1st of J uly or 2nd of J anuary of each
year.


6. GUIDES

i. All Ph.D. candidates are required to work under the guidance of a recognized guide
from the University.

ii. The part time (external) candidates shall be required to have, in addition to a Research
Guide from the respective faculty of this University, a recognized Co-guide/Research
coordinator from the institution/organization/department where he/she is employed,
who is responsible to provide all necessary resources and help to complete the research
work in a time bound manner. The institution /organization/department where the
candidate will pursue his/her research work should be recognized as a research centre
by the university.

iii. When a guide of a candidate happens to be away from the University, for more than 6
months, he/she may continue to guide the candidate, but a guide belonging to the same
faculty of SRM University shall be officially nominated as a co-guide by the DRCC of
the department and forwarded through proper channel to the Vice Chancellor for
approval.

iv. If the guide leaves the University, he/she may be permitted to continue as a guide for
his/her students depending upon the availability of the individual, subject to the
approval of the Vice Chancellor. Otherwise a new guide belonging to the same faculty
of SRM University, officially nominated by the Research Coordination Committee of
the department will be appointed as the guide after obtaining necessary approval from
the Vice Chancellor.






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SRM UNIVERSITY
Ph.D Regulations 2014

7. RECOGNITION OF GUIDES

Recognition of Guide for guiding research work will be accorded by the Vice Chancellor, on
application to the Director(Research) through proper channel in the prescribed format with
the recommendation of a subject expert identified by the Director of the concerned faculty.

a. Faculties of Engineering and Technology and Science and Humanities

Candidates seeking for the recognition of the guideship should possess:

(i) A Ph.D. Degree in the relevant or allied areas of research in which he/she proposes
to guide the candidate.

(ii) A minimum of two research papers published in the relevant or allied areas of
research in refereed journals within a period of three years preceding to his/her
date of application for recognition.

(iii) A minimum of two years of research or teaching experience after acquiring Ph.D.
degree. However, exemptions shall be considered by the Vice-Chancellor on
merit.

b. Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences

(i) A research guide possessing a Ph.D. degree in Medical Sciences should have not
less than three years of teaching/research experience with a minimum of two
publications in the relevant or allied areas of research in the refereed journals.

(ii) A research guide without Ph.D. qualification in Medical Sciences should have not
less than 15 years of teaching and research experience after obtaining his/her Post
Graduate qualification and shall also have not less than 10 years of Post Graduate
teaching experience as a faculty member with a minimum of two publications in
the relevant or allied areas of research in the refereed journals.

(iii) A research guide in the Allied Health Sciences should possess a Ph.D. degree with
not less than three years of Post Doctoral experience under the specialty of
Pharmacy/ Physiotherapy/ Occupational Therapy/ Nursing / Allied disciplines and
with at least two research publications in refereed journals.

8. RECOGNITION OF RESEARCH CENTERS

Various National and Regional Laboratories / Institutions / Organizations / Industrial
Establishments/ Industries recognized by DSIR / Departments are eligible to admit
candidates for Ph.D. under this University provided they possess recognition from the
University. Other Institutions desirous of getting recognition must apply to the University for
securing recognition as Centers of Research. The University will get these institutions


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Ph.D Regulations 2014

assessed through a committee before awarding the recognition, wherever necessary as per the
guidelines approved by the Research Advisory Committee.

9. NUMBER OF CANDIDATES PER GUIDE

A Guide shall guide not more than eight doctoral candidates at any time. However a guide
may guide three more candidates as a Co-guide.

10. DOCTORAL COMMITTEE

The following members shall constitute the Doctoral Committee as approved by the Vice-
Chancellor.

i. The Guide (Convener)

ii. Two External experts selected by the Director of the respective faculty from a panel of
six experts recommended by the Guide from the academia/Industries / R&D
organizations.

iii. The Co-guide, if any.

iv. In case of Part time external candidates, the Co-guide/ Research coordinator from the
organization where he/she is employed.

v. An expert in the allied areas of research from the University, if required.

vi. Chairperson of DRCC of the concerned department.

11. DURATION OF THE PROGRAMME

The duration of the programme and the time for submission of thesis are counted from the date
of provisional registration.

Full Time:- The minimum duration for all candidates belonging to Engineering and Technology
/ Architecture, Science and Humanities/Management and Medical and Health Sciences shall be
three years and the maximum duration shall be Five years. However, minimum duration may be
reduced by one year if the Ph.D. field can be considered as continuation of the M.Phil. / MS by
Research.

Part Time (Internal/External): For all the candidates belonging to Engineering and
Technology/Architecture, Science and Humanities /Management and Medical and Health
Sciences, the minimum duration shall be four years and the maximum duration shall be six
years. However, minimum duration may be reduced by one year if the Ph.D. field can be
considered as continuation of the M.Phil. / MS by Research.



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Ph.D Regulations 2014

Under extraordinary circumstances if the candidate fails to submit the thesis within the
maximum period, further extension of the period for a maximum of two years may be granted
by the Vice Chancellor, on the recommendations of the Doctoral Committee, Director of
concerned Faculty and Director(Research).

After the expiry of the maximum period including the extension granted, a candidate will be
permitted to Re-register as per the following regulations.

i. For those candidates who want to re-register under the same supervisor on the same area
of research, the earlier Doctoral Committee and the course works completed will hold
good.

ii. For those candidates who want to re-register with a different supervisor on a different
area of research will be subjected to the regulations applicable for the fresh candidates. If
the area of research is the same, the new Doctoral Committee will decide whether the
earlier course works completed can be considered for exemption or not.

12. COURSE WORK

a. For Engineering and Technology /Architecture

The research scholars with PG Degree should successfully complete a minimum of
four courses (minimum of 12 credits) prescribed by the Doctoral Committee out of
which two will be core courses at the PG level. The other two courses may be special
courses decided by the Doctoral Committee relating to the area of research and
approved by the concerned Board of Studies. One of these courses shall be on
Research Methodology. The course work shall be completed within a period of the
first two semesters.

b. For Science and Humanities

i. All candidates shall complete three courses (minimum of 9 credits) prescribed
by the Doctoral Committee and approved by the concerned Boards of Studies.

ii. The courses shall be (i) Research methodology for the subject. (ii) A
background subject related to his/her Ph.D. research (iii) An advanced subject
in the area of research.

iii. In the case of candidates with M.Phil. degree, the course work on Research
Methodology may be exempted.

c. For Medical and Health Sciences

All candidates shall complete three courses (minimum of 9 credits) prescribed by the
Doctoral Committee. These courses may be chosen from among those offered as
regular P.G. programmes in the University or may be special courses specially


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Ph.D Regulations 2014

designed for the candidates by the Doctoral Committee and approved by the
concerned Board of studies.

One of the courses shall be Research Methodology. In the case of candidates with full
time M.Phil. degree, the course work on Research Methodology may be exempted.

The directed course is done under the guidance of the Supervisor. For the internal
evaluation there should be the following two components.

i. 5 Seminars - 15 Marks
ii. 3 Tests - 15 Marks
----------------------
Total 30 Marks
----------------------
The syllabus for the directed course is assigned to the above components in such a
way that the entire syllabus is covered. The schedule for the course may be prepared
by the Supervisor who teaches the course in the format given below and may be
submitted to the Controller of Examination well in advance.
Course Code & Title :
Name of the Supervisor :
Department :

Sl.No. Component Syllabus Date
1 Seminar - 1 From unit 1
2 Seminar 2 From unit 2
3 Seminar 3 From unit 3
4 Seminar 4 From unit 4
5 Seminar 5 From unit 5
6 Test 1 Covering Units - 1 & 2
7 Test 2 Covering Units - 3 & 4
8 Test 3 Covering All the Units

Signature of the Head of the Department Signature of the Supervisor


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Ph.D Regulations 2014

13. COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION

(i) A research scholar shall take a comprehensive examination after the completion of two
semesters of his/her research programme but before the completion of four semesters.
The comprehensive examination is mandatory.

(ii) The comprehensive examination shall be in the form of written and/or oral as
recommended by the Doctoral Committee.

(iii)Comprehensive examination shall be conducted by a panel of examiners which consists
of the members of the Doctoral Committee along with one external examiner as
recommended by the Guide and forwarded through proper channel and approved by the
Vice Chancellor.

(iv) The Guide shall intimate the research scholar sufficiently in advance, the scope of the
examination and other relevant details.

(v) If the performance of the research scholar in the comprehensive examination is
satisfactory, his/her provisional registration shall be confirmed. If the performance is
unsatisfactory, he/she shall be given one more opportunity to appear for the examination
within six months of the first examination. In case, the research scholar fails to
successfully complete the comprehensive examination within the prescribed time limit,
his/her provisional registration shall be cancelled by the University.

14. SEMESTER REGISTRATION

All Research scholars whose registration for research degree is in force, are required to report
in-person to the guide each semester on the stipulated date till their submission of thesis, in
the prescribed registration form and the same shall be forwarded to the Director (Research)
through the Head of the department and the Director of the respective Faculty.

15. MONITORING THE PROGRESS OF CANDIDATES

i. Every six months commencing from the date of provisional registration, the candidate
shall submit progress report in the prescribed format to the Guide who shall forward it to
the faculty Director for information and documentation.

ii. The Doctoral committee must meet at least once in a year for each scholar until the
scholar submits the synopsis of his/her thesis and the report of the Doctoral Committee
shall be sent to the Director (Research) through the respective Heads of the departments
and the Directors of the concerned Faculty.







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Ph.D Regulations 2014

16. CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION

i. The registration of a research scholar whose progress is not satisfactory or who has not
reported in person to the guide for any one semester is liable to be cancelled by the
University.

ii. The registration of a research scholar who has not submitted his/her thesis by the end of
the prescribed /extended period as provided in the Regulations will be cancelled by the
University.

17. SUBMISSION OF SYNOPSIS

i. Upon satisfactory completion of the research and publication of at least one research
paper in a SCI journal, approved by the University, the research scholar is permitted to
submit the synopsis of the Ph.D. work to the Controller of Examinations with the
approval of the Doctoral Committee for consideration.

ii. Prior to submission of the synopsis, the student shall make a pre-Ph.D. presentation in the
Department that may be open to all faculty members and research students, for getting
feedback and comments, which may be suitably incorporated into the synopsis and thesis
under the advice of the supervisor.

iii. After the approval of the research work reported in the synopsis by the Doctoral
Committee, the Guide shall forward 6 hard copies of the synopsis of the proposed thesis,
with a soft copy on CD to the Controller of Examinations along with a panel of at least
six names (three from India, outside the State of the University campus and three from
abroad) as examiners for adjudication of the Ph.D. thesis and a panel of three Indian
examiners for the viva voce examination.

18. SUBMISSION OF THESIS

The research scholar shall, within six months of submission of the synopsis, prepare thesis in
accordance with the format and specification prescribed. The thesis shall report, in an
organized and scholarly fashion, highlighting the original contribution made in the research
work of the candidate. He/She shall submit 6 hard copies of the thesis along with a soft copy
on CD to the Controller of Examinations through proper channel under the intimation to the
Director(Research). Under no circumstances, the submission of thesis shall be delayed except
under special circumstances, where an extension of three months may be granted with the
recommendation of the Doctoral Committee by the Vice-Chancellor.

19. THESIS ADJUDICATION

i. The Thesis shall be referred to two examiners (one from India and one from abroad)
nominated by the Vice Chancellor from among the panel of examiners recommended by
the Guide. The Vice Chancellor, if he deems it necessary, may also nominate examiners
from outside the panel.


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Ph.D Regulations 2014

ii. The Controller of Examination shall take such steps as deemed necessary to enable the
reports of the examiners to be received as quickly as possible.

iii. In the case of undue delay in receiving the report from the examiner, the Controller of
examination shall refer the thesis to the second examiner selected by the Vice Chancellor,
after waiting for three months and ensuring that the first examiner is not going to respond
within a reasonable period of time.

iv. The examiner shall include in his report an overall assessment placing the thesis in one of
the following categories:

a) Recommended for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy: Commended /
highly commended.

b) Recommended that the candidate revises the thesis as suggested in the report and the
revised thesis be referred to the guide for verification.

c) Recommended that the candidate revises the thesis as suggested in the report and the
revised thesis be sent to the examiner for revaluation.

d) Not recommended.

The examiner shall enclose a report of 200 to 300 words, indicating the standard attained
in case(a), the nature of revision in case (b) or (c) and the reasons for rejection in case (d)

v. On receipt of the reports from the examiners, the following procedure shall be adopted:

a) If both the examiners recommend the award of the degree, the thesis shall be
provisionally accepted. Any minor revision, modification, etc., suggested by the
examiners shall be carried out before the oral examination.

b) If any examiner recommends revision of the thesis, the candidate shall be permitted to
revise and resubmit the thesis within 6 months. The revised thesis shall be referred to
the same examiner, if the examiner has insisted the University to send the thesis back
to him/her after revision for offering his/her final recommendation on the thesis. In
such a case the examiner should offer his/her comments for the second time either as
recommended for the award or rejection. In case, the examiner did not insist on
sending the thesis back to him, then the University may refer the revised thesis to the
Guide for verification.

c) If one examiner recommends the award of the degree while the other recommends
rejection, then the thesis shall be referred to a third examiner to be nominated by the
Vice Chancellor. If the third examiner recommends the award, the thesis shall be
provisionally accepted. Otherwise, the thesis shall be rejected and the registration of
the candidate cancelled.



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Ph.D Regulations 2014

d) If both examiners recommend rejection, the thesis shall be rejected and the
registration of the candidate be cancelled.

e) When the commendation of the examiner on the revised thesis is not as stipulated in
Clause 18 (v)(b) above or in the case of any dispute, the Vice Chancellor, if he deems
it necessary, shall refer the thesis and the comments to a committee constituted by the
Vice Chancellor for this purpose.

f) Individual cases not covered by the above regulations shall be referred to the Vice
Chancellor for his final decision.

20. ORAL EXAMINATION

i. After the thesis is recommended for the award of the degree by the examiners, oral
examination shall be conducted by an Oral examination board to be constituted by the
Vice Chancellor.

ii. The Oral examination board shall include:

a. The examiner of the thesis from India or if the Indian examiner of the thesis is not
available, a member from the panel of Indian examiners already recommended by the
Guide.

b. An examiner from the panel of oral examiners already approved.\

c. Guide of the candidate.

iii. The convener of the Doctoral committee will be the Convener of Oral examination board
and the oral examination shall be conducted as Open defence type examination.

iv. If the performance of the candidate in the Oral examination as reported by the Oral
examination board to be NOT SATISFACTORY, the candidate may opt to reappear for
the Oral examination at a later date (not later than six months from the date of the first
Oral Examination). On the second occasion, the Oral examination board shall include one
more examiner nominated by the Vice Chancellor.

v. If the performance of the candidate in the oral examination on the second occasion also is
reported to be NOT SATISFACTORY, the Vice Chancellor, if he deems it necessary,
shall refer the remarks of the Oral examination board, along with the thesis and
comments of the examiners, to a committee constituted by the Vice Chancellor for this
purpose and decide. The decision of the Vice Chancellor shall be final.

21. AWARD OF Ph.D. DEGREE
If the performance of the research scholar in the Oral examination is satisfactory, he/she will
be awarded Ph.D. degree on the recommendation of the Academic council and with the
approval of the Board of Management of the University.


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22. PUBLICATION OF THESIS

i. After the viva voce examination the candidate shall submit a copy of the thesis in CD
ROM duly certified by the guide that all the corrections have been duly carried out as
suggested by the examiners, if any, for UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES.

ii. Papers arising out of the thesis may be published by the candidate. However, the thesis as
whole shall not be published by the candidate without the specific approval of the
University.

23. THE ACT OF PLAGIARISM

In the case of research scholars who have copied, as confirmed by a committee, a research
work/dissertation/thesis of M.Phil. / Ph.D. degrees, his/her thesis shall be rejected and his/her
research registration shall be terminated and also he/she shall be debarred from registering
for any other programme in this University.

24. CHANGE OF REGULATIONS

The Academic Council of SRM University may revise, amend or change the regulations from
time to time.