PRIST UNIVERSITY

Under section of 3 of UGC Act 1956

Thanjavur-613 403 Tamil Nadu. India

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) Programme

Regulations
(Revised from August 2011)

1. Categories of Ph.D. Scholars

A. Full-Time Research Scholars

B. Part-Time Research Scholars

1.1 Full-Time Research Scholars

Research Scholars within this ambit are those who pursue their full-time doctoral research under
the guidance of Research Supervisors recognized by the PRIST University in the Departments and
Centre for Research and Development (CRD) of PRIST University and Central /State Government
funded Research Centres / National Institutions / Laboratories which have MoU with PRIST
University to facilitate collaborative programmes in research.

1.2 Part-Time Research Scholars

Research Scholars within this category are those who, irrespective of their employment status,
pursue their doctoral research under the guidance of Research Supervisors (recognized by the
PRIST University) on Part-Time basis in the Departments and Centre for Research and
Development (CRD) of PRIST University and Central /State Government Funded Research
Centres / National Institutions / their regional laboratories , reputed Organizations , UGC / AICTE
approved Educational Institutions , Government recognized Schools and Polytechnics in India ..

2. Eligibility of Enrollment for Ph.D.

2.1 Full-Time Research Scholars
The candidates holding Master’s Degree with not less than 55% of marks ( with out rounding off )
or a CGPA of 5.51 ( with out rounding off ) in the 10.00 point scale under CBCS, under the
Faculties of Arts, Science, Fine Arts, Humanities, Indian and other Languages, Education and
Engineering & Technology ( Tamil, English, Sanskrit, Vedic Studies, Mathematics, Commerce,
Management, Education, Educational Technology, Physical Education, Library Science, Pharmacy,
Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology, Computer Science, Bio-informatics, Biotechnology,
Biochemistry, Microbiology, Computer Science, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering,
Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering, Computer
Science and Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Information Technology etc.) are eligible to

1
 register for Ph.D. in this University under this category. For SC/ST candidates the minimum shall
be only 50% for admission to the Ph.D programme.

2.2 Part-Time Research Scholars

The candidates with educational qualification as in 2.1. and working in Educational Institutions ,
Organizations etc. anywhere in India as mentioned in 1.2. are eligible.
3. Admission Process
3.1 Constitution of University Research Committee (URC)
University Research Committee is constituted for an effective coordination of the research activities
of the departments including selection and admission of Research scholars, constitution of Doctoral
Committees and maintenance of the quality of research. The Committee shall scrutinize the
academic, professional and research potential of the candidates.

3.2. General Procedures for Admission and for Registration

3.2.1. General Process
Candidates desirous of admission into the Ph.D. research program under any category specified in
section 2 shall obtain the prescribed application form from the Director (Admissions) of the PRIST
University on payment of prescribed cost and submit the duly filled-in application form along with
experience / service certificate (in case of Part-time candidates) etc. to the Director ( CRD). The
Director (CRD) shall follow the selection process given in section 3.2.2. for the provisional
admission of the candidates and shall inform the selected candidates about their provisional
admission.
3.2.2. Selection Procedure

The selection of candidates for provisional admission shall be based on the following procedure:
The selection shall be based on Entrance test and personal Interview. The Entrance test shall
examine Research aptitude and grasp of the subject of the prospective candidates. At the time of
personal interview, Doctoral candidates are expected to discuss their research interest / area.
4. PhD Provisional Registration (Full / Part-time)
4.1 A candidate, certified as eligible for Ph.D. program by the University Research Committee, on
intimation shall join the University / Department / College / Organization etc., mentioned in 1.2, first
as Research scholar and he shall submit the provisional registration form to the Director (CRD)
through his / her Research Supervisor, HoD and Dean / Principal along with the prescribed fee in
the form of a Demand Draft drawn in favour of PRIST University.
4.2 A candidate applying for provisional registration shall do so, specifying the broad-field or an inter
disciplinary field in which he / she intends to pursue research, the subject of research being wholly
or partly related to the main branch of knowledge chosen for the post-graduate degree in which the
candidate has qualified.
4.3 The allocation of the Research Supervisor for a selected candidate shall be decided by the
University Research Committee, depending upon the vacancy based on the number of Research
Scholars per faculty member permitted by the University, the available specializations among the
faculty Supervisors and the chosen topic of research by the Scholar. In no case, the allocation of
Research Supervisor shall be left to the individual student.

2
4.4 Candidates who propose to carry out research work in interdisciplinary area shall be permitted to
have, on the recommendations of the Supervisor, Co-guide who will be an expert in the related
field.
4.5 A scholar provisionally registered for the Ph.D. degree should not register for any other degree of
any University either in formal or non-formal program. However, the Scholars can register for not
more than two certificate/diploma programs of one year duration through Distance Education mode
of any University.
4.6 The admission shall be through out the year and registration of the candidates of Ph.D. program
shall take effect from the date of joining the Department / Institution.
4.7 Provisional registration of all candidates and subsequent stages up to the submission of Ph.D.
degree thesis shall be the responsibility of the CRD of the PRIST University.
5. Duration of the Research Programme
The duration of research programme for the two categories, from the date of Provisional
Registration in 2 will be as follows.
5.1 Full-Time
The duration shall be a minimum period of three years from the date of provisional registration in
the case of holders of the Master’s Degree (M.A., M.Sc., M.Com., M.C.A., M.Ed., M.PEd., etc.,)
and two years in the case of holders of M.Phil, M.E., M.Tech, M.Sc. (Ag.), M.VSc, M.Pharm, M.D.,
M.S., M.D.S., etc.,
5.2 Part-Time
For Part-time candidates the minimum and maximum periods will be one year more than the
respective periods indicated for the full-time candidates.
5.3 Time Limit
The time limit for submission of Ph.D. thesis from the date of provisional registration is five years in
the case of full-time and six years in the case of part-time candidates. However, a maximum of
four six month extensions shall be given at the discretion of Research Committee on
recommendation of the Doctoral Committee, subject to approval by the Director (CRD).
6. Monitoring of Ph.D programme
6.1. Doctoral Committee
6.1.1 When the candidate is accepted for provisional registration, a Doctoral Committee shall be
constituted in each case. The Doctoral Committee shall consist of the Research Supervisor (as
Coordinator he/she would initiate steps for the formation of the Doctoral committee), Director (CRD)
or his nominee of and one faculty member from outside the Department/ (within the University or
outside the University) specializing in the related field. However, the maximum number of
members of the Committee shall be limited to three. The Committee shall be formed by the Director
(CRD) from a panel of names submitted by the Supervisor.
6.1.2 The Committee shall meet periodically, at least once in six months, to review the work of the
candidate, make suggestions for the future work and submit reports on the progress to the Director,
CRD.
6.1.3 The first meeting of the Doctoral Committee shall be within six-months after the provisional
registration and in this meeting the Committee shall prescribe the courses that the candidate needs
to take as requirement for the Part 1 examination.

3
6.1.4. The Research Scholar shall submit half-yearly and annual progress reports in the prescribed format
(Appendix-A) to the Director (CRD) through the Research Supervisor concerend until he/she
submits the synopsis of the thesis.

6.1.5 The Doctoral Committee shall arrange for a presentation session on a working day at the
respective Department in which the candidate shall make a public presentation of his synopsis
before its submission. The Doctoral Committee shall approve the research work for finalization in
the form of thesis.

6.1.6. The Doctoral Committee after examining the progress made by the candidate shall recommend for
the submission of the synopsis and the thesis within the due date stipulated by the University. The
Doctoral Committee shall endorse changes in the title of the thesis, if any.
7. Course of Study
The course of study for the Ph.D. program shall consist of three written papers under Part-1 and
thesis and public viva voce under Part-II.
7.1 Part-I
7.1.1 Every candidate provisionally registered for the Ph.D programme shall undergo course work in the
first year. The course work consists of the following:

No. of credits
Paper I Research Methodology (inclusive of Quantitative methods & 4
Computer applications)

Paper II An advanced paper in the subject concerned inclusive of 4

Review of Published literature and emerging trends in the relevant field

Paper III Background paper related to his/ her Ph.D work 4

7.1.2 Candidates who possess M.Phil. in the same discipline / field of research shall not be required to
undertake the course work. The candidates with M.Phil Degree not in the same discipline and the
professional degree holders who had under gone course work on Research Methodology are
exempted only from Paper I Research Methodology and shall undergo course work for paper II and
paper III.

7.1.3. The Research Guide concerned shall frame syllabi for all the aforesaid three papers, as applicable
and send the same to the Director, CRD for approval. The examinations for paper I & II will be
conducted by the Controller of Examinations and evaluated by the External Examiners fixed by the
Controller of the Examinations/ Director, CRD.
7.1.4. The examination for paper III shall be conducted by the respective Research Supervisor under the
supervision of the Head of the Department / Institute concerned or his nominee at the Institute as
decided by the Director .CRD / Controller of Examinations, PRIST University. The above paper
shall be set and evaluated by the Research Supervisor concerned.
7.1.5. The passing minimum for each paper shall be 50% marks. A candidate who fails in the written
examination may be permitted to reappear in the examination but on not more than two occasions.
All the candidates shall have to clear Part-I Examination within two years from the date of
registration.
7.1.16 During the reappearance the candidate shall be exempted from appearing for the papers in which
he /she secured 50% or more.

4
7.1.17 A candidate who fails in the third attempt shall not be permitted to continue and the provisional
registration shall be cancelled.

7.2. Part-II
7.2.1 The candidate shall be permitted to undertake part-II of the Ph.D. program, namely thesis and viva-
voce, only after receipt of the results of part I Ph.D examination. Every such candidate shall be
required to submit the synopsis and the thesis within the due date stipulated by the University.
7.2.2 It shall be open to the Research Supervisor to recommend a candidate to spend not more than one
year in an institution recognized for the purpose and / or on a project for any specific type of
investigation.
7.2.3 Part-time (Internal) candidates registered under Guides not working in the same institutions shall be
required to spend the last six months of their tenure directly under the Supervisor who will have a
close scrutiny of the final stages of research.
7.2.4 Candidates admitted to Ph.D. programme under Part-Time ( External ) are expected to be in constant
touch with the Research Supervisor.
7.2.5 Conversion of Ph.D. research from full-time to part-time and vice-versa shall be allowed only in
special circumstances and on payment of the prescribed status change fee.
7.2.6 The following formula shall be adopted for conversion of Ph.D. program from full-time to part-time
and vice-versa.
The residual period that the candidate has to complete, at the time of his / her submission for
conversion (from full-time to part-time or part-time to full-time as the case may be), for fulfilling the
requirement of the minimum duration of submitting the thesis under the existing category will be
taken note of, and the corresponding equivalent period shall be determined and intimated to the
candidate, without exceeding the maximum duration.
8. Cancellation of Registration
8.1 Registration may be cancelled on the recommendations of the Doctoral Committee based on the
lack of progress as reported by the Guide and also after giving due opportunity to the candidate for
defending his case.
8.2 Registration may be cancelled on the Candidate’s own request and duly endorsed by the Doctoral
Committee.
8.3 Registration of the candidate shall be automatically cancelled if he / she fails to submit Ph.D. thesis
within seven years from the date of provisional registration in the case of Full-Time candidates and
eight years from the date of provisional registration in the case of Part-Time candidates.
8.4 If the candidate desires to pursue the Ph.D. program after cancellation of registration, he / she may
do so after going through admission procedure as a fresh applicant.
9. Research Supervisors
9.1 Teachers / Research personnel holding a Ph.D. degree with at least two years of teaching / Post
Doctoral research with three publications in peer reviewed / refereed Journals and working at least
as a lecturer / Scientist in this University and other Universities / Educational Institutions of Higher
Learning / Research Laboratories / Industries etc., is eligible to be Research Supervisors. The three
publications shall be from the work carried out after the completion of the Ph.D. program. The
Research Committee shall examine the eligibility of the person for recognition as a Ph.D. Supervisor
and recommend for approval by the Director, CRD.

5
9.2 A Research Supervisor shall not have at any given point of time more than eight Ph.D. scholars
and this maximum number includes full - time and part - time Scholars. This number shall not
include the candidates registered under a co-guide.

The Research Supervisor shall carry the chief responsibility for monitoring the academic progress of
the candidates through out the period of the research program. He / She shall offer counseling to the
Research Scholar in academic matters and shall provide guidance on the nature of course work and
research, the standards expected, the adequacy of progress and the quality of work. The Research
Supervisor shall offer feedback on all matters pertaining to the completion of a successful dissertation
- content, cohesiveness and originality, research standards, structure, documentation, and writing
style. The Research Supervisor shall not allow the candidate to submit his / her dissertation for
approval unless it is completed to his or her satisfaction.
9.3. Change of Research Supervisor shall be permitted within two years of the provisional registration with
the approval of the Director, CRD on valid grounds.
9.4. To ensure the successful and timely completion of the program, it is essential that Supervisors and
their students maintain regular contact. Supervisors must give their students advance notice if they
plan to be absent from the University for an extended period of time of at least six months and make
suitable arrangements with the student and the Dean / HoD for the continued supervision of the
student. In case of the Supervisor leaving the University permanently or on deputation elsewhere or
otherwise for a period of more than one year, the candidate may be permitted to change the topic of
research, if necessary, with the change of the Guide. The duration of research shall be the same if
the topic of research remains the same. If there is a change in the topic, the minimum duration of
research shall be decided by the Doctoral Committee.
9.5. Further, a faculty member already recognized as a Research Supervisor in the field in which he/she
has obtained his/her doctoral degree, but working as a regular member of the faculty in a different but
related Department, can guide scholars for Ph.D. either in his/her field of Doctoral research or in the
area of his/her specialization in the department where he /she serves without having to separately
obtain recognition as a Research Supervisor for this purpose.
10. Submission of Synopsis
10.1 Not less than three months before the submission of the thesis, every Research Scholar shall submit
six hard copies and four soft copies of the synopsis of the thesis to the Director ( CRD ) along with
the duly filled in format for the submission of synopsis (Appendix B1) through the Research
Supervisor and HoD concerned. Remittance particulars of the prescribed fee for the synopsis
submission shall also be furnished.
10.2 The Research Scholar shall prepare the synopsis carefully in accordance with the Universitry guide
lines (Appendix B2) and in consultation with the Research Supervisor. The synopsis shall bring out
in abridged form, the objectivies and scope of research work, Methodology, results, conclusions
drawn, papers published etc.The Synopsis of the thesis shall not be less than six pages or shall not
exceed ten pages, typed on A4 size paper.
10.2 The candidate shall make a public presentation of his synopsis at a presentation session in the
respective Department before submission of the synopsis.

11. Submission of Thesis

11.1 The Ph.D. program culminates with the submission of a thesis of a substantial work of original
research carried out by the candidate under the guidance of the supervisor. It is expected to be
potentially publishable and stand peer review The Research Scholar shall prepare the thesis carefully
in accordance with the Universitry guide lines (Appendix C1) and in consultation with the Research

6
 Supervisor. The thesis is expected to undergo an extensive revision process before it is ready to be
submitted as a finished piece of work.

11.2 Prior to submission of the thesis, the student shall make a pre-Ph.D. thesis presentation in the
Department that may be open to all faculty members and research students, for getting feedback
and comments which may be considered for finalization of the thesis in consultation with the
Research Supervisor.

11.3 Ph.D. candidates shall publish atleast two research papers (showing affiliation to PRIST
University) in a referred National / International Journals before the submission of the thesis
for adjudication and produce evidence for the same in the form of acceptance letter or the reprint.
11.4 The candidate shall submit five copies of the thesis in a soft bound form and 4 soft copies in PDF
format to the Director, CRD along with the duly filled in format for the thesis submission (Appendix-
C2) Remittance particulars of the prescribed fee for the thesis submission shall also be furnished..
The thesis shall be sent for evaluation as mentioned in 12.1

11.5 Once the thesis gets approved the candidate shall incorporate all the corrections / suggestions, if any
recommended by the Examiner and resubmit two copies of the final version of the thesis in hard
bound form and two soft copies through Supervisor and HoD. The supervisor shall certify that the
corrections / suggestions (if any) were incorporated.
11.6 The thesis should be submitted to the University for evaluation not later than six months after the
submission of the synopsis, through the Supervisor, and through the HoD along with his / her
application for the Ph.D. degree.
11.7 If the candidate fails to submit the thesis within six months from the date of submission of synopsis
one extension of three months may be given with approval of the Vice-Chancellor, PRIST University
after which the process gets cancelled. Then, he / she shall submit the synopsis again based on the
recommendations of the Doctoral Committee. The Guide / Supervisor, with the approval of the
Doctoral Committee shall submit a fresh list of Examiners.
11.8 One copy of the thesis shall be placed in the Library of the College/Department/Institution concerned
and one copy will be sent to the PRIST University. One copy of the thesis shall be placed in the
internet server after the award of the Ph.D. degree.
11.9 Supplementary papers to the thesis, printed copies of any contributions to the knowledge of the
subject or of any cognate branch of science that may have been published in journals or periodicals
may also be included along with the thesis or given as bibliography.
11.9 The thesis shall ordinarily be submitted not later than five years from the date of registration in the
case of full-time candidates and six years in the case of part-time candidates. A maximum of four
extensions of six months each shall be given at the discretion of the Vice - Chancellor, PRIST
University on the recommendations of the Doctoral Committee after the expiry of which the
registration will stand automatically cancelled. Every candidate shall submit with his/her thesis a
certificate from the Supervisor under whom he/she worked, that the thesis submitted is a record of
original research work done by the candidate during the period of study under his / her supervision
and that the thesis has not previously formed the basis for the award to the candidate of any Degree,
Diploma, Associateship, Fellowship or other similar titles and that the thesis represents independent
work on the part of the candidate.

7
12. Adjudication of Thesis
12.1 The thesis shall be referred by the University for evaluation to a Board of examiners, consisting of 3
experts of whom one expert shall be from outside India and another expert from within India but
outside Tamil Nadu (subject to the Regulation 13.2.) and third one shall be the Research Supervisor.
12.2 The Research Supervisor shall submit a Panel of 9 External Examiners, of whom at least five from
abroad and the rest from India, but outside Tamil Nadu, to the Director, CRD. The Vice-Chancellor,
PRIST University will approve the two Examiners, of whom one is from abroad to adjudicate the
thesis. However, in respect of Indian Languages Vedic studies, Music etc., if the Research
Supervisor justifies that the subject matter of the thesis needs no reference to a Foreign Examiner, a
panel of Seven Examiners from India itself, but outside Tamil Nadu may be suggested, stating the
reasons for the same. However, in respect of Tamil Language, the Research Advisor shall
recommend, a panel of 7 examiners outside PRIST University Jurisdiction. The Research supervisor
shall also submit the Telephone numbers of Office and Residence and the e-mail ID of the Examiners
suggested.
12.3 The Research Supervisor shall provide a certificate that all the Examiners suggested are experts and
qualified to adjudicate the thesis.
12.4 If the acceptance is not received from the first panel within 45 days, the University shall call for an
additional panel of 6 names from the Research Supervisor.
12.5 Each Examiner appointed by the University to adjudicate the thesis shall be requested to send
his/her report within one month from the date of receipt of thesis to the Controller of Examinations.
12.6 The Board of Examiners who value the thesis shall report on the merit of the candidate for the Ph.D.
degree as follows;
i. The thesis is highly commended and be accepted for the award of Ph.D. degree
Or
ii. The thesis is commended and be accepted for the award of Ph.D degree
Or
iii. The thesis is commended and the degree may be awarded after carring out corrections/
modifications as suggested
Or
iv. The thesis needs to be resubmitted after revision for revaluation.
Or
v. The thesis be rejected

12.7 The Examiner shall also indicate specifically, in the evaluation report, whether the thesis complies
with the following requirements
a. The planning and conduct of the experiments are appropriate
b. The review of literature is up-to-date and references have been presented properly
c. The data are well presented and interpreted
d. The discussion is critical and the illustrations are appropriate and of good quality
e. The contributions and merit or value of the thesis from the fundamental and / the applied stand-
point
f. Whether the thesis is fit for publication in extenso / abridged form / or as Research papers in
standard or peer-reviewed journals

12.8 The report of the examiner shall include list of questions, if any, to be asked at the public viva-voce
Examination.

8
12.9 In case, all the three Examiners or two out of the three Examiners have not commended, the thesis
shall be rejected and the registration cancelled. In case, one of the three Examiners has not
commended, then the thesis shall be again referred to a fourth Examiner either Indian or Foreign as
the case may be. If the fourth Examiner commends the thesis, the candidate shall be allowed to
appear for the viva-voce examination. If the fourth Examiner does not commend the thesis, it shall
be rejected and registration cancelled.
12.10 If the Examiner / Examiners insist on any correction / revision to be made in the thesis, the same
shall be made by the candidate before the public viva-voce examination and certified by the
Research Supervisor. In case the candidate fails to submit the revised form of the thesis within one
year, the process of thesis evaluation gets cancelled. Then, the candidate shall submit the synopsis
again to start the process of thesis evaluation.
13. Public Viva-Voce examination (Oral Examination)
13.1 In cases where the thesis has been approved, and on receipt of communication from the University,
the Guide concerned shall coordinate the conduct of public viva-voce for the candidate.
13.2 One external Indian Examiner of the thesis, the Research Guide as Chairman of Viva-Voce
Examination Board and Co-Guide (if any) shall conduct the public viva-voce examination in the
presence of interested faculty members, and research students. The members of the Doctoral
committee concerned will be invitees to the Viva-Voce Examination. In case where the Indian
Examiner of the thesis is not available, the University may appoint an alternative eminent person,
preferably from the panel previously submitted, for conducting the viva-voce.
13.3 The Supervisor shall fix the date and time of the viva-voce examination in consultation with the
External Examiner appointed by the University for conducting the viva-voce examination. The Guide
/ Supervisor shall give wide publicity and at least 10 working days notice for scheduling of the
examination. The maximum time limit for conducting viva-voce shall be three months from the date
of consolidation of reports. If the candidate fails to take viva-voce within three months on valid
grounds, the University can permit two three-month extensions on specific request from the
Supervisor. If the candidate fails to take the viva-voce examination even after the extension, the
Ph.D. registration gets cancelled.
13.4 The viva-voce examination may be held on any working day of the University.
13.5 The viva-voce shall primarily be designed to test the understanding of the Research scholar on the
subject matter of the thesis and the competence in the general field of study. The Research scholar
shall make a 45 minutes power point presentation before the audience and answer the questions
raised by the Examiners and the participants to the satisfaction of the Examiners.
13.6. If the candidate passes the viva -voce examination, board shall consolidate the recommendations for
the award of the Degree based on the following:
i. The reports of the examiners who adjudicated the thesis and
ii. The evaluation of the candidate’s performance in the viva - voce examination.
The board shall then forward its consolidated recommendations with the classification “Highly
commended/ Commended” to the Controller of Examinations, along with such other documents as
may be required by the University for its consideration. For placing the thesis under the “Highly
Commended” category, it should have been so recommended by all the examiners. The consolidated
recommendation shall be placed before the Vice-Chancellor/ Board of Management for approval and
the degree for the approved candidates shall be awarded in convocation either in person or in
absentia.

9
13.7 A candidate, who is not successful at the public viva-voce examination, may be permitted to
undergo the viva-voce examination a second time, within a period of three months. In the event of
he / she failing again, his / her candidature for the degree will be rejected.
14. Award of Degree
14.1 The University shall consider the reports and decide whether the candidate is worthy of the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy and shall take action in accordance with such decision.

14.2 Candidates, who qualify for the Ph.D. Degree, shall be awarded the Degree in the respective
discipline as that of their Master’s Degree / M.Phil. Degree

14.3 A candidate, who registers for Ph.D. program in this University in an interdisciplinary area, shall be
awarded Ph.D. degree in the same discipline as his / her PG degree / M.Phil. Degree with explicit
indication to the effect that it is an inter-disciplinary research. For example: a candidate with
Master’s Degree in Zoology having pursued Ph.D. program in Genetics, shall be awarded the
degree as Ph.D. in Zoology (Genetics).

14.4 The University shall issue a Provisional Certificate to the effect that the Degree has been awarded in
accordance with the provisions to the Regulations of the UGC.

15. Publication of Thesis

The thesis is a public domain document and the research embodied in the thesis may be published
either in part or in full in reputed journal or in the form of book.
16. Depository with UGC
Following the announcement of the award of Ph.D. the University shall submit a soft copy of the
Ph.D. Thesis to the UGC within a period of 30 days, for hosting the same in Information Library Net
work (INFLIBNET).

10