Ph.D Programmes

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Research Entrance Test (RET) for admission to Ph.D. program in Banasthali Vidyapith

 

RESEARCH PROGRAMME (Ph.D.)

Subjects in which Research facility is available

1.    Computer Science

2.    Pharmacy

3.    Chemistry

4.    Chemical Engineering

5.    Bio-science and  Biotechnology

6.    Electronics

7.  Mathematical Science

8.  Physics

9.  Sanskrit, Philosophy and Vedic Studies

10.  Hindi and Modern Indian Languages

11.  English and Modern European Languages

12.  Economics

13.  History and Indian Culture

14.  Political Science and Public Administration

15.  Sociology

16.  Physical Education

17.  Performing Arts

18.  Visual Art

19.  Home-science

20.  Education

21.  Commerce and Banking

22.  Management

23.  Design

24.  Legal Studies

25.  Psychology

26.  Journalism and Mass Communication

27.  Earth Sciences

28.  Aviation

29.  Automation

 

Bye-Laws related to Research Programme for the award of Ph.D Degree

14(HE)

C.1. (1)

A Ph.D. Aspirant who has obtained a 1-year/2-semester master's degree programme after a 4-year/8-semester bachelor's degree programme or a 2-year/4-semester 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 in the subject or related /allied area with at least 55% aggregate marks (or an equivalent CGPA) (50% in case of SC/ST/ Differently-Abled/ EWS category) or has qualified the National Eligibility Test (NET) conducted by the University Grants commission may apply for Admission to the Ph.D. programme at any time during the academic year for pursuing his/her research work under the guidance of a supervisor approved by the Vidyapith. A candidate who has a minimum 5 years of work experience (Teaching/ Industrial/ Research) may be given relaxation of 5% in the marks by the Vice-Chancellor/Pro Vice-Chancellor for registration to the Ph.D. programme.

 

Provided that a candidate seeking admission after a 4-year/8-semester bachelor's degree programme should have a minimum of 75% marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade on a point scale wherever the grading system is followed (70% for SC/ST/OBC (non-creamy layer)/Differently-Abled, EWS categories)

 

Every candidate has to appear in the Research Entrance Test (RET) except for the Department of Performing Arts, Visual Art, Design and Architecture. Qualifying RET is a mandatory requirement for enrollment and until that stage the admission shall be treated as provisional.

 

Note: A Ph.D. Aspirant who has qualified NET, SLET, GATE, GPAT or M.Phil with 55% (admitted to M.Phil.  programme through entrance examination) may be exempted from the research entrance test.

Procedure for Admission

 

Every candidate has to appear in the Research Entrance Test (RET) except for the Department of Performing Arts, Visual Art, Design and Architecture. A Ph.D. Aspirant who has qualified NET, SLET, GATE, GPAT or M.Phil with 55% (admitted to M.Phil.  programme through entrance examination) may be exempted from the research entrance test .

 

i.       Eligible students to be called for an interview based on the number of Ph.D. seats available.

 

ii.      The admission shall be based on combined merit of 70% marks in the entrance test and 30% of interview.

 

The same procedure will be applicable for international candidates.

C.1. (2)

The following persons may be considered eligible to act as research supervisors of the Vidyapith:

 

(a)    Any Professor or Associate Professor of the Vidyapith with at least five research publications in peer-reviewed or refereed journals

 

(b)    Any Assistant Professor with a Ph.D. degree and at least three research publications in peer-reviewed or refereed journals may also be recognized as Research Supervisor subject to approval by Research Board.

 

(c)     External members of the Executive Council/Academic Council/Research Board.

 

(d)    Any other person with Ph.D. degree deemed fit by the research board to supervise Ph.D. work of student.

 

(e)    Eminent academicians with at least fifteen years' teaching experience (not below degree classes) and independent research publications equivalent to Ph.D. work may also be recognized as Research Supervisor subject to approval by Research Board.

C.1. (3)

A candidate may work under joint/co-supervision of two (approved) research supervisors. The supervisors are not necessarily required to belong to the same faculty/subject. An adjunct faculty can also  act as co-supervisor.

C.1. (4)

No persons will be allowed to guide his/her close relations. The term ‘close relation' includes wife, husband, son, daughter, grand-son, grand-daughter, brother, sister, nephew, niece, grand-niece, grand-nephew, uncle, aunt, son in law, daughter in law.

C.1. (5)

 

 

 

A candidate shall be treated as duly enrolled for the Ph.D. programme only after it is verified that he/she meets the eligibility criteria, has qualified RET, and has submitted migration certificate of the University from which he/she completed his/her Master's degree or a professional degree declared equivalent to masters degree. Candidates who have already been enrolled once in the Vidyapith shall be issued the same enrollment number automatically on the submission of the migration certificate.

C.1. (6)

 

The RAC shall be constituted by HOD/Dean in consultation with the supervisor within a period of one month from the date of admission. The RAC would comprise of HOD/Dean, supervisor and two more experts, one each nominated by HOD/Dean and the Supervisor. The RAC shall be chaired by the Supervisor. HOD/Dean Supervisor may also recommend to the Vice-Chancellor/Pro Vice-Chancellor for the appointment of external expert (s) in case desired expertise is not available within the University.

C.1. (7)

After admission a research scholar will be required to prepare a Research Proposal ordinarily not exceeding 20 A4 size pages (with 12 font size and 1.5 line spacing). Research Proposal of the proposed research work should generally be submitted not earlier than 6 months of admission and in any case not later than 12 months. Generally, the Research Proposal should include national and international status related to the proposed work, clear objectives of the research work, methodology and plan of the work along with expected research output and other deliverables, if any. The Research Proposal should also include a list of relevant references. The candidate may also be required to give a presentation of his/her Research Proposal before RAC members, which shall be open to all. Based on evaluation of Research Proposal by RAC and its presentation, RAC will submit its recommendations to the Vice-Chancellor/Pro Vice-Chancellor. The academic office shall check the Research Proposal for plagiarism and language.

 

The RAC may also recommend course work required to be undertaken by the Ph.D. candidate. The Ph.D. Course work shall be a minimum twelve credits. All Ph.D. scholars, irrespective of discipline, shall be required to train in teaching /education /pedagogy/writing related to their chosen Ph.D. subject during their doctoral period. Ph.D. scholars may also be assigned 4-6 hours per week of teaching/research assistantship for conducting tutorial or laboratory work and evaluations. A Ph.D. scholar has to obtain a minimum of 55% of marks or its equivalent grade in the UGC 7-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.

C.1. (8)

The Research Proposal submitted by the candidate, after favorable recommendations of the RAC, shall be referred to three external experts nominated by the Vice-Chancellor.  The panel of examiners submitted by the supervisor will have eight names giving details regarding designation, postal address, telephone numbers and field of specializations. Examiners should be out of district/state/country related to the research area of concerning synopsis. The Vice-Chancellor shall appoint examiners out of this panel. However, the Vice-Chancellor may also appoint examiners from outside the panel suggested by the supervisor.

 

The examiners shall send their reports on the Research Proposal normally within two months. If two examiners recommend that the Research Proposal is suitable for PhD work, the Research Proposal shall be approved. In the event, one expert rejects the Research Proposal, the Vice-Chancellor may appoint a third expert for the evaluation of the Research Proposal. In case, the third examiner also rejects the Research Proposal or both the examiners initially appointed reject, then the Research Proposal will have to be resubmitted through the RAC within a maximum period of six months.

 

Note: Synopsis can be submit within six month from the date of meeting of Research Advisory Committee.

C.1. (9)

Recommendations of RAC as well as the opinion of the external experts on the Research Proposal shall be placed before the Vice-Chancellor. The Vice-Chancellor, after satisfying herself/ himself that the subject is suitable for research to be pursued and that the candidate possesses the requisite qualifications, will pass necessary orders for the registration of the candidate as Ph.D. scholar. The orders of the Vice-Chancellor will be reported to the Research Board.

C.1. (10)

A candidate may initiate his/her research work after admission, however, his/her registration shall be processed only after his/her research proposal has been duly approved and the Vice-Chancellor has passed the order for his/her registration. The date of commencement of research work of an admitted student shall be the date of submission of his/her application.

C.1. (11)

Each semester, every research scholar shall present progress of their work and submit a brief report through his/her research supervisor. Concerning HOD will submit the progress reports in Academic office received by all Research Supervisors.

C.1. (12)  

Educational fee and all other fees, as may be prescribed from time to time shall be paid in the beginning of the academic session in the month of July and at stipulated time, respectively. In case one fails to deposit the dues within 6 months of the due date, his/ her admission is liable to be cancelled. The fee will be charged from the date of admission, and it shall be paid till the candidate submits his/her thesis to the Vidyapith. The candidate will be required to clear all due by the time of Research Proposal and thesis submission, failing which Research Proposal/thesis will not be processed further until all dues are cleared by the candidate

C.1. (13)

A candidate ordinarily shall not be permitted to change his/her research topic, however in rare cases, the Vice-Chancellor may on the recommendation of the RAC permit the change in the research topic.

C.1 (14)

(a)  Ph.D. programme shall be for a minimum duration of three years, including course work and a maximum of six years.

 

(b)  If a candidate is unable to submit his/her thesis at the end of six years, he or she needs to apply for re-registration for a maximum duration of two years. Registration of the candidate shall be automatically cancelled if he/she has neither submitted the thesis nor has applied for re-registration.

 

(c)   The women candidates and Persons with Disability (more than 40% disability) may be allowed a relaxation of two years in the maximum duration. In addition, the women candidates may be provided Maternity Leave/Child Care Leave once in the entire duration of Ph.D. for up to 240 days, subject to approval of the Vice-Chancellor.

 

However, the total period for completion of a Ph.D. in such cases should not exceed ten (10) years from the date of admission in the Ph.D. programme.

C.1. (15)

If a candidate fails to submit her/ his thesis after availing the maximum possible extension in the time, he/she may be allowed for fresh registration on the same topic on the recommendation of the Supervisor and approval by the Vice Chancellor on the payment of applicable fee, provided an application for fresh registration is made within six months from the date of completion of the extension period, failing which the registration will finally stand cancelled.

C.1. (16)

A candidate registered for the PhD degree shall be allowed to take up any other examination with the permission of the Vice-Chancellor.

C.1. (17)

A Ph.D. thesis for submission shall be duly processed and recommended by the RAC. A candidate will be expected is required to publish at least two research papers in Scopus/SCI/Web of Science/ refereed journal and make two paper presentations in conferences/seminars/performance/exhibition out of his/her Ph.D. work with the Affiliation of Banasthali Vidyapith before the submission of the thesis. Along with the RAC report, evidence for the publications and or presentations in the form of presentation certificates and/or reprints be suitably provided.

 

C.1. (18)

A candidate may incorporate in his/her thesis contents of any of his/her own published papers based on work done by him/herself during the course of PhD, provided that they have not been already used for obtaining a degree of the Vidyapith or of any other University and he/she shall state this in unambiguous terms in the relevant parts of the thesis.

C.1. (19)

A candidate will ordinarily submit his/her thesis within six months of the date of meeting of Research Advisory Committee.

C.1. (20)

 

‘No dues' certificate duly signed by the Head of the Department concerned, Librarian of the Vidyapith, Accounts Section and the Hostel Warden concerned, shall be submitted along with the thesis. The academic office shall check the thesis for plagiarism and language.

C.1. (21)

The candidate shall supply soft copy of thesis and six printed or type-written copies of the thesis printed preferably both sided in case of one supervisor and seven copies in case of two supervisors, together with the prescribed supplication fee. The language used in the thesis shall be English or Hindi unless otherwise specifically permitted by the RAC otherwise. The thesis shall comply with the following conditions:                     

 

     (i)       It must be a piece of research work characterized either by the discovery of new facts or by a fresh approach towards interpretation of facts or theories. In either case, it should prove the candidate's capacity for the critical examination, sound judgment and clarity of expression. The candidate shall indicate how far the thesis embodies the result of his/her investigations and in what respect it appears to advance the study of the subject.

 

    (ii)       A critical edition or translation of work, approved specially for the purpose by the Research Board at the time of registration, when accompanied by an adequate introduction and commentary of the scholarly nature, may also be considered for the award of a Ph.D. degree provided that the other requirements are fulfilled.

 

  (iii)       A certificate shall be furnished by the supervisor indicating how far the reported research work is the original work of the candidate.

C.1. (22) 

 

The thesis shall be referred for the evaluation to the supervisor (s) and three external examiners. The panel of examiners submitted by the supervisor will have eight names including five professors and three associate professor giving details regarding designation, postal address, telephone numbers and field of specializations. Examiners should be out of district/state/country related to the research area of concerning thesis. The Vice-Chancellor shall appoint examiners out of this panel. However, the Vice-Chancellor may also appoint examiners from outside the panel suggested by the supervisor.

C.1. (23)

(a)    The examiners including supervisor (s) shall send their reports on the thesis normally within three months. If all the examiners recommend that the thesis is suitable for the award of PhD degree, a viva-voce examination (to be conducted by two examiners including the supervisor) shall be conducted. If due to any reason the supervisor is not available the Vice-Chancellor may appoint his nominee to conduct the viva-voce examination.

 

(b)    If the appointed external examiner is not available for the viva-voce, another person may be appointed by the Vice-Chancellor.

 

(c)    The examiners shall send their reports independently to the Vice-Chancellor by name marked ‘Confidential'.

 

(d)    If in the first instance, all the examiners evaluating the thesis as well as those conducting the viva-voce examination recommend for the award of the degree to the candidate, the degree shall be awarded. If the candidate fails to satisfy the viva-voce examiners or if there be a difference between the viva-voce examiners, the candidate may be allowed, on the payment of prescribed fee, to appear at a second viva-voce examination to be held not later than one year from the date of first viva-voce. If at the second viva-voce the candidate fails to satisfy the examiners, his/her thesis shall be finally rejected.

 

(e)    If the majority of the referees recommend rejection of the thesis, the thesis shall be rejected.

 

(f)     In case of divergence of opinion among the three referees, the report of each referee will be sent to another two, with a view to obtain agreement among them. If even after exchange of reports, the case is not decidable, the following procedure shall be followed:

 

 

If two examiners have accepted the thesis while the third has asked for its revision, the Vice-Chancellor, on the recommendation of the supervisor, shall either allow the candidate to revise the thesis or appoint a fourth examiner. If a fourth examiner is appointed, his opinion shall be final. If one of the three examiners has accepted the thesis, another has rejected it, while the third has asked for its revision, the thesis shall be rejected. When the thesis is rejected under such circumstances, the candidate can get himself/herself registered afresh on the same subject.

C.1 (24)

If a candidate is permitted to improve and resubmit his/her thesis, he/she shall be required to submit it not later than twelve months from the date of such permission.

 

The thesis so resubmitted shall be sent to the same panel of examiners, who evaluated the original one, for adjudicate. The Vice-Chancellor shall, in contingency, appoint another external examiner or examiners, as the case may be, from the original panel suggested by the supervisor. The revised thesis shall be accepted if at least three examiners recommend acceptance.

C.1.(25)

(a)    The reports of the supervisor (s) and the external examiners (including those of the viva-voce test) shall be placed before the Vice-Chancellor for approval. After approval of the Vice-Chancellor, the degree will be conferred to the candidate at the next convocation of the Vidyapith.

(b)    The Vidyapith shall submit an electronic copy of the Ph. D. thesis to the relevant public domain weblink before the announcement of the award of the Ph.D. degree.

(c)    The Vidyapith shall issue a provisional certificate on the submission of the application and prescribed fee by the candidate and a certificate to the effect that the Degree has been awarded in accordance with the provisions of the UGC Regulations, 2016.

(d)   The date of award of PhD degree shall be the date of Viva-voce examination. Every month Academic Office shall issue a notification.

C.1.(26)

Notwithstanding anything contained in the above Bye-laws, if any work relating to the edited texts or calendars of unpublished manuscripts, records or documents, duly accompanied by an adequate introduction and critical appreciation of an outstanding nature, is submitted to the Vidyapith by the aspirant and the experts to whom it is referred for the opinion find it suitable for the purpose, the same may be considered on its own merits for the award of the PhD degree of the Vidyapith.

C.1.(27)

In case of relocation of Ph.D. woman scholar due to marriage or otherwise, the research data shall be allowed to be transferred to/from the Vidyapith provided all the other conditions laid down in Vidyapith by-laws are followed and the research work does not pertain to the project secured by the parent institution/ supervisor from any funding agency. The scholar will however give due credit to the parent supervisor and the institution for the part of research already done.