CHAPTER XXV (D)

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (Ph.D.)

(Effective from the Session 2018-19)
1. Introduction

Aligarh Muslim University offers the following full time Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) programme
in various disciplines in the Faculties of the University as specified in the Regulations and notified
from time to time.

a) Integrated programme of Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) leading to Ph.D.

b) Direct Ph.D. programme

Provided that the University also offers part time Ph.D. programme in various disciplines of the
Faculties of the University.

2. Eligibility

2.1 A candidate will be eligible to apply for admission to Ph.D. programme, if s/he has obtained
Master’s Degree or its equivalent, recognized by the University in a subject relevant to
her/his proposed field of research with not less than an aggregate of 55% marks or its
equivalent grade ‘B’ in the UGC 7 point scale (or an equivalent overall average grade point
wherever grading system is followed), and had also obtained the Bachelor’s Degree or its
equivalent recognized by the University with not less than an aggregate of 50% marks or its
equivalent grade ‘B’ in the UGC 7 point scale (or an equivalent overall average grade in a
point scale wherever grading system is followed), subject to any further requirements for
eligibility that may be laid down by the University from time to time.

Provided that the relevant subject(s) for each disciplines shall be as approved by the
Academic Council from time to time on the recommendation of the concerned Board of
Studies (hereinafter referred to as BoS).

Provided that a candidate, working in an externally funded research project in the University,
who is otherwise eligible, will be eligible to apply for admission to Ph.D. programme while
continuing to work in the project subject to justification by the Principal Investigator of the
project that the subject of the project and the proposed Ph.D. topic of the candidate are in
consonance.

Provided that a candidate will be eligible to apply for admission to part-time Ph.D.
programme if s/he fulfils the eligibility criteria and has been in continuous service in a
Government/public sector undertaking/R&D for at least two years and is sanctioned study
leave for one year, subject to any further requirements for eligibility that may be laid down by
the Academic Council from time to time.

Provided that an Assistant Professor (Contractual) and Guest Teacher of this University will
be eligible to apply for admission to part-time Ph.D. programme if s/he fulfils the eligibility
criteria and further requirements for eligibility that may be laid down by the Academic
Council from time to time.

Provided that a permanent School teacher or Nursing Tutor of this University with five years
of regular service will be eligible to apply for admission to part-time Ph.D. programme if s/he
fulfils the eligibility criteria and further requirements for eligibility that may be laid down by
the Academic Council from time to time.
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2.2 A relaxation of 5% of marks, from 55% to 50%, or an equivalent relaxation of grade, may be
allowed for Differently Abled candidates or for those who obtained their Master’s degree
prior to 19th September, 1991. The eligibility marks of 55% (or an equivalent grade in a point
scale wherever grading system is followed) and the relaxation of 5% to the categories
mentioned above are permissible only on the qualifying marks without including the grace
mark procedures.

3. Admission

Admission to the Ph. D. programme shall be made annually as per the admission policy
approved by the Academic Council of the University from time to time.

3.1 Criteria for Admission

(i) Selection of candidates in Ph.D. programme will be made through an admission test
comprising (a) a written test and (b) a presentation-cum-interview (for those who
qualify the written test and are short-listed for presentation-cum-interview); subject to
exemptions given under para 3.1(ii)) & 3.1(iii).

(ii) Candidates who qualify NET/JRF or GATE (only for Science stream) through the test
organized by UGC/CSIR/DBT/ICMR/ICAR/IITs or any other test conducted within
the last three years by a recognized national funding agency will be deemed to have
obtained the required minimum 50% marks without appearing in the written test.
However, such candidates will have t h e option of appearing in the written test to
improve, in which case the higher of the marks obtained in written test or minimum
50% marks without appearing in the written test will be counted.

(iii) Foreign nationals are exempted from appearing in the written test. However, they shall
be required to appear in the presentation-cum-interview in person or through video
conferencing.

Provided, such candidates, if selected for Ph.D. programme (other than in the
Departments of Arabic, Hindi, Modern Indian Languages, Persian, Sanskrit, Urdu, and
Theology), shall have to additionally pass an English Language Proficiency Course of
one semester duration, designed and conducted under the aegis of the Department of
English.

3.2 Provisional Admission

(i) The BoS shall recommend a Supervisor (and, if necessary, not more than two Co-
supervisors, subject to justification) and an area of research for each candidate selected
to the Ph.D. programme.

(ii) Provisional admission shall be offered to the selected candidates in accordance with the
number of vacancies already notified by the Department/Centre/Unit under different
specializations after the approval by the Committee of Advanced Studies & Research
(hereinafter referred to as CASR) on the recommendation of the BoS of the department
concerned.

(iii) A candidate admitted to integrated Ph.D. programme shall first be required to

successfully complete the M.Phil. Degree within the stipulated time to be eligible to
proceed to do research work leading to the Ph. D. Degree.

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 Provided that such a candidate shall have the option to exit the programme on award of
her/his M.Phil. degree and not pursue Ph.D.

(iv) A candidate admitted to integrated Ph.D. programme pursuing M.Phil. shall be allowed
to pursue Ph.D. only if s/he:
a) Gives her/his option to join Ph.D. at least six months before the date of
submission of her/his M.Phil. dissertation.
b) Secures an aggregate of 55 percent marks in each of the prescribed papers, the
dissertation, and the viva-voce of M.Phil. programme.

3.3 Research Advisory Committee

(i) There shall be a Research Advisory Committee (hereinafter referred to as RAC) for each
research scholar comprising:

a) Supervisor (Convener)
b) Chairman of the Department or her/his nominee.
c) Subject expert in related/allied area from within the Department or any other
Department of Studies in the University to be nominated by the BoS.

(ii) The RAC shall review the research proposal and finalize the topic of research within
six months from the date of provisional admission and place it before the BoS to be
recommended to the CASR.

(iii) The CASR concerned shall satisfy itself, among other things, of the suitability of the
proposed topic of research. The CASR, if need be, may refer back the topic to the BoS
together with its comments for reconsideration. If the CASR is satisfied, it shall subject
to confirmation by the Faculty and the Academic Council, approve the topic and
Supervisor (and Co-Supervisor(s), if any) of the scholar.

(iv) The RAC shall also

a) Finalize the courses that the candidate shall have to study
b) Prepare a year wise research plan.
c) Periodically assess the progress of the research work.

(v) Research scholar shall appear before the RAC once in six months to make a presentation
of the progress of her/his work for evaluation and guidance.

(vi) A six monthly progress report shall be submitted by the RAC to BoS with a copy to the
Supervisor and Co-supervisor(s), if any, and the research scholar.

(vii) In case the progress of the research scholar is unsatisfactory the RAC shall record the
reasons for the same and suggest corrective measures. If the research scholar fails to
implement these corrective measures the RAC may recommend to the BoS of the
Department cancellation of the admission of the research scholar.

4. Course-work:

(i) A candidate provisionally admitted to the Ph.D. programme shall study a minimum of
two courses approved by the BoS, which shall be treated as a prerequisite for Ph.D.
programme:
a) A course of four credits on Research Methodology which shall cover areas such
as quantitative methods, computer applications, research ethics and review of
published research in the relevant field, training, field work, etc.
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 b) One course designed by the Supervisor and finalized by the RAC.
c) Other courses, (if required), on the recommendation of the Supervisor and
finalized by the RAC.

(ii) The Examiners for the papers of the prescribed courses shall be appointed by the CASR
of the Faculty concerned.

(iii) The credit assigned to the Ph.D. course-work shall be a minimum of 08 credits and a
maximum of 16 credits based on the recommendation of the RAC.
(iv) All courses prescribed for Ph.D. course-work shall be in conformity with the credit
hour instructional requirement and shall specify content, instructional and assessment
methods.
(v) A candidate admitted to the Ph.D. programme shall be required to complete the
course-work prescribed by the Department within one year from the date of admission,
failing which her/his name shall be removed from the rolls of the university and s/he will
not be entitled for re-admission in the programme.
However, under special circumstances or under temporary withdrawal by the candidate,
the Vice-Chancellor may extend the one-year period to complete the course-work.
(vi) A candidate admitted to the Ph.D. programme has to obtain a minimum of 55 percent
marks in the course-work in order to be eligible to continue in the programme.
(vii) The candidate shall be issued a mark sheet of the course-work examinations.
(viii) A candidate admitted to the integrated Ph.D. programme who has completed the
requirements of M.Phil. programme and found eligible to proceed to do research work
leading to the Ph. D. Degree shall be exempted from the course-work.
(ix) A candidate admitted to the Ph.D. programme who has earlier been awarded M.Phil. of
this University shall be exempted from the course-work if the BoS is of the opinion that
the course-work undertaken by her/him at M.Phil. level suffices the requirements of
course-work at Ph.D. level.

5. Residency Requirements

(i) A research scholar who has been provisionally admitted to the Ph.D. programme shall
be required to be in residence at Aligarh with regular attendance and pursue research
as a full time course for a minimum period of three years after admission.

(ii) Research scholar entitled to House Rent Allowance shall not be allowed Hostel
Accommodation.
(iii) Research scholar allocated hostel accommodation shall have to vacate the same not later
than three years from the date of her/his admission.
(iv) A research scholar, on recommendations of the BoS concerned, may be permitted by the
CASR to reside outside Aligarh for the purpose of collecting material for his/her thesis
for durations it deems fit, which shall count as residence at Aligarh in terms of
requirements laid down in Clause 5(i).

6. Attendance and Leave

A research scholar shall put in regular attendance and shall be entitled for leave in accordance
with the Regulations.

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7. Change of Supervisor

If the existing supervisor of a research scholar is not available, including being on leave for a
period of more than twelve months, the CASR shall, on the recommendation of BoS, appoint a
new supervisor.

In case a need arises, the BoS, citing specific reasons, may recommend a change of Supervisor
to the CASR.

8. Change of Topic

The CASR, on the recommendation of the BoS of the Department concerned, may approve a
change in the topic of the Ph.D. thesis of the research scholar and s/he shall be permitted to
submit her/his Ph.D. thesis with the new topic after at least three months from the date of
approval of the change by the CASR. However, the registration of the research scholar will
continue to be counted from the date of her/his admission.

9. Supplication by the Teachers of the University

A permanent teacher of the University, including its off-campus Centres, who holds a Masters
degree in the relevant subject or has been working or appointed in a relevant subject, the
relevance to be decided by the BoS at the time of considering the application for supplication,
may apply to the CASR through the BoS, for permission to submit a thesis for the award of the
Ph.D. degree on a specific topic, and the CASR may accord such permission after considering
the opinion of the BoS. A teacher so permitted to submit the thesis may or may not be assigned
any supervisor, depending upon the recommendation of the BoS and shall be eligible to submit
her/his thesis not before one year after approval of her/his application by the CASR, subject to
the conditions in Clause 11(i) and 11(iii).

10. Duration of the Programme

(i) Ph.D. programme shall be for a minimum duration of three years from the date of
admission, including course-work and a maximum of five years extendable by a maximum
of one year by the BoS on the recommendation of RAC.

(ii) Part-time Ph.D. programme shall be for a minimum duration of three and a half years from
the date of admission, including course-work and a maximum of seven years extendable by a
maximum of one year by the BoS on the recommendation of RAC.

(iii) Women scholars and Persons with Disability (more than 40%) may be allowed a
relaxation of two years to pursue Ph.D. programme. The women scholars may be
provided Maternity Leave/Child Care Leave in the entire duration of Ph.D. for up to 240
days.

(iv) M.Phil. programme shall be for a minimum duration of one year from the date of
admission, including course-work, and a maximum of two years extendable by a
maximum of one year by the BoS on the recommendation of RAC.

11. Submission of Ph.D. Thesis/M.Phil. Dissertation

(i) Pre-submission Seminar: On the completion of the research work and following the
approval by the RAC, the Ph.D. scholar shall be required to make an open presentation
of her/his work before the RAC, teachers and research scholars of the Department
concerned with a view to obtain suggestions for possible improvements in the proposed
contents of the thesis in a manner as provided in the Regulations.
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 (ii) A Ph.D. scholar is required to submit the thesis within six months (but not earlier than
one month) from the date of her/his pre-submission seminar, failing which s/he shall be
required to deliver a fresh pre-submission seminar. However, the maximum time limit for
the submission of thesis shall not exceed as laid down in Clause 10.

(iii) A Ph.D. scholar must publish at least one (01) research paper in a refereed journal and
present at least two (02) papers in conferences/seminars before the submission of the thesis
for evaluation, and produce evidence for the same in the form of presentation certificates and
re-print of her/his published paper.

(iv) A thesis once submitted cannot be re-submitted except when the examiner recommends a
revision of the thesis.

(v) A candidate admitted to integrated Ph.D. programme pursuing M.Phil. shall be allowed to
submit her/his dissertation only after s/he has passed both the prescribed courses.

12. Evaluation

Every thesis for the degree of Ph.D. shall be evaluated by the Supervisor and the Co-
supervisor(s), if any, and by two external examiners, as provided in the Regulations, who
shall be persons of high academic repute, not in the employment of this University. If neither
the Supervisor nor the Co-supervisor(s) is/are available, another examiner shall be appointed
by the CASR on the recommendation of the RAC, to be convened by the Chairman of the
Department.

In case of teachers of the University permitted to supplicate a thesis for the award of the PhD
Degree without a Supervisor, there shall be three external examiners for the purpose of
evaluation of the thesis.

Every dissertation for the degree of M.Phil. and the viva-voce, shall be evaluated by two
examiners appointed by the CASR, of whom at least one shall be a person not in the
employment of the University, and the Supervisor (and, failing her/him, the Co-supervisor,
if any) shall ordinarily be the other examiner. If neither the Supervisor nor the Co-
supervisor(s) is/are available, another examiner shall be appointed by the CASR on the
recommendation of the RAC, to be convened by the Chairman of the Department.

12.1 Panel of Examiners

(i) The Chairman of the Department concerned, in consultation with the Supervisor, shall
prepare a panel of external examiners as provided in the Regulations and send it to the
Controller of Examinations (hereinafter referred to as CoE) through the Dean of the
Faculty soon after the Pre-submission Seminar of the scholar to be placed before the
CASR for appointment of examiners.

(ii) The panel of external examiners of the thesis shall be scholars of eminence in the area of
research not below the rank of Professor. However, if no Professor is available in a
discipline then the external examiners shall not be below the rank of Associate Professor.

12.2 Evaluation of Ph.D. thesis

(i) The CoE shall get in touch with the approved examiners to secure consent of the examiners.

(ii) The examiners shall make one of the following recommendations:

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 a) The thesis be accepted for the award of the Ph.D. degree, with specific
recommendation whether it can be published in its present form.
b) The thesis be accepted for the award of the Ph.D. degree subject to the scholar
incorporating corrections/changes spelt out in the report after being duly verified by
the Supervisor(s), Chairman of the department and Dean of the Faculty.
c) The thesis, in the present form, cannot be accepted for the award of the Ph.D. degree
and the scholar be advised to revise the thesis on issues raised in the report and
resubmit the thesis for its re-examination to the same examiner.
d) The thesis be rejected.

(iii) If all the examiners recommend acceptance of the thesis for the award of the Ph.D. degree,
the thesis shall be accepted for conduct of viva-voce.

(iv) If both the external examiners recommend rejection of the thesis for the award of the
Ph.D. degree, the Dean shall report the matter to the CASR, which shall put on record the
fact that the thesis has been rejected.

(v) If one or more examiners make recommendation as per 12.2 (ii) (b) and suggest corrections
or modifications or incorporation of additional information or data, alternative interpretation
of the data, etc. in the thesis, the Dean of the Faculty shall convey the examiner’s
suggestions to the Ph.D. scholar concerned through the Chairman and Supervisor for its re-
submission by the scholar after duly revising it in the light of the suggestions of the
examiner(s).

The Ph.D. scholar shall resubmit her/his thesis after incorporating material in accordance
with examiner(s)’ suggestions along with the point-wise summary of changes so made by
her/him, including compliance with or justification for not complying, with the
examiner(s)’ suggestions. Copies of the revised thesis, along with a certificate from the
Supervisor that the suggested changes have actually been made, shall be forwarded by the
Chairman of the Department to the Dean of the Faculty for placing it before the CASR for
its consideration.

(vi) If any of the examiners makes recommendation as per 12.2(ii)(c) and suggests that the
thesis cannot be recommended for the award of the Degree, owing to certain shortcomings
which the Ph.D. scholar should remove, the CASR may permit the scholar to revise the
thesis according to the comments received from the examiner and re-submit the thesis
within a period specified by the CASR after which it may be sent to the examiner
concerned. If the examiner still does not approve the thesis, then the same shall be sent to a
new examiner from the panel of the already approved examiners.

(vii) If one examiner recommends the rejection of the thesis, then a new examiner shall be
appointed as per Clause 12.1(i) from the panel of the already approved examiners.

(viii) Once a new examiner is appointed as per the proviso of Clause 12.2 (vi) or (vii), any
previous recommendations of the examiner, in whose place the new examiner has been
appointed, shall become null and void for all purposes.

(ix) In case the new examiner recommends acceptance or revision of the thesis or asks for
clarifications, then depending on the recommendation of the other examiner (who has
not rejected the thesis) an action appropriate for the case mentioned in Clauses 12.2 (iii),
(v) or (vi) shall be taken.

(x) In case the new examiner recommends the rejection of the thesis, her/his recommendation
shall be final and the thesis shall be rejected.
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 (xi) The evaluation shall normally be completed within six months.

12.3 Evaluation of M.Phil. dissertation

The M.Phil. dissertation will be evaluated by each of the two Examiners, as provided for
under Clause 12, and the average of the marks awarded by the two examiners shall be taken
as the final award.

13. Viva-Voce

13.1 Ph.D. Thesis

(i) If the thesis has been recommended for the award of Ph.D. degree, the Dean shall advise
the Chairman of the Department concerned to hold the viva-voce of the research scholar
under intimation to the CoE and the reseach scholar shall be provided a copy of the reports
of all the examiners through the Chairman and Supervisor at least one week before her/his
viva-voce.

(ii) The viva-voce shall be conducted by the examiners comprising the Supervisor, Co-
supervisor (only from within the country), if any, and one external examiner of the thesis.
In the case of teachers permitted to supplicate for the Degree without a Supervisor, there
shall be two external examiners for holding the viva-voce.

(iii) In case none of the external examiners, who have examined the thesis, are able to
conduct the viva-voce, next examiner from the approved panel of examiners shall conduct
the viva-voce.

(iv) In the case of inability of the Supervisor (and Co-Supervisor, if any) to conduct the viva-
voce due to any reason, an additional examiner may be appointed by the Vice
Chancellor to conduct the viva-voce. In such cases, the Ph.D. work shall be deemed to
have been carried out under the guidance of the original Supervisor (and Co-Supervisor, if
any) only.

(v) In the case of supplication of Ph.D. by a teacher of the University without a Supervisor
two external examiners shall conduct the viva voce.

(vi) The viva-voce shall be open to all teachers and research scholars of the Faculty however
questions shall only be asked by the examiners. After the viva-voce, the reports of the
examiners shall be placed before the CASR and, if the CASR is satisfied that the reports of
the examiners are unanimous and definite in recommending the award of the degree, it
may recommend to the Faculty and Academic Council for the award of Ph.D. degree. If
any of the viva voce examiners does not recommend the award of the degree, for reasons
to be set forth by her/him, the CASR may recommend that a fresh viva-voce be held.

13.1 M.Phil. Dissertation

(i) The viva-voce of M.Phil. dissertation shall be conducted by the two Examiners, as provided
for under Clause 12, and the average of the marks awarded by the two examiners shall be
taken as the final award.

(ii) The viva-voce examination shall be held after the Examiners have sent the marks on the
dissertation and the scholar has obtained the requisite pass marks therein.

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 (iii) The viva-voce examination shall be open to all members and research scholars of the
Department but questions shall only be asked by the examiners.

(iv) In order to be eligible for the award of the Degree of M. Phil., a scholar shall have to
obtain a minimum of 55 per cent of the maximum marks in (a) each of the prescribed
papers, (b) the dissertation, and (c) the viva-voce.

14. Award of Degree

The date of award of the M.Phil. /Ph.D. degree shall be the same as the date of viva-voce
examination. Ph.D. degrees which are pursued either full time or part time will be treated as
degrees awarded through Regular Mode.

15. Cancellation of Admission

(i) The admission of a Ph.D. scholar may be cancelled by the Dean of the Faculty if
requested so by the scholar herself/himself.

(ii) In case of continued absence of the research scholar for four weeks or more without prior
sanction of leave, it will be the responsibility of the Supervisor to inform the Chairman
and call a meeting of the RAC for recommendation to the BoS to cancel the admission and
same shall be placed before the CASR for its consideration.

(iii) The admission of research scholar other than teachers of the University, shall be cancelled
by the CASR upon the recommendations of the RAC and BoS of the Department
concerned if the research scholar

a) falls into the category as laid down in Clause 3.3 (vii),

b) fails to submit the thesis within the maximum stipulated time as provided in these
Ordinances,
c) is found involved in an act of misconduct and/or indiscipline and the cancellation of
her/his admission has been recommended by the Discipline Committee.

16. Temporary Withdrawal

A research scholar may be permitted by the Dean of the Faculty, on the recommendation of the
RAC to withdraw temporarily from the programme on any one of the reasons given below and
later allowed to resume the research work and submit the thesis, without exceeding the
maximum prescribed time limit for the thesis submission as per Clause 10. Temporary
withdrawal may be granted for a maximum of 12 months but can be extended for valid reasons
by the Vice-Chancellor.

The temporary withdrawal may be permitted for any one of the following reasons:
a) If the scholar is suffering due to chronic illness, supported by medical report and
treatment card.
b) If the scholar gets an assignment.
c) Any other event in which the Dean is convinced that the situation faced by the
research scholar warrants her/his temporary withdrawal from the programme.

The research scholar who was allowed temporary withdrawal shall have to vacate
accommodation in the hostel. However, in case of rejoining of the course by the research
scholar, s/he may be allowed hostel facility subject to the availability of seat.

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17. Subject to these Ordinances, the Academic Council may frame Regulations governing the
course of study leading to the M.Phil./Ph.D. Degree including the procedure of admission,
manner, and pursuit of the courses, supervision and conduct of the examination.

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