New rules on PhD degrees this year

Mumbai, March 08: Though the University Grants Commission (UGC) had issued new and tougher guidelines for MPhil/PhD degree in July 2009, Mumbai University is yet to implement them.

Now, when a new academic calendar is set to begin in a few months, the university has decided to issue a formal circular to all departments and colleges on the new guidelines. “We will implement the UGC guidelines in toto,” said university registrar K Venkatramani.

The new rules say university must conduct an entrance test for doctoral students, followed by an interview to discuss his/her research interest/area.

After admission, the student has to undertake course work for a minimum of one semester which will be treated as pre-PhD preparation and must include a course on research methodology. Subsequently, the university will decide the minimum qualifying requirement for allowing a student to proceed with the dissertation.

–Agencies–