MAHATMA GANDHI UNIVERSITY

Applications are invited from Eligible candidates for registration for research leading to Ph.D Degree of this University as per the “Revised Regulations for Ph.D Registration and Award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, 2010/2012.

Eligibility for Application:

             A candidate who has passed the Post-graduate Examination in any discipline of Mahatma Gandhi University or of other Universities recognized as equivalent thereto securing not less than 55% marks in the aggregate shall be eligible to apply for registration for Ph.D.  For SC/ST candidates, the

minimum marks required for application is 50% in the aggregate in the Postgraduate Examination.  Provided, however, that MBBS, BAMS, BHMS and BDS degree holders who have secured not less than 50% marks for their final examinations shall be eligible for registration for Ph.D Provided further that CA qualified candidates, that is, a person whose name has been entered as a member  in  the  Register  maintained  either  by  the  Institute  of  Chartered Accountants of India or by the Institute of Cost and Work Accountants of India  shall  also  be  eligible  to  apply  for  registration  for  Ph.D.  When  the application is made for registration at an approved Research Centre other than the University Departments,  the application shall be accompanied by letters of consent from the Head of the Research Centre (The College Principal in the case of an affiliated college centre) where the applicant proposes to

work as well as from the Supervising Teacher under whom he/she proposes to work.

Mode of Admission:        

Admission to the Ph.D programmes shall be made on the basis of 

(a) the qualifying  degree marks;   

(b) a written aptitude  test; and 

(c) an interview.  

However,  UGC-CSIR  JRF  candidates  (and  awardees  of  other  similar  Fellowship.  Including the KSCST and INSPIRE Fellowships) and UGC Teacher Fellows can be  admitted directly into the Ph.D. programme.  They are not required to appear in  the written test and shall be accommodated against available seats, provided the Doctoral Committee is satisfied with their performance in the interview.

Aptitude Test/Interview:

Only candidates who acquire 50% marks in the written test will be called for the interview.  The following University Departments shall conduct the research aptitude tests in the subjects indicated:

1) School of Gandhian Thought and Development Studies (Gandhian Studies,Social Work, Development Studies)

2) Shool of International Relations (International Relations, Political Science,Public Administration, Economics)

3) School of Social Sciences (History, Anthropology, Sociology, Philosophy)

4) School of Letters (English, Malayalam, Comparative Literature, Theatre Arts,Fine Arts)

5) School of Behavioural Sciences (Psychology, Special Education, Behavioural Medicine, Rehabilitation Nursing, Disabilities Studies)

6) School of Bio-Scien es (Bio-sciences)

7) School of Chemical Sciences (Chemistry, Polymer Science/Engineering)

8) School of computer Science (Computer Science)

9) School of Pure and Applied Physics (Physics, Electronics)

10) School of Environmental Sciences (Environmental Sciences)

11) School of Pedagogical Sciences (Education, Educational Psychology)

12) School of Physical Education and Sports Sciences (Physical Education)                                                               

13) School of Management and Business Studies (Management Studies, Business  Administration)

14) School of Indian Legal Thought (Law)

University shall conduct separate written aptitude tests in the following subjects:  Library and Information Science, Hindi, Sanskrit, Syriac, Arabic, Botany, Zoology, Pharmacy, Mathematics, Applicable Mathematics, Statistics,Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Fishery Science, Home Science,Commerce.

Applications  for  admission  to  Ph.D  research  in  the  University Departments  shall  be  made  to  the  Head  of  the  Department  concerned.

Applications for admission to the approved Research Centres shall be made to the Registrar.

Exemption from the Written Test:

Apart from JRF candidates and UGC Teacher Fellows, the following categories  of  candidates  are  exempted  from  appearing  for  the   Written Aptitude Test.

a) M.Phil  and  M.Tech  (all  disciplines),  MD  (Medicine)  and  MS (Medicine) holders in the subject of research concerned.

b) Regular and permanent teachers from the Government and Aided Colleges  affiliated  to  Mahatma  Gandhi  University  and  from  the University Departments.

c) Candidates  who  have  become  qualified  in  the NET/SLET/GATE/GPAT  or  other  Tests  conducted  by  such Government bodies as UGC, CSIR, ICAR, and ICMR.

d) Scientists from Accredited R&D Institutions.

e) Candidates who hold a valid certificate for having qualified in the Research Aptitude Test conducted by Mahatma Gandhi University.

Fellowships:  

University Junior Research Fellowships shall be made available to a limited number of candidates registered for Ph.D each year.  Selection in this regard shall be made on the basis of merit from among the candidates other than UGC Teacher Fellows and holders of JRF and other Fellowships.  TheUniversity shall determine annually the number of such fellowships on the basis of funds available and notify them separately.

Registration for Research:

All candidates admitted to the Ph.D programmes of the University shall be registered  as  full  time  research  scholars,  except  regular  and  permanent teachers  from  the  Government  and  Aided  Colleges  affiliated  to  Mahatma Gandhi  University  and  from  the  University  Departments,  who  shall  be granted part-time registration if they so desire.

Course Work:

Each student, other than regular and permanent teachers from the Government and Aided Colleges affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi University and from the University Departments (who shall be granted part-time registration if  they  so  desire)  admitted  to  the  Ph.D  programme  shall  be  required  to undertake course work for a period of one semester within a continuous period  of  two  semesters.   The  course  work  shall  be  organized  by  the University  Departments  for  students  registered  at  the  Departments.

Students registered at approved Research Centres shall undergo course work at  their  own  Centres.   The  course  work  shall  have  the  following  three components:

a) A course in Research Methodology : There shall be two courses for the  students  to  choose  from:   one  common  for  the  disciplines coming under the  science stream and the other common for all the

disciplines coming under the non-science stream.

b) A course  on recent developments in the broad discipline. 

c) A course in the area of research which will include detailed review of the current status of scholarship in the area.

Candidates with M.Phil shall be exempted from courses (a) and (b).  The course work in their case shall be limited to the third course (course c).  A Ph.D candidate in a University Department who fails to acquire the minimum GPA of 5 (45%  in the case of Ph.D Candidates in other approved Research Centres) can avail of another chance to improve his/her GPA/ percentage of marks by repeating the end-semester exams for the courses  to be held a year later.  No further chance for improving the evaluation of the course work shall be given.  Such candidates cannot continue Ph.D research.

Place of Research:

Research shall be carried out by a Research Scholar in a University Department  or  in  a  Research  Centre  in  an  Affiliated  College  or  in  an institution recognized as a Research Centre under these regulations.

Part-time Research:Registration for part-time research shall be granted from the beginning only to regular and permanent teachers from the Government and Aided Colleges affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi University and from the University Departments.   All  other  applicants  shall  initially  be  granted  full-time registration.   The  following  categories,  however,  are  eligible  to  apply  for conversion of their research to part-time after completing six months or on successful completion of the course work whichever comes later: 

a) Regular  employees  working  in  Government/Quasi-government institutions.

b) Teachers working in Government and Aided educational institution in the state.

c) Teachers working in the institutions run by the University.

d) Scientists  working  in  accredited  R&D  institutions  and  Clinical Psychologists  attached  to  Government/Quasi-government organizations.

Other conditions:

a) Persons applying for conversion of their research to part-time shall produce a “No Objection Certificate” from their employers.

b) Foreign candidates shall be registered for research only if they are on  visas  issued  for  research  scholars/students  and  with  the necessary clearance from Government of India.

c) Conversion of research from full- time to part-time shall be granted by the Vice-Chancellor on the recommendation of the Supervising Teacher and the Head of the Research Centre.

   Allocation of Supervising Teachers:

The allocation of the Supervising Teacher for a selected candidate shall be decided by the Doctoral Committee in a formal manner in the interview.

The  allocation  will  depend  on  such  factors  as  the  specialization  of  the supervisors  and  the  research  interest  of  the  candidate.   The  Doctoral Committee can consider allocating a co-guide to a candidate in addition to the Supervising Teacher.

Period of Research:

i)    The  minimum  period  of  research  required  by  a  candidate  for submission of thesis from the date of registration shall be two years (4 semesters) for M.Phil, M.Ed., M.Sc. (by research), Master of Letters and M.Tech.degree holders if the research is in the subject in which the candidate has taken the above qualifying degree.  In all other cases, the minimum period of research required is three years (6 semesters) for thesis submission.  This is inlusive of the period spent on course work.

ii)     The maximum period of research shall, if the period is not specified   otherwise, generally be five years (10 semesters) for full-time and  eight years (16 semesters) for part-time research.  On expiry of this  period a candidate’s registration will lapse, provided that it shall be competent for the Syndicate to extend the period of registration by a maximum period of one year on the recommendations of the       Doctoral Committee and also on payment of a fee for extension.  The registration shall automatically lapse after expiry of the maximum period.

Restriction on Employment:

A full time research scholar shall not engage himself/herself  in any other employment except in imparting instruction in an honorary capacity on a topic which forms the subject matter of his research in the institution where he is working.

Date of application:

 The applications can be submitted online only.

 The last date for submission of applications is July 31, 2012.