According to the revised regulations on the award of PhD degrees finalised by the University Grants Commission, students with a minimum CGPA score of 7.5/10 in the four-year undergraduate programme (FYUP) will henceforth be eligible for PhD admissions without having to complete a master’s programme (UGC).
The new policies advocate either patenting or exclusively publishing in peer-reviewed or referenced publications to stop the tendency of publishing in predatory journals.
Regulation expected to take effect in the 2022-23 academic year
The University Grants Commission (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Awarding a PhD Degree) Regulations 2022 are expected to be released by the end of June and will take effect in the 2022-23 academic year.
Should have a minimum CGPA of 7.5/10
The regulations, which were introduced as part of the National Education Policy (NEP), state that “a candidate seeking admission after a 4-year/ 8 semester Bachelor’s degree should have a minimum CGPA of 7.5/10,” with a 0.5 CGPA score relaxation on a scale of 10 for candidates from SC/ ST/ OBC/ differently-abled as well as economically weaker sections.
“Encouraging four-year undergraduate students with a research bent of mind to do PhD is important to improve the research ecosystem in our HEIs. That is why we are permitting four-year UG students who have a CGPA of 7.5/10 or above to be eligible for PhD admission. Those who have a CGPA less than 7.5, will have to do a one-year Master’s degree to be eligible,” said UGC Chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar.
According to the new standards, university-level assessments can fill 40% of the open seats.Admissions should be based on either 100 percent national level entrance examinations or a 60-40 combination of national level entrance tests and university level or state-level entrance tests.
Candidates will be chosen from a merit list
If the total number of vacant seats is filled by candidates who pass national level entrance exams (conducted by the UGC, CSIR, ICMR, ICAR, and others), the candidates will be chosen from a merit list with 100 percent weightage given to the interview/viva conducted by the higher education institution.
