MANONMANIAM SUNDARANAR UNIVERSITY

CENTRE FOR RESEARCH

ABISHEKAPATTI, TIRUNELVELI – 627 012, TAMIL NADU, INDIA

Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
[Ph.D.,]

REVISED GUIDELINES
(In accordance with the provisions to the regulations of the
University Grants Commission (Minimum Standards and
Procedure for Award of Ph.D. Degree) Regulation, 2009 and
2016)

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 Ph.D., Regulations from 01-07-2016
Table of Contents
1. Preamble 3
1.1. Admission Categories 3
1.1.1. Full-time 3
1.1.2. Part-time 4
1.2. Minimum Qualifications for Admission of Ph.D. Programme 4
1.3. Admission Procedure 5
1.3.1. Entrance Test and Interview 5
1.3.2. Application for Ph.D. Registration 7
1.4. Period of Research & Extension 8
1.4.1. Extension 8
1.4.2. Exemption for Maternity Period 8
1.5. Residential Requirements 8
1.5.1. Full-Time 8
1.5.2. Part-Time 9
1.6. Doctoral Committee 9
1.7. Programme Structure 10
1.8. Monitoring the Progress of the Scholar 13
1.9. Conversion from Full-Time to Part –Time and Vice Versa 14
1.10. Cancellation of Ph.D. Registration 14

2. Research Supervisor 15
2.1. Approval of Research Supervisor 15
2.2. Registration under a Supervisor 16

3. Research under an Approved Supervisor 17

3.1. Supervisor in a Research Centre 17
3.2. Supervisor in a Non-Research Centre 17
3.3. Subject of Award 18
3.4. Pre Ph.D.-Presentation 18

4. Submission of Synopsis and Thesis 18

4.1. Title 18
4.2. Submission of Synopsis and Thesis 18
4.3. The act of Plagiarism 21
4.4. Evaluation 22
4.5. Evaluation Rules 24
4.6. Viva-Voce Examination 25

5. Provisional Certificate and the Degree 25

6. Research Centre Recognition /Renewal 25
6.1. Interdisciplinary Research Centre Recognition /Renewal 26
7. General 28

Annexure - I Fees Details

Annexure - II Guidelines for preparation of Synopsis
Annexure - III Guidelines for preparation of Thesis

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1. Preamble

The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) is awarded to a candidate who, as per these
regulations, has submitted a thesis, on the basis of original research either in any particular
discipline or involving more than one discipline that makes a contribution to the advancement
of knowledge, which is approved by duly constituted Board of Examiners as required. The
Ph.D guidelines are based on the University Grants Commission (Minimum Standards and
Procedure for Award of Ph.D Degree) Regulation, 2009 & 2016 and the PhD degree awarded
by Manonmaniam Sundaranar University is in compliance with the UGC (Minimum Standards
and Procedure for Award of Ph.D Degree) Regulation, 2009 & 2016.

1.1 Admission Categories

Ph. D Registration shall be of two modes only, namely (i) Full Time and (ii) Part Time.

1.1.1 Full-time
Any candidate with the minimum qualification prescribed by the UGC shall pursue
research under a recognized supervisor of the Manonmaniam Sundaranar University in
University Departments or in the research centres of affiliated colleges approved by the
University as a full-time scholar.
If a scholar doing research under a Supervisor from a non-research centre avails of FDP
(Faculty Development Programme) in the course of the research period, the scholar (FDP) shall
pursue his/her research only in a University Department/research centre recognized by the
Manonmaniam Sundaranar University under a co-supervisor of the respective University
Department or Research centre.
The Research Scholars working in a project funded by Major Funding Agencies
recognized by Central State Government will be permitted to do the Research Programme as
full-time scholar in the Non- Research Centre with the condition he/she will have Co-
Supervisor from Research Centre approved by Manonmaniam Sundaranar University.

The Foreign students who seek admission to Ph.D. programme have to submit the
following documents.

1. Copy of the Passport

2. Copy of the Student VISA at the time of joining.
3. Copy of the Birth Certificate
4. All other relevant documents as per the requirements mentioned in 1.1.1.
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1.1.2 Part-time
The candidates of the following categories with minimum qualifications prescribed by
UGC are eligible for registration of part-time Ph.D., Programme.

▪ Faculty members working as the Permanent/Temporary in University Departments/

University Colleges/Colleges affiliated to any University of Tamilnadu.

▪ Teachers working in recognized schools throughout Tamilnadu.

▪ Group - I officers working in Tamilnadu.

▪ The candidates working in recognized non – academic Institutions/ Industry / Company

throughout Tamilnadu, shall be permitted for Part- Time Ph.D., registration.

Any candidate working in a recognized academic / non-academic institution with

minimum qualification prescribed by the UGC shall pursue his/her research in part-time mode
under the supervision of a Supervisor approved by Manonmaniam Sundaranar University in a
Research Centre or under an approved supervisor in a non-research centre with the co-
supervisor of a University Department /Research Centre / with the consent letter from the HOD
/ Principal, recognized by the Manonmaniam Sundaranar University within its jurisdiction.
Service certificate and No Objection Certificate from the employer should be submitted
from those institutions for the candidates of the above category annually, without fail till the
submission of the thesis.

1.2 Minimum Qualifications for admission of Ph.D Programme

For admission to the PhD programme under the above-specified categories, a candidate
has to fulfil the following minimum qualifications:
Full- time/Part-time - Pass in Master’s Degree with 55% marks for General and OBC
Category; 50% for SC/ST/OBC (non-creamy layer)/differently abled or equivalent grade at
the Post-graduate level as prescribed by the UGC norms (Master’s degree shall be in the same
or allied subject after the completion of the Under Graduate degree).Candidates who have
passed Master’s Degree through Open University system is not eligible; however, candidates
who have secured their Master’s Degree under (11+1) / (10+2) + 3+2 pattern of courses of
study are eligible andCandidates who have 10+3+2+2 pattern of courses of study shall be
eligible for Ph.D programme.
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 Candidates who have cleared the M.Phil. Course work with at least 55% marks in
aggregate or its equivalent grade 'B' in the UGC 7-point scale (or an equivalent grade in a point
scale wherever grading system is followed) and have successfully completed the M.Phil.
Degree shall be eligible to proceed to do research work leading to the Ph.D. Degree in the same
Institution in an integrated programme. A relaxation of 5% of marks, from 55% to 50%, or an
equivalent relaxation of grade, may be allowed for those belonging to SC/ST/OBC (non-
creamy layer)/differently-abled and other categories of candidates as per the decision of the
UGC from time to time.
Ph.D. admissions for specific applicants such as senior government officials, Judicial
officers, academicians, NGOs, Legislators and others who do not possess the minimum
percentage of marks in the P.G. degree shall be considered for Ph.D., admissions, if they
comply the following conditions :

(a) They should not claim any teaching position in any higher education institution.

(b) They should submit an undertaking to the effect that the Ph.D., degree obtained
under this category shall not be utilized for any monetary benefit.

(c) The topic of Ph.D., programme shall be of social relevance.

1.3 Admission Procedure

(a) Advertisement for PhD qualifying examination will be given in Newspapers /

University Website twice a year and the admission will be in January and July
of every calendar year.

(b) Admissions will be restricted to the number of vacancies available and the
willingness of the supervisor.

1.3.1 Entrance Test and Interview

a) Entrance Test: Candidates seeking admission for Full – time, Part-time will be
admitted through a common entrance test for each discipline, followed by an
interview. Both the entrance test and the interview shall be organised by the
University Research Section in the University premises. The results are valid for
two years (Four Sessions).

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 b) The Entrance Examination will comprise 50 multiple choice questions with 4
options (A, B, C & D) for 50 (50 x 1 = 50) marks with a maximum time limit of
90 minutes. The syllabus and question papers will be as detailed below:

Number of Research Subject

Questions Methodology concerned
Entrance (50) Questions Questions
Examination
25%
50% 25%
(PG Syllabus)
Based on the Syllabus already approved by the SCAA

The weightage of qualifying Entrance Examination shall be as detailed below:

Entrance Examination Interview Total

50% 50% 100%

c) The Interview will be conducted by an interview committee followed by entrance

examination.

d) For the candidates of any particular discipline, the interview board shall consist
of respective Dean/nominee of the Vice-Chancellor, Head of the Department and
a representative from an approved research centre from an affiliated college in
that discipline nominated by the Vice-Chancellor.

e) Interview shall be based on the questions in the following four components in

equal weightage:

▪ Research interest of the area

▪ Competence to the proposed research

▪ Feasibility of the institution to do the research

▪ Contribution of new/additional knowledge

f) The question papers for the entrance test shall be set by the outside members
through Controller of Examinations.

g) UGC NET/UGC/CSIR (JRF) examination / SET/ GATE qualified candidates and

Teacher Fellowship holders are exempted from the Entrance Test and Interview.

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 h) Separate Application forms shall be submitted by the candidate for Entrance
Examination and PhD Registration.

1. Entrance Examination will be conducted in the subjects of Master Degree

obtained by the candidate.
2. Pass Percentage in the entrance examination shall be as given below:

Entrance
Total Passing
Entrance Marks Interview Passing
Minimum
Minimum
50% 50% 25% 55%

i) Admission to Ph.D programme for students who apply under a Fellowship or as

a project fellow in Major Research Projects shall be as a special case and process
of admission shall be completed within one month from the date of application in
such cases.

j) The final list of selected candidates after the entrance examination for the PhD
programme shall be declared after getting the approval of the Vice-Chancellor.

1.3.2 Application for Ph.D., Registration

a) The candidates desirous of registering for Ph.D. Programme shall apply in the
prescribed application form downloaded from the University website, fill-in all
the necessary details and submit through proper channel wherever applicable,
before the due date as indicated in the notification issued from time to time. After
passing the qualifying examination or if exempted as per the norms of the Ph.D.,
programme. Normally the University shall issue notification for Ph.D. admission
twice in a year.

b) Ph.D admission shall be done in two sessions (i.e) January and July session. For
that Registration shall be done during September and April itself through online.
However, fellowship candidates, the registration shall be done as a special case.

Course Work to be decided by the concerned Doctoral Committee by choosing

approved courses by SCAA and the Mark sheet will be issued by the Controller
of Examination

c) The candidates may choose their Supervisors and Research Centres and mention
the relevant details in the application for PhD Registration.
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 d) Research Fees shall be notified by the Research Section.

e) Prospective research scholars with P.G. Degree in Medicine are eligible to register,
subject to compliance of all norms and regulations.

1.4 Period of Research and Extension

From the date of commencement (as notified by the Research Section) of the Ph.D.,
programme, the minimum and the maximum period prescribed for completion of Ph.D.
Programmes are as follows:

Maximum Period of the

Category Minimum Period of the Programme
Programme
2 years for candidates with M.Phil. 4 years
Full-time
3 years for other candidates 5 years
3 years for candidates with M.Phil. 5 years
Part-time
4 years for other candidates 6 years

1.4.1 Extension:
The request for extension beyond the maximum period should be made through the
Supervisor. Such request for extension shall be decided by the Vice Chancellor for deserving
candidates.

1.4.2 Exemption for Maternity Period

When a request for extension of maximum research period is received with prescribed
extension fee from Women candidates, a maximum of 6 months extension shall be allowed for
the maternity period after getting medical certificate.

1.5 Residential Requirements

1.5.1. Full Time

The candidate under this category has to work under an approved Supervisor and shall
be available during working hours for curricular, co-curricular and related activities in a
University Department/ Research center. This is also applicable to every USRF / JRF / SRF /
Fellow in a Research project or with stipend from any other funding agency or a non-
stipendiary fellow for the minimum period specified.
All full-time scholars should sign in all working days in the attendance register
maintained by the respective department/research center.

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1.5.2 Part-time
The candidate should work under Supervisor and interact with the Supervisor
periodically till the submission of Synopsis and Thesis.

1.6 Doctoral Committee

▪ Doctoral Committee should have 2 members.

▪ There shall be a Doctoral Committee for every scholar to monitor the progress of
research work.

▪ For every scholar, the Supervisor shall furnish a panel of four experts from
different Colleges / Institutions with Doctoral qualification in the field of
proposed research after getting concurrence from them.

Note: The experts shall be from the same department of the College / other
related department of the same college / University Departments / Other
affiliated colleges of this University or nearby Universities / experts from
nearby R&D Departments /nearby national laboratories.

▪ From which, two will be selected from the above panel by the Director (Research).
Every Doctoral Committee meeting should be convened by Supervisor, Joint
Supervisor (if any) and two subject Experts. Every member of the Doctoral
Committee should be a Ph.D., degree holder and also a full-time faculty member
of any educational /research institutions.

▪ The Supervisor of the scholar shall be the convener of the Doctoral Committee.
▪ The Joint Supervisor, if applicable, shall also be a member.

The Doctoral Committee shall meet three times during the Ph.D. programme to decide
the following:
(i) To approve the research proposal and prescribe the course work within two
weeks from the date of registration;
(ii) To assess and monitor the quantum of work done and confirm the provisional
registration by the candidate immediately after one year from the date of
registration;
(iii) To approve the Pre-PhD presentation, approval and synopsis& Thesis and
panel of examiners for adjudication of the thesis;

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 The minutes of the Doctoral Committee shall be forwarded by the Head of the
University Department / Head of the Department duly forwarded by the Principal /Director of
the Institute to the Director, Research. However, the meetings of Doctoral Committee should
be informed to the Director (Research) with a copy to the Head of the Department / Principal /
Director of the Institute well in advance.
The Director (Research) shall permit, if deemed fit reasons, Change of Doctoral
Committee member for the scholar based on the request of the supervisor under extraordinary
circumstances such as

i. In the case of change of Supervisor

ii. Topic of research changed before confirmation of the Provisional Registration
iii. Doctoral Committee member is away from the place of work for more than 2
years
iv. Doctoral Committee member passed away
v. Member not responding to attend further Doctoral Committee meetings (after
the First Doctoral Committee meeting).
vi. In all the above cases or any other compelling reasons, the Vice-Chancellor shall
nominate an alternate Doctoral Committee member from the panel furnished by
the Supervisor.

1.7 Programme Structure

▪ Every member of the Doctoral Committee should be a Ph.D., degree holder and
also a full-time faculty member of any educational /research institutions.
▪ The Doctoral Committee of a scholar shall meet within two weeks from the date
of communication of his/her provisional registration to prescribe the course
works as detailed below:

(a) Candidates with PG qualification should earn 18 credits (5 Course works)

as per UGC Regulations in the following option:

4 course works of 4 credits each plus 1 compulsory course work (Research

and Publication Ethics) of 2 credits (Total 5 course works)
(OR)
3 course works of 4 credits each and 1 mini project of 4 credits plus
1 compulsory course work (Research and Publication Ethics) of
2 credits. (Total 5 course works)

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 (b) Candidates with M.Phil. qualification should earn 10 credits (3 Course
works) as per UGC regulations in the following option:

2 course works of 4 credits each plus 1 compulsory course work

(Research and Publication Ethics) of 2 credits (Total 3 course works)
(OR)
1 course work of 4 credits and 1 mini project of 4 credits plus
1 compulsory course work (Research and Publication Ethics) of 2
credits. (Total 3 course works)

The above course work should be recommended by the Doctoral

Committee. The courses shall be selected as detailed below:

(a) From the P.G. / M.Phil. programmes offered by the University

OR
(b) From the courses as prescribed by the Doctoral Committee and approved by
the concerned BOS duly forwarded by the research supervisor and the HOD
/ Head of the Research Centre. For such courses, the research supervisor has
to conduct the classes as per the University norms and should not be shown
as additional work load.

(c) The candidate will be allowed to continue Ph.D. research based on the
recommendation of the second Doctoral Committee Meeting.

▪ Only course works registered after the first Doctoral Committee meeting shall
be counted towards this requirement. Any course work already passed by the
scholar prior to provisional registration shall not be counted for this purpose.

▪ The prescribed course works shall be completed within two years from the date
of provisional registration for both Full-time and Part-time scholars. The scholar
shall complete the confirmation of provisional registration within three years
from his/her registration for the Ph.D. programme.

▪ The scholar shall attend classes along with PG/M.Phil students and will be
evaluated in the same relative grading scale of the course work.

▪ The scholars can also opt for a maximum of one online course through SUYAM
portal / Course Era portal as one of their Course work, which shall be decided by the
Doctoral Committee and the Ph.D. Supervisor shall act as the Course Instructor. No
change in the course works prescribed shall be made without the approval of the
Doctoral Committee.

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 ▪ Regularly offered PG electives shall not be taken as Special Elective and the
scholar shall wait to undertake such course work when it is offered to the PG
students in the Department.
▪ If any course work, specific to the area of research has to be newly designed,
then such course work shall be formulated as a Special Elective to be covered
in not less than 45 contact periods of instruction and the course work syllabus
shall be designed by the Supervisor, recommended by the Doctoral Committee
and shall be approved in the Board of Study of the Concerned Faculty and
Academic Council. These course works shall be of PG level. A scholar shall be
permitted to undertake only one such Special Elective. If any approved
Elective not offered to PG students and attended by less than five research
scholars, such course work shall be considered only as Special Elective.

▪ In the case of Special Elective, details of contact classes shall be maintained in

the attendance register. The evaluation pattern for internal assessment will be
similar to that of PG courses and end semester examination shall be conducted.
However, for awarding grades, the absolute grading scale shall be followed.

▪ Passing minimum for Course Work examination (including mini project) shall
be 55% or relevant CGPA. The scholar who fails to secure 55% or relevant
CGPA of the total marks, he/she shall undertake one more course work relevant
to the area of research offered under any approved PG programme of the
University with the recommendation of the Doctoral Committee or rewrite the
examination from any one of the course works (other than the Special Elective)
undertaken, to improve the relevant CGPA. Mini Project carried out by a Ph.D.
scholar as part of his/her course work, shall have the following components:
- Objective and methodology of the problem
- Literature survey
- Preliminary results of the research work

▪ Format of the mini project shall be the same as like that of a thesis.

▪ Total number of pages shall be between 50 and 80 pages.

▪ The Doctoral Committee shall value the mini project and submit the marks to
the Controller of Examinations and the same marks would be incorporated
in the mark sheet along with the marks of the other course work examinations. The
mark detail for coursework examination is given below.

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 Passing Passing Total Passing
Exam Internal External
Minimum Minimum Minimum Maximum
Theory 25 Nil 75 30 50% 100%
Mini Project Nil Nil 100 50 50% 100%

With regard to selection of Course works offered at the Research Centres of

Autonomous colleges, the principal of the concerned Research Centre will conduct the Exam
and submit the marks to the Controller of Examinations - COE of Manonmaniam Sundaranar
University, Tirunelveli; The COE of MS University will issue the Statement of marks. Those
candidates who would like to do all the four course works at a time in one semester shall be
allowed to complete 4 course works in the same semester itself.
On the successful completion of the prescribed course works and Mini Project, copy of
the mark sheet for the course works issued by COE and the report of the mini project research
and performance assessment sheet and evidence for seminar presentation shall be detailed in
the minutes of the Doctoral Committee and forwarded to the Director (Research) for
confirmation of provisional registration and to proceed further with his/her research work
within a month.

1.8 Monitoring the progress of the Scholar

Commencing from the date of provisional registration till the submission of thesis, all
research scholars shall submit the progress report form in the prescribed format duly signed by
the Supervisor and Head of the Department of the Supervisor at least three weeks before the
end of every semester.
One Seminar presentation shall be given by the scholar before the confirmation of the
provisional registration and another presentation prior to the submission of synopsis. Both
Seminars shall be open to faculty members and research scholars.
After the confirmation of provisional registration, the progress made by the research
scholars shall be reviewed by the Doctoral Committee once a year.
Full-time research scholars shall sign the attendance register in the Department of the
Supervisor on all working days. They are eligible for a total of 15 days leave every semester
and a maximum of 30 days in a calendar year and 45 days On Duty per year (as recommended
by the Doctoral Committee) which they shall avail after obtaining permission from the
Supervisor and Head of the Department. However, those scholars who are availing financial
assistance from funding agency shall be governed by the rules of the respective agency.

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1.9 Conversion from Full-Time to Part-Time and Vice-Versa
A candidate will be permitted only once during the period of research to convert from
Full-time to Part-time and vice-versa and in such cases, the following rules will be applied to
count the period of research.

From 'Full Time to Part Time' candidates:

i. Appointment order with pay details
ii. Selection committee Minutes
iii. Service Certificate
iv. No Objection Certificate

The entire period spent as full-time will be considered for Part-time conversion. From
'Part Time to Full Time' candidates:
Relieving order from the Working institution of the candidate 60% of the Part-time
period will be considered for conversion.
If a candidate registered in Part-time category is selected under a Scholarship/
Fellowship programme/ scheme, including Faculty Development Programme of UGC, he/she
shall be permitted to continue the research as a Full-time research scholar in the
department/research centre where the guide works.

1.10 Cancellation of Ph.D., Registration

Cancellation may be done in two modes:

1. Guide & Co-Guide (if applicable) shall submit a letter for cancellation of the Ph.D.
registration of the candidate along with the request of the candidate.
OR
The candidate shall submit a letter for cancellation of the Ph.D. registration duly
forwarded by the Guide& Co-Guide (if applicable)

2. Guide & Co-Guide (if applicable) shall submit a request for the cancellation to the
University. If the Scholar is not showing satisfactory performance for one year, the
Supervisor may intimate to the research section about the non-performing candidate to
take appropriate action. The Research Section in turn would send a Show Cause Notice
with a period of 30 days to the candidate concerned. If the candidates respond to the
Show Cause Notice and willing to continue the programme, he / she will be permitted to
continue the same with the consent of the Guide & Co-Guide (if applicable).

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 If there is no response within one month of period candidate and Guide & Co-Guide (if
applicable) supervisor will be intimated about cancellation.

If controversy of any kind arises between the Supervisor/Co-Supervisor and the Ph.D.,
scholar, which could not be settled through mutual agreement, that should be referred to the
Research Board of the University.
A Research Board appointed by the Vice-Chancellor will decide on cases of dispute
with regard to the cancellation of PhD registration or change of Supervisor, depending upon
the merit of the case.
If there is any dispute between the Guide and the candidate at the end of the programme
and if the existing Guide of the candidate is to be replaced with another person, then, that person
would be appointed only as the 'convener' of the Ph.D. programme. If such appointed
'Convener' wants to be designated as the 'Guide' to the candidate, then, the scholar concerned
should work with him/her at least for a minimum period of 6 months before the submission of
Ph.D. thesis by the candidate.

2. Research Supervisor

2.1 Approval of Research Supervisor

(a) Any full - time Faculty member who is having Ph.D. degree from a recognized
University working in a University Department / Research Centre / Affiliated Colleges
/ Self Finance stream / Self Finance Colleges affiliated to this University shall be recognized as
a Research Supervisor as per his/her P.G. and Ph.D. discipline.

(b) The applicant should produce Service Certificate certified by the Principal of the
Concerned College by clearly stating the nature of employment along with other
required documents mentioned in the Guideship Application Form and payment of
required fee. The application for Guideship will be considered with Provisional
Certificate of Ph.D., degree for the candidate awaiting the immediate next convocation
in that academic year.

(c) (i). Any regular Professor of the University/College with at least five research
publications (after Ph.D.,) in refereed journals as First Author or Second Author
inclusive of 2 publications in SSCI / SCI Journals must be the eligibility criteria
and any regular Associate/Assistant Professor of the university/ college with a
Ph.D. degree with at least two research publications in SSCI/SCI journals (after
Ph.D.) as First Author or Second Author must be eligibility criteria at the time
of submitting his / her application will be recognized as Research Supervisor.
They should have one-year service in present institution.
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 (ii). The applicant who is working in Self Finance Stream / Colleges should have at
least two years total eligible service (one-year service in the present institution
and one-year service in other Colleges) with two publications in SSCI / SCI
Journals-Group II (after Ph.D.) as First Author or Second Author shall be the
eligibility criteria.
(iii). Only the faculty members in Tamil discipline (Regular / Self-Finance) shall
publish the papers in Arts and Humanities Journals (A&H).

(d) Qualification approval is mandatory for guideship approval.

(e) The processing fee for Guideship approval is Rs.3000/- only.
(f) Review of academic research performance of the supervisors shall be done once in three
years to ensure their academic research quality. Also, the norms prescribed by UGC
for assessing API scores prescribed in Category III for CAS shall be adopted to
ascertain the performance of the supervisors.

2.2 Registration under a Supervisor

2.2.1. (a) A research supervisor / co-supervisor who is a Professor, at any given point
of time cannot guide more than 8 Ph.D. scholar. An Associate Professor as
research supervisor can guide up to a maximum of 6 Ph.D. scholars and an
Assistant Professor as research supervisor can guide up to a maximum of 4
Ph.D. scholars including co-guidance. Associate Professor with 4 years of
experience with API scores equal to the API scores needed for the post of
Professor, would be permitted 8 number of vacancies based on the
recommendation of the Subject Expert.

▪ Based on the academic research performance of the supervisors in the

designation of Assistant Professor and Associate Professor, additional
allotment of candidates (not exceeding two candidates) may be
considered by the Vice-Chancellor based on the merit case-by-case.

2.2.1. (b). Maximum four vacancies to any faculty members of Self Finance College / Self
Finance Stream. In exceptionally deserving cases, depending on the merit of case,
Vice Chancellor can decide.

2.2.1. (c). Faculty members working in self finance colleges / self - finance stream
with 13 years of continuous service in the present Institution and publication
as per existing norms shall be granted a maximum of six vacancies for
guiding Ph.D., scholars.

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 ▪ Faculty shall apply for the approval of Guideship and candidates can
register under them till their retirement.

▪ Guideship to faculty members after retirement shall not be granted.

However, one Ph.D., scholar shall be allowed to register under retired
supervisor, who is an Emeritus Fellow / Emeritus Professor of a
recognized National agency like UGC/CSIR/ICAR etc., / recognized
International agency.

3. Research under an Approved Supervisor

3.1 Supervisor in a Research Centre

Each candidate should work under the supervision of a recognized Supervisor working
in a University Department / approved Research Centre of the University in the field of
candidate discipline. All communications to the University regarding Ph.D. research should be
sent through the Supervisor.

3.2 Supervisor in a Non-Research Centre

A part-time candidate, who intends to do PhD under a Supervisor working in a

Department of a College which is not a recognized research center, has to register under a Co-
supervisor in a recognized research center of the respective discipline.
In discipline having only one research centre, registration without co-guide shall be
decided case by case with the approval of the Vice-Chancellor depending upon the merit of the
case. Formation of cluster centres (Research) (or) appointing a DC advisor / DC observer
instead of Co-guide (or) research advisory committee can also be exploded after getting the
approval of the regulatory bodies (SCAA, Syndicate).
Whenever there is a Co-supervisor, all communications to the University regarding
PhD research should be routed through the Supervisor and the Co-Supervisor.

3.3 Subject of Award

Normally a candidate will be allowed to register based on the PG qualification and the
PhD degree shall be awarded in that discipline.

Inter-disciplinary: A candidate will be allowed to do Ph.D. under inter-disciplinary category

whenever necessary by giving justification while applying for the Ph.D., programme.

Centre for Research, M S University - Ph.D. Revised Guidelines Page | 17 / 43

 Ph.D. Degree shall be given as interdisciplinary by mentioning the candidate’s PG
discipline and the research Supervisor’s / Co- Supervisor’s discipline. Change of discipline
shall not be permitted.

3.4 Pre-PhD Presentation

The Pre-Ph.D. presentation is a requirement to enrich the scholar and to fine tune his
research presentation. This presentation shall be conducted before the submission of synopsis
at the Research Centre concerned in the presence of Doctoral Committee members, Faculty
members, Research Scholars. The Pre-PhD shall be conducted after notifying the same by the
Supervisor at least 7 days before the date of presentation. The scholar is expected to present
the first draft of the research work or can explain the findings/problems faced. The gathering
may suggest ideas/references to be consulted/suggestions to improve the work and so on. The
minutes of the Pre-PhD presentations along with signature of participants shall be forwarded
by the Supervisor/Co-Supervisor to the University.

4. Submission of Synopsis and Thesis

4.1 Title
A candidate may give an outline of the title / topic of the research or specifies the broad
area of his/her research at the time of registration for Ph.D., programme. The Ph.D. scholar
may be allowed to submit the Synopsis / Thesis (after getting request from the individual duly
forwarded by his/her Guide) if there is minor correction in the title as follows:
1. Punctuation Markings
2. Article (A, An, The) changes
3. Singular and Plural changes
4. Preposition changes
5. Addition / Deletion of one or all the above without changing the ultimate
meaning of the title which has been approved by the Doctoral Committee.

4.2 Submission of Synopsis and Thesis

▪ The scholar shall be permitted to submit the Synopsis and Thesis only after
completion of the minimum duration of the Ph.D. programme applicable to the
scholar. A scholar shall not be permitted to submit the Synopsis and Thesis
prior to the completion of his/her minimum duration.
Centre for Research, M S University - Ph.D. Revised Guidelines Page | 18 / 43
 ▪ The scholar should have published at least two research articles for completion
of Ph.D. degree compulsorily in the following Journals after joining the
programme as first author or second author, if the Supervisor is first author or
one patent granted based on his/her research work and candidate should submit
relevant evidences for the publications.

▪ From 01.07.2013 to 30.06.2016

- Should publish one research article in UGC approved journals for all
disciplines.

▪ From 01.07.2016 to January 2020 Session

- Should publish two research articles in UGC approved journals for all
disciplines.

▪ Only for July 2020 Session

- For the candidates belonging to language disciplines: Should publish two

research articles in UGC approved Journals.

- For the candidates belonging to Arts disciplines: Should publish one

research article in SSCI Journals and other in UGC approved Journals.

- For the candidates belonging to Science disciplines: Should publish one

research article in SCI Journals and other in Journals indexed under
SCOPUS / Web of Science / UGC approved list.

▪ From January 2021 Session

- For the candidates belonging to language disciplines: Should publish two

research articles under Group I Journals.

- For the candidates belonging to Arts, Social Science and Humanities

disciplines: Should publish two research articles in the SCOPUS Listed
Journals.

Centre for Research, M S University - Ph.D. Revised Guidelines Page | 19 / 43

 - For the candidates belonging to Science and Engineering disciplines:
Should publish one research article in SCI Journals (Group II) and other
in SCOPUS Listed Journals.

List of Journals available in the below link: MSU Approved Journals.

https://www.msuniv.ac.in/Research/Centre-for-Research -

- Candidates should submit the extracts of the journal publications at the time
of thesis submission. The journal publications should include the following
details:

1. Details of the research scholars like Name, Register Number,

Name of the Research Centre and place.
2. Details of the Supervisor like Name, Designation, Department, College
and place.
3. Details of the affiliating University like Manonmaniam Sundaranar
University, Abishekapatti, Tirunelveli -627012, TamilNadu, India.

▪ The Supervisor should submit the panel of Examiners (in the prescribed format)
with the approval of Doctoral Committee in a sealed cover through the scholar
at the time of submission of Thesis.

▪ The Thesis shall report, in an organized and scholarly fashion, an account of

original research work of the scholar leading to the discovery of new facts or
techniques or correlation of facts already known and demonstrating a quality
contribution to the advancement of knowledge as well as the scholar’s ability to
undertake sustained research.

▪ Thesis shall be prepared in accordance with the format and specification

prescribed. One copy of thesis in PDF format and three copies of soft binding
shall be submitted. The Thesis shall include a Certificate from the scholar,
Supervisor and Joint Supervisor, if applicable, as prescribed, to the effect that
the Thesis is a record of original research work carried out by the scholar and
the work reported in the thesis is not copied from other sources/ not submitted
elsewhere for a degree or diploma. (Thesis submission form can be downloaded
from the website).

Centre for Research, M S University - Ph.D. Revised Guidelines Page | 20 / 43

 ▪ Soft copy of the thesis in PDF format shall be submitted in CD to the University.

▪ Fees shall be paid by the scholars for every year during the notified period till
the submission of the Thesis. Any other fees as applicable shall be paid as
notified from time to time.

▪ If the thesis is under Foreign Evaluation, Abstract, Synopsis and Panel of

Examiners shall be submitted six months before the date of submission of the
thesis to obtain the adjudicators’ acceptance well in advance.

4.3 The act of Plagiarism

▪ Compulsorily URKUND software should be followed in order to check

Plagiarism and permissible range upto 25% with respect to Results and
Discussion part of the Thesis for the Science Subjects and Analysis and
conclusion part for the Arts subjects (Should produce the certificate from the
Supervisor and Joint Supervisor (If applicable) on submission).

▪ In the case of scholars who have committed the act of plagiarism in the
Thesis/journal publication, his/her Thesis/degree shall be forfeited and his/her
research registration shall be cancelled and also he/she shall be debarred register
for any other programme in the University.

▪ For the abetment of above such action, the recognition of his/her Supervision
shall be withdrawn for a period of five years and he/she shall be debarred from
guiding the scholars for any research programme in the University till such
period.

▪ If any scholar has committed an act of self-plagiarism in the publications and

ascertained by the Committee constituted by the Vice-Chancellor, such work
shall not be allowed in his/her thesis and the scholar shall be fined up to
Rs.50000 with a warning to the Supervisor. The Synopsis of such scholar shall
be accepted only based on a new publication in a referred journal (as applicable).
If plagiarism is detected in the publications of any other scholar under the same
supervisor, the recognition of his/her Supervisor ship shall be withdrawn for a
period of five years and he/she shall be debarred from guiding the scholars for
any research programme in the University till such period.

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4.4 Evaluation
4.4.1. Appointment of Examiners
The panel of ten examiners who are experts in the field of research of the
scholar, five from India other than Tamil Nadu and Pudhucherry (Zone wise) and five
within Tamil Nadu and Pudhucherry except Manonmaniam Sundaranar University
jurisdiction, along with their publications details during the last three years and their
acceptance letter in the prescribed format. No two experts shall be from the same
Institution. The Vice-Chancellor will choose one examiner from outside the state and
one Examiner from within the state from the panel.

▪ Panel of Examiners from 5 Zones of India:

▪ Out of 5 zones of India, Panel of Examiners should be from at least 3 zones

(2+2+1) in any case two examiners should not be in the same institutions. As
far as possible the supervisors are advised to send one examiner from each zone.

▪ Panel of External examiners for the evaluation of the thesis in regional Languages
(Tamil, Malayalam etc.,) shall consist of minimum of two zones in the combination of
3+2 and should be from different states and Maximum of two examiners in the Cadre
of Assistant Professor (Stage-III) and three Examiners in the cadre of Associate
Professor / Professor. Further, Pondicherry is considered as external Zone.

▪ Panel of examiners (both internal and external) for the evaluation of thesis other than
regional languages shall consist of at least one examiner compulsorily from centrally
funded Institutes / National laboratories.
▪ E-mail consent to be the Ph.D. adjudicators from the panel members shall also
be taken as acceptance, specific undertaking is not required.

▪ If there is inordinate delay in the acceptance of Examiner ship or submission of

report by any of the examiners of one category, the Vice-Chancellor can choose
the examiner from the other category.

4.4.2. Foreign Evaluation

▪ Foreign examiners shall be included for evaluation of thesis with effect from
January 2022 session for all disciplines except regional languages other than
Tamil and the same shall be optional for previous sessions, except for the
remaining RNG ‘C’ & ‘B2’ category.
Centre for Research, M S University - Ph.D. Revised Guidelines Page | 22 / 43
 ▪ The Panel of Examiners shall be in the following pattern:

(i) Three Foreign Examiners from different regions and for Tamil the choice
of different regions is optional.

(ii) Three examiners from outside Tamil Nadu i.e., Two Examiners from
South Region (different states) and One Examiner from North Region.
or
One Examiner from South Region and Two Examiners from North
Region (different states).

(iii) Three examiners within Tamil Nadu i.e., Two Examiners from
different State Universities / different colleges (1 Professor, 1 Associate
or Assistant Professor)
and

One Examiner from Central Government funded Universities or

Research Institutes.

▪ The Vice Chancellor shall be authorized to select two examiners from the above
Panels, one examiner from the Panel of foreign examiners and one examiner
from the National Panel for adjudication.

▪ Further, the Vice Chancellor shall be authorized to select one examiner from the
Panel within Tamilnadu to act as examiner for viva voce examination.

▪ Panel of Examiners shall be submitted six months before the date of submission
of the thesis to obtain the adjudicators’ acceptance well in advance.

▪ Due to Foreign evaluation the Fees Structures shall be revised as follows with
effect from January 2022 session.

Thesis Submission fees: Rs. 15,000/-

Ph.D. Viva voce examination fees: Offline : Rs. 12,000/-

Online : Rs. 15,000/-

▪ The above fee shall also be applicable for the previous session scholars who
have opted for foreign evaluation except for the remaining RNG, ‘C’& ‘B2’
category.

Centre for Research, M S University - Ph.D. Revised Guidelines Page | 23 / 43

4.5 Evaluation Rules

▪ Degree will be awarded to the candidate only if both the examiners recommend
the award and on successful completion of the Viva-voce examination by the
candidate. Such a thesis belongs to the category RECOMMENDED FOR THE
AWARD. Further, the examiners will be requested to categorize the thesis either
as COMMENDED or HIGHLY COMMENDED.

▪ If any examiner recommends Revision/Re-Submission of the thesis, the

candidate should submit the revised/Re-Submission of thesis within six
months. The revised thesis will be sent for evaluation to the same examiner, if
he/she has specified so or to another examiner on the basis of his/her direction.
If one examiner or both examiners suggest a few minor corrections and not insist
on resubmission, the Research Supervisor will be responsible to verify and
certify that the corrections suggested by one or more examiners have been
carried out in the copies of thesis submitted before the viva voce. Such a thesis
shall belong to the category RECOMMENDED FOR REVISION BEFORE
VIVA-VOCE.

▪ If a PhD thesis is commended by one examiner and rejected by the other

examiner, the PhD thesis will be evaluated by a third examiner (different from
earlier two examiners) approved by the Vice-Chancellor from the examiners
available in the panel submitted earlier. The adjudication result will be declared
by taking into account the report of the examiner who had approved the thesis
and that of the newly appointed third examiner.

▪ Correction in the thesis suggested by the examiner before viva voce shall be
made by the candidate and duly certified by the guide and verified by the
Director, Centre for Research and processed for Viva – Voce Examination.

▪ Remuneration for Evaluation of Thesis - Rs.2000/-.

▪ Remuneration for evaluation of thesis to foreign examiners shall be One

hundred dollars.

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4.6 Viva-Voce Examination

▪ If the thesis is recommended for the award of the degree by the two examiners,
a public viva - voce will be conducted on a working day, after proper
announcement, with 15 days’ notice to the candidate as well as the public. The
Convener of the Viva Voce Board will be the Guide / Supervisor. The External
Examiner will be the member of the Viva Voce Board. The Research Supervisor
is responsible for the conduct of Doctoral Committee and other Examinations
like Pre - Ph.D. presentation and Viva - Voce Examination. The reports of the
examiners will be made available to the Examiner of viva-voce board, Doctoral
Committee members (2 members, Supervisor (Convener) and the co-Supervisor
(if any). It is duty of the Convener to consolidate the results of the Viva-Voce
Examination.

▪ If a candidate fails to defend his/her thesis in the viva-voce examination, the

candidate may be permitted to reappear for the viva-voce after a period of three
months. No further chance will be given to the candidate on any account.

5. Provisional Certificate and the Degree

The candidate will be issued provisional certificate after successful completion of the
viva-voce examination and on approval of the same by the Vice- Chancellor and subsequently
to be ratified by the Syndicate. For official purpose, the date of Viva-voce is to be treated as
the date of award of the Ph.D., Degree. The degree will be formally awarded in the ensuing
Convocation.

6. Research Centre Recognition /Renewal

▪ The Head of the Department in an institution is the Head of the Research Centre,
provided he/she has Ph.D., degree and other requirements of Manonmaniam
Sundaranar University. In a case, if the Head of the Department does not have
Ph.D., degree and fulfil other requirement of the Manonmaniam Sundaranar
University then a faculty member with Ph.D. qualification and academic
accomplishments as recommended by the principal shall be the Head of the
Research Centre which should be communicated to The Director, Centre for
Research, M.S. University.
Centre for Research, M S University - Ph.D. Revised Guidelines Page | 25 / 43
 ▪ All the University Departments are research centres of the University. A
Department of a College affiliated to the Manonmaniam Sundaranar University
will be recognized as a Research Centre by the Syndicate, if it fulfils the
following conditions:

- Submission of detailed proposal with fee of Rs. 20,000/-.

- At least one PG course should be offered in the department.

- Two approved Ph.D. Supervisors should be there to supervise PhD

candidates in the department.

▪ Sufficient infrastructure facilities like books, journals, lab facilities etc. should
be available in that department. The commission has to ensure whether at least
out of two one Guide has 3 years of continuous service left for his/her
retirement.

▪ An Inspection Commission consisting of a Convener and a subject expert

appointed by the Vice-Chancellor will be sent once in three years, without any
prior notice, to all the approved Research Centers of the University.

▪ The Inspection Commission shall assess the facilities and expertise available in
a particular center and recommend in its report to the University the PhD
programmes to be approved in a particular subject and allied subjects.

▪ The inspection committee is to ensure the adherence of norms stipulated for

research centres viz., infrastructure and institutional facilities available. A sum
of Rs.20,000/- shall be collected from the approved Research Centres as
Renewal fee.

▪ The Departments/Research Centres in the colleges affiliated to Manonmaniam

Sundaranar University shall only be recognized as Research Centres and not
any other research centre /institution which is not affiliated to Manonmaniam
Sundaranar University.

6.1 Interdisciplinary Research Centre Recognition /Renewal

▪ The Interdisciplinary Research Centre (IRC) should have clear cut protocol for
governance, function and sustenance with clear vision statement, mission targets
and impact analysis.

Centre for Research, M S University - Ph.D. Revised Guidelines Page | 26 / 43

 ▪ The proposed institution should have at least ‘A+’ Grade status in NAAC
accreditation process with at least 10 Research Centres, approved by
Manonmaniam Sundaranar University.

▪ The institution should have attained the status of College with Potential for
Excellence / DSIR certification.

▪ The proposed Research Centre should accommodate atleast a minimum of three

new faculty/research scientist in the pay scale of Assistant Professor/Scientist
‘C’ with minimum of three different disciplines. Faculty members of the same
institution can also conduct Interdisciplinary Research in this Centre, provided
should be a recognized research supervisor of Manonmaniam Sundaranar
University and is attached to a research centre approved by Manonmaniam
Sundaranar University.

▪ The Director/ Co-ordinator should have H-index of 20 and not exceeding 75

years of age. If the director exceeds more than 75 years of age, a Deputy
Director shall be appointed with the same qualification requirement of the
Director.

▪ The centre should have discipline specific high-end research equipments and
high-speed internet facility as per the verification / recommendation of
inspection committee. The facilities of Central Instrumentation Facility (CIF) of
Manonmaniam Sundaranar University may be utilized for research purposes
following the norms of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University.

▪ The proposed Interdisciplinary Research Centre should have a minimum of

5000 sq.ft. for Science discipline(s) and 2500 sq.ft. for Arts discipline(s)

▪ The cumulative “H” index of the faculty members of the proposed centre should
be more than 30.

▪ At the time of establishment, the proposed Interdisciplinary Research Centre

should have 10 publications in SCI journals. At the time of renewal, the centre
established should have a minimum of two SCI journals per year.

▪ The proposed Interdisciplinary Research Centre should pay a sum of

Rs.30,000/- for recognition and the same amount for the renewal once in every
three years.

Centre for Research, M S University - Ph.D. Revised Guidelines Page | 27 / 43

 ▪ All the research publications should carry the Name of the affiliating University,
Manonmaniam Sundaranar University.

▪ The proposed Interdisciplinary Research Centre shall operate atleast one funded
major project at the time of every renewal.

▪ The Interdisciplinary Research Centre should have taken any local

problem/issue and should have scientifically solved the problem/issue. The
required documents should be enclosed at the time of renewal.

▪ The Interdisciplinary Research Centre, at the time of renewal will be evaluated

on Social scientific responsibility (SSR) comprising of knowledge
dissemination purposes through awareness programmes, workshop and hands
on training every year.

▪ The Interdisciplinary Research Centre shall go for patens / other IPRs developed
by the centres. This number can be considered as SCI publications.

▪ Successful lincensed products, incubated products can be listed in lieu of

publications, where a weightage of two SCI publications per product.

7. General

Every candidate has to pay the prescribed research fees every year without fail. If the
candidate fails to pay the research fees within the month of registration, he/she has to pay the
prescribed fine for default payment. The University reserves the right to cancel the PhD
registration of a candidate who does not pay the fees within the stipulated time.

• Each payment should be made through “Demand Draft” drawn in favour of “The
Registrar, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University” payable at “Tirunelveli” or through
Challan in the Indian Bank A/c.No.6596950914. The Demand Draft or challan (IB)
should be sent to “Director, Centre for Research, Manonmaniam Sundaranar
University, Tirunelveli – 627 012” along with a covering letter duly forwarded by the
Supervisor.

• All communications by the scholar to the University should be sent only through the
Supervisor (and Co-supervisor, wherever applicable).

Centre for Research, M S University - Ph.D. Revised Guidelines Page | 28 / 43

• All applications, either for PhD registration or for PhD Guideship shall be addressed to
the “Director, Centre for Research, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University”.

• The Director, Centre for Research shall process the applications and place the Research
Section note through the Registrar for Vice- Chancellor’s administrative approval and
after wards, Syndicate’s approval, wherever required as per statute. All orders of Ph.D.,
Registration and Supervisor ship and other administrative orders, shall be
communicated by the Director Research. Orders related to sanctioning of Research
Centre and award of Ph.D., degree shall be communicated by the Registrar. All other
types of communications shall be sent by the Director, Centre for Research.

The Director, Centre for Research is authorized to approve and communicate

the matters pertaining to:

a) Change of Research Center.

b) Change of Supervisor.

c) Change of Title.

d) Releasing the result of Pre PhD-Part I Examination.

e) Fixing Observer for the conduct of Viva-Voce Examination.

f) Inclusion of Co-Guide.

g) Cancellation of Co-Guide.

h) Permissible Extensions as per regulations.

• Following successful completion of the Evaluation process and the announcement of

the award of PhD, the Director, and Centre for Research shall forward a soft copy of
the Thesis to the UGC.

• Any act of plagiarism, if found will be viewed seriously by the University and the penal
action will include cancellation of Supervision of the concerned Supervisor and
cancellation of the degree awarded to the candidate.

• Items not covered under the above said regulations will be dealt with by the Vice-
Chancellor or a Committee duly appointed by the Vice-Chancellor.

Centre for Research, M S University - Ph.D. Revised Guidelines Page | 29 / 43

 ANNEXURE - I
FEE DETAILS FOR FULL-TIME & PART-TIME CATEGORY
(For candidates to be admitted on or after 01-07-2016)

Each payment should be made through any Indian Bank Challan A/c. No. 6596950914
or online payment.

S.
Item Within India in Rs.
No
1 Qualifying Examination for Ph.D. Programme 2000
2 Registration Fee 1,500
(University Fee + Library) +
Full Time
Research Centre fee
3 Research Fee per year for Arts (8,000+1,000) + (4,000 + 500)

Research Fee per year For Science (11,000 +1,000) + (5,500 + 500)
(University Fee + Library +
Part-Time
Research Centre) fee

Research Fee per year for Arts (10,000+1,000) + (5,000 + 500)

4
Research Fee per year For Science (13,000 +1,000) + (6,500 + 500)

[If the scholar selects University department as the Research Centre, then the
Research Centre fee should be paid along with the Research Fee]

Research Fee for Physically Challenged

5 Candidates up to the minimum period and NIL
Viva-Voce Fees
Fine for default payment of research fee (for 500
6
each default Payment) More than 6 months Rs. 1000/-
Fine for not following the stipulated period as
per guidelines for the completion of course
7 500 per year
work, conduct of Doctoral Committee
Meeting, etc.,
As prescribed by Research
8 Extension Fee Board at the time of
recommending extension
9 Part-I (course work) Examination Fee 1000 per paper
Copy of the Documents submitted by the
10 500
Candidates required by them
11 Guideship Application Processing Fee 3,000

Centre for Research, M S University - Ph.D. Revised Guidelines Page | 30 / 43

 S.
Item Within India in Rs.
No
12 Change of Supervisor 7,500

13 Change of Research Centre 5,000

Conversion from Full Time to Part time (Vice-

14 5,000
versa)
15 Pre Ph.D. Presentation 1,000
16 Cancellation of Ph.D. Registration Nil
17 Issuing of duplicate Certificates 2,000
Fee for Viva – Voce Examination for Full Time,
18 10,000
Part Time Internal / External candidates.
UGC Compliance Certificate - Ordinary 3,000
19
- Tatkal Scheme 7,000
20 Thesis Submission Fee 10,000
21 Change of Discipline 5,000
Certificate of List of Awardees under the
22 1,000
Supervision of the Supervisor
23 Plagiarism Check 1,000
Exemption Certificate after getting UGC
24 500
compliance certificate
25 Publication of Thesis 1,000
26 World Education Service Form (WES) 5,000
27 Change of Doctoral Committee Members 5,000
28 Thesis submission certificate 500
29 Certificate for medium of study 500
30 Co-Guide inclusion 5000
31 Research Centre Recognition / Renewal 20000
Interdisciplinary Research Centre Recognition
32 30000
/Renewal
33 Fees for Doctoral Committee Meeting 5,000 for each meeting*
* The research scholars having the affiliated colleges as research centres should pay
Rs. 2,500/- to the respective College and the remaining fee of Rs. 2,500/- to the
University. The College will pay the remuneration for DC members as per the
University norms and a record of account be maintained by the College, with a copy
marked to the University.
* The Research Scholars having the University Department as research Centre should
pay Rs. 5,000/- to the University.

Centre for Research, M S University - Ph.D. Revised Guidelines Page | 31 / 43

For Foreign Students:

A student from any developed countries should pay $3000 per annum and students from
SAARC countries should pay $300 per annum and no other fee shall be paid by them for the
Ph.D Programme.

Exemption:
▪ Exemption of Research fees to the Physically Challenged candidates for the
minimum period stipulated for Ph.D. Programme.
▪ Exemption of Viva-Voce Examination fee to the Physically Challenged candidates.

Note: University reserves the right to revise the fee at any time. The above fee structure is
applicable only to those who register for Ph.D., from 01.07.2016.

Centre for Research, M S University - Ph.D. Revised Guidelines Page | 32 / 43

 ANNEXURE - II
GUIDELINES FOR THE PREPARATION OF SYNOPSIS
Synopsis should outline the research problem, the methodology used for tackling it and
the summary of the findings. The size of Synopsis should not exceed 15 pages of typed matter
reckoned from the first page to the last page including the List of Publications. The sequence
in which the Synopsis should be arranged is as follows with References and List of Publications
in separate pages:

1. Cover Page and Title page (as shown at the end of specification)
2. Text divided into suitable Headings (numbered consecutively)
3. References (not more than 15)
4. List of Publications (those published/accepted for publication in Journals and papers
presented in Conferences/Symposia). Mention Impact Factor of the Journal (if
applicable).

Standard A4 size (297mm x 210mm) bond paper may be used for preparing the copies.
The Synopsis should have the following page margins:

Top edge : 30 to 35 mm
Bottom edge : 25 to30 mm
Left side : 35 to 40 mm
Right side : 20 to 25 mm

The Synopsis should be prepared on good quality standard A4 size white paper not
lower than 80 GSM. One and a half line spacing should be used for typing the general text. The
general text shall be typed in Font Style Times New Roman and Font Size 13. One or two
Tables/Figures may be included at appropriate places in the text and they should conform to
the margin specifications. All page numbers (Arabic numbers) should be typed without
punctuation on the upper right hand corner 20 mm from top with the last digit in line with the
right hand margin. Synopsis should be bound with black calico cloth and using flexible cover
of thick white art paper. The cover should be printed in black letters and the text for printing
should be identical to what has been prescribed for the title page structure is applicable only to
those who register for Ph.D from 01.07.2016.

Centre for Research, M S University - Ph.D. Revised Guidelines Page | 33 / 43

REFERENCES

1. Journal Article: with Single Author

Waldron, S 2008, ‘Generalized Welch bound equality sequences are tight frames’,
IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, vol. 49, no. 9, pp. 2307-2309.

2. Journal Article: with Two Authors

Conley, TG &Galeson, DW 1998, ‘Nativity and wealth in mid-nineteenth century
cities’, Journal of Economic History, vol. 58, no. 2, pp. 468-493.

3. Journal Article: with more than two Authors

Alishahi, K, Marvasti, F, Aref, VA & Pad, P 2009, ‘Bounds on the sum capacity of
synchronous binary CDMA channels’, Journal of Chemical Education, vol. 55, no. 8,
3577- 3593.

4. Books
Holt, DH 1997, Management Principles and Practices, Prentice-Hall, Sydney.

5. E-book
Aghion,P&Durlauf, S (eds.) 2005, Handbook of Economic Growth, Elsevier,
Amsterdam. Available from: Elsevier books. [4 November 2004].

6. Conference Proceeding Paper with editors

Riley, D 1992, ‘Industrial relations in Australian education’, in Contemporary
Australasian industrial relations: proceedings of the sixth AIRAANZ conference, ed.
D. Blackmur, AIRAANZ, Sydney, pp. 124-140.

7. Conference Proceeding Paper without editors

Fan, W, Gordon, MD & Pathak, R 2000, ‘Personalization of search engine services for
effective retrieval and knowledge management’, Proceedings of the twenty-first
international conference on information systems, pp. 20-34.

8. Website
Australian Securities Exchange 2009, Market Information. Available from:
http://www.asx.com.au/professionals/market_information/index.html [5 July 2009].

9. Patent
Cookson, AH 1985, Particle trap for compressed gas insulated transmission systems,
US Patent 4554399.

10. Thesis: Unpublished

Hos, JP 2005, Mechano chemically synthesized nano materials for intermediate
temperature solid oxide fuel cell membranes. Ph.D. thesis, University of Western
Australia.

11. Newspaper: Print

Ionesco, J 2001, 'Federal election: new Chip in politics', The Advertiser 23 October,

Centre for Research, M S University - Ph.D. Revised Guidelines Page | 34 / 43

 SPECIMEN COPY OF COVER PAGE AND
TITLE PAGE

A THESIS

Submitted by

<NAME INITIAL>
<REG.NO>

<DISCIPLINE>

in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

MANONMANIAMSUNDARANAR UNIVERSITY
TIRUNELVELI – 627 012

<MONTH & YEAR OF SUBMISSION>

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 ANNEXURE – III
GUIDELINES FOR THE PREPARATION OF THESIS
The scholars are expected to read carefully the Guidelines given in the sequel and
meticulously follow them in the preparation of the Thesis. Non-compliance with any of
these instructions may lead to the rejection of the Thesis submitted.

1. GENERAL

The manual is intended to provide broad guidelines to the research scholars in the
preparation of the Thesis. In general, the Thesis shall report, in an organized and scholarly
fashion, an account of original research work of the research scholar leading to the discovery
of new facts or techniques or correlation of facts already known. Thesis shall demonstrate a
quality as to make a definite contribution to the advancement of knowledge and the research
scholar's ability to undertake sustained research and present the findings in an appropriate
manner with actual accomplishments of the work.

2. SIZE OF THESIS

▪ Number of pages of Ph.D., Thesis should be between 100 and 400. Minimum,
excluding references and Annexure is 100

▪ Maximum, including references and Annexure is 400

▪ Double line spacing in MS Word with 12 font size in Times New Roman

▪ It should be reckoned from the first page of Chapter 1 to the last page of the
thesis excluding reference section.

3. ARRANGEMENT OF THE CONTENTS OF THE THESIS

The sequence in which the Thesis material should be arranged and bound is as follows:

1. Cover Page
2. Title page
3. Certificate
4. Certificate of genuineness of the publications
5. Abstract (Tamil and English)
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 6. Acknowledgement
7. Table of Contents (Index Page)
8. List of Tables
9. List of Figures
10. List of Symbols
11. List of Abbreviations
12. Chapters
13. Appendices
- List of Publications
- Reprint of the Journals
14. References (Bibliography)
15. Bio–Data of the Candidate with signature (without contact number and
mail id).

▪ The Tables and Figures should be included subsequently after referring them in
the text of the Thesis.

▪ The general text shall be typed in Font Style Times New Roman and Font Size
12’’.

▪ In the Discipline of Mathematics, the general text shall be typed in Latex with
Font Size 12 point.

4. PAGE DIMENSIONS AND MARGIN

Standard A4 size paper not lower than 80 GSM shall be used for printing the Ph.D.,
thesis instead of bond paper. The thesis should be printed on both sides.

The final Thesis (at the time of submission) should have the following page margins:

Top edge : 30 to 35 mm
Bottom edge : 25 to 30 mm
Left side : 35 to 40 mm
Right side : 20 to 25 mm

Tables and Figures should conform to the margin specifications. Large size Figures
should be photographically or otherwise reduced to the appropriate size before insertion.

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5. MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

In the preparation of the manuscript, care should be taken to ensure that all textual
matter is typewritten to the extent possible in the same format as may be required for the final
Thesis. Hence some of the information required for the final typing of the Thesis is also
included in this section.
The headings of all items from 2 to 14 listed in section 3 should be typed in capital
letters without punctuation and centred 50 mm below the top of the page. The text should
commence 4 spaces below this heading. The page numbering for all items from 1 to 8 should
be done using lower case Roman numerals and the pages thereafter should be numbered using
Arabic numerals.

5.1 Cover Page & Title Page

A specimen copy of the Cover page and Title page for the Thesis is given above.

5.2 Certificate
The Certificate shall be typed in double line spacing using Font Style Times New
Roman and Font Size 13 as per the format. The certificate shall carry the Supervisor’s signature
and shall be followed by the Supervisor’s name, academic designation (not any other
responsibilities of administrative nature), department and full address of the institution where
the Supervisor has guided the research scholar. The term ‘SCHOLAR” must be typed in capital
letters in the left side duly signed. The term ‘SUPERVISOR’ must be typed in capital letters
between the Supervisor’s name and academic designation with signature. Signature of the Joint
Supervisor (if applicable) with the details specified as above should be included below the
Supervisor in the right-hand side.

5.3 Certificate of Genuineness of the publications

The certificate has to be issued by the Supervisor. The format can be downloaded from
the University Website

5.4 Abstract

Abstract in English should be an essay type of narration not exceeding four pages
outlining the research problem, methodology used for tackling it and a summary of the findings.
This shall be typed in one and a half line spacing using Font Style Times New Roman and Font
Size 13.

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 Besides Abstract in English, submission of one page Abstract in Tamil also shall be
made mandatory for Ph.D. Thesis of all subjects and this shall come into effect for the scholars,
who will submit their thesis from 1st June - 2022.

5.5 Acknowledgement
It should be brief and should not exceed one page when typed in one and a half line
spacing. The scholar’s signature shall be made at the bottom right end above his/her name
typed in capitals.

5.6 Table of Contents

The Table of contents should list all captions following it as well as any caption which
precedes it. The title page, Certificate and Acknowledgment will not find a place among the
items listed in the Table of Contents but the page numbers of which are in lower case Roman
letters. One and a half line spacing should be adopted for typing the matter under this head.
Arrangement of the Table Contents for the Thesis is given.

5.7 List of Tables

The list should use exactly the same captions as they appear above the Tables in the
text. One and a half line spacing should be adopted for typing the matter under this head.

5.8 List of Figures

The list should use exactly the same captions as they appear below the Figures in the
text. One and a half line spacing should be adopted for typing the matter under this head.

List of Symbols and Abbreviations - One and a half line spacing should be adopted
for typing the matter under this head. Standard symbols, abbreviations, etc. should be used.

5.9 Chapters

The chapters may be broadly divided into 3 parts (i) Introduction chapter, (ii) Chapters
developing the main theme of the Thesis and (iii) Results, Discussion and Conclusion. The
main text shall be divided into several chapters and each chapter may be further divided into
several divisions and sub-divisions.

• Each chapter should be given an appropriate title.

• Tables and Figures in a chapter should be placed in the immediate vicinity of the
reference where they are cited.

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 • Footnotes should be used sparingly. They should be typed single space and placed
directly underneath in the very same page which refers to the material they
annotate.

5.10 Appendices

Appendices are provided to give supplementary information, which if included in the

main text may serve as a distraction and cloud the central theme under discussion.
• Appendices should be numbered using Arabic numerals, e.g. Appendix 1,
Appendix 2, etc.

• Appendices, Tables and references appearing in appendices should be numbered

and referred at appropriate places just as in the case of chapters.

• Appendices shall carry the title of the work reported and the same title shall be
included in the Table of Contents page.

5.10.1 List of Publications

The list of publications (those already published/accepted forpublication in Journals
and papers presented in Conferences/Symposia) made by research scholar during the period of
research shall be reported in the Table of Contents. Mention UGC refereedJournal publications.
Every publication in the journal / conference / seminar / workshop etc., should have the
affiliation of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University with full address (Manonmaniam
Sundaranar University, Abishekapatti, Tirunelveli 627 012, Tamil Nadu, India).

5.10.2 Reprint of Journals

- Full Set of papers

5.11 List of References

Any works of other researchers, if used either directly or indirectly, the origin of the
material thus referred to as appropriate places in the Thesis should be indicated. The author’s
publications during the period of research should not be included in the references and can be
separately mentioned. A paper, a monograph or a book may be designated by the name of the
first author followed by the year of publication, placed inside brackets at the appropriate places
in the Thesis.

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5.11.1. Journal Article: with Single Author

Waldron, S 2008, ‘Generalized Welch bound equality sequences are tight frames’,
IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, vol. 49, no. 9, pp. 2307-2309.

5.11.2. Journal Article: with Two Authors

Conley, TG &Galeson, DW 1998, ‘Nativity and wealth in mid-nineteenth century

cities’, Journal of Economic History, vol. 58, no. 2, pp. 468-493.

5.11.3 Journal Article: with more than two Authors

Alishahi, K, Marvasti, F, Aref, VA & Pad, P 2009, ‘Bounds on the sum capacity of
synchronous binary CDMA channels’, Journal of Chemical Education, vol. 55, no. 8, pp. 3577-
3593.

5.11.4 Books

Holt, DH 1997, Management Principles and Practices, Prentice-Hall, Sydney.

5.11.5 E-book

Aghion, P &Durlauf, S (eds.) 2005, Handbook of Economic Growth, Elsevier,

Amsterdam. Available from: Elsevier books. [4 November 2004].

5.11.6 Conference Proceeding Paper with editors

Riley, D 1992, ‘Industrial relations in Australian education’, in Contemporary

Australasian industrial relations: proceedings of the sixth AIRAANZ conference, ed. D.
Blackmur, AIRAANZ, Sydney, pp. 124-140.

5.11.7 Conference Proceeding Paper without editors

Fan, W, Gordon, MD & Pathak, R 2000, ‘Personalization of search engine services for
effective retrieval and knowledge management’, Proceedings of the twenty-first international
conference on information systems, pp. 20-34.

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5.11.8 Website
Australian Securities Exchange 2009, Market Information. Available from:
<http://www.asx.com.au/professionals/market_information/index.htm>. [5 July 2009].

5.11.9 Thesis: Unpublished

Hos, JP 2005, Mechano chemically synthesized nano materials for intermediate

temperature solid oxide fuel cell membranes. Ph.D. thesis, University of Western Australia.

5.11.10 Newspaper Print

Ionesco, J 2001, 'Federal election: new Chip in politics', The Advertiser 23 October, p.
10.

5.12 Photographs in the photographic paper / A4 size paper shall be included after reference
if relevant to the work.

5.13 Bio- Data of the scholar should be included not exceeding two pages.

The citation may assume any one of the following forms:

Tables and Figures

“Table “means tabulated numerical data in the body of the Thesis as well as in the
appendices. All other non-verbal material used in the body of the Thesis and appendices such
as charts, graphs, maps, photographs and diagrams may be designated as Figures.

▪ A Table or Figure including caption should be accommodated within the prescribed margin
limits and appear on the page following the page where their first reference is made.
▪ Tables and Figures on half page or less in length may appear on the same page along with
the text. However, they should be separated from the text both above and below by triple
spacing.
▪ All Tables and Figures should be prepared on the same paper or material used for the
preparation of the rest of the Thesis.
▪ Two or more small Tables or Figures may be grouped if necessary, in a single page.
▪ Wherever possible, the photograph(s) shall be reproduced on a full sheet of photographic
paper or standard A4 size paper.
▪ More than one photograph can be included in a page.
▪ Samples of Fabric, Leather, etc., if absolutely necessary may be attached evenly in a page
and fixed/pasted suitably and should be treated as Figures.

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6. BINDING SPECIFICATIONS
▪ Thesis (3 copies) side pinning/stitching, covered with wrapper printed on 300 gsm
white art card with adhesive binding. The cover should be printed in black letters
and the text for printing should be identical to what has been prescribed for the title
page.

- - End - -

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