UGC considering part-time PhD programmes for working professionals: Report

NEW DELHI: The University Grants Commission (UGC) is considering starting part-time PhD programmes for working professionals, the Indian Express report. This will be in tune with the system followed by the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).

UGC chairman Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar told the Indian Express that these programmes are offered by the top universities in the world and are also common in IITs. The UGC draft regulations on PhD might include provision on these part-time programmes, as per the report.

Also Read | Drop confusing ‘deemed university’ tag, amend UGC Act: Parliament Panel

The eligibility criteria for the part-time PhD programmes are likely to be similar to full-time programmes, as per the report. In order to study in these programmes, the working professionals will have to produce a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from their organizations, the report said.

“In part-time PhD programmes, a University faculty member supervises a PhD student, who works on his or her subject in consultation with the supervisor, but largely independently. Such part-time PhD programmes are available in some of the best universities across the globe. Why not in our Indian universities?” Kumar was quoted as saying by the IE.

Also Read | JNU academic council approves exit option for BTech-MTech dual degree students

The UGC chairman reportedly said that those students will have to complete coursework requirements during the first and second semester of the course. They can initially attend classes on campus if they are living in the same city as university and resume their work without residing on the campus, he said.

“Such part-time PhD programmes are very useful to professionals who cannot take long leave for doing PhD,” Kumar further said.