Affiliation with Manipal University

The doctoral programme in ATREE is affiliated to Manipal University. The student is required to form a doctoral advisory committee within 6 months of admissions into ATREE. Within a year of admission into ATREE, he/she has to register with Manipal University. In this regard, the student should submit a synopsis of the proposed research work to MU and defend it in the presence of MU authorities at a time indicated by them. After this protocol submission, the student will be given a formal registration acknowledgement. The following are a few guidelines as mandated by MU.

Change of Research Project or Primary Supervisor

A change of Research Project or Primary Supervisor may be permitted to a candidate provided (a) it is recommended by the Doctoral Committee of the candidate concerned (b) approved by the Academic Council of ATREE, and (c) approved by the Academic Senate of Manipal University. Such changes shall be allowed preferably within the first six months of registration at Manipal University, but under no circumstances later than one year after the date of registration.

Six Monthly Report

The student is required to submit periodically, a 6-monthly report to the MU.

Submission of Dissertation

Each candidate for the award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy shall submit four copies of his/her thesis to Manipal University not earlier than the prescribed minimum period and not later than the prescribed maximum period, which is,

• The minimum duration for Full time PhD candidates will be 3 years and maximum duration shall not exceed 6 years which will be based on the recommendation of the Doctoral Committee.
• The minimum duration for the Part time PhD candidates shall be 4 years and maximum duration shall not exceed 7 years which will be based on the recommendation of the Doctoral Committee.
• The minimum duration for candidates with M Phil qualification [in addition to postgraduate qualification] shall be 2 years in case of full time candidates and 3 years for part time candidates

Manipal University guidelines indicate that a board of three examiners shall be appointed by the Academic Senate of the University for assessment of the thesis. One of them shall be the Guide of the candidates who shall act as coordinator and internal examiner. The other two will be external examiners.

The examiners shall submit a detailed critique on the thesis. In case any one of the examiners is of the opinion that the thesis has failed to achieve the desired standard, but feels that the thesis can be accepted after a revision, it shall be resubmitted within a maximum period of six months from the date on which the candidate is informed.

In case the thesis is completely rejected by one examiner, it will be referred to another examiner from the panel. In case the thesis is approved by this examiner, it will be considered unanimously approved. In case the thesis is rejected by more than one examiner, it will stand rejected and shall not be referred by any other examiner.

Thesis defense

The candidate shall be entitled to appear at the defense of thesis and viva voce examination only if the thesis is unanimously approved by the Board of Examiners [The guide and an external examiners who would have previously assessed the thesis]. The topic, date and time of the defense of thesis shall be announced well in advance. At the viva voce, the candidate's general proficiency in the subjects allied to the field of his study shall also be evaluated. The criticism and suggestions offered by the audience in the viva voce will be considered, however, the result shall be decided solely by the members of the Board of Examiners.

Award of Degree

The candidate shall be declared eligible for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, only on the unanimous recommendations of the members of the board of examiners after the viva voce examination. In case the examiners are not satisfied with the performance of the candidate in the above examinations, the candidate shall be required to reappear for another viva voce examination after a period of two months provided such specific recommendation is made by the board of examiners.

Candidates who qualify for the PhD degree shall be awarded the degree under the seal of the University and signed by the Vice Chancellor at the next convocation held for conferring degrees.

Cancellation of Registration

Registration may be cancelled on the recommendation of Doctoral Committee based on the lack of progress as requested by the supervisor and also after giving due opportunities to the candidate for defending his/her case.

Registration may be cancelled if the candidate fails to submit the thesis before the maximum stipulated time period.