Doctor of Philosophy

(PhD)

Program Handbook

2017

Institute of TransDisciplinary Health Sciences and Technology

C/o Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT)
74/2, Jarakabande kaval, Attur PO,
Via Yelkahanka, Bangalore 560064.
tdu.edu.in
Table of Contents
1. Scope of the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program ...................................................................3

1.1 The definition of Trans-disciplinary (as per the Act) ...........................................................3

1.2 The nature of research encouraged in TDU ........................................................................3

1.3 Admission ..........................................................................................................................3

Enrolment ............................................................................................................................3

Student Categories ...............................................................................................................5

Fellowships ..........................................................................................................................5

Selection Criteria for all Fellowships .....................................................................................6

1.4 Registration at TDU ............................................................................................................6

1.5 Partner Research Institutions .............................................................................................7

1.6 University Academic and Research Council ........................................................................7

1.7 Doctoral Advisory Committee (DAC). .................................................................................7

1.8 Synopsis .............................................................................................................................8

1.9 Research Supervisor...........................................................................................................8

1.10 Co-Supervisors .................................................................................................................9

1.11 Research Supervisor – Eligibility Criteria ........................................................................9

1.12 Duration of the Program ................................................................................................10

2. Progress report .....................................................................................................................11

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3. Fees and other costs..............................................................................................................12

4. Cancellation of Registration...................................................................................................12

5. Coursework ...........................................................................................................................13

5.1 Grading System ................................................................................................................14

5.2 Seminars ..........................................................................................................................14

6. Thesis ....................................................................................................................................14

6.1 Research ..........................................................................................................................14

6.2 Submission of thesis ........................................................................................................15

6.3 Thesis defense .................................................................................................................16

6.4 Publications from the PhD work or thesis ........................................................................16

6.5 Award of Degree ..............................................................................................................17

6.6 Complaint Redressal ........................................................................................................17

6.7 Plagiarism -Zero tolerance ...............................................................................................18

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1. Scope of the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program
Research in knowledge generation, dissemination and application in any topic related to
“Transdisciplinary sciences and technology”.

1.1 The definition of Trans-disciplinary (as per the Act)

The scope of the term Trans-Disciplinary is defined in the Institute of Transdisciplinary Health Sciences
and Technology (TDU) Act as the Indian traditional health sciences and other systems of knowledge
including; biomedicine, life sciences, social sciences, environment studies, design, architecture,
performing and fine arts, engineering and management and policy studies.

Therefore, students from all disciplines implied in the definition above are eligible to enroll for our PhD
Program.

1.2 The nature of research encouraged in TDU

One of the key goals of TDU is the creation of new knowledge through trans-disciplinary research
including but not limited to basic sciences, clinical, pharmacological, pharmaceutical, biomedicine, life
sciences, environment studies, design architecture, performing and fine arts, engineering, technology,
management and social sciences.

Hence TDU encourages research related to knowledge generation, knowledge dissemination and
knowledge application in these fields. Research related to knowledge generation is the conventional
focus of research in most Universities. TDU, however, will also support research related to design of
dissemination strategies including the use of information technology and also action-research related to
knowledge application, through well designed experimental outreach programs.

1.3 Admission

Enrolment
1. Students seeking admission for a PhD Program must possess at least one of the following
qualifications;
a. Domestic Students:
i. A Master’s degree with atleast 55% from UGC recognised University including
but not limited to traditional Health sciences, Biomedicine, life sciences, social

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 sciences, environment studies, design, architecture, performing and fine arts,
engineering and management and policy studies. 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.
ii. Students with professional bachelor’s degree (of atleast 4 years) from a UGC
recognised University including but not limited to BE/BTech, MBBS, BAMS, etc.
b. International Students:
i. A Master’s degree from a reputed Foreign University1
ii. A score of at least 6.5 in IELTS or equivalent qualifying test for English language
and proven writing skills.
2. All students will submit the PhD Program Application form along with self attested supporting
documents as required and stated in the Program Application form.
3. Entrance Assessment
a. Students who have successfully cleared a PhD entrance exam like UGC/CSIR NET, DBT
(JRF), ICMR, DST (INSPIRE), etc or PhD entrance exam or equivalent exam of any other
institution’s will be invited directly for a Personal Interview before an admission
committee.
b. Students who have not successfully cleared any entrance exam will be required to take
the TDU entrance test. The entrance test shall be qualifying with qualifying marks as
50%. The syllabus of entrance test shall consist of 50% of research methodology and
50% shall be subject specific. The entrance test will be conducted at TDU’s campus.
4. Personal Interview
a. All students who have successfully achieved atleast 50% marks in the entrance test will
be invited to appear for a personal interview before a duly appointed admissions
committee appointed by the Graduate Research Committee (GRC).
b. The interview will focus on the competence of the student for the proposed research,
availability of facilities within the TDU ecosystem to conduct the said research work,
availability of funding for conducting the said research work and the student’s research
work contributes to new/additional knowledge.

1
A University that is accredited by an Assessment and Accreditation Agency in that country, recognized or authorized by an aut hority,
established or incorporated under a law in its home country or any other statutory authority in that country for the purpos e of assessing,
accrediting or assuring quality and standards of educational institutions. The equivalence will be obtained from recognised a gencies in India.
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 5. Students recommended by the admission committee only will be offered a place in TDU’s PhD
Program.
6. Students are required to complete all admission formalities within 6 (six) weeks from the date
the student is informed of being offered a place in the PhD Program.
7. Students who have completed the admission formalities will be issued with a Provisional
Registration into the program enabling them to start their coursework.
8. Students enrolled into the program will seek consent from an approved faculty member at TDU
or Partner Research Institute whom he/she chooses to be his/her Research Supervisor and
submit the consent form to the admission committee. The Research Supervisor appointment is
subject to the approval of the admissions committee.
9. PhD through distance education mode is NOT offered by TDU.
10. Exception to any of the above minimum requirements may be considered by the GRC on a case
to case basis and the merit of the case. All exceptions recommended by the GRC must be
ratified by the Academic and Research Council (ARC)

Student Categories

1. Students who are supported by external funding from a faculty grant or have fellowships from UGC,
CSIR, DBT, ICMR, Ministry of AYUSH or DST.
2. Students supported by fellowship at TDU University on the basis of their performance in the personal
interview, the statement of purpose and the recommendation of the GRC. Presently TDU offers limited
number of fellowships for transdisciplinary research.
3. Students with their own financial support who wish to do research towards a PhD at TDU.

In all categories outlined above, students will follow all rules and regulations applicable to Research
Students and all students will enjoy the same privileges.

Fellowships
1. Limited numbers of TDU Fellowships are available for transdisciplinary research that interfaces Indian
Systems of Medicine with other trans-disciplinary knowledge domains.
2. All fellowships will be for a period of 4 years starting from the date of issue of the Provisional
Registration into the PhD Program at TDU to the time of submission of the thesis for public defence.

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Selection Criteria for all Fellowships
Being an innovative trans-disciplinary research University, the GRC will follow a rigorous selection process
for the award of all Fellowships at TDU. The selection criteria will be broadly based on;
1. Students overall academic performance including academic, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities,
2. The research work is in the thematic areas of interest to the sponsoring body,
3. A crisp, achievable statement of purpose that is trans-disciplinary in nature,
4. A good presentation and discussion of the statement of purpose with the admission committee as part
of the student’s personal interview and
5. Recommendation from the admission committee to offer the student a place in TDU’s PhD Program.

1.4 Registration at TDU

1. Students are given provisional registration number once they complete the admission formalities at
the University.
2. The student’s formal registration is confirmed only after;
a. the student successfully completes the coursework and which is certified by the Student’s
Doctoral Advisory Committee (a minimum of 8 credits and a maximum of 16 credits),
b. the Doctoral Advisory Committee (DAC) approves the synopsis of the student.
3. Students are expected to complete their coursework and submit their synopsis within 12 months.
Students can request the GRC for an extension if required to successfully complete coursework and
synopsis.
4. Before completion of the coursework, the student in consultation with the Research Supervisor will
submit a list of faculty members or experts who have assented to become members of the student’s
DAC.
5. On successfully completing the coursework, the student will submit to DAC a coursework
completion report with appropriate enclosures along with his / her research synopsis for the
acceptance of the DAC.
6. The DAC after reviewing the coursework and Synopsis will recommend the confirmation of the
student’s PhD registration to the GRC. The registration confirmation is subject to the approval of
GRC.

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1.5 Partner Research Institutions

TDU partners with various research institutions, centers of excellences or research centers for joint
research projects. Due to this, PhD Students can avail the following;

1. Choose faculty at partner research institutions as their research supervisors or co-supervisors

depending on the subject of his / her research work.
2. Get access to facilities at these partner research institutions on a need basis with prior approval
from both their School Advisor and the Partner Research Institution.
3. Take coursework conducted at these partner research institutions to earn coursework credits.

1.6 University Academic and Research Council

The University Academic and Research Council (ARC) is the final decision making body for all official
academic policies and frameworks that govern all education programs at TDU. The ARC is responsible
for approving the guidelines for the PhD Program as recommended by the GRC.

1.7 Doctoral Advisory Committee (DAC).

1. The student in consultation with his / her Research Supervisor will constitute a DAC, consisting of
atleast 3 (three) members including the Research Supervisor. The DAC will include a minimum of the
following members;
a. Research Supervisor – Convener
b. A Subject expert
c. A Faculty with the subject knowledge from either at TDU or Partner Research institute
2. The DAC should necessarily include along with the Research Supervisor, atleast one subject expert in
the domain of the research work undertaken by the student.
3. DAC will review student’s research progress every 6 months and submit their report to GRC. The
decision of the DAC is final and in the event of DAC failing a student, the student will be required to
exit the PhD Program.
4. The responsibilities of the DAC at the least will include
a. To review the research proposal and finalize the topic of research;
b. To guide the research scholar to develop the study design and methodology of research and
identify the course(s) that he/she may have to do.
c. To self certify that the member has attended and listened to the student presentations

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 d. To periodically review and assist in the progress of the research work of the research
scholar.

1.8 Synopsis

1. A synopsis of the proposed research should be approved as mentioned above in the registration
Section 1.4.
2. The synopsis is recommended to be presented in A4 sized pages (single spacing, 12 point) and
should not be more than 15 pages.
3. The synopsis should atleast include;
a. Introduction / Background
b. Statement of objectives
c. Proposed research (questions, study design, field methods, type of data collected, proposed
methods of analyses)
d. Expected Outputs
e. Funding (any relevant information on the source of funding)
f. Bibliography – arranged in an alphabetical order and using international style standards like
APC or Chicago Styles.
4. The student will submit atleast 3 hard copies (1 electronic copy in MS Word Format) of the synopsis
along with the synopsis form.
5. The student synopsis will be subject to plagiarism check using international plagiarism software.
6. Change of synopsis: A change in the registered synopsis of Research may be permitted for a Student
provided it is recommended by the DAC and is approved by the GRC. A detailed report including the
reasons for the change, impact on the research work (both completed and planned) and the new
synopsis approved by the DAC should be submitted to the GRC at TDU.

1.9 Research Supervisor

1. Students are encouraged to interact with all faculty members at TDU and Partner Research
Institutes in order to identify their Research Supervisor, who understands the student’s research
interests and meets TDU’s eligibility criteria.
2. Students will seek and obtain consent from the selected faculty member at TDU or Partner Research
Institute whom the student chooses to be his/her Research Supervisor.

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3. Research Supervisor should be an approved faculty at TDU or partner research institution, who meet
the eligibility criteria stated in section 1.11 below.
4. Students can also have a Co-Supervisor who could be a faculty member from TDU, Partner Research
institution or any external faculty who will meet the same eligibility criteria as applicable to the
Research Supervisor.
5. Tenure as Research Supervisor: Faculty who leave TDU or partner research institution will continue
to serve as a Research Supervisor for students assigned to them in the best interests of the student,
until the student finds a replacement Research Supervisor either within TDU or at partner research
institutions.
6. In the unexpected circumstances that the Research Supervisor or student do not want to continue
their association, a letter justifying the reasons for the same should be submitted to the DAC. The
DAC will seek to mediate between both parties, failing which the letter will be forwarded to the GRC
for approval.
7. On approval from GRC, the student should find another Research Supervisor within 3 months from
the date of such approval with the help from his/her DAC and inform GRC of the selected Research
Supervisor.

1.10 Co-Supervisors
The Research Supervisor or DAC, depending upon research work requirements can consider a Co-
supervisor for the student. The Co-supervisor will also meet the same eligibility criteria as applicable to
the Research Supervisor and in some cases where there is no or only limited number of refereed
journals, the student can approach the GRC for relaxing the publications conditions for the co-
supervisor, especially for eminent persons recognised by society in that domain of study. However, the
research supervisor will be responsible for the student and will be the guiding force for the student till
the award of the degree. The inclusion of co-supervisor in the DAC is left to the discretion of the
Research Supervisor.

1.11 Research Supervisor – Eligibility Criteria

1. All faculty members of TDU or Partner Research Institution with a PhD qualification and a minimum
of 3 years’ experience in research and with atleast 5 (five) publications in reputed
international/national journals are eligible to become Research Supervisor at TDU or Partner
Research Institutions.

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2. All faculty members of TDU or Partner Research Institution with a PhD qualification but having less
than 3 years’ experience in research can also be considered by the GRC for approval provided the
faculty has atleast 3 (three) publications in reputed international/national journals and

meets a preset professional standard set by GRC.

3. All faculty members of TDU or Partner Research Institution with an MD/MTech/MSc degree and five
(5) years of clinical practice or research with atleast 3 (three) publications in reputed

international/national journals.
4. All faculty members of TDU or Partner Research Institution with a BAMS/MBBS/BTech degree and
ten (10) years of work experience can also be considered by the GRC for approval provided the
faculty has atleast 3 (three) publications in reputed international/national journals and meets

with preset quality standards set by GRC.

5. A Research Supervisor who is a Professor shall at no time supervise more than 8 (eight) doctoral
candidates in total.
6. A Research Supervisor who is an Associate Professor or equivalent2 shall at no time supervise more
than 6 (six) doctoral candidates in total.
7. A Research Supervisor who is an Assistant Professor or equivalent shall at no time supervise more
than 4 (four) doctoral candidates in total.
8. Notwithstanding what is stated above, the Graduate Research Committee (GRC) reserves the right
to approve distinguished people and Emeritus Professors as Research Supervisor, depending upon
the merit of the case.

1.12 Duration of the Program

1. The minimum duration of research study for PhD Students will be 3 (three) years from the date of
provisional admission into the program.
2. The maximum duration of research study for PhD Students will be 6 (six) years from the date of
provisional admission into the program.
3. In the event of student requiring an extension beyond the maximum duration, the student will
submit a justification for the same to the DAC and if it finds the reason valid, DAC will recommend to
the GRC to grant the student such an extension.

2
The equivalence should be pre-defined by the School or Partner Research Institute, inline with any relevant UGC
guidelines and approved by TDU Registrar’s Office.
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4. Women candidates and Persons with Disability3 (more than 40% disability) may be allowed a
relaxation of two years further to the maximum duration specified above.
5. Women candidates may be provided Maternity Leave/Child Care Leave once in the entire duration
of the program for up to 240 days.

1.13 Student Transfers

1 All Student transfers cases will be handled as per the “Guidelines for PhD Student Transfers”
approved by TDU’s Academic and Research Council.

2. Progress report
1. The student will mandatorily be required to submit to DAC a half yearly progress reports (every 6
months from the date of registration) duly signed by the Research Supervisor.
2. Students will be reminded by their Research Supervisor 15 days prior to the due date.
3. DAC will submit a semi-annual report to the GRC that will include feedback on the research work
done, recommendation if the student should continue and any guidelines that could help in the
student’s progress in his / her research work.
4. The report approved by the GRC, of students awarded Fellowships, will be shared with the
sponsoring body by the PhD Program Administrator for information purposes.
5. If the semi-annual report from the DAC is not received, the PhD program administrator will notify
the student and his/her Research Supervisor of the non-receipt of the report. In the event of non-
submission of the report by the DAC to the GRC within two weeks from the date of this notification,
the GRC will be compelled to recommend the withholding of the student's fellowship (where
student is offered a Fellowship) or take any other appropriate action until such time the report is
received from the DAC. All communications in this regard will be copied to the concerned Research
Supervisor.
6. Students repeatedly defaulting on the semi-annual report twice will be referred to the Disciplinary
Committee by the GRC for recommendation of suitable action.

3
As defined by The Person with Disability Act 1995, Government of India.
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3. Fees and other costs
The fees table below is applicable to all students.
Sl. Fee Description Domestic Students International Students
1 Application Fees Rs. 1,000 US $ 100
2 Entrance Test Fees Rs. 1,500
3 Registration Fees Rs. 10,000 US $ 1,000
4 Annual Tuition Fees Rs. 25,000 US $ 2,500
5 Trans-Disciplinary Framework Course Rs. 5,000 US $ 500
6 Thesis Evaluation Fees Rs. 10,000 US $ 1,000
7 Convocation Fees Rs. 2,000 US $ 200

Other Fees that the student should budget during the study depending on the research work the
student undertakes are as below;

Sl. Other Fee Description4 Domestic International

1 Annual Library Fees Rs. 5,000 US $ 500
2 Annual Hostel Expenses
Rs. 90,000 US $ 2,500
– Double occupancy w food w/o AC.
3 Lab Fees (as per the Lab Rate card) At Actual At Actual

1. For Project-based PhD students all expenses will have to be borne by the student and/or the project
with the approval of the Research Supervisor /PI.
2. TDU fellowship is offered only to students not receiving any another fellowship and such fellowship
funding for that research work is available with TDU.

4. Cancellation of Registration
1. Registration may be cancelled by GRC, on the recommendation of DAC based on the lack of progress
and as recommended by the Research Supervisor after giving the student an opportunity to defend
his/her case to the DAC.

4
A Refundable Security deposit of Rs. 5,000 will be required to be paid for each to Library, Lab and Hostel.

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2. Registration will be cancelled by GRC if the student fails to submit the thesis atleast 45 days before
the date on which the stipulated/extended period ends.
3. Registration will be cancelled by GRC if the student is found guilty of indiscipline by any of TDU’s or
Partner Research Institution’s Disciplinary or Academic committees.

5. Coursework
1. Students admitted to the PhD Program are required to undergo coursework for a minimum period
of one semester.
2. The total required coursework load for students is a minimum of 8 (eight) credits and a maximum of
16 (Sixteen) credits and should include;
a. A minimum of 4 (four) credits shall be assigned to one or more courses on Research
Methodology which could cover areas such as quantitative methods, computer
applications, research ethics and review of published research in the relevant field,
training, field work, etc. Other courses shall be advanced level courses that prepare the
student enough for undertaking the desired research work.
b. A 2 (two) credits course on Transdisciplinary Knowledge Framework offered at TDU.
c. A minimum of 55% of marks or its equivalent grade in the UGC 7-point scale (or an
equivalent grade/CGPA in a point scale wherever grading system is followed) should be
obtained in the course work.
3. The student can claim credits for graded laboratory rotations, workshops, Seminars and research
work performance. All these credits will be evaluated and graded by DAC before recommendation to
the GRC for a full registration into the PhD program.
4. Only coursework, seminar and research learning or experience attended after the date of the
provisional registration shall count towards coursework credits.
5. The coursework should to be successfully completed within a maximum period of 12 months from
the date of the provisional registration to the PhD Program.
6. If coursework is not offered at TDU, the student may attend coursework in any institute / research
lab or register for self-study courses, subject to the approval of the Research Supervisor. In such
cases, the student shall obtain prior approval from the Research Supervisor and submit the grades
obtained in these courses to the DAC as part of the final submission.
7. Integrated Program: Student who join the PhD program with a Professional Bachelor’s degree
(atleast 4 years of study like BE/BTech) have to successfully complete 32 credits of coursework in a
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 minimum of 12 months or two semesters from the date of provisional registration and as specified
by the Research Supervisor. The student’s subsequent research work will be governed by rules
applicable to regular PhD students.

5.1 Grading System

1. UGC’s 7 Point Scale for coursework.

Table 2: Grades and grade point scores should be assigned based on the following format:
Grade Remarks % Marks Scored Grade Point
O Outstanding 75-100 5.50 - 6.00
A Very Good 65-74 4.50 – 5.49
B Good 55-64 3.50 – 4.49
C Average 45-54 2.50 – 3.49
D Below Average 35-44 1.50 – 2.49
E Poor 25-34 0.50 – 1.49
F Fail 0-24 0.00 – 0.49

5.2 Seminars
All students will be required to give at least 5 (five) seminars at TDU over the duration of their PhD
Program. These will include;
1. Synopsis defense – not later than 12 months from the date of provisional registration
2. Seminar to share research progress – atleast once a year
3. First thesis defense in the School before the DAC, faculty members and other research scholars
4. Final thesis defense

6. Thesis

6.1 Research

The thesis for research should be primarily driven by the student’s interest. Students have to develop
and pursue independent research questions for their PhD. The Research Supervisor, co-Supervisor (if
any) and DAC members will serve as mentors who will help guide the student’s research. Doctoral
students will be expected to contribute to grant proposals and also write short proposals to secure

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funding for their research. Grant proposals written by students should be submitted in consultation with
Research Supervisors and should follow the TDU guidelines for submitting grant proposals.
TDU promotes collaborative research and encourages students to collaborate with competent persons
in other institutions both within India and abroad. TDU has formal/informal partnerships with several
leading research institutions in the country, thus enhancing the range of possible areas for student-
driven research.

6.2 Submission of thesis

1. The Student for the award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy will submit 5 (five) printed copies
(including as electronic copy) of his/her thesis (in a prescribed format) to TDU not earlier than the
prescribed minimum period and not later than the prescribed maximum period (or on expiry of the
approved extension period).
2. The student in consultation with his/her research supervisor will recommend atleast 5 external5
examiners along with the submission of their thesis to the GRC.
3. GRC will identify 2 (two) external examiners along with the Research Supervisor who serves as the
internal examiner to constitute the “Board of Examiners” and then send them the thesis for
evaluation.
4. The two examiners will submit a detailed critique of the thesis. In the event of the examiners are of
the opinion that the thesis has to be revised to achieve the desired standard, the student shall re-
submit the thesis incorporating the revisions within a maximum period of three months from the
date on which the student is informed.
5. The public viva-voce of the student to defend the dissertation/thesis shall be conducted only if the
evaluation report(s) of the external examiner(s) on the dissertation/thesis are satisfactory and
include a specific recommendation for conducting the viva-voce examination. In case the thesis is
completely rejected by one examiner, it will be referred to another examiner by the GRC. 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, the dissertation/thesis will stand rejected and shall be
declared ineligible for the award of the degree.
6. Students have to submit 5 (five) printed copies of the final thesis along with a soft copy as per the
following guidelines, while submitting the thesis to TDU for evaluation.

5
Examiners who are not in employment of TDU or Partner Research Institute and further one of the examiner may
be from outside the country.
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 a. Please use the required formatting style as used for the submission of synopsis
b. The soft copy should be in both PDF and Word formats as prescribed by Shodhganga,
INFLIBNET.
c. The entire thesis should be included in a single document
d. The soft copy can be submitted in a CD or it can be submitted through email attachment
or a digital drop box facility to the PhD Program Administrator. It is the student’s
responsibility to ensure that the thesis has reached the administration and the
document opens without any problems by the administration computers.
7. TDU shall ensure that the entire process of evaluation of the PhD thesis will be completed within a
period of six months from the date of submission of the dissertation/thesis.

6.3 Thesis defense

1. The Student shall appear for a public defense of their thesis and oral examination only if the thesis is
unanimously or by consensus, approved by the `Board of Examiners’ which includes the research
supervisor and atleast one of the external examiners who has assessed the thesis.
2. The topic, date and time of the open defense of thesis will be notified well in advance and also
published on TDU’s website. The open defense will be conducted by one of the external examiners
selected by GRC.
3. At the oral examination, the Student’s general proficiency in the subjects allied to the field of his /
her study shall also be evaluated.
4. The response of the Student to questions, criticism and suggestions offered by the audience in the
open defense will be taken into consideration. However, the final decision is solely that of the
members of the `Board of Examiners’.
5. The PhD defense and oral examination will be conducted at TDU’s campus.
6. Written approval of the external examiners and research supervisor is required to be provided to
GRC for the official notification of the PhD degree.

6.4 Publications from the PhD work or thesis

1. “The Institute of Trans-disciplinary Health Sciences and Technology, India” name must be listed as
the affiliating institution in all publications of research by the student.
2. TDU name must be cited in the front page of the thesis.

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3. PhD Students should publish a minimum of 2 publications in a peer reviewed journal after the
registration with TDU and make two paper presentations in external conferences/seminars before
the submission of the dissertation/thesis for adjudication.
4. Copy of all publications should be sent to TDU library and the PhD Program Administrator.
5. The full thesis shall not be published as a separate volume without the approval of the University.
However, individual chapters can be published as journal papers or book chapters.
6. The University may grant permission for the publication of the full thesis as a separate volume under
such conditions as it may impose.
7. All Intellectual Property (IP) Rights issues will be discussed with TDU after the registration of the
student for the PhD program. By default the IP is expected to belong to the institution where the
student's research supervisor is employed. However in specific cases such as multi-disciplinary
works, TDU and the Partner Institution(s) could jointly decide on the assignment of the IP.
8. Students admitted to the PhD program and receiving fellowships as part of PI projects will be
required to execute a Confidentiality Agreement with the respective school to which the PI belongs.

6.5 Award of Degree

1. The Student shall be declared eligible for the award of the degree of “Doctor of Philosophy”, only on
the recommendations of the members of the board of examiners after successfully completing the
final public defense of thesis and oral examination.
2. In case the examiners are not satisfied with the performance of the Student in the above final
defense, the Student shall be required to reappear for an oral examination after a period of two
months provided such specific recommendation is made by the Board of Examiners.
3. Students who qualify for the PhD degree shall be issued a provisional certificate of completion of the
PhD program. The award of the official degree under the seal of the University and signed by the
Vice Chancellor and Registrar shall be at any of the subsequent convocations held for conferring
degrees.
4. If the PhD degree is awarded by a Foreign University, TDU shall consider such a degree only after
GRC has determined the equivalence of the degree awarded by the foreign University.

6.6 Complaint Redressal

1. Completing a PhD is a long and challenging task, and can often lead to tensions and occasionally
friction between Research Supervisor and Student, or between students and other faculty. Students

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 are encouraged to deal with such situations openly, preferably by taking it up with the research
supervisor or concerned faculty directly. They may also consult and solicit help from their DAC and
any other mechanism provided by TDU or Partner Research Institution (for students doing their
research work there).
2. If however, the matter does not get resolved informally, the student may submit a formal complaint
to the GRC.
3. The GRC will investigate the matter, including giving the student, research supervisor and concerned
faculty a proper hearing, and submit its report ordinarily within one month of the complaint being
filed, and at the most 2 months to the Graduate Research Committee (GRC).
4. The GRC will take the final decision in the matter and recommend appropriate actions, if any.

6.7 Plagiarism -Zero tolerance

Plagiarism is a serious matter and TDU will take strong exception towards any student indulging in acts
of plagiarism. For further information on what constitutes plagiarism, and for guidelines regarding
proper citation and acknowledgement of published work and of data available in the public domain,
please visit http://www.plagiarism.org/.

The student will submit a final draft copy of the dissertation/thesis to the library which run it through
the institution’s plagiarism software and provide a report generated from the system. Further while
submitting dissertation/thesis for evaluation, the research scholar will provide an undertaking and a
certificate from the Research Supervisor attesting to the originality of the work, vouching that there is
no plagiarism and that the work has not been submitted for the award of any other degree/diploma of
the same Institution where the work was carried out, or to any other Institution.

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18 AY 2017-18