UGC NET 2022 New Update: Proposal to reserve 60% PhD seats for NET/JRF awardees dropped

UGC NET 2022 New Update: As per the latest notice, the proposal to reserve 60% of Ph.D. seats for NET/JRF awardees in all higher education institutes is dropped. The University Grants Commission has announced new admission rules allowing four-year undergraduate degree holders with at least a cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 7.5 can join Ph.D. programs and working professionals can now pursue part-time Ph.D.

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The commission has announced major changes in the eligibility criteria, admission process, and evaluation process for doctoral programs in colleges & universities. The UGC (Minimum Standards & Procedure for Award of Ph.D. degree) Regulation 2022 will replace the 2016 regulations. As per the new rules, the M.Phil Programmes have been discontinued by the National Education Policy 2020 altogether. However, this will not be applicable to those who have completed or pursuing M.Phil Degrees presently.

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UGC NET New Update 2022: For Doctoral Aspirants

Candidates having a 4-year/8-semester bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 75% marks in aggregate (or equivalent grade) are considered eligible for the Ph.D. program. Also, the candidates who have conventional three-year UG degrees need to complete a Master’s degree in two years. A Master Degree with a minimum of 55% marks in aggregate is mandatory for all doctoral aspirants.

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What are the changes in the Admissions Procedure?

There are no big changes in the admission process. The universities and colleges will continue to admit students through the NET/JRF Qualifications and entrance exams at the institutional level. The entrance syllabus will comprise 50% of the research methodology and 50% subject-specific as per the new regulations. During the selection, 70% weightage will be allotted for the performance in the written exam and 30% for the interview round. Also, the proposed common entrance exam for PH.Ds has been left out of the new rules.

How will the change impact Research Supervisors?

All the eligible professors, assistant professors, and associate professors can continue guiding up to eight, six, and four Ph.D. aspirants respectively at any period of time, like before. However, they could also guide three, two, and one M.Phil scholar over and above their Ph.D. candidates. But now, the MPhil program has been scrapped. The new Rules also limit faculty members with not more than three years of service left before superannuation from picking new research scholars under their supervision. They allow supervisors to guide up to two international research scholars on a supernumerary basis over and above the allowed number of domestic Ph.D. scholars.

What are the rules for a Part-Time Ph.D.?

The Part-Time Ph.D. has been newly launched for working professionals. Although it is an existing feature in the IITs, this will be new for most universities & colleges. The eligibility criteria would remain the same for both full-time and part-time aspirants. Also. the Part-Time Ph.D. candidates will have to submit a No-Objection Certificate from their employer.