The PhD programme consists of no course work, just thesis. The guide has to be from your organization. BITS appoints a review committee to review your proposal and thesis etc. You have to clear a qualifying exam to be registered for the programme. You need to give some talks in your place of work to earn course credit. The min duration is 2 years and max is 5 years.
BIRLA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE, PILANI
PhD Qualifying Examination dates are Jan 22-24, 2009 and Aug 27-29,2009
OFF CAMPUS Ph.D (Ph.D ASPIRANTS SCHEME)
Under the Ph.D. aspirants scheme, BITS offers a unique opportunity for experienced personnel and professionals employed in various fields to work towards the Ph.D. degree in the settings of their respective work environments. The topic of research can emanate from the inhouse R & D needs of the host organisation and a senior professional of high academic standing from the organisation can be proposed as the supervisor. Under the scheme, professionals can seek permission to take the Ph.D. qualifying examination even before formalities of admission are completed.
Eligibility
As per the current rules, only those working professionals either possessing any BITS degree or working at a collaborating organization of BITS, Pilani are eligible to apply for off-campus PhD. Professionals eligible as per this rule, may apply as higher degree holder or through the M. Phil (Applied) route
1. Higher Degree Holders: Candidate holding a higher degree of the Institute or its equivalent, namely, M.E. / M.Phil. / M.S. /M.Pharm.
2. M.Phil. (Applied) Route: Candidate of high academic standing and proven competence not holding a degree equivalent to a higher degree of BITS, provided he can submit technical and professional documents giving evidence indicating that he has acquired knowledge equivalent to one of the higher degrees of the Institute, and acceptance of the same by the Institute
Admissions Modality
1. The Candidate has to apply in the prescribed application form available from the Admissions Officer. BITS, Pilani.
Following information and documents have to be enclosed with the application form:
i) Candidates holding a formal higher degree of BITS or its equivalent (M.E./M.Pharm./M.Phil./M.S.) and opting to take Qualifying Examination on the course package of this degree should submit the following:
· Mark sheet, the list and syllabus of each course prescribed for the fulfillment of the higher degree.
· List of prescribed textbooks for each course.
· Final examination question paper for each course indicating the level of subject treatment
ii) Professionals of high standing and proven competence holding only a first degree and not holding a higher degree(M. Phil. Apply Route).
Should identify the Higher Degree of BITS and its prescribed course package in which Ph.D. qualifying examination is to be taken and to which the professional standing can be notionally equated. As per past experience it is observed that the M.Phil. (Applied) degree of BITS is most suited for many candidates in this category. A list of courses for this degree is given below : and a minimum number of eight courses are to be chosen from the list.
Course No. Course Name
BITS E511 Computer Application I
BITS E512 Computer Application II
BITS E521 Technical Communication I
BITS E522 Technical Communication II
BITS E531 Social, Behavioral & Economic Science I
BITS E532 Social, Behavioral & Economic Science II
BITS E533 Modern Experimental Techniques I
BITS E534 Modern Experimental Techniques II
BITS E535 Management Methods & Techniques I
BITS E536 Management Methods & Techniques II
BITS E537 System Sciences and Engineering I
BITS E538 System Sciences and Engineering II
BITS E541 Chemical and Life Science I
BITS E542 Chemical and Life Science II
BITS E543 Instrumentation Engineering I
BITS E544 Instrumentation Engineering II
BITS E545 Project & Consultancy I
BITS E546 Project & Consultancy II
BITS E547 Public Administration I
BITS E548 Public Administration II
BITS E551 Physical and Mathematical Sciences I
BITS E552 Physical and Mathematical Sciences II
BITS E561 Use of English for Professional Purposes I
BITS E562 Use of English for Professional Purposes II
BITS E571 Methods & Planning & Development I
BITS E572 Methods & Planning & Development II
BITS E573 Study in Advanced Topics I
BITS E574 Study in Advanced Topics II
BITS E583 Case Studies I
BITS E584 Case Studies II
BITS E591 Science & Technology Development I
BITS E592 Science & Technology Development II
BITS E593 Reading Courses I
BITS E594 Reading Courses II
SKILL G661 Research Methodology I
SKILL G662 Research Methodology II
Read the course descriptions for above courses in Section VI of BITS Bulletin to arrive at the correct course package.
For each of the course identified in the above package, technical documents, published papers and reports prepared by the candidate in his professional capacity have to be compiled and submitted. The course-wise documents are examined and a pronouncement of suitability for the purpose of Ph.D. Qualifying examination is made.These documents together with some prescribed readings will broadly form the syllabus.
Additional Information to be Submitted
a) The proposed place of work and availability of facilities for research work along with organizational consent. Normally this has to be the place of work of the candidate.
b) Summary of your high professional standing and research competence. List papers and books published.
c) Tentative details of proposed topic of research and supervisor in the format given below:
Name of the candidate
Organization proposed as place of work
Proposed supervisor Name :
Qualification :
Designation :
Organization :
His affiliation with the candidate's organization :
Proposed topic of research
Objective of the proposed research
Background of proposed research
Methodology/work plan
Literature references
Major facilities needed for research work
d) Bio-data of the proposed supervisor, his consent and no objection from his organization.
2. Normal last dates for submission of completed application
forms are:
I Semester : 5.00 PM on 30th June
II Semester : 5.00 PM on 30th November
3. If found suitable, the candidate may be asked to come for interaction before being permitted to appear in the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination consisting of written and oral test.
4. If a candidate passes the qualifying examination , he has to immediately seek admission to the Ph.D. programme and register in each semester thereafter.
Qualifying Examination
All candidates have to pass the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination, normally held at Pilani. The Ph. D. qualifying examination consists of three written papers (open book) , each normally of 3 hours
duration, and an oral test. The examination will test the student's knowledge, grasp of fundamentals and his ability to use them in unknown situations. It is designed to be equivalent to the standard,
content and intent of the comprehensive examination of the named higher degree courses.
Sample question papers of some courses may be seen to know the type of questions asked in the qualifying examination.
For On-campus students, the admission to the PhD programme shall be provisional in the first instance and will be confirmed only after passing the qualifying examination within the prescribed time.
Whenever a candidate is unable to pass the qualifying examination within the prescribed time he will automatically be disqualified from the programme.
Topic of research
Topic of research can evolve from the nature of work involvement of the candidate in his own organization.
Supervisor is normally a person who is holding a Ph.D. degree from a reputed institution or who has research publications in reputed national and international journals to his credit. And has preferably supervised doctoral level research work. Proposed supervisor has to be a person from the candidate's own organization or an associated organization located in the same place. Only one supervisor is stipulated by the Academic Regulations and there is no co-supervisor.
Course Structure
Pattern 1 : For candidates who pass Ph.D. Qualifying examination before admission.
BITS E793T Practice Lect. Series I
BITS C790T Independent Study
BITS E794T Practice Lect. Series II
BITS C799T PhD Thesis
NOTE:
All operations are governed by the 'Academic Regulations' of the Institute. For admission in the Second Semester the registration starts in that semester. In pattern 1 above, it is assumed that the topic of research, locale of research work and supervisor are approved by the Research Board in the First semester and for the 2nd pattern it is assumed that the candidate completes the higher degree requirements at the end of First semester of second year and clears the Ph.D. qualifying examination immediately after this. He submits his research proposal and the Research Board approves the same before the beginning of first semester of third year.
Registration in Ph.D. Thesis is done only after the Topic of Research, locale of research work and Supervisor are approved by the Research Board. Registration in Thesis can be advanced/postponed
depending on the approval by the Research Board. Registration has to be continued till the submission of thesis.
Before submission, the exact title of the thesis has to be approved by the Research Board.
A minimum of 50 units are to be completed to fulfill the eligibility requirements of a higher degree of BITS.
Duration
No minimum time limit is prescribed. Registration in prescribed minimum number of units and components normally requires 4-6 semesters depending on the time of approval of topic/supervisor and
locale of research work by the Research Board. An upper limit of ten semesters for submission of thesis starting from the semester subsequent to passing the Qualifying examination is normally considered.
© Research and Consultancy Division, BITS
