PhD PROGRAMS

Eligibility and Admission in a PhD program

PhD programs are offered in

Electrical Engineering, and
Engineering Management.

The Institute has applied to HEC for permission to start PhD program in Computer Science

Eligibility

MS / MPhil or equivalent degree (after 18 years of education) in a relevant subject from an HEC recognized university/DAI.
Obtained a CGPA of 3.0 or higher (on a scale of 4) OR at least 60% marks (in the annual system) in the MS/MPhil/equivalent degree being considered for admission. Applicants with foreign qualifications must present HEC equivalence certificate for MS / MPhil or an equivalent degree.
Minimum 60% score in admission test equivalent to GRE/ HAT General conducted by testing bodies accredited by HEC or an equivalent test developed by SS-CASE-IT.
Admissions from an intra-disciplinary background may be allowed, provided the applicant has :
1. A strong interest in pursuing a PhD in the desired discipline.
2. Passed GRE-Subject/Equivalent Test with minimum 50% marks in the discipline of admission and has taken 6-9 CH of deficiency courses of MS/MPhil level
3. The admission committee is satisfied with the applicant’s knowledge of the desired discipline (MS/MPhil Level); or expects that after passing a few MS level courses of the desired discipline, the applicant shall acquire sufficient knowledge to start PhD coursework.

Admission

The applicant should get written consent of an approved PhD Supervisor of the Institute to supervise his/her research work.
The applicant should identify the area/topic of intended research and demonstrate passion and enthusiasm for research in a ‘Statement of Purpose’ that should, at least, include the following:
1. Title of the research proposal
2. Understanding of the of research area/topic and ideas for potential research
3. Explanation of the impact of the proposed research

PhD Tentative Study Plan

Semester 1

Course	CH	Pre-Req.
Course – 1	3
Course – 2	3
Research Methodology	1	Note 1
	6-7

Semester 2

Course	CH	Pre-Req.
Course – 3	3
Course – 4	3
	6

Semester 3

Course	CH	Pre-Req.
Course – 5	3
Course – 6	3
	6

Semester 4

Course	CH	Pre-Req.
Comprehensive Exam	3
Synopsis Approval	3	xx 9011
	6

Semester 5

Course	CH	Pre-Req.
PhD Thesis–1 (Research Work)	6	xx 9012
	6

Semester 6

Course	CH	Pre-Req.
PhD Thesis–2 (Research Publications)	6	xx 9013
	6

Semester 7

Course	CH	Pre-Req.
PhD Thesis–3 (Writing Thesis)	6	xx 9014
	6

Semester 8

Course	CH	Pre-Req.
PhD Thesis–4 (External Evaluation)	3	xx 9015
PhD Thesis–5 (Thesis Defense)	3	xx 9016
	6

Total	48-49

Note 1: For those who did not study “Research Methodology” at MS level, xx depends on the degree (EE or EM)

Road Map for PhD

Registration

Every PhD scholar must register in every regular semester (Spring and Fall), till completion of degree, and pay semester registration fee

Coursework

Pass at least 18 credit hours of PhD level courses on the recommendation of supervisor with B- or higher grade. Must pass ‘Research Methodology’ course (either at MS or PhD level).

Comprehensive Examination

Pass PhD Comprehensive exam, covering PhD level courses, relevant to area of research. Failure to pass the comprehensive examination in a maximum of two attempts shall result in cancellation of admission.

Approval of Synopsis (Research Proposal)

The Scholar should prepare Synopsis/Research Proposal and get it vetted by the Supervisor.

The PhD Scholar must publicly defend synopsis before the PhD Research Monitoring Committee.

Coursework, comprehensive exam, and defense of synopsis/research proposals should be completed within a maximum of THREE years.

PhD Thesis – I (Research Work)

The Scholar should carry out research work. After completion of research work and its acceptance by the Supervisor, the scholar can proceed to write PhD Thesis.

PhD Thesis – II (Research Publication)

The Scholar should publish research articles satisfying the following:

Publish at least one research article in W category journal or two research articles in X category journals.
The scholar must be the first author of these publications.
Research article(s) must be relevant to the PhD research work of the scholar.
The article(s) must be published after approval of the research synopsis.
The article(s) must be published in a relevant research journal.

PhD Thesis – III (Writing Thesis)

The scholar should submit PhD Thesis to the Supervisor, after carrying out a similarity test, in accordance with the HEC’s Anti-Plagiarism Policy.

Similarity test can be conducted after removing References/bibliographies and tables of contents from the submitted documents.
If the report has a similarity index of ≤19%, then the benefit of doubt may be given to the author. However, if any single source has a similarity index ≥5% without citations then it needs to be revised.
If the similarities of a report are from the author’s own (previous) work, then they may be ignored only if the material has been cited by the author.

Once the Supervisor is satisfied with the Thesis, he can give go-ahead signal for Evaluation of Thesis by other Experts.

PhD Thesis – IV (External Evaluation of Thesis)

Evaluation of the PhD Thesis is done by: At least two external experts who shall be:

PhD faculty member from the world top 500 universities ranked by the Times Higher Education or QS World Ranking in the year corresponding to dissertation evaluation year OR
Pakistan-based Distinguished National Professors, Meritorious Professors from any national university; or professors from top universities ranked by HEC; or professors from any Pakistani University having a minimum H-Index 30 for Sciences, 15 for Social Sciences or 8 for Art & Humanities as determined by Web of

At least one external expert qualifying any one of the conditions mentioned at ‘a’ above if the PhD candidate publishes dissertation research in a peer-reviewed journal that is classified by the HEC in category W.

PhD Thesis – V (Public Defense of Thesis)

Once external evaluation is completed, the PhD scholar is required to obtain satisfactory evaluation from Supervisory Committee (includes local experts). If satisfied, then open public defense of PhD thesis takes place.

Submission of the Final Version of PhD Thesis

After incorporating changes in the thesis, copies of final thesis should be submitted to the supervisor. The Supervisor issues a certificate of final acceptance of thesis.