Rules and regulations for the award of degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in History of Art, Conservation and Museology

Ph. D Rules 2006*

(* These rules are applicable only for the students who are admitted after the adoption of these rules in 2006. However, the scholars registered prior to this will continue to be governed by the earlier rules.)

I. General

The degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) shall be awarded to a candidate on the basis of original research work of merit incorporated in a thesis, commended by a board of examiners and successfully defended by the candidate during Viva-Voce.

1.1	The thesis shall demonstrate that the candidate has technical mastery of the chosen field of study / investigation and is capable of doing scholarly work. The result of research embodied in the thesis, to be written in English or Hindi, shall be a contribution to existing knowledge either by discovery of new facts, by discovery of some new relation between facts already known, or by a critical survey of facts leading to some new interpretation.
1.2	If after the award of Ph.D. degree at any time, it is brought to the notice of NMI that the thesis or a part of it has been plagiarized from the published or unpublished work of other scholar(s), the Ph.D. degree awarded to the candidate shall be withdrawn and legal proceedings as deemed fit by NMI shall be initiated against the candidate.
1.3	Presently, the institute awards Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees only in the disciplines of History of Art, Conservation and Museology.
1.4	Ordinarily the candidates seeking admission to Ph.D. in History of Art, Conservation and Museology should possess a Master's degree in these disciplines. However, NMI strongly encourages interdisciplinary work by allowing Master's degree holders in other disciplines also to register for Ph.D. if their research proposals are considered interdisciplinary in nature and biased towards the discipline in which admission is sought and approved by the RAC (Research Advisory Committee).
1.5	The reservation of seats shall be as per the Government of India orders issued from time to time.

2. Eligibility

2.1	Eligibility for Ph.D.(History of Art): Any person holding a Master's degree in History of Art from this institute or Master's degree or its equivalent from a recognized University / deemed University in History of Art / History / Archaeology / Anthropology / Aesthetics / with minimum 50% marks may apply for admission to the Ph.D. programme.
2.2	Eligibility for Ph.D.(Museology): Any person holding a Master's degree in Museology from this institute or Master's degree in Museology / History / Ancient Indian History & Archaeology or its equivalent of a recognized University or a deemed University with minimum 50% marks may apply for admission to the Ph.D. programme.
2.3	Eligibility for Ph.D. (Conservation): Any person holding a Master's degree in Conservation from this institute or Master's degree in Chemistry / Physics / Life sciences / Museology / Architecture or its equivalent of a recognized University or a deemed University with minimum 50% marks may apply for admission to the Ph.D. programme.
2.4	Eligibility for in-service personnel: In service personnel working with Central Government / State government / Autonomous organization / Universities funded by Central or state government / NGOs (in that order) with at least 5 years regular service will also be eligible to apply for registration with due weightage for their length of service.

3. Registration

3.1	Any person fulfilling the eligibility criteria mentioned above may apply for admission to the Ph.D. programme of NMI in the prescribed Application Form, obtainable from NMI office or downloadable from NMI website [www.nmi.gov.in] alongwith a non-refundable Registration Fee (as decided by the NMI from time to time), a brief synopsis of the work proposed to be done and requisite enclosures as mentioned in the application form.
3.2	Duly filled in Application Form may be submitted to Assistant Registrar (Academic) any time in person or through e-mail. Asstt. Registrar shall acknowledge the receipt of applications. Incomplete applications shall be rejected summarily and no correspondence shall be entertained in the matter.
3.3	Candidates holding Master's degree or its equivalent from other Universities or Institutes shall be required to furnish a copy of Migration Certificate alongwith the Application Form. At the time of registration, candidates will be required to deposit the original Migration Certificate along with a copy of all certificates after verification with original documents.
3.4	Foreign students shall be required to produce the requisite clearances from Government of India, Ministry of Human Resources Development, Department of Higher Education and other authorities, if any, before registration.
3.5	The applications submitted before 31st December will be considered between January - March and those submitted before 30th June will be considered between July September. If for any reason the registration could not materialize in any session, the applications for that session shall be considered alongwith the applications for next session.
3.6	A Research Advisory Committee (RAC), duly constituted by the Vice Chancellor, NMI shall consider all the applications submitted for registration based on candidates' performance in different examinations and at the interview giving due weightage to those possessing JRF, extra qualifications like M.Phil. or job / research experience that might be suitable for their research work. RAC shall prepare a department wise merit list in respect of applications taking into account the maximum possible intake for that department in that session. The recommendations of RAC shall be placed before the Academic Council for final approval before registration.
3.7	In all cases, the date of registration shall be deemed to be the date on which the candidate deposits his/her fees after the Academic Council/ Vice Chancellor approves the registration. Ordinarily, the registration of a candidate shall remain valid for a period of 5 years.
3.8	In desrving cases, the registration of a candidate after the expiry of 5 years period may be extended by another year by the Vice Chancellor. After that there will be no further extension.
3.9	In case of failure to submit thesis within the prescribed time limit as mentioned above, the candidate has to apply for fresh registration on payment of prescribed fee (as notified by the institute from time to time) but the continuity of the work shall be maintained.

4. RAC (The Research Advisory Committee)

4.1	RAC shall consist of the following members:- Dean (Academic Affairs) - Chairperson Heads of all departments - Members One Faculty member (by rotation) from each department - Members Subject Experts from outside (one for each subject to be nominated by V.C.) -Member Registrar - Member Asstt. Registrar (Academic) - Non-Member Convener
4.2	Asstt Registrar (Academic) will act as RAC Convener. He shall prepare all the necessary documents for placing before the RAC and organize interviews in consultation with RAC Chairperson.
4.3	It is expected that a common RAC will encourage interdisciplinary research, in tune with present times. However, Vice Chancellor, NMI shall have the right to modify / change / reconstitute the RAC, if the situation so warrants.

5. Supervision

5.1	Based on the merit of the candidate and the capacity of Faculty members available for conducting research in a particular department, the candidate will be allotted a supervisor from the Institute within a period of 3 months from the date of registration. If RAC feels satisfied, a supervisor may also be opted out of Institute, but in such cases, one departmental faculty will invariably be opted as co-supervisor.
5.2	If after registration at any time during the course of Ph.D. work, a change of supervisor is considered necessary either due to some unforeseen circumstances (e.g. death or incapacity of supervisor), or for any other reason, the candidate may apply to the RAC. If the change is with the concurrence of previous supervisor and there is no change in topic, the RAC may allow change of supervisor and the period already devoted to research work shall be counted towards calculating the minimum period of registration before submission of thesis. If the change of supervisor is without the concurrence of previous supervisor and / or the topic is different from the earlier chosen topic, the registration will be treated as fresh and the candidate has to work further for a period of minimum 2 years before submitting the thesis. In exceptional circumstances, the Vice chancellor may allow the scholar to work independently and / or submit the thesis under the guidance of respective Heads of Departments / Vice Cahncellor.
5.3	Under no circumstances the number of research candidates registered under a Professor, Associate Professor and Assistant Professor shall exceed six, four and two, respectively, provided they fulfill the UGC criteria for supervising research. For the purpose of calculating, the available capacity of a supervisor, the number of those candidates who have already completed 2 years of their residency time in the Institute shall not be taken into account.
5.4	Any kind of remuneration will not be permissible for the supervisor and cosupervisor(s) for research supervision.

6. Allotment of Research Topic

6.1	After a candidate has been admitted to Ph.D and allotted a supervisor, he shall be required to produce a modified synopsis of the work he/she intends to pursue within a period of six months and present it in the form of a seminar in the Department.

7. Change of Topic

7.1

The change of topic, if any, has to be approved by the RAC. If the change is minor (e.g. the final title is a specific part of the broad topic chosen earlier), it can be approved any time by the RAC before the Pre-submission seminar. However, if the change in topic is major, the scholar has to work further for a minimum period of 2 years from the date of approval of topic. In case of any differece of opinion in RAC with regards to change in topic being minor or major, the decision of Vice Chancellor shall be final.

8. Requirements for Ph.D.

8.1	The candidate (except in-service person) has to be in residency at NMI for a minimum period of 2 years continuously from the date of her / his registration.
8.2	During the period of residency at NMI, if the work involves travel to other areas / institutes, this may be allowed after proper approval from the supervisor(s), Head of the concerned department and Dean.
8.3	The research scholars will be required to submit their progress reports every six months duly signed by the Supervisor, co-supervisor(s), if any, and the Head of the concerned department to Assistant Registrar (Academic) within one month of the expiry of six months period. The six months periods will be calculated from the date when the candidate deposits fee for the first time, after approval of registration by Academic Council.
8.4	All candidates have to qualify in at least one language examination out of the several languages prescribed for M.A. course of NMI. Candidates who have already cleared their language examination at Masters level will be exempted from Language examination.
8.5.	Fresh candidates who obtained their Master's degree from institutes other than NMI have to pass some Core Courses prescribed by the respective departments, before submission of Ph.D. These examinations will be held with regular M.A. semester examinations and only 2 attempts will be available for each examination. In case a student fails to clear the examination in 2nd attempt also, his/her registration will be treated as cancelled.
8.6	In service personnel will be exempted from 2 years continuous residency period but will be required to be at NMI for a minimum period of 6 months any time during the period of registration (if the applicant is not on paid leave, NMI may consider award of short term research fellowships in deserving cases for this period). In addition, they have to clear all the examinations as mentioned in 8.5 if their Masters degree is not from NMI.
8.7	In-house faculty of NMI are exempt from residency requirement.
8.8	Candidates are required to deposit their fees regularly at the end of every six months period.

9. Cancellation of Registration

9.1	The registration of a candidate will be treated as cancelled if the candidate fails to deposit fees for two consecutive six monthly periods or does not submit two consecutive six monthly progress reports within stipulated time and no further notice shall be given.
9.2	Registration will also be cancelled, if during the course of study the candidate is found to be involved in activities unbecoming of an NMI student (like unruly or disorderly conduct, violence, conviction for an offence involving violence or moral turpitude, etc.).

10. Submission of Thesis

10.1	Ordinarily, 3-6 months prior to submission of thesis, the candidate shall submit to RAC through the supervisor and co-supervisor(s) ten copies of the summary of the work (not exceeding 5000 words). The summary should clearly bring out the fact that the thesis adds to the existing knowledge by discovery of new facts / by discovery of some new relation between facts already known, or by a critical survey of facts leading to some new interpretation, thus meeting the basic criteria for award of degree.
10.2	Assistant Registrar(Academic) will circulate the thesis summary to RAC members and shall fix up an open Pre-submission seminar in front of RAC members, faculty members and other students, etc.
10.3	RAC will evaluate the Pre-submission seminar on the basis of - 1. Subject matter and its relevance to topic chosen 2. Originality of thought 3. Knowledge level of the student 4. Articulation and defense of the work 5. Diligence and hard work exhibited by the student 6. Publications/ Reports made during the study and submit its report (in prescribed proforma) to Vice Chancellor, NMI.
10.4	If RAC finds the seminar acceptable, the candidate is allowed to submit the thesis. The improvements suggested by RAC at the seminar are to be incorporated in the thesis. If the seminar is not accepted by the RAC or major changes/modifications are suggested, the candidate has to carry out further work and the seminar has to be delivered again after a period of six months.
10.5	The thesis shall incorporate a certificate from the student that the thesis embodies original work and no part of the work has been plagiarized. 5 copies of the thesis along with 5 copies of synopsis of thesis, forwarded through the concerned Head of the Department, are to be submitted to Assistant Registrar (Academic).

11. Evaluation of Thesis

11.1	Upon submission of thesis, Supervisor / Co-supervisor(s) / Head of Department will submit a panel of at least 6 experts (preferably 1 or 2 foreign experts), having desired qualifications and experience in the area of thesis, to whom the thesis could be sent for evaluation.
11.2	Vice Chancellor, NMI will select 3 examiners from the panel of experts for sending the thesis for evaluation. Vice Chancellor may also change, add or delete names of experts to the panel or ask for a fresh list of experts.
11.3	Registrar, NMI will then confidentially seek the consent of examiners chosen by the Vice Chancellor, mentioning the title of the thesis and the terms of evaluation as well as the time period by which the evaluation report is required. Upon receiving the consent of the examiners, the thesis will be sent for evaluation. If need be all references to the supervisor(s) name(s) or identities will be removed from the thesis.
11.4	For evaluation of thesis in an objective manner, the experts will be asked to comment specifically on the following aspects of the thesis 1. Subject matter 2. Expression of ideas 3. Survey and utilization of bibliography 4. Consistency in writing style 5. Originality of thought 6. Analysis and interpretation of data 7. Quality of effort put in by the candidate 8. Clarifications required, if any

Finally, the experts will be required to give their unambiguous opinion about the thesis by mentioning clearly "Thesis approved / Not approved (mentioning the reasons there of)".

11.5	In case one or more experts decline to examine the thesis on any ground, Vice Chancellor may nominate another expert from the same panel or may demand a fresh panel for nominating new expert(s).
11.6	The evaluation report must be received back in a period of six months. To facilitate this, Registrar, NMI may send reminder(s) to concerned expert(s) after the expiry of 3 months period. After the expiry of 6 months period, if it is observed that the examiner has failed to submit the report, a final request for submission of evaluation report within a fortnight may be sent. If the evaluation report is not received even after the expiry of this period, another copy of the thesis may be sent to the next expert on the panel.
11.7	If at least two out of the three experts give favourable report, the thesis will be considered acceptable for award of Ph.D. degree. In the eventuality of two or more reports being unfavourable, the thesis is liable to be rejected without conduct of Viva Voce and the candidate has to resubmit the thesis after revising it in the light of the comments received from the experts.

12. Award of Degree

12.1	A Viva-Voce examination will be mandatory for award of degree upon receipt of favourable report from two or more experts.
12.2	The expert to conduct Viva-Voce examination will be nominated by the Vice Chancellor from out of the three experts to whom the thesis was referred.
12.3	After successful completion of Viva-Voce examination, the student can be given a provisional degree till a final degree is issued at the convocation.

13. Others

13.1	From time to time, the quality of the research work being done at the institute will be assessed by sending a few randomly selected theses out of those awarded in recent past to external experts for their opinion with regards to the quality of work.
13.2	In order to explore new areas of research, RAC from time to time will interact with other experts - both Indian and foreign and will redefine the thrust areas for research keeping in view the national and international trends and requirements.
13.3	All the students registered for Ph.D. are required to participate actively in all activities / functions organized by NMI from time to time. They are also required to participate in seminars / conferences / workshops, etc. besides undertaking teaching assignments given to them by the respective Heads of Departments.