A notification for admission to Ph.D. shall be published in prominent newspapers & Institute Website (http://vnit.ac.in/admission/). The details of the admission procedure and the brochure will be uploaded in the Institute Website.

B.E/B. Tech. in Chemical Engineering/Chemical Technology/ Biochemical Engineering/Biotechnology/ Nanotechnology AND M.E./M.Tech in Chemical Engineering/Chemical Technology/Biochemical Engineering/Biotechnology /Nanotechnology/Environmental Engineering/Industrial Pollution abatement/BioProcess Engineering/ Mineral Processing/Food Technology/Computer Aided Chemical Engineering and Chemical Engineering related disciplines with a minimum of First Class (C.P.I. or C.G.P.A. greater than 6.75 on a 10 point scale) at Bachelor’s or Master’s level. Candidate should have qualified GATE score or equivalent national level exam in past.

Note:

1. The candidates having secured Government Fellowship i.e, DST fellowship, CSIR fellowship, UGC fellowship can apply for the Ph.D. program at VNIT even if the candidate does not have valid GATE scores/NET qualification or candidate has not appeared.

2. Candidates, whose M.E. / M.Tech/ M.Arch. / M.Plan. / M.Sc. result is awaited, can also apply for the Ph.D. program. They will have to submit the result of M.E. / M.Tech/ M.Arch. / M.Plan. / M.Sc. exam before Jan 31, 2019, till that time their registration will be provisional.

1. A student should have a minimum of First Class at B.E./B.Tech./M.Sc. degree.
2. At the time of M.Tech admission, it will be notified that maximum five students of M.Tech. will be given the opportunity to get selected for Ph.D. registration. This selection will be based on performance in the first two semesters (CGPA 8.5 and above) and the student will have to give a presentation before a Departmental Committee. The selected candidate for this programme has to complete all the requirements according to the rules and regulations of the Institute’s M.Tech. Programme.
3. The candidate recommended by Departmental Committee will be directly registered for Ph.D. after completing M.Tech. programme.
4. The timelines and key milestones of this programme are aligned with the M.Tech and Ph.D. programmes currently offered.
5. The interested candidates should apply by filling up the direct Ph.D. admission form at the end of 2nd Semester indicating their interest to be considered for this programme.
6. One audit course, Research Methodology and two additional courses (6 credits in addition to Research Methodology) as per the recommendation of RPC shall be completed by the candidate as a part of Ph.D. coursework.
7. Other rules and regulations will be applicable as per Ph.D. norms of Institute.

Candidates working as JRF/SRF in various funded research projects in VNIT are eligible for admission to the Ph.D. program with the following conditions.
1. Selection through the admission process
2. Their Ph. D. registration will be under the supervision of same PI/Co-PI.

The candidates desirous of seeking admissions for the Ph.D. program under Cat. No.5 (Sponsored Candidate from 100% centrally funded research laboratories including public sector and private industries) should meet the following requirements:

1. He /She should have minimum Five years experience in Industry.
2. He/she should appear for written test & interview as per Institute’s norms.
3. VNIT committee shall examine the research facilities in the research laboratory in which the candidate is employed where the candidate wishes to carry out part of his Ph.D. research. In case the committee report is favorable and suitable co-supervision (as certified by the committee) is available in the candidate’s parent organization where the candidate proposes to carry out research, VNIT may exempt the stay requirement on campus on the case to case basis.
4. In any case, minimum stay at VNIT is Six months for completion of course work and other related research work. If he/she fails to do so, he/she has to stay another six months at VNIT Nagpur to complete the course work. It is the candidate’s responsibility to obtain deputation / leave from the parent organization.
5. The candidate admitted under this program will be treated as a sponsored candidate at VNIT (degree will be awarded by VNIT).
6. The main Supervisor will be from VNIT and optional qualified Co-supervisor approved by VNIT will be from the candidate’s parent organization.
7. All six monthly seminars should be delivered at VNIT only. The attendance record of the candidate will be maintained at VNIT. In this respect, it may be noted that the attendance in parent organization of candidate where he carries research, duly certified stating that the candidate has substantially (deemed to be full time) carried out research
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in the parent organization by Co-supervisor / immediate superior of the candidate, shall be submitted to VNIT before conducting six monthly seminars.
8. As far as possible, co-guide shall also attend the six monthly progress seminar. However, co-guide shall be present for progress seminar and thesis defense viva-voce. No financial assistance will be permissible from VNIT for travel of co-guide.
9. Institute will not provide any stipend or any other financial support (for conferences etc.) to these candidates.
10. Fees to be paid at VNIT as per the norms & policy of the institute as applicable to full time sponsored candidate(s).
11. Candidates should satisfy all degree requirements (including publications) as specified by VNIT for the award of the Ph.D. degree.
12. It is clarified that candidate from the academic institution is not considered under this scheme since such candidates have the opportunity for doing full-time Ph.D. program through schemes like Quality Improvement Program (QIP) and full-time Ph.D. with teaching assistantship and Ph.D. full time sponsored (place of research will be VNIT only)
13. In case the candidate fails to complete the course work within one year from the date of registration, his/her admission stands canceled automatically and no further extension will be granted.

The application form is available on Institute website www.vnit.ac.in.

Candidate has to pay application fee of Rs 500/- online through “State Bank Collect”. After payment, SBI Collect generates receipt mentioning SBI Collect Ref. No. (e.g.: DU65……………) Candidate shall mention this SBI Collect Ref. No in the application form & also print a copy of the receipt.

The duly filled application form, along with photo copies of the certificates (self-attested) & photograph, and copy of SBI Collect receipt, should be sent by post / or hand delivery to Dy. Registrar (Academic), VNIT, South Ambazari Road, Nagpur-440 010 (Maharashtra State).

Incomplete application and /or applications received after the last date (21/12/2018) are liable to be rejected. Candidates should mention on the Envelope: Ph.D.- Name of Department 

All Candidates will be required to appear for written test to be conducted in the respective departments on the date specified in the information brochure. Further, the candidates shortlisted on the basis of performance in the written test shall be interviewed.

Top scorer of the written test will be normalized to 100 and marks of other candidates will be scaled accordingly. Then depending on the number of candidates to be called for the interview, deputation/leaveDepartment can set a cut-off normalized score. However, full-time cut-off below 40% is not allowed.

Candidates will be required to appear for written test/interview at their own cost.

The interviews for the shortlisted candidates will be conducted in the concerned departments as per the schedule. The constitution of the interview committee will be as follows:

       1. HoD of the concerned department – Chairman

       2. Dean(R&C) / Dean (Acd)/ A professor from another department – Director’s Nominee

       3. All faculty members from the concerned department/ discipline who are recognized Ph.D. supervisors– Members

He/ She should have qualified GATE/NET score. The GATE/NET score, percentile GATE score as well as qualified mark should be stated.
       (ii) Candidate having M.E. / M. Tech. degree should have qualified GATE or equivalent national level exam in past.
       (iii) Candidate should also score minimum 40% marks in Interview for selection.
       (iv) The final list will be prepared based on the following points
                Written Exam (As per 1.2.2) – 40%
              Percentile Gate Score – 40%
              Interview – 20%

Calculation of GATE/NET SCORE :

• 40% mark weightage for GATE = (0.40) x (percentile GATE score of the candidate)
• Percentile GATE score = 100 x ((Number of candidates appeared in the exam – candidate’s rank) / (Number of candidates appeared in the exam))

The provisional list of selected candidates will be displayed on the Institute’s website (27/12/18) and no separate intimation will be sent to the candidates.

Written Test will be on 03/01/2019 from 10 – 11 am, followed by  Interview from 2.30 – 5 pm on the same day.

Selected candidates shall report to Dy. Registrar (Academic) for admission and payment of prescribed fees latest by 11th January, 2019.

Candidate shall report to the concerned department for allotted Supervisors. Candidate in consultation with the supervisor shall identify the area of research and prepare a synopsis. The supervisor will propose a Research Progress Committee, (RPC) for the Ph.D. programme. The RPC shall monitor the progress of Ph.D. work of the candidate.

The following shall be the composition of RPC.

• Head of the Concerned Department – (Chairman)
• Supervisor (s)
• An expert from Department (nominated by supervisor & approved by HoD)
• An expert from allied Department/ Discipline (Full-Time by supervisor & approved by HoD)

RPC shall recommend the courses to be undertaken by a candidate as per norms.

This is subject to the revision from time to time.

# At the time of joining candidate has to pay one time fees and per semester fees together (i.e Rs. 19100/- for Ph.D. full time with teaching assistantship and Rs. 30200/- for Ph.D. Full Time (Sponsored)).

* Institute has student’s medical aid fund policy and premium (of Rs. 3000/- for first three years) towards the same will be required to be paid in addition to above fees. This is applicable to full time scholars. For subsequent years, scholar will have to pay Rs. 1000/- per year till thesis submission.

Examination Fee : The examination fee of Rs. 30,000/- for Ph.D. full time/ Sponsored shall be paid by the candidate prior to the submission of the thesis.
Note:
1. The delay in payment of annual fees may invite cancellation of registration. Payment of fees is annual. The six-monthly seminar will not be conducted without payment of fees.
2. Students who will be staying in quarters will be required to pay license fees, water & electricity charges, etc. as applicable for the occupation of these quarters as per the Estate Office Rule.
3. If the thesis submission is done after 30th June, the candidate will be required to pay the fees for the next academic session.

The syllabus for written test to be conducted for the admission to Ph.D. (Full Time).

• Mass Transfer
• Heat Transfer
• Chemical Reaction Engineering
• Fluid Mechanics
• Process Calculations
• Process Control
• Mechanical Operation
• Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics
• Basic Mathematics
• Numerical Methods

• Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering
• Catalysis and Reaction Engineering
• Energy, Environment, and Sustainability
• Nanotechnology and Materials Engineering
• Novel Separation Techniques
• Process Modeling and Simulations
• Systems Engineering and Process Control
• Thermodynamics, Interfacial Science and Molecular Simulations

The emoluments for the full-time Ph.D. scholar with Teaching Assistantship (Cat. 1 & Cat. 2 Candidates):

1. Enhancement in fellowship after 2nd year and extension after 4th year, both, will be subject to the satisfactory progress assessment by a review committee. Fellowship shall be extended for maximum five years only subject to conditions.
2. Cat.3 Candidates-SRF/ JRF admitted for Ph.D. shall get a fellowship from the corresponding project fund till the completion of the project. Such candidates are eligible for financial support at a minimum rate from institute fund for maximum one year after completion of their corresponding project or maximum up-to four years from the Ph. D. registration whichever is earlier.
3. Institute will not provide any stipend or any other financial support to Cat. 4 and Cat. 5 sponsored candidates.

The Research Progress Committee (RPC) required to be set up for monitoring the progress of research for each registered scholar shall have the following composition.

1. Chairman – Head of the concerned Department/ One of the senior qualified supervisors nominated by Chairman Senate, when HoD is not a qualified supervisor.
2. Supervisor/Supervisors.
3. One RPC member (Expert) from the Department/Discipline to be nominated by the supervisor.
4. One RPC member (Expert) from the Allied Department/Allied Discipline to be nominated by the supervisor.

Total number of credits to be fulfilled: 6 credits (3 x 2 theory courses)

RPC may recommend more coursework if feel necessary. In addition to the above, the candidate will be required to undergo the course in Research Methodology (Compulsory-Audit Course). 

Conditions:

1. Candidate will be required to complete the coursework within one year of joining the program. Ph.D. scholars can coursework for only 400 or 500 or higher level courses. Ph.D. scholars coursework from pre-requisite requirements for all courses.
2. Research Progress Committee may recommend for undergoing instruction in communication skills course if needed. In that case, a research scholar shall be required to register for communication skills course as an audit course.
3. Minimum CGPA requirement for the coursework is 6.0. In the case of Ph.D. full-time scholar with the teaching assistantship, the amount paid towards teaching assistantship shall be reduced the if CGPA at the end of any semester fall below 6.0, to be restored after makeup.
4. The coursework must be completed within the first year of joining the program by Full Time / sponsored (full time) scholars.
5. Full-time Ph.D. scholar is not allowed to work (part time / full time) outside the Institute.

1. Minimum duration of Ph. D. program is Three (03) years from the date of registration. Candidate can submit the thesis after completion of 3 years (excluding the semester drop period).
2. Maximum duration is (i.e. registration will be valid for) 6 years from the date of registration (excluding the semester drop period). No further extension will be granted and the Ph.D. registration and Ph.D. studentship stand canceled automatically at the completion of six years under normal circumstances.
3. In case the candidate has already published at least one SCI journal paper, and a few months (not more than 6 months) of extension is needed to ensure that requirement of two SCI journal papers is satisfied, the candidate must, at least two months before the expiry of six years period, apply for retention of registration along with the documentary evidence of two SCI journal papers (one accepted & one in revision process) and the progress report including activity chart stating how he/she plan to complete the submission of thesis in an extended period of six months.
4. The candidates, who are unable to satisfy the above requirement, should note that their Ph.D. candidature stands automatically canceled. In case they wish to pursue their research work further, they need to apply for fresh registration, and they need to go through all the selection process afresh as applicable at that time.

1. If a full time / sponsored (full time) Ph.D. scholar is absent from the Institute for more than four weeks without notifying the Supervisor or Head of Department or Dean (R&C), his/her registration will be terminated and name will be removed from the Institute roll.
2. The delay in payment of annual fees may invite cancellation of registration/ termination of admission.
3. Failure of admission before the last date of registration.
4. Non-completion of coursework within 1 year from date of Ph.D. Registration for full-time Research Scholar.
5. If reports of two consecutive seminars are unsatisfactory, RPC may recommend discontinuation of registration.
6. If three consecutive seminar reports are unsatisfactory OR if total four seminar reports are unsatisfactory, the registration shall be automatically canceled. If the seminar is not given, it shall be considered as not satisfactory.
7. Candidate alone or supervisor with RPC or candidate and supervisor(s) can apply for cancellation. HoD, Dean (R&C) shall recommend the cancellation to the Director. The cancellation requested will be permitted if approved by the Director.

• All scholars must attend every lecture, tutorial, and practical class. However, to account for late registration, sickness or other such contingencies, attendance requirement will be a minimum of 75 % of the classes actually held.
• A scholar with less than 75% attendance in lectures, tutorials and, practical taken together (as applicable), in a course during the semester, will be awarded ‘W’ attendance in that course irrespective of his/her performance in the tests. The course coordinator will award ‘W’ grade to a scholar who is deficient in attendance, taking into account the consolidated attendance record for the whole semester for the course concerned. For the purpose of attendance calculation, every scheduled practical class will count as one unit irrespective of the number of contact hours.
• Attendance record will be maintained based upon roll calls (or any equivalent operation) in every scheduled lecture, tutorial, and practical class. The Course Coordinator will maintain and consolidate attendance record for the course (lectures, tutorials, and practicals together, as applicable).

A full-time/ sponsored (full time) Ph.D. scholar, during his/her stay at the Institute will be entitled 30 days leave during each academic year, including leave on medical ground/ casual leave/ attending conference/ seminar/ workshop/ visiting to other organization for training, research work etc. These scholars are not entitled to have the vacation. Even during mid-semester breaks and summer and winter vacations, he/she will have to explicitly apply for leave.

These scholars are not entitled to have the vacation. Even during mid-semester breaks and summer and winter vacations, he/she will have to explicitly apply for leave.
Leave beyond 30 days in an academic year may be granted to a research scholar in exceptional cases subject to the following conditions:
1) that the leave beyond 30 days will be without Assistantship/Scholarship, and
2) such an extension of up to an additional 30 days will be granted only once during the entire programme of the scholar including self-sponsored scholar.
3) The female Ph.D. Scholars are entitled for Maternity leave of maximum period of 180 days. In such cases, the Ph.D. registration period, that is valid for SIX years as per the norms of the Institute, will further be extended for the period of maternity leave availed (not exceeding 180 days).
4) Assistantship shall not be paid to female Ph.D. Scholars for the period of maternity leave availed. However, such research scholars shall be eligible for assistantship of the maximum period of Five years as per prevailing institute norms (excluding the actual period of maternity leave availed).

Research scholar shall submit the application for leave along with a copy of appropriate medical certificate through Supervisor, HoD and to Dean(R&C) for approval.

• A scholar must inform the Supervisor or HoD or Dean (R&C) immediately of an instance of continuous absence from classes.
• A scholar who is absent due to illness or any other unavoidable circumstances, up to a maximum of two weeks, should approach the course coordinator for make-up quizzes, assignments and laboratory work. Supporting document should be attached to the application.
• A scholar absent from a sessional examination due to illness should approach the course coordinator for a make-up test immediately on return to class. The request should be supported with a medical certificate from Institute’s Medical Officer. A certificate from registered medical practitioner will also be acceptable for a scholar normally residing off-campus, provided details of registration of the concerned Medical Practitioner appears explicitly on the certificate.
• In case the period of absence on medical grounds is more than 20 working days during the semester, a scholar may apply for withdrawal from the semester, i.e. withdrawal from all courses registered that semester. Such an application must be submitted as early as possible and latest one week before the start of the End Term Examination. No applications for semester withdrawal will be considered thereafter. Depending on the merit of the case Dean (R&C), will consider such applications. Partial withdrawal from courses registered in a semester is not allowed.
• If a scholar is continuously absent from the Institute for more than four weeks without notifying the Supervisor / HoD / Dean (R&C), his/her name will be removed from institute rolls.

1. Minimum two research publications in Science Citation Index (SCI) journal or Institute of Scientific Information (ISI) recognized journal is required for submission of the Ph.D. thesis from the batch admitted from July 2012 onwards and for others it is desirable. The ‘final accepted for publication’ research paper in SCI or ISI journal is also be considered.

The research papers published in the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) and Arts & Humanities Citation Index (AHCI) can also be considered for Architecture and Humanities departments.

NOTE: Any minor correction or major revision of research paper will not be considered for the submission of the thesis.

2. It is clarified that if the paper is co-authored by more than one research scholars apart from supervisors, then only one research scholar whose name appears in the first amongst the list of scholars would get credit of paper publication for submission of the Thesis. If the student’s name is a second or third position, the first author or first two authors should only be Supervisors. (For the purpose of submission of the thesis, the benefit would not be given when student’s name appears at subsequent position in the list of authors of a research paper.)
3. A scholar shall be required to deliver a pre-submission seminar and will be allowed to submit his/her thesis only if the RPC recommends.
4. Thesis should be shown to RPC members. Preferably thesis should be ready before delivering the pre-submission seminar, so RPC members will go through the facts & figures of thesis.
5. The thesis must be submitted within six months from the date of delivery of pre-submission seminar.
6. A candidate is required to submit 4 copies of synopsis and 2 soft (Spiral) bound Ph.D. thesis along with the CD of the synopsis, thesis, and report of similarity index in PDF format to the Academic Section.

With one / no research publications
1. Thesis submission criterion of two SCI/SCIE/AHCI/SSCI journal publications will continue to remain in practice till first five years of research for all scholars.
2. For candidates, who have completed five years but could not submit thesis under above criterion and supervisor recommending that the thesis is ready for submission, the draft thesis may be sent to an external expert (from IIT/IISc) provided that the candidate has at least two publications in refereed journals as approved by concerned BoS.
3. Upon receiving the positive remark and comments or guideline for further work, if any, from the external expert, the candidate will be allowed to submit the thesis after incorporation of the comments and suggestions and satisfactory presentation of the same in the pre-submission seminar.

The thesis shall be evaluated by two examiners nominated by the Chairman Senate from the panel of examiners suggested by RPC and forwarded through the HoD. 

• The candidate shall be provided a copy of detailed reports of both examiners.
• If both the examiners give favorable reports, the candidate will be eligible for the Ph.D. degree after open defense, recommendation of the Senate.
• If the examiner(s) recommends acceptance of the thesis subject to major modifications, the thesis can be resubmitted only once after incorporating the modifications, within a period of one year. The thesis so resubmitted shall be examined by the same examiner(s).
• If the examiner(s) recommend acceptance of the thesis with minor modifications only, the thesis is to be corrected before open defense and viva-voce. External examiner shall confirm whether corrections suggested by both examiners are included.
• In case the report of one of the examiners is not favorable, the thesis will be sent to the third examiner. If the report of the third examiner is favorable then only a candidate will be considered eligible for the Ph.D. degree after open defense.

A candidate shall be required to defend his / her Ph.D. thesis (open defense and viva-voce) before the Board of Examiners Committee consisting of following members.
i) One of the Examiners of the Ph.D. thesis
ii) Chairman, Board of Studies of the concerned Department.
iii) Supervisor(s) of the Ph.D. thesis.
iv) Director’s Nominee (from amongst the Ph.D. Supervisors from other Department)

• In case the examiner is unable to attend the viva-voce for any reason, the Director is empowered to nominate one expert in the field from the local area.
• A candidate will have to submit two hardbound copies of thesis incorporating all suggestions of examiners. After the successful defense, one for the record, and the other for the library.
• Thesis rejected by both the examiners may be resubmitted after revision, not earlier than one year and not later than three years from the date of such intimation to the scholar by the Academic Section. The thesis so resubmitted may be examined by the same referees or by new referees.
• Rejection of the thesis so resubmitted will disqualify the scholar from further consideration for the award of the Ph.D. degree, in the topic of research chosen by him/ her.
• On the basis of the report of Board of Examiners, the Senate decides the scholar’s eligibility for award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

• Staff members of VNIT possessing Ph.D. degree will be recognized as a supervisor/co-supervisors for Ph.D. programs at VNIT in the relevant discipline.
• Supervisor may request to the Director for the inclusion of co-supervisor within one year of registration of the corresponding scholar.
• For Ph.D. guidance outside VNIT, prior permission of Director is a must.
• A supervisor can have maximum 10 candidates registered under him/her for Ph.D. / M. Tech. (by Research) / M.Arch. (by Research) programs taken together at any given time. This includes both registrations at VNIT and registrations at other universities/Institutes.
• Outside researchers shall be recognized as external Supervisor (Co-Supervisor) on a case-to-case basis. The criteria for recognition as external supervisor shall be as under.
  • Ph.D. in the concerned subject.
  • Ten years Teaching / Research / Industrial experience.
  • He / she should belong to IIT / NIT / National Laboratories / University Departments / Government Colleges.
  • Some scholar should have applied to work with him/her (as external supervisor).
  • Concerned HoD should have recommended the case.
  • Should have guided at least one Ph.D. (desirable)
  • Minimum five publications in National / International SCI refereed journals.
• If the Principal Supervisor leaves the Institute for any reason he/she is permitted to work as Principal Supervisor for candidates registered before leaving the Institute. However, an additional supervisor from the Institute shall be provided, if the candidate is unable to submit the thesis within the calendar year.
• The practice of change of Supervisor should be discouraged under the normal circumstances. However, any application from a candidate or the Supervisor requesting for a change if recommended by HoD may be considered and the requested change will be permitted with the approval of Director.

A supervisor can have maximum 10 candidates registered under him/her for Ph.D. / M. Tech. (by Research) / M.Arch. (by Research) programs have taken together at any given time. This includes both registrations at VNIT and registrations at other universities/Institutes.

If the Principal Supervisor leaves the Institute for any reason he/she is permitted to work as Principal Supervisor for candidates registered before leaving the Institute. However, the additional supervisor from the Institute shall be provided, if the thesis cannot be submitted within the calendar year.

The practice of change of Supervisor should be discouraged under the normal circumstances. However, any application from a candidate or the Supervisor requesting for a change if recommended by HoD may be considered and the requested change will be permitted with the approval of Director.

Candidate alone or supervisor with RPC or candidate and supervisor(s) can apply for cancellation. HoD, Dean(R&C) shall recommend the cancellation to the Director. The cancellation requested will be permitted if approved by the Director.

A member of the academic staff who has commenced his research before joining the Institute may, on the recommendation of the Supervisor through the RPC concerned, be permitted to include in his / her period of registration, part or all of the time spent on research before joining the Institute, up to a maximum of one year.

• A member of the non-academic staff of the Institute who satisfies eligibility criteria may be considered for admission to the degree as a part-time candidate provided the Director of the Institute duly approves his/her application. This change will be permitted subject to institute policy provision at that time.

R&D project STAFF OF VNIT FOR ADMISSION FOR Ph.D.

• The candidate after joining as R&D project staff without GATE score will be given an opportunity to appear for the Ph.D. selection process as per the procedure followed by VNIT. If the R&D project funding is over then, the institute funding of stipend will be given subject to qualifying GATE/NET examination. Stipend from Institute will be made available till four years are completed from date of Ph.D. registration.