Welcome to the
TIFR
"Deemed to be University"
TIFR is an autonomous Research Institute under the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India. It is also a "Deemed to be University" recognized by the University Grants Commission, offering Ph.D. and Integrated M.Sc.-Ph.D., Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, Computer & Systems Sciences, Science Education, and M.Sc. Programs in Biology and Wildlife Biology & Conservation.
University
Rules & Procedures
(Framed under
Bye-law 6.2 of the Rules and Bye-laws of the TIFR)
The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research has
been conferred the status of a "Deemed to be University" by the
University Grants Commission. The Deemed University will function
under the direction of an Academic Council chaired by the Director,
TIFR.
This document sets down the basic guidelines under which the "Deemed
to be University" will operate.
1. Degrees
The Institute will conduct a Doctor of Philosophy
(Ph.D.) programme in the areas of Biology, Chemistry, Computer and
Systems Science, Mathematics, Physics, Science Education. It will
also conduct an Integrated M.Sc-Ph.D. (I-Ph.D) programme, where both
the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees will be awarded together on the
completion of requirements for both degrees. In some of the above
subjects, Master of Science (M.Sc.) programmes will also be
conducted.
There will be no separate M.Phil. programme, however M.Phil. may be
awarded as an Exit Degree if the specified requirements are
completed by students in the Ph.D. programmes.
The Ph.D. degree will be awarded upon favourable evaluation of a
thesis, based on original research, submitted by the candidate. The
programme will require a strong foundation and a breadth of
understanding in the area of research undertaken. The student will
therefore meet appropriate course and other academic requirements,
in addition to writing a thesis on the research work. The award of
the M.Sc. degree will be based on satisfactory completion of
courses, and submission of reports or a thesis as applicable.
The detailed requirements for each degree will be prescribed by the
appropriate Subject Board.
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2. Subject Boards
Subject Boards will be constituted for each subject
in which a degree is offered by the Institute, namely Biology,
Chemistry, Computer and Systems Science, Mathematics, Physics, and
Science Education. Each Subject Board will have a Convener.
The tasks of the Subject Boards will be:
(i) to specify the academic background required for admission to a
degree programme,
(ii) to conduct entrance examinations and interviews for candidates
in the relevant subject,
(iii) to prescribe the course requirements of each programme and to
plan the courses offered each year,
(iv) to prescribe the requirements of a qualifying examination for
the Ph.D. degree,
(v) to carry out the assignment of research programmes or thesis
supervisors to students in the given subject, or to suitably
delegate the assignment procedures,
(vi) to conduct all degree examinations, select examiners for the
Ph.D. theses and the viva-voce examination, evaluate the reports and
recommend granting of the degree,
(vii) to regularly monitor the progress of students.
Any of the above activities may be coordinated jointly by two or
more Subject Boards if desired.
The detailed requirements and procedures for each subject will be
put down in a written document called “Subject Guidelines and
Procedures”, formulated by each Subject Board. In exceptional cases,
the Board may recommend to the Academic Council that some academic
background and/or other requirements be waived.
The Departments / Schools / Centres that constitute the six Subject
Boards are as follows, Any additions to these constituents may be
made with the approval of the Academic Council.
· Biology: Department
of Biological Sciences, Colaba; National Centre of Biological
Sciences, Bengaluru; TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences,
Hyderabad.
· Chemistry: Department
of Chemical Sciences, Colaba; TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary
Sciences, Hyderabad.
· Computer and Systems Science: School
of Technology and Computer Science, Colaba.
· Mathematics: School
of Mathematics, Colaba; Centre for Applicable Mathematica, Bengaluru;
International Centre for Theoretical Scences, Bengaluru.
· Physics: Five
Physics Departments in Colaba (Astronomy and Astrophysics, Condensed
Matter Physics and Material Science, High Energy Physics, Nuclear
and Atomic Physics, and Theoretical Physics); National Centre for
Radio Astrophysics, Pune; International Centre for Theoretical
Sciences, Bengaluru; TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences,
Hyderabad.
· Science Education: Homi
Bhabha Centre for Science Education, Mumbai.
The Director and Dean, Graduate Studies will constitute the Subject
Boards (including the Conveners) every year, with inputs from the
Departments, Schools, and Centres, through the existing Subject
Boards. These will be presented in the next Academic Council for
information. The Subject Board Conveners may request for a change in
the membership any time during the year.
There will be at least one representative on the Subject Board from
each of its constituent Department / School /Centre. Some members
may also be nominated from other Subject Boards. A Subject Board may
appoint small sub-committees of experts, with additional co-opted
members, to make recommendations to it on any matter where expert
opinion is required.
Centres may have Academic Advisory Committees (AACs), chaired by the
Centre Director or Dean, Academic Affairs. The representative(s) of
the Centres in the Subject Boards will be ex-officio members of the
respective AACs. These AACs will monitor the admission, progress and
final evaluation process for all the students of the respective
Centres.
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3. Administration of Degree Programmes
A Dean of Graduate Studies (Dean GS) will be
appointed on an annual basis by the Chairperson of the Academic
Council. The Dean's functions will be to oversee procedural and
administrative matters concerning the Academic Programmes of the
Institute (including the Centres), to coordinate activities of the
various Subject Boards, to facilitate interdisciplinary programmes,
and to interface with external agencies. The Dean will be a member
of the Academic Council.
An administrator of the rank of Assistant Registrar or higher will be
entrusted with the work involved in the running of the Academic
Programme, and will report to the Dean, Graduate Studies. The
Assistant Registrar's office (the University Cell) will provide
administrative support to the Dean and Subject Boards by maintaining
academic records, organising admissions, making announcements,
processing examinations and theses, and carrying out any such
additional work as may be assigned by the Dean GS.
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4. Course of Study
The Academic Programmes of the Institute will follow
a two-semester system starting around August each year. Typically
the first semester will last from August to December, while the
second will last from January to May. Additional courses, Visiting
Students' Programmes and other such activities may be held in the
summer period from May to July. The Subject Boards may decide on
their own Academic Calender every year, depending on their
coursework structure of their coursework. This calendar may vary by
the Subject Board / campus / Centre.
Every student will be assigned to one of the Subject Boards.
Students working in interdisciplinary programmes will have a primary
Subject Board, which will coordinate with other Subject Boards as
relevant. A student who wishes to transfer from one programme to
another, coming under different Subject Boards, may do so if allowed
by the two Subject Boards. In cases of interdisciplinary programmes
and transfers, the office of the Dean GS will facilitate
coordination among Subject Boards.
Each Subject Board will prescribe the minimum number of Credits to
be completed successfully for Ph.D. Registration (for Ph.D. as well
as I-Ph.D. programmes), and for the award of M.Sc. and M. Phil.
Degrees. Students who have undergone equivalent coursework elsewhere
and have transcripts to prove it may be allowed the transfer of
credits by the Subject Boards, on a case by case basis. These
credits must not have been used for any other degree in the past.
Ph.D. and I-PhD programmes:
A student joining the Ph.D. programme will take courses for two or
more semesters as prescribed by the relevant Subject Board. The
coursework of an I-Ph.D student will be of a longer duration. These
courses, together with possible additional requirements such as a
comprehensive examination / presentation (depending on the Subject
Board), will constitute the qualifying procedure for advancement to
the candidacy for the Ph.D. degree.
M.Sc. programme:
Students joining the M.Sc. programme will follow the course
requirements laid down by the relevant Subject Boards.
Special provisions for TIFR Scientific
Staff:
Scientific Staff working for TIFR will be permitted to work for a
degree at TIFR provided their thesis supervisor is a TIFR member and
they fulfil the same academic requirements as are set down for TIFR
students. However in view of the fact that such individuals have
other responsibilities, they may be permitted extra time to complete
the requirements, at the discretion of the Subject Board.
Each such member will be enrolled on a case to case basis, with the
respective Department Chairperson, Dean, or Centre Director making a
recommendation to the Dean GS, who will refer it to the relevant
Subject Board for their opinion. Upon receiving a recommendation
from the Subject Board, the Dean GS will forward it to the Chairman,
Academic Council for approval.
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5. Ph.D. Registration, Thesis
Monitoring Committee, and Fees
Students who qualify the requirements of their Subject Board
(including the coursework as well as a qualifying examination if
needed) can seek registration for the Ph.D. degree, by filling in a
form specifying a provisional thesis title and the name of a thesis
supervisor (also referred to as the “thesis advisor”, or “guide”).
Applications for registration must be approved by the Subject Board.
The Ph.D. students must normally complete this procedure within two
years of joining the Institute, while the I-Ph.D students must
normally complete it within three years of joining the Institute. A
residency period of at least two years after admission will be a
requirement for the award of a Ph.D. degree.
Any regular Academic member of the Institute is eligible to be a
thesis supervisor. Further eligibility for being a thesis supervisor
for the student from a particular Subject Board will be decided by
the Subject Board on a case-to-case basis. Upon the superannuation
of the thesis supervisor, another academic member of the Institute
should become the formal thesis supervisor, however the name of the
original thesis supervisor may remain on the thesis as a
co-supervisor.
Faculty members from other institutions may be allowed by the
Subject Boards to act as co-supervisors, on a case-to-case basis,
depending on the topic of the Ph.D. thesis of the student. All such
cases should be reported to the Academic Council as information
items.
Every student registered for Ph.D. will have a Thesis Monitoring
Committee (TMC), with the thesis supervisor as one of its members.
The recommendation of this committee will be essential for the
yearly extension of the student.
The Ph.D. registration of a student will be normally valid for a
period of five years. However it should be re-affirmed every year,
either through the yearly extension, or through the report of the
TMC before the end of every academic year.
Under exceptional circumstances, the Ph.D. registration may be
extended beyond 5 years, or re-activated. However this needs the
recommendation of the Subject Board and the approval of the Dean GS.
All such extensions will be reported to the Academic Council.
Students in the academic programmes may be charged appropriate
tuition fees for each semester, as well as registration and
examination fees. The fee structure will be laid down by the
Academic Council and updated as desired. Scientific staff will be
charged fees only from the date of registration. In case the Ph.D.
registration needs to be extended or re-activated, re-registration
fees need to be paid.
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6. Evaluation of Theses
Ph.D. Thesis: The candidate must be registered for the Ph.D.
degree. He/she should submit a Synopsis of the thesis, which must
have been approved in an open Synopsis Seminar, before the
submission of the actual Thesis. The Thesis should be submitted any
time after or along with the Synopsis, but before the expiry of six
months from the date of submission of the synopsis. (If the thesis
is not submitted within six months after submission of the synopsis,
a new open Synopsis seminar will need to be given, and the Synopsis
will have to be submitted.) The thesis will be submitted to the
Assistant Registrar's office, after obtaining prior approval from
the thesis supervisor and the Subject Board.
The Subject Board will choose two external examiners for the thesis,
who may be from, but need not be limited to, a list of three to six
names suggested by the thesis supervisor. The thesis supervisor
will also be an examiner.
The thesis will be forwarded to the examiners by the Assistant
Registrar's office, to which each examiner will be asked to send a
report. The report should recommend one of the following:
(a) The thesis be accepted as submitted.
(b) The thesis be accepted with minor revisions not requiring
re-examination.
(c) The thesis needs major revision and re-submission.
(d) The thesis be rejected.
The report of the examiners will be considered by the Subject Board,
which will announce a Panel of Examiners for the viva voce
examination. This panel will include at least one of the external
examiners, and the thesis supervisor. The examination will include
an open thesis seminar.
M.Sc. and M.Phil. Theses: These
will be handled in the same manner as the Ph.D. Thesis, except the
thesis will be sent to only one external examiner for evaluation.
The Panel of Examiners will send a joint evaluation of the viva-voce
examination to the Subject Board, who will forward it to the
Academic Council, if the award of a degree is to be recommended.
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7. Awarding of degrees
The Academic Council will take a formal decision on the award of the
degree, based on the recommendation of the Subject Boards and its
own evaluation of the examiner reports of the thesis. The final
degree certificate will be signed by the Chair, Academic Council
(TIFR Director) and the Chair of the TIFR Governing Council.
If the evaluation report of the viva voce examination is positive
and the case for awarding of the degree is clear, the Subject Board
may advise the Dean GS to issue a provisional certificate once the
candidate submits the final version of the Thesis. In addition, for
the I-PhD students, the Subject Board may recommend that the Dean GS
gives a provisional M.Sc. certificate once the student has
registered for Ph.D. (by completing all the requirements).
The final Ph.D. and M.Phil. degrees will include the title of the
thesis, however they will not mention the name of the subject. The
final M.Sc. degree will include the name of the subject and a Class
that reflects the coursework grades of the student, however it will
not include the name of the thesis, if any. The Class will be
assigned as follows: “First Class with Distinction” for the CGPA
(Cumulative Grade Point Average, on a scale of 100) of 75 and above,
“First Class” for the CGPA between 60 and 75, and “Second Class”
for the CGPA between 50 and 60. No degree will be awarded if the
CGPA is below 50.