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Council for Doctoral Studies

Introduction

As the scope of teaching and professional jobs is expanding in the country along with the expansion of Pokhara University, there is a growing demand for doctoral studies from within and outside of Pokhara University. Similarly, many foreigners are interested in doing a doctoral research in Nepal and there is a growing collaborative research work of Pokhara University with other foreign universities, research institutions and commission research of international organizations/institutions. Within this context, the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Management, Humanities, Social Sciences, and Sustainable Development is a constituent programmes of the University. The PhD programme is operational under the Pokhara University Council for Doctoral Studies and managed by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Among the operational programmes, Humanities, Social Sciences, and Sustainable Development degrees are managed by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

 

Objective

The Doctoral programme aims at producing expert and specialized high-level human resources for teaching, research and professional services, who shall profess theoretical excellence and practical comprehension in a particular area of humanities, management, science and technology, or social sciences.

 

Modality and Eligibility for Application

The Pokhara University Doctoral programme shall be an integrated programme under the “Pokhara University Doctoral Programme”. The programme constitutes the following two tracks:

  • Research Only Track for those who have already completed an MPhil degree. The eligibility for admission into the Research Only Track of the Doctoral programme is an MPhil degree in a related area of studies with a CGPA of 3.30 in a scale of 4.00 grading system, or 60 per cent on aggregate system of evaluation.
  • Coursework-Research Track for those who have simply a Master’s degree. The eligibility for the Coursework-Research Track of the Doctoral programme is a Master degree in a related area of study with a CGPA of 3.00 in a scale of 4.00 grading system, or Second Division on aggregate system of evaluation. [Note: This programme track has not been started, but planned to be started by the coming academic year.]

Duration of the Programme

The doctoral programme is a three year programme, constituting six normal semesters. However, students are allowed to complete different stages according to the following time duration: (i) 2 years for coursework (as applicable); (ii) 1 year for proposal defence; and (iii) 5 years for research work from the date of candidacy i.e. from the date of proposal defence, (conditions apply).

 

Requirements for the Award of the Degree

The requirements for the award of Doctoral degree are as follows.

  1. A minimum of 24 credit advance courses for the Coursework-Research Track;
  2. Research Only Track students audit course(s) if recommended by the Doctoral Student Supervisory Committee (DSSC);
  • Successful candidacy for the advancement to the doctoral dissertation upon writing a proposal and defending it in an academic gathering;
  1. One conference paper with the first authorship of the student, based on the student’s doctoral dissertation research;
  2. One research article with the first authorship of the student, based on the student’s doctoral dissertation research;
  3. A successful presentation of the doctoral dissertation in a doctoral seminar; and
  • Approval of the doctoral dissertation by the final examiners of Doctoral Dissertation.

 

Application for admission

The following documents are required to be submitted for application: (i) Application Form; (ii) A statement of purpose; (iii) A preliminary research proposal (within 2,000 words); (iv) A portfolio of works; and (v) Copies of Academic Certificates.

 

Fee Structure

Reasonable fees are set for the two streams of the programme. The fees are payable by semester.

 

Entrance Test and Evaluation of Applicant

Admission to the Doctoral programme shall be granted based on the combined score of the following three types of evaluations.

  1. Written entrance test. This test constitutes of the following 3 (three) sections with corresponding weightage.
  2. Quantitative Reasoning (30 marks) with data analysis and problem solving sections.
  3. Verbal Reasoning (30 marks) with sentence correction and critical reasoning sections.
  4. Analytical writing (40 marks) with Analysis of an Issue and Analysis of an Argument sections.
  5. Evaluation of the application documents; and
  6. Interview of the candidate.

 

Application Form