Entrance exam for PhD admissions in DU

Updated on: Tuesday, October 06, 2009

The Board of Research Studies (BRS) of Arts faculty, Delhi University, has recommended an entrance exam for all those who want to apply for a PhD — in 14 different departments of the arts faculty — but do not have a fellowship or a grant.

“The University Grants Commission (UGC) has made it mandatory that students pursuing PhD should get a fellowship. Those who clear the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), University Teaching Assistantship (UTA), or Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship exams are eligible to apply for the PhD directly. However, each department offers 12 seats for students who do not get any of the above mentioned fellowship,” informed MM Agrawal, director, BRS (Arts). “The exam is meant for those particular students,” he said. Out of these 12 seats, six seats are for the general category students, three for OBC, two for SC, one for ST and one for physically challenged students.

Agarwal adds, “We have witnessed an increase in the number of PhD applications because any student who gets admission is eligible for the monthly Rs 5,000 scholarship. So far, the admission for these 12 seats was on the basis of the interviews conducted by the university departments. However, we feel that an interview alone is not enough to evaluate a student’s research abilities. An entrance exam will give all students a fair chance.”

As to whether an entrance exam is likely to discourage future PhD students, Agrawal said, “Entrance exams are the best way to ensure that deserving candidates get a chance, apart from maintaining the quality of research.” Students who clear both the entrance exam and the interview will be eligible for Rs 5,000 per-month along with a contingency fund of Rs 12,000 peryear. The fellowship will be called the ‘Non-NET JRF UGC Fellowship.’

The departments of Hindi, Sanskrit, Urdu, Persian, Modern Indian Languages, Arabic, Punjabi, psychology, philosophy, and Buddhist studies have already sent their confirmation to conduct the exam from the coming academic session (2010-11). As per the new rule, the admission will evaluate a candidate for a total of 200 marks, out of which 75 will be for the entrance exam.

Timesofindia

Entrance exam for PhD admissions in DU

More Education news