UGC to Launch Annual ‘PhD Excellence Citations’ to Honour Outstanding Research
The University Grants Commission (UGC) is set to introduce ten ‘PhD Excellence Citations’ annually to recognize outstanding doctoral research among young scholars. This initiative, aimed at highlighting high-quality PhD work, will commence next year, as announced by UGC Chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar.
The citations will honor theses from five key disciplines: Sciences (including Agricultural and Medical Sciences), Engineering and Technology, Social Sciences (encompassing Education and Humanities), Indian Languages, and Commerce and Management. Eligible candidates will include research scholars who have obtained their PhD degrees through convocation from January 1 to December 31 of a given year, with nominations accepted in the following year. This includes graduates from state, central, private, and deemed universities.
During a recent meeting, the UGC approved the guidelines for these citations, which will be made public soon for feedback. According to the guidelines, universities can nominate up to five theses each year—one from each of the five disciplines. The selection process will consist of two steps: a university-level screening committee will shortlist candidates, followed by five UGC-constituted selection committees for each discipline that will choose two awardees.
Nominations will be assessed based on several criteria, including originality, methodology, clarity and structure, impact, presentation, defense of the thesis, and overall contribution to the field. The UGC plans to invite nominations through an application portal in January, with winners expected to receive their citations on September 5 each year.
The guidelines were informed by a UGC study analyzing PhDs awarded from 2011 to 2018, which revealed that 30% of awarded PhDs were in the sciences, followed by 26% in Engineering and Technology, 12% in Social Sciences, 6% in both Indian Languages and Management, and 5% each in Medical Sciences and Education. Additionally, the number of PhD admissions rose significantly from 77,798 in 2010-11 to 161,412 in 2017-18, according to UGC data.
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