UGC announces PhD excellence citation to honour young researchers

NEW DELHI: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has announced PhD excellence citation to honour young researchers for their significant contributions to their field of research. The winners will be felicitated annually. The commission has asked universities to disseminate the information and shortlist and nominate the research scholars for citation. The portal for submitting applications will open on January 1, 2025.

In a study conducted on PhDs awarded from 2011 to 2018, the commission witnessed a growing trend of students opting for PhD degrees. The number of PhD admissions increased from 77,798 in 2010-11 to 1,61,412 in 2017-18.

Under the initiative, theses from streams including sciences (including agricultural sciences, medical sciences), engineering and technology, social sciences (including education and humanities), Indian languages, and commerce and management. Research scholars who have successfully defended their theses in state, central, private and deemed-to-be universities are eligible to apply. UGC will award ten citations (two citations from each discipline).

The eligibility criteria for PhD students are as follows:

• URL of the recommended thesis uploaded on the INFLIBNET website.
• Important research publications or patents from the PhD work
• PhD theses awarded in accordance with UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Award of PhD Degree) regulations, notified from time to time.
• Has obtained a PhD degree through a convocation from January 1 to December 31 in a year so as to participate in the citation in the following year.
• Each university may nominate up to five theses in a year, one from each of the five disciplines, from the PhD degrees awarded through a convocation.

UGC PhD excellence citation: Important dates

Every year, UGC should felicitate the winners of the PhD excellence award on September 5 commemorating the Teacher’s Day. The timeline for the award ceremony would be as follows:

• January 1 – UGC writes to universities inviting for nominations and opens the portal.
• March 31 – Last date for the submission of nominations by the universities.
• August 1 - Recommendation of winners to the UGC by the selection committee
• September 5 - Citation ceremony

As per the selection process, there will be two selection committees – a screening committee at the university level and a selection committee at the UGC level. The commission will form five separate committees for five different committees. Each committee will select two candidates from their respective streams.