DCIS

PhD in Computer Science

Program of Study

Artificat / Phase	Requirements and Details
Study Period	The study period of PhD program shall be counted from the date of joining PhD / transfer to PhD studies till the submission of copies of the final thesis to Dean (Research) office for evaluation. The minimum period for the completion of PhD studies shall be three years whereas the maximum period shall be six years. In special circumstances, upon recommendation of supervisor / co-supervisor and HoD, Dean (Research) may extend the maximum period by one year. In extraordinary situation, further extension shall be granted by the Council (CGSR) with appropriate justification and after due recommendation of the BoS.
Plan of Study	Student’s plan of study recommended by the BoS / Departmental Committee shall be submitted to the Dean (Research) within three months after the joining. The plan of study shall include area of research and courses to be studied.
Synopsis	Student shall submit the synopsis during the second year of her / his PhD studies.
Semester Break	A student can take leave of one or more semesters within her / his study period provided that she / he is expected to complete PhD during the stipulated time.
Course Work	The course work comprising graduate level courses with minimum of 18 credit hours with minimum CGPA of 3.0 shall be required. In addition to this, a student shall also be required to pass a course on Communication Skills if she / he has not studied this course earlier. PhD students shall be required to register in each regular semester at PIEAS for a minimum of 9 credit hrs by the end of fourth week of each semester. Failure to register in any semester may result in cancellation of PhD registration. For PhD students who have not studied core courses relevant to academic program shall pass the prescribed core courses in addition to 18 credit hours PhD level courses. These courses shall be mentioned in the plan of study as core courses. Each PhD student is required to take her / his course work and qualifying examinations during the first two years of her / his PhD study period. In extraordinary cases, Dean Research may extend the period up to one year. Such requests shall be recommended by the concerned supervisor and forwarded through HOD. A PhD student may be allowed course credit hours transfers, to be decided by a committee comprising the HoD, supervisor and two senior departmental faculty members. Credit hour transfer shall be allowed for the courses passed with A or B grades only at the PhD level after completing 18 years of education from an HEC recognized university.
Progress Report	In case a student is registered in Research, one page progress report of the student, at the end of each semester, shall be evaluated by the supervisors with a Grade Satisfactory / Unsatisfactory and shall be communicated to Dean Research and a copy to Controller of Examinations.
Qualifying Examinations	A PhD student shall be required to pass Comprehensive Qualifying Examination (CQE) and Subject Qualifying Examination (SQE).
Failure / Probation in Research Work	PhD student registered in research / dissertation course shall be required to maintain SATISFACTORY Grade throughout her / his PhD. A PhD Student obtaining an UNSATISFACTORY result at the end of any semester in research / dissertation course will be placed on probation . A PhD Student obtaining two consecutive UNSATISFACTORY results or three total UNSATISFACTORY in research / dissertation course will cease to be a PhD student
Seminars	After passing the qualifying examination, the student is required to give at least two seminars on his thesis topic of research, preferably one during third year and second just before submission of the thesis.
Publications	Before submission of a thesis for external evaluation, all PhD students shall be required to have accepted for publication or published at least one technical / research paper in an Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Indexed Journal as first author. The paper published as second author may also be accepted provided that the first author is her / his PhD supervisor. Students of PIEAS and affiliated institutes shall mention Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS), Islamabad as an address in their research papers.
Thesis Submission	Upon completion of all PhD study / research requirements, the candidate shall submit to Dean (Research), through the HoD, four soft-bound copies and one soft copy (pdf format) of the thesis on a CD along with an application form duly approved by her / his PhD Supervisor / co-supervisor for the evaluation of his / her thesis.
Thesis Defense	The student shall give a presentation in front of the approved panel of examiners in an open gathering. The thesis defence shall be before the panel members only. The decision of the panel shall be by majority. If the candidate fails to satisfy the examiners in the thesis defence examination, then the panel of thesis examiners may require the candidate to defend the thesis for second and the last time within a period of six months.
Award of Degree	The notification of the award of PhD degree shall be issued after all the administrative formalities / requirements have been completed for the degree.