The following criteria are eligible for any candidate to seek admission to the Ph.D. programme to GCU (Assam):

• Candidates for admission to the Ph.D. programme of GCU (Assam) shall have successfully completed the following criteria’s:
  • Candidate successfully completing 1-year/2-semester Master’s degree programme(after 4 year undergraduate degree) securing at least 55% marks in aggregate or itsequivalent grade in a point scale wherever grading system is followed.
    OR an equivalent degree from a foreign educational institution accredited by an Assessment and Accreditation Agency which is approved, recognized or authorized by an authority, established or incorporated under a law in its home country or any other statutory authority in that country to assess, accredit or assure quality and standards of educational institutions.
  • A candidate successfully completing 2-year/4-semester Master’s degree programme (After 3 years Undergraduate Degree), with the same conditions as specified above in the sub-clause above;
  • A candidate seeking admission after a 4-year/8-semester bachelor’s degree programme should have a minimum of 75% marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade on a point scale wherever the grading system is followed. A relaxation of 5% marks or its equivalent grade may be allowed for those belonging to SC/ST/OBC (non-creamy layer)/Differently-abled, Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and other categories of candidates as per the decision of the Commission from time to time.
• Candidates who have cleared the M. Phil. course work with at least 55% marks in aggregate or an equivalent degree from a Foreign Institution accredited by an Assessment and Accreditation Agency which is approved, recognized or authorized by an authority, established or incorporated under a law in its home country or any other statutory authority in that country to assess, accredit or assure quality and standards of educational institutions, shall be eligible for admission to the Ph.D. programme.
• Reservation criteria: A relaxation of 5% of marks or an equivalent relaxation of grade, may be allowed for those belonging to SC/ST/OBC (non-creamy layer)/Differentlyabled, Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and other categories of candidates as per the decision of the Commission from time to time.

Note: The eligibility marks of 55% (or an equivalent grade in a point scale wherever grading system is followed) and the relaxation of 5% to the categories mentioned above are permissible based only on the qualifying marks without including the grace mark procedures, if any.

• Ph.D. programme in GCU (Assam) including course work shall be for a minimum duration of three years and a maximum of six years as per specified in UGC regulations 2022.
• For any extensions that go beyond the aforementioned parameters (Section 6.1) shall be subject to the pertinent provisions outlined in the ordinances of the University or specific Institution in question, but not for longer than two years and not exceeding eight (8) years from the date of admission.
• Women candidates and candidates who are differently-abled (more than 40% disability) may be allowed a relaxation of two years for a Ph.D. in the maximum duration and not exceeding ten (10) years from the date of Ph.D. programme. In addition, women candidates may be provided Maternity Leave/Child Care Leave for up to 240 days once in the entire duration of Ph.D.
• The registration of a student stand cancelled in case failure of submission of thesis within the prescribed period including the extended period. Such students shall be allowed to re-register as a fresh candidate for continuation of his/her research. He/she shall be treated as fresh candidate however the minimum period for thesis submission shall be four (4) semesters.

• GCU shall admit Ph.D. Scholars through a research entrance test via the GCU-RET conducted at the university level. Provided that, any circular/notification/communication by the UGC/Ministry of Education, Govt. of India regarding the conduct of a common entrance test for this purpose shall be applicable and binding on the Universities concerned (and covered under such a circular/notification/communication) taking into account the reservation policy of the central/state government from time to time.
• Ph.D. admission notification shall well in advance be published on the institutional website and through advertisement in the newspaper/news portal, the number of seats for admission, subject/discipline-wise distribution of available seats, criteria for admission, the procedure for admission, examination centre(s) where entrance test(s) shall be conducted and all other relevant information for the benefit of the prospective candidates. Admission to Ph.D. shall adhere to the National/State-level reservation policy, as applicable.
• Admission to the Ph.D. programme shall be made using the following criteria:
  • Eligible candidates may download the application form available in the website of GCU. The application form must be completely filled up and the form along with the required documents (duly attested) shall be sent to the Academic registrar office on or before the deadline indicated for the purpose. No application shall be entertained beyond the specified date deadline.
  • Apart from regular candidate, selected candidates who fall under any of the categories viz (a) Sponsored, (b) Part-time, and (c) Project Fellow must include along with the application format, a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from their employer/Project Investigator in the prescribed format. Such candidates shall complete their course work within the specified period and shall be allowed to submit the Research proposal by the third semester only after obtaining necessary leave in the prescribed format from their employers. Candidates who qualify for fellowship/scholarship in UGC-NET/UGC-CSIR NET/GATE/GPAT/CEED and similar National level tests shall be automatically selected for direct interview and shall be exempted from the GCU-RET written test. For review, a copy of the certificate proving passing the competitive national level test must be sent with the application. For general applicants who do not meet the requirements of the aforementioned National level assessments, a written test(GCU-RET) and interview will be required.
  • The panel of applicants suggested for admission by a committee chosen by the Chairperson, DRC, shall be forwarded to the Controller of Examination for further process of examination. The list of candidates qualifying in the entrance test shall be displayed in the University website for further progress to personal interview with specified dates.
  • GCU-RET syllabus shall consist of 50% of research methodology, and 50% shall be subject specific.
  • Students who have secured 50 % marks in the entrance test are eligible to be called for the interview.
  • A relaxation of 5 % marks will be allowed in the entrance examination for the candidates belonging to SC/ST/OBC/differently-abled category, Economically Weaker Section (EWS), and other categories of candidates as per the decision of the Commission from time to time.
  • GCU may decide the number of eligible students to be called for an interview based on the number of Ph.D. seats available.
  • Provided that for the selection of candidates based on the entrance test conducted by the GCU, a weightage of 70 % for the entrance test and 30 % for the performance in the interview/viva-voce shall be given.
  • The Controller of Examination will notify final list of the selected candidates for admission to the Ph.D. programme via the university website and other channels.
• An interview/viva-voce has to be organized at University level, wherein the candidates are required to discuss their research interest/area through a presentation before a duly constituted Departmental Research Committee (DRC).
  The interview/viva-voce shall also consider the following aspects, viz. whether:
  • The candidate possesses the competence for the proposed research;
  • The research work can be suitably undertaken at the University;
  • The research topic is relevant.
• GCU shall maintain a list of Ph.D. supervisors (specifying the name of the supervisor, his or her designation, and the department/school/centre), along with the details of Ph.D. scholars (specifying the name of the registered Ph.D. scholar, the topic of his/her research and the date of /registration.