University of Sargodha

Undergraduate Semester Regulations – 2023 

1.         Preamble

Notwithstanding anything contrary to the provisions of University of Sargodha Ordinance, 2002 / Amendment Act 2004, the University shall offer 1-year Post graduate Diploma, 1.5 years B.Ed, 2-year Associate Degree, Undergraduate (4-year/5-year, Licensure/Non-Licensure) etc. level degree programs or equivalent programs approved by the Authority. Provided that rules and regulations mentioned hereinafter regarding admission, registration and examination shall be applicable on each undergraduate and diploma courses offered by the University.

2.         Short Title and Commencement

The regulations described hereunder shall be called “Undergraduate Semester Regulations-2023”, University of Sargodha and shall come into force w.e.f Fall semester 2023.

3.         Definitions

In these rules and regulations unless the subject or context otherwise requires, the following expressions shall have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them, that is to say:

1. “University” means the University of Sargodha.
2. “Vice Chancellor” means the Vice Chancellor of the University.
3. “Syndicate” means the Syndicate of the University.
4. “Authority” means any of the Authorities of the University specified in the Ordinance.
5. “Board of Studies” means the board comprising of specified members for each subject or group of subjects taught in any Department/College/Institute/School.
6. “Dean” means the Chairperson of the Board of Faculty.
7. “Director” means director of and Institute/School/Centre.
8. “Principal” means the head of Constituent College.
9. “Chairperson” means head of an academic department
10. “Academic Department” means a teaching, research and technological development department maintained and administered by the University.
11. “College” means a constituent college of University.
12. “Institute” means an institute maintained and administered by the University.
13. “School” means a school maintained and administered by the University.
14. “Controller of Examinations” means the Controller of Examinations of the University.
15. “Prescribed” means prescribed by Statutes, Regulations or Rules;
16. “Academic Year” means a year consisting of two regular semesters namely; Fall and Spring;
17. “Semester” means duration of eighteen weeks inclusive of examinations i.e.; sixteen weeks for teaching (including midterm exam), one week for conduct of final term examination and one week for preparation and submission of results.
18. “Credit Hour” means one hour student-teacher classroom contact per week per semester in theory or two to three hours contact in practical/lab work per week per semester;
19. “Deficiency Course” means a course in which a student has been adjudged deficient by the concerned Department/College/Institute at the time of admission/transfer of credits/migration;
20. “Non-credit Course” means a course that shall be mandatory to pass but shall not be counted in calculating GPA/CGPA.
21. “Pre-requisite” means a course required to provide basic knowledge of the follow up course;
22. “Internship” means a period of 6-8 weeks duration spent by the student in any organization relevant to the field of study.
23. “Capstone Project” preferably undertaken after the fourth semester, allows students to bring together the concepts, principles and methods that they have learned in their course of study and to apply their knowledge and acquired competencies to address the real world problems.

4.       Introduction

Following are the guidelines, procedures, rules and regulations to be administered by all the Departments/Colleges/Institutes/School, running Semester System.

4.1       Each Department/College/Institute/School in the beginning of an academic session shall arrange an “Orientation” to familiarize the admitted students with semester system and their degree requirements.

4.2       A copy of printed Semester Regulations shall be made available in all the Departments/Colleges/Institutes/School as well as the University Library and Website for guidance.

4.3       The regulations inscribed here are subject to amendment/change and repletion by the Competent Authority.

4.4       Medium of instruction and examination shall be English except for language courses and for Islamic Studies compulsory which can be offered in English or Urdu.

5.       Courses, Scheme of Studies and Structure of Degree programs

5.1       The curricula and schemes of studies of various degree programs shall be developed and recommended by the respective Boards of Studies and other statutory bodies. Such curricula and schemes of studies shall become effective from the date of approval by the Syndicate on the recommendations of the Academic Council or any other date as determined by the Competent Authority.

5.2       A student shall normally be required to take the prescribed courses but not more than eighteen credit hours work load shall be offered by the Department/College/ Institute/School in each semester.   However, in special circumstances, s/he can add maximum one course with prior approval of the Director/Principal/Chairperson/In-charge concerned. The permission must be obtained within seven days from the commencement of the semester.

5.3       The students shall pursue the notified scheme of studies to be approved by the Competent Authority from time to time.

5.4       No student shall take any course unless s/he has qualified the prerequisites for it as determined in the curriculum.

5.5       Structure of 5-year degree program (Pharm-D/LLB (Hons) etc.) will be as defined/set by relevant accreditation council of minimum 160-credit hours. Structure of 4-years Degree program will be as follows:

*In addition to above the courses of Translation of the Holy Quran (Non-Credit) and Seerat of Holy Prophet (SAW) (one credit hour) shall also be taught to the students.

**Exemption up to 30 credit hours can be granted for similar courses in case of double major through concerned Board of Studies.

5.6       Structure of 2-year Associate Degree program will be as follows:

* In addition to above the courses of Translation of the Holy Quran (Non-Credit) and Seerat of Holy Prophet (SAW) (one credit hour) shall also be taught to the students.

**If internship/field experience of 03 credit hours is required by any council then in that case major requirements will be 30-39 credit hours.

5.7       In case a program is accredited with council then structure of the degree program may be altered to fulfil the requirements of respective council.

5.8       Internship in all academic programs shall be managed under internship frame work approved by the statutory bodies.

6.       Course Code and Credits

            6.1       Each course shall be assigned credit hours. The credit hours are denoted by two digits within brackets with a hyphen in between. The first digit represents the theory part while the second (right side) digit represents the practical. Thus 3(3–0) means three credit hours of theory only, while 4(3–1) means a total of four credit hours, of which three are reserved for theory and one credit hour is for laboratory/studio work/field work/practical work as per requirement of discipline.

            6.2       Each Board of Studies shall assign and prescribe the course codes, credit hours and work load up to a maximum of eighteen credit hours for each semester for a given scheme of studies. In case of relevant accreditation council requirements, work load for each semester may increase or decrease.

            6.3       Course codes shall be divided into two parts i.e., letters and digits.

Letters: Four characters representing the course of the subject concerned, e.g;

CHEM             =          04 letters

MATH             =          04 letters

ISLS                =          04 letters

ECON              =          04 letters

PKST               =          04 letters

ENGL              =          04 letters 

Digits:

There shall be four digits, among which 1st shall represent level of the program

• First digit will represent the level of the program, for example
• Level 5 represents BA/BSc (Pass), Associate degree and first four semesters or first 2 years (13th and 14th year of education) of all undergraduate degrees to be offered after intermediate. 
• Level 6 represents BS, BSc(Hons), BE, B.Arch, BSc(Eng.), LL.B, B.Com (Hons) etc 15th, 16th or 17th year of education i.e. 3rd, 4th and 5th year of all undergraduate degrees to be offered after intermediate and BS 5th semester intakes of all the relevant degrees. 
• Level 7 represents Masters (MPhil/MS/MBA, LL.M, MSc(Eng.), ME, MArch etc) 17th and 18th year of education.
•  Level 8 represents Doctoral (PhD), 19th, 20th and 21st year of study. 
• Second Digit of coding will represent the number of degree of same level i.e. all BS 16 year degrees, hence will be numbered as 1, 2 and 3 onward. All the departments offering more than one degrees of same level and of similar nature, will number their programs as “1”, “2”, … as second digit of their coding scheme of the relevant degrees. Please note that BS 5th semester intake will not be considered as a separate degree and coding scheme will be same as that of BS program (5th semester and onward).  
• Third and fourth digit will represent the number of course i.e. all the courses offered in a particular program will be numbered as ‘01’ ‘02’ ‘03’ …… ‘99’.

Undergraduate (BS/B.Com/BBA etc.)

Example – 1 (first digit should be 5 in first 2 semesters)

Example – 2 (in case of 2nd bachelor degrees in the same department) 

Undergraduate (BS/B.Com/BBA etc. and all BS 5th semester intakes)

Example – 1 (first digit should be 6 in all semesters after 4th)

Graduate degree (B.Ed etc.)

Example – 1 (first digit should be 6 all semesters)

Example – 2 (in case of 2nd graduate degree in the same department) 

(second digit should be 2 in all semesters)

6.4       Following general education courses (where applicable) shall be offered in all Undergraduate degrees with same course titles, contents and course codes in first four semesters only. 

1. In addition to above general education courses the following courses shall be offered in all degrees with same course titles, contents and course codes:

1. Re-organization of courses according to the requirements or availability of teaching faculty in the Department/College/Institute/School shall be permissible during the session with the approval of Principal/Director/Chairman under intimation to Dean concerned provided that students shall be informed well before the commencement of the semester concerned.
2. Each faculty member will develop course folder(s) for the assigned course(s). The course folder should include at least the following:
3. CV of the teacher
4. Course Outline/Weekly lecture plan
5. Copy of Time Table
6. List of Students
7. Attendance record
8. Copies of Quizzes duly marked
9. Model assignments duly marked
10. Copies of mid-term and final term question papers
11. Award list
12. Suggestions for improvement in the course
    1. The content of the course folder can be modified keeping in view the requirements of the accreditation councils/HEC.
       1.  If a student is unable to appear in a part or whole of the Mid Term or Final Term examination of a semester.

7.         Attendance

7.1       A student having less than 75% attendance in lectures and practical (if applicable) separately shall not be allowed to take the final examination of the course. The Department/ College/Institute/Centre shall notify the list of such students at least one week before the final examination week.

7.2       The Chairperson/Principal/Director of the Department/ College/Institute/Centre may condone, for valid reasons, deficiency up to 5% of the total number of lectures. The Dean of the Faculty on the recommendations of the Chairperson/ Principal/ Director of the Department/College/Institute/Centre may, on special grounds, condone up to another 5% of the total number of lectures.

7.3       If a student who has missed three consecutive lectures without any reason in a course, a verbal/written warning from the course teacher may be given to the student.

7.4       If a student who is found habitual of missing lectures in a course, s/he shall not be allowed to sit in the class without the approval of the Chairperson/Principal/ Director.

7.5       If a student makes him/herself absent from the Department/College/Institute/ School/Centre for ten consecutive working days (without approval of Chairman/Director/In-charge or without medical emergency), his/her name shall be struck off from the rolls of the Department/College/Institute/Centre. Such student shall not be re-admitted without the approval of the Chairman/Director/In-charge under intimation to the Dean concerned. The student shall have to pay the prescribed re-admission fee/dues under intimation to the Treasurer and the Director Academics.

7.6       At the end of each semester, the teacher concerned shall submit the statement showing the total number of lectures delivered and practical (if applicable) conducted, by him/her together to the Chairperson/Principal/Director of the Department/ College/Institute/Centre with the total number of lectures and practical (if applicable) attended by each student. The cumulative attendance record will be communicated to the students on monthly basis by the teacher concerned.

7.7       The absence as a result of late admission or change of course(s) shall also be counted for dropping from the course(s).

7.8       For a student participating and representing the University in sports/co-curricular activities of national or international level events, as verified by the Director of sports/co-curricular, the days actually spent by the student in such events shall be counted as present towards the attendance requirement. 

7.9       If a student is required to participate in sports/co-curricular activities representing the University, on the date/dates of examination, arrangement will be made by the Department/ College/Institute/Centre for holding Special Examination for him/her as soon as his/her sports/co-curricular activities are ended.

8.         Change and Withdrawal of Course(s)

8.1       A student may withdraw a maximum of 50% of the courses offered i.e.; two out of five or three out of six courses.

8.2       The enrolled students may be allowed to enroll/change the offered course(s) within one week and withdraw during 1-4 week from the date of commencement of the semester with the permission of Head of Department/College/Institute. In case of withdraw, the transcript shall record that the student enrolled in the course and withdrew. Consequently, grade W will be awarded to the student which shall have no impact on the calculation of the CGPA of the student.

8.3       A student withdrawing after the 4th week shall be automatically awarded “F” grade which shall count in the GPA and stay on the transcript. 

8.4       The students availing withdrawal of courses cannot register advanced level course(s) in next semesters for which the withdrawn course(s) are pre-requisite.

8.5       The teacher shall provide a detailed course outline to the students within 7-days of the beginning of the semester and shall send a copy of course outline and work plan to the Head of Department/College/Institute.

        9              Semester Freeze

9.1       A student may discontinue his/her studies by seeking semester freeze during the semester before the final term examination on medical grounds or circumstances beyond his/her control with written permission of Chairperson/Principal/Director of the Department / College / Institute/School concerned subject to the condition that semester fee shall not be transferred/refunded. However, freezing in 1st semester is not allowed.

9.2       A student may discontinue his/her studies by seeking semester freeze prior to enrollment in the second/subsequent semester on medical grounds or circumstances beyond his/her control with written permission of Chairperson / Principal / Director of the Department / College/Institute/School concerned subject to fulfillment of condition that the student has passed the final examination of the previous semester with minimum prescribed GPA/CGPA required for academic standard of the University to remain on roll. The student shall have to pay the semester fee; the fee will be transferred to the next semester if frozen in first week of commencement of the classes or before the commencement of the semester in case s/he joins the program within maximum time prescribed for semester freeze. In case of semester freeze after one week of commencement of classes fee will not be transferred. 

9.3       A student who sought discontinuation of a semester shall have to get approval from the Chairperson/Principal/Director to rejoin the program before the commencement of the semester to be rejoined. The student may seek semester unfreeze even if relevant semester to be rejoined is not currently being offered. In that case s/he may repeat/improve failed courses of previous semesters by following other codal formalities. 

9.4       The Chairperson/Principal/Director of the Department/College/Institute/School concerned will notify in both the cases; the semester freeze and rejoining the program under intimation to the Treasurer and the Director Academics.

9.5       During the semester freeze, bonafide status of the student shall remain suspended provided that discontinuation shall not be allowed for more than two regular semesters in any case in whole degree program subject to maximum time limit for completion of degree. 

10.       Evaluation

The course teacher will be responsible for students' evaluation and grading as per the following weight-age:

For all disciplines other than Engineering and Technology

For Engineering and Technology Disciplines

10.1     Sessional: Test(s)/quiz(s)/assignment(s)/presentation(s)/seminar(s)/class participation /attendance/term paper. The course teacher will decide the marks distribution according to the nature of the course.

10.2     Mid-term Examination from the syllabus prescribed for the midterm will normally be conducted after first eight weeks of teaching during a semester. 

10.3     Final Examination covering the full syllabus with at least 25% of the course of mid-term shall be held at the end of each semester.

Note: Courses involving project/practical/ field work may deviate from the above given marks distribution to accommodate the marks of the project/ practical/field work. However, prior approval from the Chairperson/ Principal/ Director is required under intimation to the office of the Controller of Examinations.

10.4     The schedule of each examination shall be notified/displayed on the Notice Board well in time.

10.5     The duration of examinations shall be as under:

            a)         Mid Term Examination:           One to Two Hours 

            b)         Final Term Examination:         Two to Three Hours

10.6     Examination should be held on consecutive days excluding holidays which means that no gap shall be allowed in the papers.

10.7     Question paper for midterm and final term examinations shall be set by the respective Teacher.  However, Chairperson / Principal / Director shall ensure the quality and standard of the question paper set by the teacher through examination committee. 

10.8     The pass marks in each course shall be 50%.

10.9     The scripts of each examination shall be shown to the students by the teacher to review their grades awarded. The Department/College/Institute/School concerned shall keep such record for one semester.

10.10   Sessional marks awarded on the basis of assignment, test, quiz etc. shall be displayed/shown to the students 14 days before the final term examination.

10.11   In case a student is not satisfied with his/her award even after checking his/her answer book, or clarification from the teacher, s/he may make written application to the Chairperson/Principal/Director of the Department/College/Institute/School within one week of announcement of result for decision by the Departmental Examination Committee.

10.12   After holding the final term examination, each teacher shall prepare four copies of the results of the sessional, mid-term and final term examinations on award lists duly signed by the teacher concerned for submission to offices of the Controller of Examinations, Dean, Chairperson/Principal/Director and teacher concerned.

10.13   Teacher shall submit a copy of the award list duly approved by the Chairperson/Principal/Director along with the scripts within seven days of the respective examination to the In-charge Examinations of the Department/College/ Institute/School concerned.

10.14   The In-charge Examinations shall prepare the final consolidated result and submit it before the Departmental Examination Committee for consideration. After deciding the appeals/written complaints/incomplete results, if any, the Departmental Examination Committee shall forward the result for notification by the office of the Controller of Examinations within two weeks of closing of final term examination. The result should show student's ID, name, father's name, marks obtained, grade points, letter grade and GPA/CGPA. A copy of the result by the office of the Controller of Examinations shall be submitted to the Dean and Chairperson/Principal/Director concerned.

10.15   In case a student did not appear in the mid and final examinations due to discontinuation of the semester, his/her GPA/CGPA should not be calculated. 

10.16   Semester and final transcripts shall be issued by the office of the Controller of Examinations to the students on request by depositing the prescribed fee for this purpose.

10.17   Each student shall have to pay the prescribed degree notification fee.

10.18   For the degree programs where research is offered, the students are required to submit the Thesis/Project report within two months from the end of final examination of the last semester. However, this time duration may be extended with the permission of the Chairperson/Principal/Director of the Department/ College/Institute/School. The evaluation of the project shall be made by the panel of three examiners comprising the Chairperson/Principal/Director, external examiner (to be recommended by the Board of Studies and appointed by the Dean or in case of absence of Dean any Chairperson nominated by the Vice Chancellor) and the supervisor. The plagiarism check must be conducted on the dissertation/theses offered to undergraduate students by Central Library before its submission to the department.

10.19   Examination Unfair Means Cases shall be reported to the Chairperson/Principal/ Director who may refer the case to the Departmental Examination Committee or University Discipline Committee, as the case may be, for necessary action under the rules.

10.20   The disciplinary action by the Chairperson/Principal/Director of the Department/ College/Institute/School against the student(s) for unfair means/discipline case(s) may be taken in one or more of the following forms depending upon the severity of the offence:

10.20.1 A written warning may be issued to the student(s) concerned and a copy of the same may be displayed on the Notice Board under intimation to his/her parents/guardians;

10.20.2 A student may be fined. The fine imposed shall have to be deposited under intimation to the Treasurer;

10.20.3  The paper may be cancelled.

10.20.4 A student may be placed on probation for a fixed period of a semester. If during the period of probation s/he fails to improve his/her conduct, the case shall be forwarded to the University Discipline Committee.

10.21   A student shall be awarded incomplete grade ‘I’ on medical grounds or the circumstances beyond his/her control determined by the Departmental Examination Committee in the following cases:

10.21.1  If a student fails to complete any assignment, test, quiz, term paper, presentation etc. assigned to him/her by the teacher for the purpose of internal assessment.

10.22   The student may be allowed to appear in the Special Mid/Final Examination of the semester to be held by the Department/College/Institute/Centre before the commencement of the next semester. However, the student must have:

1.   Fulfilled attendance requirement.

10.22.2  Been admitted as patient in a recognized hospital. If s/he has not been hospitalized, the student will be examined by the University Medical Officer.

10.23   The result of such student shall be withheld till conduct of special examination before the commencement of next semester. If the student does not appear in the special exam s/he will be considered fail in that course(s) and result will be updated accordingly. 

10.24   There shall be no provisions of special examination for the students who have already appeared in final examinations.

11.       Promotion, Dropout and Re-admission 

1. If a student fails to obtain 1.75 GPA at the end of 1st semester or fails in more than 50% offered courses in 1st semester s/he shall be dropped from the program. Furthermore, if a student fails to obtain prescribed CGPA at end of second and onward semesters or fails to pass more than 50% of offered courses in each semester, s/he shall be dropped in the same semester and shall not be promoted to the next semester. A student who has been declared to be dropped in any academic year due to less than prescribed CGPA or failure in more than 50% courses, may be readmitted only once to the relevant/previous* semester with the following conditions:

11.1.1 The student has to pay prescribed re-admission fee in addition to regular semester fee under intimation to the Treasurer and the Controller of Examinations.

11.1.2 Permission to re-admission shall be obtained from the Chairperson/Principal/ Director within one week of commencement of classes.

11.1.3 In case of readmission to 1st semester the student will be awarded new roll number and s/he will study as per rules applicable to the session along with which s/he has sought readmission. In case of readmission to semester other than 1st semester the roll number will remain same and the rules of the previous session will be applicable

*Relevant semester is any semester which satisfies the following conditions:

1. After readmission maximum time limit shall not be affected
2. The semester from which s/he can continue and improve CGPA
3. The semester is being offered at the time of request for readmission
   1. The student who has already been readmitted once will be “Dropped” from university rolls/program if s/he is again dropped from any semester.
   2. A student will only be allowed to repeat 2-3 courses of up to 09 credit hours (if any) with the permission of the Chairperson/Principal/Director in summer semester.
   3. A student may repeat fail courses and/or improve the grade/s of the already pass course(s) in summer semester or relevant semester or where the course/s is/are being offered within prescribed maximum time limit of the program. In this case, a student shall enroll the course(s) by paying the prescribed fee. Such course(s) shall be marked under asterisk (*) in the provisional and official transcript.
   4. In case of improvement (credit/non-credit course), the better grades shall be reflected on the provisional /official transcript. However, such students shall not be considered eligible for a position/scholarship.
   5. Promotion Criteria.
      1. For promotion to second semester a student must pass at least 50% courses with minimum 1.75 GPA in the first semester.
      2. For promotion to subsequent semesters a student must pass at least 50% of the offered courses in each semester and must obtain minimum CGPA given below at the end of each semester to remain enrolled and continue his/her studies in the program, otherwise, s/he may be granted re-admission only once into relevant/previous semester in the light of Regulation No. 11.1, 11.1.1 and 11.1.2 stated above. 

Minimum CGPA to be obtained at the end of each semester

1. For students admitted in 5th semester of BS program the promotion criteria mentioned above for 5th and onward semesters of BS 4-year program shall be followed.

12.      Award of Degree

12.1     Minimum credit hours required for 4-year undergraduate degree program are as follows or as per requirements of relevant Accreditation Councils (if any):

*In addition to above the courses Translation of the Holy Quran (Non-Credit) and Seerat of Holy Prophet (SAW) (one credit hour) shall also be taught to the students

**Exemption up to 30 credit hours can be granted for similar courses in case of double major through Board of Studies. In that case degree requirement will be minimum 162 credit hours.

12.2     A minimum of 160 credit hours are required for 5-year undergraduate degree or as per requirements of relevant Accreditation Councils (if any).

12.3     A minimum of 60 credit hours are required for 2-year degree program.

12.4     A minimum of 30 credit hours are required for 1-year diploma program.

12.5     Degree shall be awarded to the students only who have completed all the degree requirements by passing all courses specified in scheme of studies by securing minimum required CGPA (2.50 for programs other than 2-year associate degree and 2.00 for 2-year associate degree) for completion of degree.

12.6     Students enrolled in the undergraduate/equivalent degree program shall be allowed to exit from the program with an Associate Degree provided that the following requirements are met:

12.6.1  The student must have completed minimum of 60 credit hours in at least four (04) semesters of the undergraduate/equivalent degree program including general education courses comprised of 30 credit hours:

12.6.2  The minimum CGPA is maintained at 2.00/4.00.

12.6.3  The name of the subject field on the degree shall remain the same in which a student was initially enrolled for the undergraduate/equivalent degree program;

12.6.5  The option of exit from the undergraduate/equivalent degree program with an Associate Degree is not allowed in disciplines accredited under the councils i.e. PM&DC, PNC, PVMC, PEC, PCP, CATP, PBC, NTC, NCT, NAEAC AND NCH

12.6.6  The option of exit from the undergraduate /equivalent degree program with an Associate Degree is allowed in disciplines accredited under the councils i.e. NCEAC, NBEAC and NACTE.

12.7     In case a student has sought exit from BS program then s/he cannot rejoin the BS program. However, s/he may seek fresh admission in 5th semester intake as and when offered.  

13.       Awards: Scholarship/Position

13.1     Scholarship to the students shall be awarded on the basis of academic performance in a semester and shall be determined on the basis of semester GPA. In case of tie between two or more students having equal GPA, their marks obtained in the semester shall be taken into account. If their marks obtained are also equal, the older in age will be awarded the scholarship than the younger one.

13.2     Award of position on completion of the degree program shall be determined on the basis of CGPA. In case of tie between two or more students having equal CGPA, their overall percentage of marks obtained in all the semesters shall be considered. A student with higher percentage shall be awarded the first position and so on. However, if their overall percentage of marks is also equal, they shall be considered on the same position.

14.       Grade Improvement 

14.1     A student may repeat the course(s) during the course of study to improve the grades. In this case student shall enroll the course(s) with the permission of the Chairperson/Principal/ Director of the Department/College/ Institute/School in the semester in which the course(s) is being offered, by paying the prescribed enrollment fee. Such course(s) shall be marked under asterisk (*) in the semester/official transcript. 

14.2     A student who has obtained the final transcript issued by the Controller of Examinations can also improve his/her grades by enrolling the course(s) within the prescribed time limit of the program.

14.3     In case of improvement, the better grades shall be reflected on the semester/official transcript. However, such students shall not be considered eligible for a position/scholarship in the relevant examination.

14.4     In case a student repeats the course(s) which s/he has already studied, better grades will be reflected on the transcript. Further, in case of elective subjects if a student studies a new course due to non-offering of previously studied course, either due to change in scheme of studies or discontinuation of program etc., better grades will be reflected on the transcript.

15.       Grading System

15.1     The grading shall be done on a scale of 4.

15.2     Equivalence between Letter grading and Numerical grading shall be as follows:

GRADING TABLE

Minimum passing marks for a course = 50%

15.3     Fraction of total marks obtained in a course shall be counted as one mark, e.g. 60.1 and 60.9 shall be considered as 61.

Example:

            Examination             Weight                  Marks Obtained          

            Mid Term                    30                                19.0     

            Sessional                      20                                10.3     

            Final Term                   50                                40.1     

            Total                           100                              69.4     

            The score shall be rounded to 70

However, CGPA shall not be rounded off

15.4     In order to calculate the GPA, multiply GP with the Credit Hours of each Course to obtain total grade points of the course, add up to Cumulative Grade Points and divide by the total number of Credit Hours to get the GPA for the semester.

For 4-Year Program

In order to calculate the GPA, multiply GP with the Credit Hours of each Course to obtain total grade points of the course, add up to Cumulative Grade Points and divide by the total number of Credit Hours to get the GPA for the semester.

Example-I (Semester – I) (Must obtain minimum 1.75 GPA and pass 50% courses)

GPA = 24.54 ÷ 16 = 1.53 (Dropped due to low GPA/failure in more than 50% courses)

Example-II (Semester – I) (Must obtain minimum 1.75 GPA and pass 50% courses)

GPA = 46.14 ÷ 16 = 2.88 (Promoted)

Example-III (Semester-II) (Must obtain minimum 1.75 CGPA and pass 50% courses)

GPA = 32.22 ÷ 12 = 2.69 (promoted)

For all BS 5th semester intake programs

Example-I (Semester–I) (Must obtain minimum 2.10 GPA and pass 50% courses)

GPA = 33.18 ÷ 16 = 2.07 (Dropped due to low GPA)

For calculating CGPA, sum total of GPs in all semesters earned in different courses multiplied by respective credit hours of a course and divided by total number of credit hours.

                 Total (GP x Credit Hours) of all courses 

                        Total Credit Hours of all courses

Total grade points in till 2nd semester = 46.14 + 32.22 = 78.36

Total credit hours till 2nd semester = 16+12 = 28

CGPA = 78.36 / 28 = 2.79 (Promoted)

Example-III (Semester-II) (Must obtain minimum 2.00 CGPA and pass 50% courses)

GPA = 20.70 ÷ 15 = 1.38

For calculating CGPA, sum total of GPs in all semesters earned in different courses multiplied by respective credit hours of a course and divided by total number of credit hours.

                 Total (GP x Credit Hours) of all courses 

                        Total Credit Hours of all courses

Total grade points in till 3rd semester = 46.14 + 32.22 + 20.7= 99.06

Total credit hours till 3rd semester = 16+12+15= 43

CGPA = 99.06 / 43 = 2.30 (Dropped due to failure in more than 50% courses)

On the similar pattern GPA and CGPA may be calculated and promotion status may be determined in the light of regulation 11.6

16.       Migration/Transfer of Credits

Under extra-ordinary circumstances, the Vice Chancellor, on the recommendations of the Chairperson/Principal/Director of the Department/College/Institute/School, may allow migration/transfer of credits of students from HEC recognized Institutions to a Department/College/Institute/School/sub campus of the University and vice versa, provided that:

16.1     The institutions concerned agree for the migration/transfer of credits of such a student.

1. Migration/transfer of credits cases shall initially be scrutinized by the Department/College/Institute/School concerned. Eligible candidates must satisfy the following conditions: 
   1. S/he falls in the merit list drawn by the University for the respective session with which s/he wants to continue studies.
   2. S/he has to provide NOC from the institution from where migration is required.
   3. After migration the transferred student(s) must study at least 50% courses of the Program at the Department/College/Institute/School to become eligible for degree.
   4. A student, who has been dropped out, rusticated, expelled, or whose entry in the parent institute was banned for any reason whatsoever at any time during his/her academic career, the case for transfer of credits shall not be considered.
   5. Courses with credit hours and course contents equivalent to the Department/College/Institute/School courses, shall be considered for transfer. 
   6. Accepted courses along with their credit hours shall be displayed on the final/official transcript but their grades obtained from the parent institution will not be displayed. Such subjects will be marked as “Transferred Credits” (TR).
   7. The concerned teaching department during the initial scrutiny of application will also prepare a list of courses accepted for transfer (keeping in view the marks obtained and availability in scheme of studies) and deficiency courses, if any, and submit the list to office of the Registrar along with recommendations.
   8. All University regulations for migration/transfer of credits shall apply.

17.       Departmental Examinations Committee

Each Department/College/Institute/School shall have a Departmental Examination Committee comprising three to seven members appointed by the Dean of the Faculty. The Chairperson/Principal/Director of the Department/College/Institute/School will be the Convener and one of the members will be In-charge Examinations as the member & Secretary of the Committee. The Committee will perform the following functions:

17.1     To decide the appeal/written complaints of the students;

17.2     To decide the unfair means cases;

17.3     To examine and decide all the matters regarding uniformity before the declaration of result and any other related matter.

17.4     Ensure content coverage of courses in line with the course outline and work plan provided by the teacher during the semester.

17.5     The decision of the committee shall be final.

18.       Time Frame for Completion of Degree Programs

18.1     Maximum duration for the completion of various programs shall be as under:

            Program         Maximum Duration   

            1-Year             Two Years       

            2-Year             Three Years     

            3-Year             Five Years       

            4-Year             Six Years         

            5-Year             Seven Years     

18.2     In case a student is unable to secure degree within the prescribed timeframe and requests for extension in duration, the Head of the department/college/institute/school will forward the case on hardship basis, as per procedure prescribed in regulation 19.7, to University Semester Committee. In the event of force majeure (i.e., delay on account of circumstance beyond the control of student), the University Semester Committee university may recommend extension in the maximum time period for approval of the Vice Chancellor.

19.       University Semester Committee

There shall be a University Semester Committee to be constituted by the Vice Chancellor. The Committee shall perform the following functions

19.1     Provide consultation to the Department/College/Institute/School converting to semester system from the annual system.

19.2     Provide support in the implementation of semester system by arranging short courses for the faculty on its various aspects.

19.3     Monitor and report on the implementation of Semester Regulations and address various issues arising thereof.

19.4     Recommend necessary amendments in the Semester Regulations, if needed, for approval from relevant statutory bodies. Further, in unforeseen situations or where the semester regulations or procedures are silent/ambiguous/contradictory, University Semester Committee may issue guidance/interpretation after approval of Vice Chancellor.

19.5     Vice Chancellor can extend the degree time period on the recommendations of Semester Committee.

19.6     Deal with the individual student hardship cases studying under the semester and term system of affiliated colleges.

1. Procedure:
   1. University Students shall submit the application in the office of respective Chairperson/Principal/Director. The application shall be submitted along with processing fee @Rs. 500 in prescribed University account. Chairperson/ Principal/Director shall forward the application to the Chairman Semester Committee with clear recommendations about acceptance/rejection of student’s hardship.
   2. Whereas, the students studying under term system (affiliated colleges) shall submit application in office of Principal of college and Principal shall forward the application to the Controller of Examinations of the University. The application shall be submitted along with processing fee @Rs. 500 in prescribed University account. The Controller of Examinations shall forward the application to the Chairman University Semester with clear recommendation keeping in view student’s hardship.
   3. The University Semester Committee after reviewing the cases shall submit the recommendations to the Vice Chancellor for necessary approval. 
2. Schedule of Semesters:
   1. There shall be two regular semesters (Fall and Spring) in an academic year.
   2. Each semester shall be of 18 weeks. Sixteen weeks for teaching and one to two weeks for examination. In case of deficiency of delivered lectures, the teacher will arrange make-up classes with the approval of Head of Department/Institute/College.
   3. During the Summer Break, University may offer Summer Semester of 06-08 which will provide opportunity to meet up deficiency or to improve grades and internship. The following will be the standard operating procedures for Summer Semester:
      1. A student can enroll maximum 02-03 courses during summer semester with the approval of Head of Department/Institute/College.
      2. No student can enroll courses during summer semester if enrolled for internship in that particular summer semester.
      3. The minimum class size during summer semester will be 10. In case of less than 10 students the course may be offered on coaching/consultancy basis.
      4. A student who has either failed or has been stopped to take the examination due to shortage of class attendance or wishes to improve his/her grade is allowed to register in summer. A student can enroll withdrawn course only in case regular class for that course is being offered in summer semester.
      5. The contact hours per week during the Summer Semester will be doubled to ensure that the course is completely taught in a summer session with half of the duration as compared to a regular (Fall/Spring) semester.
      6. During summer semester for the students who intend to repeat/improve compulsory/General Education courses combined class will be offered in the parent/relevant department and the students from all other departments who intend to repeat/improve such courses shall join that class in the relevant department.

Repeal: The existing regulations may be repealed. However, the cases arising under the repealed regulations shall be governed by those regulations.

University of Sargodha

Graduate Semester Regulations – 2023 

1. Preamble

Notwithstanding anything contrary to the provisions of University of Sargodha Ordinance, 2002/Amendment Act 2004, the University shall offer MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil/Equivalent and PhD level research programs in all those disciplines where appropriate. Provided that in accordance with the prescribed quality criteria for admission to MS/MSc(Hons)/ MPhil/Equivalent programs and PhD Programs, rules and regulations mentioned hereinafter regarding admission, registration and examination for MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil/Equivalent and PhD studies shall be applicable to each graduate level research program offered by the University.

1. Short Title and Commencement
   1. The rules and regulations described hereunder shall be called “Graduate Semester Regulations-2023” and shall come into force from the Fall semester 2023. 
2. Definitions
   1. “University” means the University of Sargodha.

In these rules and regulations unless the subject or context otherwise requires, the following expressions shall have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them, that is to say:

1. “Vice Chancellor” means the Vice Chancellor of the University.
2. “Syndicate” means the Syndicate of the University.
3. “Authority” means any of the Authorities of the University specified in the Ordinance.
4. “AS & RB” means Advanced Studies and Research Board (AS & RB) of the University.
5. “Board of Studies” means the board comprising of specified members for each subject or group of subjects taught in any Department/College/Institute/School.
6. “Dean” means the Chairperson of the Board of Faculty.
7. “Director” means director of and Institute/School/Centre.
8. “Principal” means the head of a Constituent College.
9. “Chairperson” means head of an academic Department.
10. “Department” means a teaching, research and technological development department maintained and administered by the University.
11. “College” means a Constituent College of the University.
12. “Institute” means an Institute maintained and administered by the University.
13. “School” means a School maintained and administered by the University.
14. “Controller of Examinations” means the Controller of Examinations of the University (abbreviated as CE in this dossier).
15. “Prescribed” means prescribed in the Statutes, Regulations or Rules framed by the relevant authority.
16. “Research Program” means MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil, PhD and other research based programs of the University.
17. “Academic Year” means a year consisting of two regular semesters namely, Fall and Spring, and a Summer Semester.
18. “Semester” means duration of eighteen weeks inclusive of examinations i.e., sixteen weeks for teaching, one week for conduct of final term examinations and one week for preparation and submission of results.
19. “Graduate Program Committee” means each Department shall constitute a Graduate Program Committee comprising senior most (3-5) faculty members with Chairperson as its head. The Committee, approved by the Vice Chancellor through the Dean concerned, shall look after the MS/MSc(Hons)MPhil and PhD program and take all necessary actions/steps to run the program smoothly.
20. “Intradisciplinary” refers to sub-disciplines occurring within one of the ten broad disciplines defined by UNESCO's International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED-F-2013).
21. “Supervisory Committee” means each Department shall constitute a Supervisory Committee, for each doctoral researcher, to supervise the doctoral research with supervisor as its convener and co-supervisor (if any) and expert(s) from the field of research as members. In case of non-availability of the relevant expert among the regular faculty, a co-supervisor can be taken from other HEI or organization. 
22. “HJRS” means HEC Journal Recognition System.
23. “GRE/HAT” test means a test conducted by THE University/HEC/any testing body accredited by HEC.
24. Introduction
    1. A copy of printed Revised Rules and Regulations shall be made available in all the Departments/Colleges/Institutes/Schools as well as the University Library for guidance and electronic copy shall be available in downloadable from the website of the University (www.uos.edu.pk).

Following are the guidelines, procedures and regulations to be followed by the Department/College/Institute/School where MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil/Equivalent and PhD programs are in vogue.

1. The rules and regulations inscribed here are subject to amendment/change and repletion by the Competent Authority on the recommendation/direction/guideline of the relevant bodies of the University.
2. Pre-Requisites to Launch an MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil/Equivalent or a PhD Program
   1. Any Teaching Department/College/Institute/School of the University can launch MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil/Equivalent and PhD programs provided it fulfills the following criteria laid down by the HEC:
      1. At least two full time faculty members holding PhD degrees in the relevant field shall be available/appointed to the department to launch an MS/MPhil/Equivalent program that may be increased up to three (3) if a PhD program is also to be launched in the same discipline and department. 
      2. The minimum appointment tenure for full-time faculty members must not be less than the duration of the intended degree program.
   2. Before launching any research program, the Department/College/Institute/School shall obtain NOC from Higher Education Commission, Islamabad, as per criteria and timelines mentioned in the HEC Graduate Education Policy 2023 and ascertain the number of seats as per facilities and program details. 
   3. The admission to MS/M.Sc (Hons)/MPhil/Equivalent program and PhD programs shall be widely advertised.
   4. Minimum class size for MS/M.Sc (Hons)/MPhil/Equivalent and PhD program shall be 10 and 05 respectively. However, in case of less than the prescribed number of students, special permission for start of the program shall be sought from the Vice Chancellor on the recommendations of University Admission Committee. Teacher to student ratio will be 1:12.
3. Eligibility Criteria
   1. MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil/Equivalent programs: 
      1. The candidates having second division (≥ 45% marks) in annual system or CGPA ≥ 2.00 out of 4.00 in MA/MSc/LLB/BS (4–Year)/B-Pharmacy/ PharmD/ MBBS/ BDS/ BE/ BSc Engineering etc. [16-year education] degree in semester system in the relevant subject or Equivalent from the HEC recognized institutions shall be eligible for admission to MS/M.Sc (Hons)/MPhil/Equivalent program.
      2. Those candidates shall be considered eligible for admission who pass the University entry test (minimum 50% marks) and an interview conducted by the Graduate Program Committee of the relevant Department/College/Institute/School of the University.
      3. The candidates who are employed in Federal/Provincial government or semi-government organizations shall produce NOC (No Objection Certificate) from their employer (before the end of the first semester of their respective program of study).
      4. The intra-disciplinary admission may only be allowed, if:
         1. The applicant has a strong interest in pursuing an MS/MPhil/Equivalent degree in a different discipline. 
         2. The applicant has passed GRE-Subject/equivalent test with minimum 50% marks in the discipline of admission and he/she shall have to take 6-9 CH of deficiency courses of level 6.
         3. The Graduate Program Committee is satisfied that the applicant’s knowledge of primary area (level 6) has sufficiently prepared him or her to undertake the course of studies of the MS/MPhil/Equivalent program (or, in the opinion of the Graduate Program Committee, the preparation can be deemed satisfactory by taking a few additional courses after starting the program). 
4. PhD Program: 
   1. The candidates having CGPA ≥ 3.00 out of 4.00 (in the semester system) or minimum 60% marks (in the annual system) in MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil/ LLM/MSc(Engineering)/MD/MDS degree etc. (18-year education with minimum 24 and 6 CHs for course and research work respectively) in the relevant subject or equivalent from the HEC recognized institutions shall be eligible for admission. 
   2. Those candidates shall only be considered eligible who shall pass:
5. The entry test equivalent to GRE/HAT General Test (minimum 60% marks) conducted by the University and interview conducted by the Graduate Program Committee of the relevant Department/College/ Institute/School of the University. 
6. The applicants having minimum 60% GRE/HAT General Test score issued by the HEC accredited testing bodies shall be exempted from the University test for admissions to PhD program.
7. In addition to GRE/HAT General Test, the University may conduct subject test for admission to PhD program with the approval of the Vice Chancellor on the recommendations of University Admission Committee.
8. The candidates who are employed in Federal/Provincial government or semi-government organizations shall produce NOC (No Objection Certificate) from their employer. 
9. If the CGPA/Percentage is not mentioned on the transcript, the candidate must have to produce equivalent weightage from his/her parent institute. 
10. Omitted.
11. Students pursuing MS/MPhil studies and interested in continuing to PhD may be granted provisional admission upon satisfaction of the Graduate Program Committee regarding Statement of Purpose and students’ commitment to the PhD program, provided that confirmation of the admission shall be subject to the fulfilment of the following conditions within a period of one year from the date of provisional admission:
12. Award of MS/MPhil degree, as prescribed in these regulations.
13. Clearance of the admission test, as prescribed in these regulations.
14. The intra-disciplinary admission may only be allowed, if:
15. The applicant has a strong interest in pursuing a PhD in a different subject of the discipline.
16. The applicant has passed GRE-Subject/Equivalent Test with minimum 50% marks in the discipline of admission and shall have to take 6-9 CH of deficiency courses of level 7.
17. The Graduate Program Committee is satisfied that the applicant’s knowledge of the primary area (level 7) has sufficiently prepared him or her to undertake the course of study of the doctoral program (or, in the opinion of the Graduate Program Committee, the preparation can be deemed satisfactory by taking a few additional courses after starting the program)
    1. Only those candidates shall be granted admission to MS/MSc(Hons)/ MPhil/Equivalent or PhD program who fulfill the criteria laid down by the HEC and specified by the concerned Teaching Department, which are subject to change from time to time by the relevant bodies of the University. 
    2. As part of the application for admission to PhD programs, applicants shall be required to submit a statement of purpose, which shall form an integral part of the application. The Graduate Program Committee shall use the information provided to ascertain the preparedness and interest of the candidate in pursuing doctoral studies, and whether the department has the requisite resources to train and supervise the doctoral candidate in the subspeciality in which the applicant is interested. A statement of purpose shall, at least, include the following:
18. Title of the potential research proposal
19. Clear articulation of the current understanding of the intended field and ideas for potential research
20. Explanation of the intended impact of the proposed research 
21. The prospective candidates shall demonstrate passion and enthusiasm for the area of research
22. Procedure for Application, Admission and Registration
    1. An applicant seeking admission to MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil/Equivalent or PhD program shall apply (online) within due date given in the advertisement for admission.
    2. Upon offer of admission, the applicant shall submit all dues, original terminal DMC (for two semester only), an affidavit (enclosed in the prospectus) and copies of all previous degrees/certificates to the respective Department/ College/Institute/School in which the candidate wishes to pursue his/her studies. 
    3. The candidate shall be enrolled as per the University rules and regulations to establish his/her bonafide status. In order to remain enrolled in the University, every candidate shall pay the prescribed fee and other charges on semester basis to the University, failing which their admission shall be liable to be cancelled. 
    4. MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil/Equivalent program and PhD program require full time course/research work. 
    5. The list of admitted students shall be sent to the offices of the Treasurer, Controller of Examinations, Librarian and Director Academics for maintaining their personal files (registration returns, fee returns, examination record, library card and student identity card). 
    6. The merit of eligible candidates of MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil/equivalent or PhD Program shall be determined as follows:
23. Academic Qualifications (Terminal Degree)          →   70% contribution
24. University Entry Test/GRE/HAT                           →   30% contribution
25. Candidates must qualify the interview conducted by the Graduate Program Committee of a Department/College/Institute/School.
    1. Qualification from institutions other than the University of Sargodha shall be equalized by the Admission Committee of the University.
26. Migration/Transfer of Credits

Under extraordinary circumstances, the Advanced Studies and Research Board (AS & RB) on the recommendation of the Board of Studies (BoS) concerned, may allow migration/transfer of credits of a student of MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil/Equivalent or PhD program from another University/Degree Awarding Institutions (DAI) recognized by the HEC to a teaching Department of the University and vice versa:

8.1       The scholar will be required to provide a no objection certificate (NOC) from the University where s/he has been registered before and the consent of the Chairperson/Principal/Director of the Department/College/Institute/School of the University. The equivalence of credits to be transferred shall be determined by the Department concerned through its Board of Studies.

8.2       The research scholar shall pay the registration, tuition and examination fees on semester basis and fulfill all other requirements as per rules and regulations of the University.

8.3       No migration case shall be accepted which contravene above cited rules and Admission Regulations of the University.

8.4       The transfer of research work is permissible, provided that the host university accepts the research conducted at the parent university prior to the credit transfer.

1. Specific Conditions for Award of MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil/Equivalent and PhD Degree:
   1. For award of MPhil/MS/MSc(Hons)/Equivalent degree, candidates shall:
2. Either need to complete 30 credit hours of course work or
3. Complete 24 credit hours of coursework along with a minimum of six (6) credit hours for research work/thesis. 
4. The MS/MPhil degree shall be awarded not before the completion of 1.5 years or three (03) regular semesters and not after completion of four (04) years or eight (08) regular semesters. The period shall be counted from very first date of admission/readmission in 1st semester to the MPhil/MS/MSc(Hons)/equivalent program until the date of the completion notification of the degree. 
5. If the scholar’s degree is not completed in 2 years, one year (3rd year of study) extension shall be provided by the Chairperson/Principal/Director of the Department/College/Institute/School upon valid justification and recommendation of the research supervisor. Whereas, last year (4th year of study) extension shall be provided by the Dean of the concerned Faculty.
6. In case a student is unable to secure an MS/MPhil within the prescribed timeframe and claims for extension in duration, the Graduate Program Committee shall determine the causes of delay and the Head of the Department/College/Institute/School shall forward the case to the Advanced Studies and Research Board. In the event of force majeure (i.e., delay on account of circumstance beyond the control of student), the University may through Advanced Studies and Research Board grant an extension in the period of award of MS/MPhil degree in accordance with the duration limiting factor(s) and shall also take corrective measures in case the delay is caused by process or administrative reasons.
   1. For PhD program, the students shall complete the coursework of at least:
7. 18 credit hours if they are from the same discipline.
8. The courses shall be offered through regular classes (i.e., classes taught on campus by full-time faculty members of the University)
9. The courses shall preferably be of level-8. 
10. PhD degree shall be based on research, not only on credit hours (coursework).
11. The PhD degree shall be awarded by the University not before the completion of three years or six regular semesters and not after completion of eight years or 16 regular semesters. The period shall be counted from very first date of admission/readmission in 1st semester to the PhD program until the date of the completion notification of the PhD degree. 
12. If the scholar’s degree does not complete in 5 years, one year (6th year of study) extension shall be provided by the Chairperson/In-charge/Principal/ Director of the Department/College/Institute/School upon valid justification on the recommendation of the research supervisor. Whereas, last two years (7th and 8th year of study) extension shall be provided by the Dean of the concerned Faculty upon the recommendation of the research supervisor and Chairperson/In-charge/Principal/Director of the Department/College/Institute/ School.
13. In case a student is unable to secure a PhD within the prescribed timeframe and claims for extension in duration, the Graduate Program Committee shall determine the causes of delay. In the instance of force majeure (i.e., delay on account of circumstance beyond the control of student), the University may through Advanced Studies and Research Board grant an extension in the period of award of PhD degree in accordance with the duration limiting factor(s) and shall also take corrective measures in case the delay is caused by process or administrative reasons.
    1. MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil/Equivalent degree shall be awarded to a candidate who shall:
14. Acquire CGPA ≥ 2.50 after completion of degree requirements; and
15. Submit one research paper based on MPhil research in the HEC recognized journals (only in case if students opts for research work/thesis in the degree program)
    1. The doctoral candidate shall acquire CGPA ≥ 3.00 after completing course work of 18 CHs which shall follow a comprehensive examination to pass (≥50% marks)/ qualify. After successful completion of course work, the student shall submit synopsis (Annex-III), signed by the scholar and supervisor(s) to the Chairperson/In-charge/Principal/Director of the Department/College/Institute/School who shall arrange public defense of synopsis, which shall be chaired by the Dean of the Faculty concerned. The scholar shall defend his/her synopsis in the presence of members of Graduate Program Committee, Dean and Faculty members. After successful synopsis defense, the Chairperson/ In-charge/ Principal/ Director of the Department/ College/ Institute/School, through Board of Studies and Dean of the faculty, shall forward synopsis, names of supervisors and list of examiners to AS&RB for approval. Approved copies of the synopsis shall be sent to the offices of the Chairperson/In-charge/Principal/Director of the Department/ College/Institute/ School and Controller of Examinations for record. 

Students pursuing degree with research work, after successful completion of course work, shall submit one page project abstract 150-200 words (annexure-I) and synopsis (Annex-III), signed by the scholar and supervisor(s) to the Chairperson/In-charge/Principal/Director of the Department/ College/Institute/School which shall be placed before the Graduate Program Committee for recommendations prior to placement before Board of Studies. The Chairperson/In-charge/Principal/Director of the Department/College/Institute/School, through Board of Studies and Dean of the faculty, shall forward project abstract, synopsis, names of supervisors and list of three local examiners to AS&RB for approval. Approved copies of the synopsis shall be sent to the offices of the Chairperson/In-charge/Principal/Director of the Department/ College/Institute/ School and Controller of Examinations for record. 

1. Appointment of examiners and thesis evaluation of MS/M.Sc. (Hons.)/M.Phil. Scholars
   1. The MS / M.Sc. (Hons.) / M.Phil. thesis shall be evaluated by an external examiner.
   2. The plagiarism check must be conducted by the Central Library of the University before submission of thesis to the Office of the Controller of Examinations for external evaluation.
   3. The copy of the thesis, after plagiarism check, shall be sent to the Controller Office for external evaluation.
   4. The Controller of Examinations shall send the thesis to external examiner after approval of examiner/s by the Vice Chancellor from the panel of three examiners already approved by the Advanced Studies & Research Board.
   5. External examiner shall submit his/her recommendations as to:
2. Thesis is acceptable in its present form;
3. Thesis is acceptable after minor revisions;
4. Thesis is acceptable after major revisions and not to be sent back for re-evaluation;
5. Thesis is acceptable after major revisions and be sent back for re-evaluation;
6. Thesis is not acceptable and is rejected.
7. Maximum expected time for evaluation of thesis by the external examiner is 3-months. The reminders are supposed to be sent to the examiner after 4 weeks. If the examiner does not respond within the given maximum time, the Controller of Examinations shall send the thesis to an alternate examiner on approval from the Vice Chancellor.
8. Conditions defined in Sub-Section 9.7.5 shall result in action as tabulated below;

1. In case of thesis rejection, the scholar may submit the request to the Chairperson / In-charge / Principal / Director of the department / College / Institute / School concerned for re-evaluation of his/her thesis from a second external examiner fully endorsed by the Supervisor within 3-6 months. The scholar shall be liable to submit thesis evaluation fee as per approved rates. The Office of Controller of Examinations shall send the amended thesis to another examiner from the approved panel on approval from the Vice-Chancellor. In case the thesis is adjudged inadequate by the second external examiner, the thesis shall be considered as rejected. No further chance for re-evaluation of thesis shall be granted in any case by any authority whatsoever.
2. The Chairperson/In-charge/Principal/Director of the Department/College/ Institute/School concerned shall arrange and chair viva voce examination of the scholar in the presence of the supervisor and external examiner on a convenient date upon receipt of positive comments by external examiner to the Office of Controller of Examinations and shall forward the result within two weeks of the conduct of viva voce examination to the Controller of Examinations for notification.
   1. Every research scholar (MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil/Equivalent program and PhD) shall submit a report to his/her research supervisor(s) on a prescribed proforma showing six month progress by the end of June and December in every year (annexure-IV). The research supervisor(s) shall endorse the report with his/her comments, which shall be finally signed by the Chairperson/In-charge/Principal/Director of the Department/College/ Institute/School and shall be saved in student’s file. A copy of such report shall be communicated to the Director Academics.  
   2. The maximum number of MS / MSc (Hons) / MPhil / Equivalent and PhD students working under a full time faculty member (Regular / TTS / Contractual / IPFP) / Supervisor of the University shall be as per the HEC criteria.
   3. Minimum 75% attendance (out of total delivered lectures by the teacher in the course) in each course shall be compulsory to appear in a final term examination of a MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil/Equivalent program and a PhD program. The Chairperson/In-charge/Principal/ Director of a Department/College/Institute/ School can waive off 5% shortage and Dean of a Faculty can further waive off 5% shortage as well for genuine cases (medical ground/factors beyond human reach).
   4. In genuine conditions (medical ground/factors beyond human reach) leave may be availed by the student for maximum 2-4 weeks after recommendation of the Chairperson/In-charge/Principal/Director of a Department/College/ Institute/School and approval by the Dean of the Faculty but the leave shall not be counted as attendance. The period of leave shall be counted as absence from the lectures with no fine/struck off from roll calls.
   5. In genuine condition, if leave for more than 4 weeks are required, the student shall forward a request to the Chairperson/In-charge/Principal/Director of a Department/ College/Institute/School to freeze the semester who shall further notify the decision to the Dean of the Faculty and Director Academics. However, very first semester of MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil/Equivalent program and PhD program shall not be frozen.
   6. The plagiarism check must be conducted on the MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil/Equivalent and PhD dissertation by Central Library before its submission to the experts for evaluation. The Head of the Department shall forward an electronic copy on CD to the Central Library for plagiarism check. The Central Library shall forward the plagiarism check report and soft copy of thesis to the concerned Department.
   7. Due dates to submit thesis to the Office of Controller Examinations of MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil/Equivalent program and PhD program shall be 30th September and 28th February of the relevant academic year for the students admitted in Fall and Spring semesters respectively. Otherwise, extension in time limit shall be required as per regulation 9.2.
   8. At the time of submission of thesis of MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil/Equivalent for evaluation, the student shall submit a copy of thesis signed by the supervisory committee to the office of the Controller of Examinations through Principal/Director/Chairman by fulfilling all requirements mentioned in the check list (Annexure-VI)
3. Cancellation of MS/MPhil/MSc(Hons)/Equivalent or PhD Candidature

MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil/Equivalent or PhD candidature shall be cancelled by the Vice Chancellor on the recommendation of the supervisor and Chairperson / Principal / Director of the Department/College/Institute/School routed through Registrar Office, if the scholar:

1. Does not complete the course work.
2. Does not qualify the comprehensive examination within specified time.
3. Fails to contact his/her supervisor or leaves the program over a month without prior permission.
4. Earns two consecutive adverse six-monthly progress reports from his/her supervisor.
5. Is found guilty of misconduct by the University Discipline Committee.
6. The aggrieved scholar may file an appeal against cancellation of candidature to the AS & RB within a period of 30 days. The AS & RB shall give him/her opportunity to be heard in person before deciding his/her appeal.
7. Examination
   1. MS/MPhil Program
      1. A scholar shall register minimum 09 CHs workload (maximum 18 CHs) in each semester.
      2. At the end of the first semester, a scholar must obtain a minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.50 to be promoted to the second semester.
      3. In case a scholar obtains 2.30 ≤ GPA < 2.50 in first semester, s/he shall be promoted to the second semester on probation. The scholar, who obtains GPA < 2.30 in the first semester, shall be dropped from the semester.
      4. The scholar shall have chance of readmission in first semester subject to allotment of new roll number and session. However, in case of no subsequent admissions in the relevant program, permission may be sought from the Vice Chancellor keeping in view regulation 5.4.
      5. In case a scholar is not able to obtain CGPA ≥ 2.50 in the second and subsequent semester, s/he shall be dropped from the semester.
      6. In case a scholar is dropped out in the second/relevant semester, such scholar shall have a chance of readmission to the second/relevant semester to complete his degree in maximum period (4 years) starting from the date of very first admission. However, in case of no subsequent admissions in the relevant program, permission may be sought from the Vice Chancellor keeping in view regulation 5.4.
      7. After completion of the coursework, the scholar shall carry out research work under the supervision of his/her supervisor/co-supervisor. 
      8. A student, who obtains GP < 2.50 in any course, may be allowed to repeat course(s) whenever offered before the submission of research thesis. 
      9. Only those students, who secured CGPA ≥ 2.50, shall be awarded MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil/Equivalent degree. 
      10. A student, who secured CGPA < 3.00 after the completion of coursework and wants to improve his/ her CGPA, may be allowed to repeat 2-3 courses as and when offered before the submission of thesis. 
   2. PhD Program
      1. A scholar shall register minimum 9 CHs/semester workload (maximum 12 CHs) in first two semesters. A scholar shall complete 18 CHs coursework to appear in a comprehensive examination.
      2. At the end of the first semester, a scholar must obtain a minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.00 to be promoted to the next semester.
      3. In case a scholar obtains 2.50 ≤ GPA < 3.00 in first semester, s/he shall be promoted to the second semester on probation. The scholar, who obtains GPA < 2.50 in the first semester, shall be dropped out from the semester.
      4. The scholar shall have a chance of readmission in the first semester subject to the allotment of new roll number and session. However, in case of no subsequent admission in the relevant program, permission may be sought from the Vice Chancellor keeping in view regulation 5.4.
      5. In case a scholar is not able to obtain CGPA ≥ 3.00 in the second and subsequent semester, s/he shall be dropped out from the semester.  
      6. In case a scholar is dropped out in the second semester, such scholar shall have a chance of readmission to second semester or the first semester. The readmission cannot be granted if remaining time for completion of degree is not sufficient keeping in view the maximum time limit of the program starting from the date of very first admission. However, in case of no subsequent admissions in the relevant program, permission may be sought from the Vice Chancellor keeping in view regulation 5.4.
      7. The scholar must obtain a minimum CGPA 3.00 at the end of course-work to qualify for comprehensive examination.
8. Grading System
   1. The grading shall be done on a scale of 1 to 4. 
   2. Equivalence between Letter Grade and Numerical Grade shall be as follows:

Grade Points Table

Minimum pass marks for a course = 50%

1. The Letter Grade (LG)/Grade Point (GP) shall be assigned for each course according to Grade Points Table mentioned above; whereas, no LG shall be assigned to GPA/CGPA.
2. Fraction of marks obtained in a course shall be counted as one mark, for example 60.1 and 60.9 shall be considered as 61.
3. The Grade Point Average (GPA) of a semester shall be calculated as follows:
4. Multiply GP with the CHs to obtain total grade points in each course;
5. Add up to cumulative grade points and divide by the total number of CHs for the semester:
   1. For calculating CGPA, add up the total grade points of all courses of semesters and divide by the total number of CHs:

                                                     ∑ (GP x CHs) courses of a semester

                                    GPA =   ———————————————————

                                                               Total CHs of a semester

                                                      ∑ (GP x CHs) of all courses of semesters

                                    CGPA =   —————————————-———————

                                                               Total CHs of semesters

1. A student shall be awarded incomplete grade ‘I’ on medical grounds or the circumstances beyond his/her control determined by the Graduate Program Committee in the following cases:
   1. If a student fails to complete any assignment, test, quiz, term paper, presentation etc. assigned to him/her by the teacher for the purpose of internal assessment.
   2. If a student is unable to appear in a part or whole of the Mid Term or Final Term examination of a semester.
   3. The student may be allowed to appear in the Special Mid/Final Examination of the semester to be held by the Department/College/Institute/Centre before the commencement of the next semester. However, the student must have:
      1. Fulfilled attendance requirement.
      2. Remained admitted as patient in a recognized hospital. If s/he has not been hospitalized, the student shall be examined by the University Medical Officer.
   4. The result of such student shall be withheld till the conduct of the special examination before the commencement of the next semester. If the student does not appear in the special exam, s/he shall be considered fail in that course(s) and result shall be updated accordingly.
   5. There shall be no provisions of special examination for the students who have already appeared in final examinations.
2. Submission of Results

Each teacher is required to submit result within one week after the final examination of each semester. The Chairperson/In-charge/Principal/Director of a Department/College/Institute/ School shall forward it to the Controller of Examinations within 10 days after the closure of final examination.

1. Research Supervision
   1. There shall be a Supervisory Committee comprising of supervisor, co-supervisor(s) (if any) and Expert(s) from field chaired by the supervisor provisionally approved by the Dean of the Faculty on the recommendation of the Board of Studies concerned. The Committee shall be confirmed by AS & RB. The scholar is free to choose his/her supervisor(s) from the Department/ College/Institute/School concerned. 
   2. A member of the Committee can be taken from any other HEIs or Organization. The scholar may be allowed to change his/her supervisor under special circumstances in consultation with Chairperson/In-charge/Principal/Director of the Department/ College/Institute/School and Dean of the Faculty subject to the confirmation by the AS & RB.
   3. The research supervisor shall be provisionally allocated to a doctoral student from the date of enrollment through Graduate Program Committee.
   4. At the time of allocation of supervisors to the Ph.D. scholars, the supervisor:
2. Shall be a PhD degree holder complying with the criteria and standards provided in these Regulations.
3. Must be relevant to the field of research in which the student intends to conduct research.
4. Should have NO CONFLICT OF INTEREST in personal, financial, or professional stakes.
5. Should have the time and availability to supervise PhD dissertation and give clear and constructive feedback.
6. Should be capable of conducting his/herself in a professional and respectful manner throughout the supervision process.
7. Should be capable of maintaining confidentiality and protecting the intellectual property of the dissertation. 
8. Should, primarily, be a regular/adjunct faculty member of the University.
9. The supervisory workload of research supervisors should be determined based on the nature of the institution, availability of teaching and research facilities, and the academic standing of supervisors. However, it is mandated that the maximum supervisory load shall not exceed five PhD students, simultaneously. Further, fresh PhDs can supervise MS/MPhil and co-supervise PhD students, while a PhD faculty member, after two years of obtaining a PhD degree, can supervise one PhD student in 3rd year, two PhD students in 4th year and maximum up to 5 PhD students from 5th year onward, subject to fulfillment of other conditions (if any).
10. The maximum number of MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil and PhD students working under a full time faculty member (Regular/TTS/Contractual/IPFP) of the University of Sargodha shall be as per HEC criteria [a supervisor can supervise a total of twelve (12) MS/MPhil/PhD students at a time with no more than five (5) of these students being PhD students.].
11. PhD research work completed under supervision is a shared property of supervisor and supervisee. All publications resulting from such research shall reflect the authorship of both parties and shall be subject to mutual consent.
12. Criteria to Be a PhD Supervisor

To be a PhD research supervisor, an individual shall meet the following requirements:

1. General Requirements:
2. A PhD degree from an HEC recognized national/international university/degree awarding institute (DAI).
3. The research supervisor shall be given opportunities to attend and qualify course(s) on MS/MPhil/PhD Supervision which should also have contents on research ethics, publications, patents, etc. Such courses may include certified self-paced MOOCS, or a course designed/offered by National Academy of Higher Education (NAHE) or by a university in the following manner:
   1. Basic level course: to supervise students of MS/MPhil/equivalent degrees.
   2. Advance level course: to supervise PhD researchers.
4. A regular or adjunct faculty member or researcher at a public or private university or DAI, or position of researcher or scientist at any R&D or public/private sector organization. However, in the case of a non-faculty PhD supervisor, who otherwise meets the criteria of being a PhD supervisor, shall be taken as an adjunct faculty member, for a period not less than the minimum time required to complete the student’s PhD research, prior to assigning a PhD supervision. Such a person shall also provide an NOC from the parent organization. However, supervisor can only be taken from other HEIs/organizations if regular faculty is not available in the relevant teaching unit. 
5. Publication Requirements:
   1. Specific Requirements for Science and Technology:

In addition to fulfilling the General Requirements, a PhD supervisor must publish research articles in the HEC’s recognized research journals and the category specified in the HJRS for the publication year. These conditions are different for different disciplines and aim to ensure that the potential PhD supervisor is an active researcher:

For indigenous and foreign PhDs:

1. Within the last 3 years after PhD: at least one research publications in W category journal. OR
2. Within last 5 years after PhD: at least five research publications in X category journal.
3. Specific Requirements for Social Science, Arts and Humanities and Business Education:

For indigenous and foreign PhDs: 

1. Within the last 3 years after PhD: at least one research publication in W Category journal. OR
2. Within the last 5 years after PhD: at least five research publications in X and Y category journal
3. Specific Requirements for Regional and National Languages:

For indigenous and foreign PhDs: 

1. Within the last 3 years after PhD: at least one research publication in X category journal. OR 
2. Within the last 5 years after PhD: at least five research publications in X or Y category journal.
3. Already HEC approved supervisors will continue to supervise theses till expiry of term approved by HEC.
4. For the approval of new supervisor, the department will forward the dossier to ORIC for vetting of publications as per criteria mentioned in these regulations. Upon receipt of positive report from ORIC the department will forward the case to AS&RB on the recommendations of Board of Studies.
5. Comprehensive Examination
   1. The scholars admitted to PhD program shall take written comprehensive examination after the completion of 18 CHs course work with CGPA ≥ 3.00. The concerned Department/College/Institute/School shall hold the said examination as per the schedule given in academic calendar after the completion of the course work.
   2. The Chairperson/In-charge/Principal/Director of the Department/College/Institute/ School shall send a panel of examiners to seek approval of the Dean of Faculty for the comprehensive examination.
   3. If a scholar fails (< 50% marks) in the comprehensive examination (written), s/he shall be allowed a second chance to reappear in next semester. If the scholar again fails, s/he shall be dropped out from the program. Similarly, a student who remains absent during the comprehensive examination due to unavoidable circumstances (justified with plausible proves, recommended by the Graduate Program Committee and approved by the Dean of the Faculty) shall be given a second chance to sit in the examination when conducted by the Department/College/Institute/ School. 
   4. The required coursework, comprehensive exam, and defense of synopsis/research proposals should be completed within the first six semesters (three years) of the registration into a PhD program. The responsibility in this regard rests collectively with the PhD student and the University. In case of noncompliance, the admission shall be cancelled and transcripts for completion of coursework may be issued to the student.
   5. In an event of force majeure i.e., noncompliance on account of circumstances beyond the control of student, the University may consider the matter in accordance with the procedure prescribed in 9.4(v).
   6. The following are the guidelines for conducting Comprehensive Examination: 
6. The exam should be based on recapitulation of the conceptual knowledge of the discipline to which the student is admitted.
7. The exam shall cover the courses studied, preferably at the graduate level, conducted on one composite question paper. 
8. The evaluation shall be on an aggregate basis, expressed in terms of pass/fail and shall not be graded.
9. Research Publication and Thesis Submission for PhD
   1. For award of PhD degree, a PhD scholar shall be required to publish research articles, by mentioning affiliation with the University of Sargodha, meeting the following criteria:
10. At least:
11. One research article in W category journal or two research articles in X category journals, for Science disciplines 
12. One research article in X category journal or two research articles in Y category journals, for Social Science/Arts & Humanities disciplines 
13. The PhD researcher shall be the first author of these publications while the supervisor shall be the second author. 
14. The research article shall be relevant to the PhD research work of the PhD researcher. 
15. The article shall be published after the approval of the research synopsis. 
16. The article shall be published in a relevant research journal.
17. A research article should be published before the notification of degree in an HEC recognized journal.
18. ORIC shall certify that the category of Journal in which the researcher published his/her article from thesis is as per the HEC requirement for the award of PhD degree in that particular subject.
19. Review articles, erratum, correction, letter to editors, notes, corrigendum, addendum and short communications shall not be counted as research article for the award of PhD degree.
20. The plagiarism check must be conducted on the dissertation by the Central Library of the University before its submission to the experts for evaluation. Head of the Department shall forward an electronic copy on CD to the Central Library for plagiarism check. The Central Library shall forward the plagiarism check report and soft copy of thesis to the concerned Department.
21. On the completion of research work to the satisfaction of the supervisor, the research scholar shall submit four copies of thesis typed or printed along with four copies of short abstracts to the Controller of Examinations through his/her supervisory Committee and Chairperson/In-charge/Principal/Director of the Department/College/Institute/School by fulfilling all requirements mentioned in the checklist (Annex-VII). The Controller of Examinations shall send hard and soft copies of the thesis to the examiner(s). Provided further that the research scholar shall also submit the following documents:
22. Each research scholar for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University shall submit a declaration that the work s/he has submitted had never been submitted before and shall not be submitted in future for obtaining similar degree of any other university. Further, the research work is not plagiarized in any form.
23. A certificate, from the supervisor/co-supervisor for the originality of work carried out by the research scholar must be submitted.
24. Guidelines for specifications of a thesis, size of paper, layout script, font size, type style, margins, etc., are attached (Annexure-V). 
    1. Online submission of Thesis/Dissertation
       1. For online thesis submission, the scholar has to submit two files (a) complete thesis/dissertation (b) chapters only, to the supervisor using the online interface in MS Word format for checking plagiarism. Plagiarism shall be check in the Central Library. In case of objection/revision, the supervisor shall re-submit these files after getting the objections removed by the scholar and complete the plagiarism certificate for further process of evaluation. 
       2. The certificate of plagiarism, duly signed by Chief Librarian or his/her nominee, the supervisor and Chairperson / Director/ Principal/ In-charge, shall be part of the file to be submitted to the Controller of Examinations. 
       3. After completion of viva/voce, the supervisor shall submit the final thesis (if required) by using his/her online service for record. 
25. Appointment of examiners, evaluation of thesis and Public Defense of PhD
    1. On the recommendation of the respective Board of Studies (BoS), a panel of eminent scholars in the specified field, shall be approved by the AS & RB. 
       1. The PhD dissertation must be evaluated by: 
26. At least two external experts who shall be:
27. PhD faculty member from the world top 500 universities ranked by the Times Higher Education or QS World Ranking in the year corresponding to dissertation evaluation year OR 
28. Pakistan-based Distinguished National Professors, Meritorious Professors from any national university; or Professors from top universities ranked by the HEC; or Professors from any Pakistani university having a minimum H-Index 30 for sciences, 15 for Social Sciences or 8 for Art & Humanities as determined by Web of Science
    1. At least one external expert qualifying any one of the conditions mentioned at ‘a’ above if the PhD candidate publishes dissertation research in a peer-reviewed journal that is classified by the HEC in category W for Sciences and X or above for Social Sciences
       1. The Vice Chancellor shall approve the examiners from the panel. The Controller of Examinations shall send the thesis in electronic / hard form (as per demand) to the examiners.

OR

1. External examiner shall submit his/her recommendations as to:
2. Thesis is acceptable in its present form;
3. Thesis is acceptable after minor revisions;
4. Thesis is acceptable after major revisions and not to be sent back for re-evaluation;
5. Thesis is acceptable after major revisions and be sent back for re-evaluation;
6. Thesis is not acceptable and is rejected.
7. Maximum expected time for evaluation of thesis by the external examiner is 3-months. The reminders are supposed to be sent to the examiners after 4 weeks. If the examiner does not respond within the given maximum time, the Controller of Examinations shall send thesis to the alternate examiner on the approval from the Vice Chancellor.
8. Conditions defined in Sub-Section 17.1.3 will result in action as tabulated below;

1. In case of rejection of thesis, the same thesis shall be referred to an additional examiner in the same category (the category of examiner who has rejected the thesis) whose appointment shall be approved by the Vice Chancellor through the Office of the Controller of Examinations from the already approved panel. If the additional examiner recommends the award of degree, the viva voce process may be started after approval of report from the AS&RB. If the scholar fails to obtain a recommendation in his/her favour from the additional examiner his/her thesis shall be rejected finally.
   1. Upon receipt of final external evaluation reports, the Controller of Examinations shall present the reports to AS & RB for approval of public defense/viva voce examination. Upon approval of reports from AS & RB the Controller of Examinations shall intimate the supervisor and the Chairperson/In-charge/Principal/Director of the Department/College/Institute/School and supervisor shall address the issues and/or comments, if any. The supervisors shall certify that the comments/suggestions have been incorporated.
   2. If the thesis is adjudged as adequate by all examiners, the candidate shall be required to undergo a public defense (videoconferencing with the HEC shall be used for the defense) and viva voce (oral examination) arranged and chaired by the Chairperson/Principal/Director. In general, the following minimum principles and guidelines shall be ensured:
2. Public Announcement: On the University website and other forums of communication, so that anyone interested can participate. 
3. Public Access: Within or outside the University such as community/town halls or important public venues. 
4. Neutral Chair: To ensure that defense was conducted fairly and in accordance with the rules and regulations. 
5. Review Committee: To evaluate the dissertation and defense. 
6. Presentation: Presentation of the dissertation by the PhD researcher 
7. Question-and-Answer Session: There shall be a question-and-answer session to provide a basis for defense evaluation.
8. Objective Evaluation: There should be objective evaluation based on the quality of the research and the researcher’s ability to defend. 
9. Final Decision to be expressed in the following terms: 

• Pass or 
• Pass with minor amendments or 
• Deferred for resubmission and re-defense or. 
• Fail (in exceptional circumstances and for the reasons to be recorded by the Defense Committee [Internal Supervisor, Examiner and concerned Chairperson / Principal / Director] )
  1. A candidate who fails in public defense and/or viva voce examination in first attempt, s/he may sit for a second examination provided that the second examination shall not to be conducted earlier than three months from the date of the first examination. Failure on the second examination shall result in the dismissal from the candidacy.

1. Provided further that, the public defense and viva voce shall be conducted by examiners of whom one shall be the internal supervisor (co-supervisor in case supervisor is not available due to genuine reason and authorizes the co-supervisor in writing) and the other shall be the examiner(s).
2. After successful public defense and viva voce examination, the scholar shall submit Six/Seven hard bound copies of PhD thesis with black cover and silver ink to the following:
3. Chairperson/Principal/Director for departmental record
4. Research Supervisor
5. Research Co-Supervisor (if applicable)
6. University Library
7. Controller of Examinations 
8. HEC Record 
9. Personal Record
   1. If the examiners find that the thesis is wholly inadequate, they may recommend that it be rejected without any further test.
   2. After successful public defense and viva voce examination, the Controller of Examination shall notify the result with the approval of the Vice Chancellor. However, degree shall be awarded like that of other degrees.
10. MS/MSc(Hons)/M.Phil/Equivalent or PhD Admissions based on Coursework Exemption
    1. A student who has passed his/her coursework and failed to submit his/her thesis during maximum period of degree completion shall be allowed to take fresh admission as and when offered by the Department concerned in the same program and subject with the consultation/recommendations of the supervisor concerned. These students shall be exempted from coursework, if already passed and acquired required CGPA subject to:
11. Fulfillment of admission eligibility criteria
12. Courses having less than 60 marks shall not be considered for exemption in any case.
13. Exempted course(s) shall be mentioned on the Final Transcript with the word “Exempted” shown in place of the grade.
14. Exemption of coursework shall be decided through Board of Studies and, in case meeting of the Board of Studies is not planned within 30-days, the Convener Board of Studies in consultation with Graduate Program Committee shall recommend such cases to Advanced Studies & Research Board for approval.
15. Degree completion requirements mentioned in regulations shall remain the same.

1. Award of Incomplete Transcript

A student who successfully completes coursework and passes the comprehensive examination but is unable to defend a PhD synopsis/research proposal or does not complete the required research for obtaining a PhD degree within the specified timeframe, may be granted a transcript.

Repeal: The existing Regulations may please be repealed. However, the cases arising under the repealed Regulations shall be governed by those Regulations. 

Appendices

Annexure-I:      MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil Project Abstract  

Annexure-II:    Guidelines for PhD synopsis defense

Annexure-III:  Proforma for the approval of synopsis

Annexure-IV:   Proforma for six monthly progress report by the scholar

Annexure-V:   Guidelines for the thesis write-up 

Annexure-VI:  Checklist for Submission of Thesis of MS/MPhil/Equivalent Program

Annexure-VII: Checklist for Submission of Thesis of PhD Program

Annexure-1

MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil Project Abstract

	University of Sargodha
	Faculty
	Department
	Scholar’s ID and Session
	Scholar’s Name
	Father’s Name
	Program	MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil
	Supervisor’s Name	(Supervisor)                                 (Co-Supervisor)
	Title of the Research
Project Abstract:

----‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑--‑‑‑‑‑‑----------‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑

(Signature of the candidate with date)

-‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑--‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑-----------‑‑‑--‑‑‑‑
(Signature of the Supervisor with date)

‑‑------------‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑--‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑--‑‑‑‑‑
(Signature of the Chairperson with date)

--------------‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑--‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑--‑‑---‑‑‑‑‑
(Signature of Dean of the Faculty with date)

Note: Maximum 1 page document with 150-200 words on A4 paper with 1.15 line spacing and 11 or 11.5 font size in Times New Romans (to be sent to AS&RB).

Annexure-II

Guidelines for PhD synopsis defense

A research proposal defense is one of the steps designed to prepare a student to begin PhD research after the completion of course work and comprehensive examination. During the proposal defense a student need to explain the general problem or research area of work. s/he shall demonstrate understanding of the background material in this area and general grasp of how the problem picked fits into the big picture.

A written research proposal will be prepared under the guidance of assigned supervisor(s)/co-supervisor(s). A written proposal will be prepared according to the general proposal guidelines and ethical considerations. The organization of the research proposal should be comprised of relevant literature review, rationale of study, clearly written method [i.e., research questions/ hypotheses, participants, instruments (if any), data collection technique, procedure and data analysis strategies], implications of study, list of references; further handling of ethical considerations and time schedule for the completion of study. 

The synopsis presentation shall be given to Graduate Program Committee in the presence of Dean of Faculty. The Chairperson/Director/Principal may allow faculty members and/or other audience to be present and to ask questions. Time allocated for presentation shall be 20-40 minutes and candidate shall be expected to review literature in the field, outline the proposed research and show how the literature relates to the study design; thereby justifying the rational of the study. 

Annexure-III

Proforma for MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil/Equivalent and PhD Synopsis

	University of Sargodha
	Faculty
	Department
	Scholar’s ID
	Scholar’s Name
	Father’s Name
	Program	MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil/PhD
	Supervisor’s Name	(Supervisor)                            (Co-Supervisor)
	Title of the Research
	Relevant SDGs (for PhD only)
Introduction (including literature review):
Aims and Objectives:
Plan of Work:
Facilities (available and required):
References:

‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑--‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑-----------

(Signature of the candidate with date)

Supervisor’s Certificate: The synopsis for the MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil/PhD research work is strongly recommended.

‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑--‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑-----------

(Signature of Supervisor with date)

Chairperson’s Comments: The case has been discussed in the meeting of Board of Studies held on _____________ and recommended for approval of the title and name of supervisor.

‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑--‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑-----------

(Signature of Chairperson with date)

‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑--‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑-----------

(Signature of Dean of Faculty with date)

Submitted to Advance Studies and Research Board for approval

Annexure-IV

Progress Report
	University of Sargodha
	Faculty
	Department
	Scholar’s ID
	Scholar’s Name
	Father’s Name
	Program	MS/MSc(Hons)/MPhil/PhD
	Supervisor’s Name	(Supervisor)                                      (Co-Supervisor)
	Title of the Research
	Report Period
Description of the research work completed in report period (maximum 300 words)
Comments of the research supervisor (in hand writing) about the progress of the scholar  _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________
Circle the relevant option please          Excellent             Good             Average             Satisfactory              Unsatisfactory
Date	Signature of the Supervisor		Official Seal
Date	Signature of the Chairperson / Director/Principal		Official Seal

This report shall be;

1. Kept in scholar’s file for BoS/AS & RB record (original)

Forwarded to Dean of the Faculty (copy)

Annexure-V

Thesis Formatting Guidelines

1. Writing Style (Font, Margins, Spacing etc)
2. Writing in General
3. Abbreviations
4. Numbers
5. Citations in the text
6. Quotation
7. Capitalization
8. Commas
9. Italics & Underlining
10. Miscellaneous: Colons, Dashes, Parentheses, Numbering Paragraphs
11. Headings
12. Tables and Figures
13. Preferable Layout of the Thesis
14. Title Page
15. Published Work
16. Binding

1. Writing Style
2. Your draft must be typed or printed on a computer. 
3. Set the word processor to one and a half space (1.5 line space) and keep it there throughout the entire draft.*
4. Use 80 g white A4 (8.27” x 11.69”) paper. Set header and footer at 0.5” throughout your draft.
5. Use one inch margins on the left, right, top, and bottom of the page. These margins are wide in order to leave room for reviewer's comments. 
6. Set the gutter position on the left of your whole document at .5”.
7. Use 12 points before and after paragraph spacing in which the first line of each paragraph is indented five characters for all paragraphs in the manuscript except the titles, table titles, notes, and figure captions.
8. For chapter titles, use 12 points before and 36 points after paragraph spacing, whereas in table titles, notes, and figure captions use normal paragraph (0 before and after paragraph spacing).
9. Use a 12 point font. In other words, there should be 10 typed characters per inch. The whole thesis should be typed in Times New Roman only.* 
10. The font size of chapter titles should be 14, whereas in the title pages, the title of the research may be of 16 point, the remaining (author, institute/department, university, degree requirements) should be of 12 points. All the contents of the first title page should be typed capital, whereas on the second title page, except for the phrase “In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the” all the contents should also be typed in capitals.*
11. Single space after sentence terminators (i.e., '.', '?', '!'). 
12. Capitalize the first letter following a colon if the clause following the colon is a complete sentence. 
13. Make sure the text is justified.
14. Use chapter separators. Each separator should have chapter titles in bold face, in a font size of 20 points, at the center of the page.
15. Writing in General
    1. You must use complete sentences.
    2. The first sentence of a paragraph must be independent (able to stand on its own). For example consider “While these studies are important, there is...” This sentence would be correct in the middle of a paragraph, but as the first sentence, it should more appropriately read, “While studies of the effects of whatever on whatever else are important, there is...” 
    3. Try not to use slang. 
    4. Do not use contractions. For instance, instead of it's, use it is.
    5. If you are doubtful about the spelling of a word, do not guess. Look up the correct spelling in an appropriate reference source.
    6. Proofread the copy that you submit and do correct minor typographical errors, formatting, spelling, or even the wording, with a pencil. These corrections are inevitable and will communicate that you are serious about your work.
    7. Avoid excessive use of the terms I, me, and my, as well as the phrase personally speaking... 
    8. Avoid the use of sexist language. For example, consistently referring to a person as a him or he when it is just as likely for the person to be a she or a her, is sexist. However, using (s)he or him/her all of the time can also be awkward. If you phrase it right, you can often use the word person instead.
    9. Avoid using 'empty words' or words which serve no purpose. For example, In the Smith (1990) study it was found that... should read more like Smith (1990) found that...
    10. Generally speaking, use past tense in the abstract, introduction, and method. Results and discussion sections can be in the present tense.
16. Abbreviations 
    1. When abbreviating any terms, spell them out the first time (in both the abstract and again in the body of the manuscript, if need be). For example, The Sexual Opinion Survey (SOS) was used to... 
    2. Do not use too many abbreviations. Whereas one, two, or three can be helpful, four or five can be confusing. 
    3. You will often see the following Latin abbreviations used: 

1. Note that (except for et al.) these abbreviations are only used in parenthetic material. In non-parenthetic material, use the English translation.
2. Do not use E and S as abbreviations for experimenter and subject. This was done in articles written many years ago.
3. Note the period is not used with the following common abbreviations.

1. Numbers
   1. The numbers zero through nine are spelled out (except when it is a table or figure number, or a metric measurement, etc.). The numbers 10 and above are written as numbers.
   2. Capitalize nouns followed by numerals or letters that denote a specific place in a numbered series. For example, As can be seen in Figure 3, during Block 4 of Session 2 such and such occurred... Note that this example demonstrates one of the exceptions to the rule noted in I.E.2. 
   3. In the abstract, use digits for all numbers except when they begin a sentence. Note that this example demonstrates one of the exceptions to the rule noted in I.E.2.
   4. Spell out any number when it is the first thing in a sentence. For example, the sentence “34 students were used”, is not appropriate and should read “Thirty-four students were used”.
   5. Try to be consistent with number formats. That is, if you are reporting a series of related numbers, they should all be presented with the same number of decimal places. For an example, see I.D.5 above.
   6. Report only two digits after the decimal point except when you are reporting the exact value of p, where three digits after the decimal point should be reported.
   7. Do not use “0” prior to the decimal point in a coefficient (e.g., correlations coefficients, alpha coefficients etc.).
2. Citations in the Text
   1. If you use someone's words or ideas, you must give them credit with a citation. This is particularly important, since the penalties for plagiarism are severe.
   2. There are numerous ways to formally cite a reference in the text. Examples include Some fact (last name, year)., Last name (year) noted that..., or In <year>, <last name> reported that... For more ideas, pay close attention to the articles you read.
   3. The first time the reference is cited in the text, spell out all of the authors’ last names. For example, Miller, Rosellini, and Seligman (1975) suggested that... With articles that have three or more authors use the Latin abbreviation for "and others" when the reference is cited a second (or third) time. For example, Miller et al. (1975) suggested that... or ... some fact (Miller et al., 1975).
   4. If the citation is in parentheses and you need to use the word "and", use the ampersand ('&') instead. For example, Some (e.g., Estes & Skinner, 1940) have suggested that..., as compared to Estes and Skinner (1940) have suggested... Note also that the opposite applies as well, that is, if the citation is not in parentheses, you must use the word "and".
   5. Multiple citations in parentheses are placed alphabetically and are separated by a semicolon and a space. For example, Some fact (Carlson, 1972; Moon, 1968; Partin, 1980).
   6. If you cite something second hand, you must make it clear (e.g., Some fact (Smith, as cited in Jones, Year)). Note that in this example, only the Jones reference would be placed in the reference section.
3. Quotations
   1. You must give page numbers for direct quotes. For example, Smith (1978) noted that "the world is round" (p. 1). 
   2. Three or four quotes in a 10 page paper is about the upper limit. 
   3. Display a quotation of more than 40 words as free-standing block of text indented 5 spaces from the left margin (doubles spaced as usual). Omit the quotation marks and include the page number in parentheses after the last period. Also, if the quotation is more than one paragraph, indent the first line of the second and any additional paragraphs 5 spaces.
4. Capitalization
   1. Capitalize formal names of tests (Stroop Color-Word Interference Test). 
   2. Capitalize major words and all other words of four letters or more, in headings, titles, and subtitles outside reference lists, for example, "A Study of No-Win Strategies." 
   3. Capitalize names of conditions, groups, effects, and variables only when definite and specific. (Group A was the control group; an Age x Weight interaction showed lower weight with age.) 
   4. Do not capitalize names of laws, theories, and hypotheses (the law of effect). 
   5. Do not capitalize when referring to generalities (any department, any introductory course).
5. Commas
   1. Do not use commas to separate parts of measurement (9 lbs 5 oz). Use the metric system, as a rule. 
   2. Use commas before "and" in lists, for example, height, width, and depth. 
   3. Use commas between groups of three digits, for example, 1,453. 
   4. Use commas to set off a reference in a parenthetical comment (Patrick, 1993). 
   5. Use commas for seriation within a paragraph or sentence. For example, "three choices are (a) true, (b) false, and (c) don't know." Use semicolons for seriation if there are commas within the items. For example, (a) here, in the middle of the item, there are commas; (b) here there are not; (c) so we use semicolons throughout.
   6. Use commas in exact dates, for example, April 18, 1992 (but not in April 1992).
6. Italics & Underlining
   1. Do not italicize or underline common foreign abbreviations (vice versa, et al., a priori). 
   2. Do not italicize or underline for mere emphasis. 
   3. Italicize or underline the titles of books and articles, species names, introduction of new terms and labels (the first time only), words and phrases used as linguistic examples, letters used as statistical symbols, and volume numbers in reference lists.

1. Miscellaneous: Colons, Dashes, Parentheses, Numbering Paragraphs
   1. Do not use "and/or." Write things out. For example, "Monday, Tuesday, or both" is preferable to "Monday and/or Tuesday." 
   2. Do not use a colon or other punctuation after an introduction which is not a complete sentence such as this one, or any other sentence in the body of text which flows into an extended quote. The quote "picks up where the sentence leaves off" and provides the punctuation.
   3. Use a dash (rendered on typewriters and some word processors as a double hyphen) when there is a sudden interruption like this one--zoiks!--in the flow of a sentence. Overuse "weakens the flow of the writing" (APA, 2001, p. 81). 
   4. Use parentheses to introduce an abbreviation, for example, the galvanic skin response (GSR). 
   5. Use appendixes (appendices) as the plural of appendix. Use datum as singular, data as plural. Use matrix as singular, matrices as plural. Phenomenon is the singular form of the plural phenomena. Use schema as singular, schemas (not schemata) as plural.
2. Headings
   1. APA specifies 5 levels of headings. 
   2. Use level 5 heading (centered uppercase heading) for research title and chapter titles.
   3. Use level 1 heading (centered uppercase and lower case heading) for the subtitles of chapters.
   4. Use flush left bold uppercase and lower case heading for sections of each chapter.
   5. Use flush left bold and italicized uppercase and lower case heading for subsections of a section.
   6. Use indented bold and italicized uppercase and lower case heading for subheadings in each subsection.
3. Tables and Figures
   1. Tables and figures should be able to stand alone (i.e., you should not have to read the manuscript to be able to understand a table or figure). A big help in this regard is the table title or the figure caption. Use these wisely to explain what is going on in the table or figure. In other words, do not be afraid to be a little bit verbose in your table titles and figure captions. 
   2. Tables and figures should not duplicate the same information. Likewise, you should not repeat the data point values in a table or figure in the text of the manuscript. 
   3. Tables and figures are most often used to present results, but may also be used to present other information, such as the design or a theoretical schema. 
   4. If you include a table or figure, you must introduce it in the text of the results section (e.g., Table 1 displays the...) and describe to the reader what should be seen in it.
   5. Tables 
      1. Note that APA style tables do not contain any vertical lines, so do not draw them in or use your word processor to generate them. 
      2. Type the table number in bold face and then (on the next line) type the italicized table title flush left. Note that there are no periods used after the table number or title. 
      3. There are different ways to format tables. Your best bet is to set the tabs for the table or to use your word processor's table generating ability. 
      4. When using columns with decimal numbers, make the decimal points line up.
      5. Line space within the tables should be set at 2 points (see Appendix B for sample tables).
   6. Figures 
      1. 'Figures' is the technical term for graphs, charts, drawings and pictures. 
      2. Figures (other than pictures) may be drawn in black and white only (using a ruler and preferably on graph paper) or they may be generated with a computer graphics program (keeping it in two dimensions). 
      3. Each figure should be followed by figure caption. The word 'figure' and the number are italicized, for example, Figure 1. The effects of... 
      4. Center each figure on the page vertically as well as horizontally and arrange for the figure to use the bulk of the page.
4. Preferable Layout of the Thesis*
5. Title Page
6. Abstract/Summary
7. Acknowledgements
8. Abbreviations not described in the text
9. Content
10. List of Tables (where applicable)
11. List of Figures (where applicable)
12. Introduction (including literature review) or Introduction
13. Review of Literature
14. Results
15. Discussion (including Conclusion(s), Recommendation(s) where applicable)
16. References/Bibliography/Literature Cited
17. Appendices ( where applicable)
18. Any other information specific to the respective discipline

*The above layout can be amended keeping in view the requirements of discipline with the approval of Dean

1. Title Page

All thesis must contain a title page giving the title of the thesis, the author’s name, the name of the degree for which it is presented, the department in which the author has worked or the Faculty to which the work is being presented, and the month and year of submission.

1. Published Work

Published work from the theses be included as appendix (Reprints/proof/preprint).

1. Binding

All final theses must be bound in a permanent form or in a temporary (hard binding will be provided after defense of the thesis) form approved by the Advanced Studies and Research Board; where printed pamphlets or off-prints are submitted in support of a thesis, they must be bound in with the thesis. Front cover should give title of the thesis, name of the candidate and the name of the Department through which submitted, in the same order from top to bottom. The lettering may be in boldface and properly spaced. Their sizes should be:

Title:                                        24 pt

Name of the candidate: 18pt

Name of the department:          18pt

The color of binding for MS/MPhil/PhD degree is as follows:

PhD:               Black with golden printing

MS/MPhil:       Maroon with golden printing

Annexure-VI

Checklist for Submission of Thesis of MS/M.Phil/Equivalent Program

University of Sargodha

College / Institute / Department of ___________________

M. Phil Thesis of Ms. / Mr. _________________________

Discipline _______________

Session ____________

Note: Please attach copies of all relevant documents mentioned in the above list

Annexure-VII

Checklist for Submission of Thesis of PhD Program

University of Sargodha

College / Institute / Department of ___________________

PhD Thesis of Ms. / Mr. _________________________

Discipline _______________

Session ____________

Note: Please attach copies of all relevant documents mentioned in the above list