An applicant seeking admission to Ph. D. Degree programme must have

• A Master's Degree in the concerned subject with a Bachelor's Degree in Law, or

• Passed Company Secretaryship examination conducted by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India and awarded Associate Membership of the Institute (ACS), or

• An M.Phil. Degree in the concerned Social Science subject Provided, however, an application with a distinguished academic record and a Master's Degree in the social sciences may be enrolled for Ph.D. on a law-related social science topic, if such candidate successfully completes the following requirements as prescribed by the NLSIU from time to time

• The candidate participates in the teaching of one or more relevant courses as recommended by a Faculty Committee appointed by the Director,

• The candidate gives two seminars on the subject proposed for research.

• The candidate fulfils the requirements of studying research methodology as prescribed by the Regulations, and

• The candidate submits a research paper of the standard expected of M.Phil. graduates.

On successful completion of the above and on the recommendation of the Faculty Committee to that effect, the NLSIU may finally enrol such candidates for the Ph.D. Degree in the subject concerned. Social Science subject shall mean and include Economics, Political Science, Sociology, Anthropology, Women's studies, History, Psychology, Philosophy, Criminology, Environmental Studies, Public Administration or any other subject as decided by the Academic Council whose decision shall be final.

Eligible candidates, will have to subsequent to the admission notification, apply to the Registrar in the prescribed form, which can be obtained after paying an application fee of Rs. 500/- by Demand Draft drawn on the State Bank of India or any other nationalised bank, payable to National Law School of India University at Bangalore and submit the same duly filled in within the stipulated time. Along with the application, a candidate is required to submit the following :

• Outline of the scheme of research intended for the thesis,

• A suggested chapter-wise resume of the work in about 2,000 words.

• A certificate from the Institution concerned testifying the length of service, wherever required,

• An attested photocopy of LL.M., M. Phil. and M.A. Degrees, whichever is applicable, along with the marks sheet, and

• One set of published papers, monographs, articles and books if any.

Selection for 'Registration' to the Ph.D. Programme shall be based, inter alia, on the performance of the candidate at a written test and/or interview conducted by the Admission Committee constituted for this purpose with the Director as the Chairman and two or more Faculty members of the NLSIU nominated by the Director. The test is intended to appraise the candidate's own understanding of the project he/she is proposing to undertake and the applicability of legal issues involved in the inquiry. After going through the Admission Test and/or interview, if the Admission Committee finds a candidate suitable for pursuing Ph.D. Degree programme in the NLSIU, he shall be allowed to provisionally 'Register' for the Ph.D. Programme on payment of Rs. 1000/- as Registration fee.

On completion of the registration formalities of the student, the Director shall constitute an Advisory Committee with a Principal Guide and two other Advisors from senior faculty of the University for every registered candidate. An outside expert may also be appointed as the Member of the Advisory Committee. One of these members who is an expert member in the concerned subject either from or outside NLSIU having specialization in the area of research selected by the candidate shall be the Principal Guide and shall be the Chairman of the Advisory Committee.

The Advisory Committee may review the research scheme submitted by the student and make additions/alterations or change the nature and scope of the problem, in consultation with the student concerned. It shall also prepare a plan of work for the entire programme, stipulating the teaching assignments, the number of seminars to be conducted by the student, review of literature and any other academic activity that the student should get himself involved in. The plan of work and the nature and scope of the research problem developed by the Advisory Committee shall be subject to the approval of the Director.

On completion of not less than six months residence in the NLSIU after the date of registration and a substantial coverage of review of literature on his/her research problem, the student shall undergo a Comprehensive Examination conducted by his/her Advisory Committee, comprising of both a written and an oral examination or only an oral examination, as may be decided by the Advisory Committee, in order to determine his/her competency and suitability for being admitted to the candidacy of Ph.D Degree Programme in the NLSIU. If in the view of the Advisory Committee the candidate has completed the Comprehensive Examination successfully, the Advisory Committee shall send a 'Satisfactory' report to the University with a recommendation that the student be admitted to the candidacy of Ph.D. Degree on receipt of which, the Registrar, with the approval of the Director, shall notify that the student concerned is admitted to the candidacy of Ph.D.

The minimum term of residence for completion of the requirements of the Degree programme and submission of the thesis is two years from the date of registration Provided the Director, on the recommendation of the Advisory Committee, and if satisfied, may permit a student to stay and continue his/her research work outside the University Campus for such duration as may be necessary after the successful completion of the Comprehensive Examination and such period of stay outside may be counted towards the two-year residential requirement for completion of the programme.

At least three months before the submission of his/her thesis the student is required to present a seminar wherein he has to present and defend the findings of his/her research work. The seminar shall be attended by the Faculty, the post-graduate students and other invited experts. In the light of the discussion at the seminar, the drafting of the thesis shall be finalised and submitted to the NLSIU with the approval of the Advisory Committee.

While submitting his/her thesis in quadruplicate to the NLSIU for evaluation, the student shall comply with the following requirements

• A certificate from the Principal Guide testifying for having satisfactorily completed the Research.

• A declaration by the student and attested by the Principal Guide to the effect that the research work is of original nature and not published or submitted elsewhere.

• Fee receipt for having paid Rs. 5.00 as Examination fee.

The thesis submitted by the student shall be referred for evaluation to three External Examiners selected by the Director from out of a panel of External Examiners recommended by the Academic Council and approved by the Executive Council for this purpose. The External Examiners shall send their evaluation report in the prescribed form within a period of two months from the date of receiving the thesis. The majority opinion of the examiners shall be taken into account for determining whether or not the thesis work has been satisfactorily accomplished in fulfilment of the requirements of the Ph.D. Programme.

If two of the External Examiners recommend that there should be a Viva-Voce, the same may be held at the NLSIU with one of the External Examiners and the members of the Advisory Committee participating. On completion of the Viva-Voce examination, the Chairman of the Advisory Committee shall send a report in the prescribed form with the signatures of all members present, including that of the External Examiner, indicating whether or not the student is fit for the award of the Ph.D. Degree.

In the event that a Viva-voce examination is not required to be held, the Advisory Committee shall send a final report to the Registrar to the effect that the candidates is fit for the award of the Ph.D. Degree. The Degree shall be awarded at the time of the Convocation.

A candidate admitted to the Ph.D. Programme shall have to complete all the prescribed requirements within a maximum period of five years from the date of the admission to the candidacy of Ph.D.