Skip to main content

PhD Programme

PhD Programme

1. Structure of the Ph D programme

The promotion to PhD status for continuing students in the MPhil/PhD programme is not automatic. They can be registered only for a provisional PhD until their MPhil viva-voce examination is conducted, and their CGPA is thereafter calculated. Only those students who have a minimum CGPA of 6.0 (General Category) and 5.5 (Reserved Categories) in the whole MPhil programme will be allowed to continue in the PhD programme.

A minimum of two years registration is required before a PhD thesis can be submitted. This applies both to those who have been admitted directly for a PhD as well as to those who have been promoted to PhD status on the basis of their MPhil performance. In the latter case the two year period will be counted from the date of their promotion to PhD.

Within four semesters of registering for a provisional PhD (in case of continuing students) or PhD (in case of new students), a synopsis presentation has to be made by the student before the faculty either in the third or the fourth semester. The synopsis should include as complete an idea of the chapterisation of the thesis, a brief survey of the historiography and sources, and a detailed discussion of one chapter.

A PhD thesis should be submitted within four years from the date of confirmation to the PhD programme. A thesis is expected to be not less than 80000 words. Students may refer to the Style Sheet.

The PhD submission certificate is available here.

In case a student requires an additional year to complete the thesis, s/he can apply for a 9B during the eighth semester. However beyond the fifth year no further extension is possible. The application has to be accompanied by a hard copy of atleast three or four complete chapters of the thesis.

If after completing four years, a student is not in a position to submit within a year, then s/he should deregister.

2. Calendar for the PhD programme

Students in their third semester can make their synopses presentations in the third week of November.

Students in their fourth semester have to make their synopses presentations in the fourth week of April.

Students in their eighth semester should apply for a year's extension under clause 9B either in April or October.

3. Online Progress Reports

Students in all semesters are expected to fill in the online progress report form before the end of each semester (5th Dec and 12th May). Please submit either a hard or a soft copy to your respective supervisors.

A warm welcome to the modified and updated website of the Centre for East Asian Studies. The East Asian region has been at the forefront of several path-breaking changes since 1970s beginning with the redefining the development architecture with its State-led development model besides emerging as a major region in the global politics and a key hub of the sophisticated technologies. The Centre is one of the thirteen Centres of the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi that provides a holistic understanding of the region.

Initially, established as a Centre for Chinese and Japanese Studies, it subsequently grew to include Korean Studies as well. At present there are eight faculty members in the Centre. Several distinguished faculty who have now retired include the late Prof. Gargi Dutt, Prof. P.A.N. Murthy, Prof. G.P. Deshpande, Dr. Nranarayan Das, Prof. R.R. Krishnan and Prof. K.V. Kesavan. Besides, Dr. Madhu Bhalla served at the Centre in Chinese Studies Programme during 1994-2006. In addition, Ms. Kamlesh Jain and Dr. M. M. Kunju served the Centre as the Documentation Officers in Chinese and Japanese Studies respectively.

The academic curriculum covers both modern and contemporary facets of East Asia as each scholar specializes in an area of his/her interest in the region. The integrated course involves two semesters of classes at the M. Phil programme and a dissertation for the M. Phil and a thesis for Ph. D programme respectively. The central objective is to impart an interdisciplinary knowledge and understanding of history, foreign policy, government and politics, society and culture and political economy of the respective areas. Students can explore new and emerging themes such as East Asian regionalism, the evolving East Asian Community, the rise of China, resurgence of Japan and the prospects for reunification of the Korean peninsula. Additionally, the Centre lays great emphasis on the building of language skills. The background of scholars includes mostly from the social science disciplines; History, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, International Relations and language.

Several students of the centre have been recipients of prestigious research fellowships awarded by Japan Foundation, Mombusho (Ministry of Education, Government of Japan), Saburo Okita Memorial Fellowship, Nippon Foundation, Korea Foundation, Nehru Memorial Fellowship, and Fellowship from the Chinese and Taiwanese Governments. Besides, students from Japan receive fellowship from the Indian Council of Cultural Relations.