University of Mumbai PhD thesis format

What does the University of Mumbai prescribe for PhD thesis format?

Two clauses carry almost everything: R.PhD.18, “Guidelines for the Ph.D. Thesis”, and R.PhD.19, “Submission of final Thesis” (printed pages 21 and 22). The table sets out what they fix.

If you have come from our SPPU thesis format guide, the difference is stark. Pune’s ordinance fixes the paper (A4), the spacing, the binding margin and even the cover colour. Mumbai gives none of that. The typography is left to your Research Centre and your supervisor, and in practice to whatever format sheet the department has been handing out for years.

My advice: ask your Research Centre for its format sheet in the first week of writing, not the last. Where there isn’t one, most Indian theses are set in 12-point Times New Roman at 1.5 spacing, with roughly an inch and a half free on the binding edge and an inch on the other three. That is convention. It is not a University of Mumbai rule, so if someone says otherwise, ask to see the circular.

What must a Mumbai PhD thesis contain?

R.PhD.18(1) asks for “a carefully drafted and rigorously checked document”. The specific content rules are these.

Certificates and undertaking

When the thesis goes in for evaluation, it must have your undertaking and your supervisor’s certificate vouching for three things: the work is original, it contains no plagiarism, and no degree, diploma or other award at Mumbai or any other institution has been sought with it before (R.PhD.19(1)). R.PhD.31 adds that your undertaking must state that the document was checked with a plagiarism detection tool approved by the institution. No wording or position is given. Put them before the contents, using your Research Centre’s template if it has one.

Bibliography and data sources

Both R.PhD.18(2) and 19(2) ask for “a detailed bibliography and data sources”. No citation style is named, so use your discipline’s and apply it without exceptions. If a chapter reports joint work, R.PhD.18(2) also wants you to “clearly state the portion which is own contribution”.

Your publications, at the end

R.PhD.19(6) puts copies of your research papers or patents, and the details of your conference or seminar presentations, at the end of the thesis. R.PhD.17(4) says their contents must be an integral part of the thesis, and 17(3) says a paper counts only if both you and your supervisor are authors, each either first or last.

No dedication

This one catches people. R.PhD.19(9) says the thesis “should not contain any dedication note”, and R.PhD.26(2) repeats it, adding that copyright rests jointly with you, your supervisor and the university. Acknowledgements are not banned (the similarity check even excludes them), so thank your parents there instead.

The regulations give no order for the preliminary pages and no chapter scheme. Our thesis structure guide covers the usual sequence.

Can you write a Mumbai PhD thesis in Marathi or Hindi?

Yes, in two situations, under R.PhD.19(8).

• Language subjects. If your subject is a Modern European or Modern Indian language, or a classical language accepted by the university (the clause names Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati, Sanskrit, Pali and Prakrit), the thesis may be in that language.
• Other subjects. The thesis may be in another Modern Indian language that the university accepts as a medium of instruction and examination for your subject. You need the RRC’s prior permission, preferably within six months of registration. The research proposal for topic approval must still be in English, and one-tenth of the main contents of the final thesis must be in English.

The clause does not say what the English tenth has to be: an extended summary, chapter abstracts, or something else. Ask your RRC when you apply, and get the answer in the permission letter. Otherwise, the thesis is in English.

What similarity level does the University of Mumbai accept?

Up to 10%. R.PhD.31 (printed pages 36 to 41) follows the levels in the UGC’s 2018 plagiarism regulations, which it lists among its reference documents. For theses, clause 9.1 sets them out:

• Level 0, up to 10%: minor similarities, no penalty.
• Level 1, above 10% to 40%: you submit a revised script within a stipulated period of not more than six months.
• Level 2, above 40% to 60%: you are debarred from submitting a revised script for one year.
• Level 3, above 60%: your registration for the programme is cancelled.

The regulations frame these as penalties, imposed by the Departmental and Institutional Academic Integrity Panels after misconduct is established. They don’t say in so many words that you cannot submit above 10%. In practice, aim for Level 0 before the report goes to the authority who signs it. The plagiarism limits guide compares this with other universities.

What is excluded from the figure

Clause 5 of R.PhD.31 lists what the check excludes: quoted work in the public domain or used with permission or attribution; the bibliography and references, the table of contents, the preface and the acknowledgements; mathematical and chemical formulae, names and addresses; generic terms, laws, standard symbols and equations; small matches under 1%; and common knowledge or coincidental terms up to fourteen consecutive words. It also says the core of the work (abstract, summary, hypothesis, observations, results, conclusions, recommendations) must be original and “shall not have any similarities”.

One item is unusual. For a scholar’s thesis, the list excludes material shown as matching the scholar’s own published papers or patents. Since R.PhD.19(6) puts those papers at the end of the thesis, that makes sense. Cite the paper in the chapter that reuses it so the person running the check can see the match is yours.

Who runs the check

Your Research Centre, with software “prescribed by UGC / UoM from time to time” (R.PhD.19(3) and (4)). No tool is named. The report is signed by an authority designated by the Head of the Research Centre and countersigned by your supervisor. If your centre uses DrillBit, our DrillBit guide explains how the report reads and which settings move the figure.

When and how do you submit the thesis at the University of Mumbai?

The sequence below is from R.PhD.13 to R.PhD.19.

1. 1

   Finish course work

   At least 12 credits, with a minimum of 55% or the equivalent grade, before the final synopsis (R.PhD.13).

2. 2

   Publish and present

   One paper from the doctoral work in a Scopus, Web of Science or (where applicable) ABDC journal, plus two conference or seminar presentations, or one presentation and a published patent, by the time you submit the synopsis (R.PhD.17(2)).

3. 3

   Pre-synopsis presentation

   Before your RAC, with invited experts from inside and outside the Research Centre (R.PhD.15(7)).

4. 4

   Submit the synopsis

   Preferably within one month of the presentation and not later than two months. Three hard copies and then one soft copy, through your supervisor, with the fees (R.PhD.15(7) and 16(1)).

5. 5

   Submit the thesis

   Between two and six months after the synopsis date. One hard copy and one soft copy on CD or pen drive, with the plagiarism certificate (R.PhD.19(3), (5) and (7)).

The pre-synopsis presentation is Mumbai’s version of the pre-submission seminar; the pre-submission seminar guide explains what the committee looks for. The synopsis format is “as prescribed” (R.PhD.16(2)), but that format is not in the regulations, so get it from your Research Centre; the synopsis format guide covers what usually goes in. A major deviation from your RRC-approved title or proposal can lead the RRC to ask for a fresh synopsis (R.PhD.16(4)).

Miss the six-month window and you apply for an extension, paying the synopsis fee again, with justification (R.PhD.19(5)). The clause sets no limit on how long that extension can be. Your overall limit is six years from admission, extendable by re-registration to eight years, and to ten for women and for scholars with a disability above 40% (R.PhD.3). There is also a floor: at least one year between registration and thesis submission (R.PhD.12(4)).

Say (dates invented for illustration) the synopsis goes in on 15 February. The earliest you can submit the thesis is 15 April, and the latest without an extension is 15 August.

Note that the publication rule names specific indexes: Scopus, Web of Science and, where applicable, ABDC. A paper in a journal that is only UGC-CARE listed is not mentioned. If you are unsure whether your paper counts, ask the RAPC before the synopsis, not after. Our publication requirement guide explains the UGC position if you want to compare.

What happens after you submit: referees, viva and Shodhganga

Your supervisor is the internal referee, and the university appoints two external referees, the second from outside Maharashtra or India (R.PhD.21(2); the process runs through R.PhD.20 to 22). They are asked to report within 30 days. If one asks for major modifications, you revise, preferably within 12 months, and it goes back to the same referee. The viva happens only after both externals and the internal referee recommend acceptance (R.PhD.22(9) and (12)), and the regulations hope to finish evaluation within six months.

The viva is an online open defence: the external referee and chairperson join online, while you and your supervisor sit at the Research Centre (R.PhD.23). Your supervisor presents the work for 20 to 30 minutes, then you take questions, including on the referees’ criticisms (R.PhD.24(4)). Our viva questions guide helps with that part.

After the result notification, a soft copy and a hard copy go to the University Library (R.PhD.26(1)). R.PhD.31 requires the university to send the soft copy to INFLIBNET for Shodhganga within a month of your being declared eligible for the degree. The copy you submit is, in effect, the copy the public will read; see our Shodhganga guide. You may publish the thesis as a book only after the degree is awarded at convocation (R.PhD.25(3)).

University of Mumbai PhD thesis checklist before submission

Each item traces to the 2026 regulations. Font, spacing, margins and binding are not on the list because the regulations don’t set them; for those, your Research Centre’s format sheet is the rule.

• The thesis is in English, or you have the language exception under R.PhD.19(8) (and, for a non-language subject, the RRC’s prior permission and one-tenth of the main contents in English).
• Your undertaking and your supervisor’s certificate on originality, no plagiarism and no earlier submission are in the thesis.
• The plagiarism check report is signed by the authority your Head of Research Centre designated and countersigned by your supervisor, in the prescribed format.
• Aim for a similarity figure at Level 0 (up to 10%), after the exclusions in R.PhD.31. The levels are penalties rather than a bar to submission, but Level 0 carries none.
• Copies of your papers or patents and the details of your presentations are at the end of the thesis.
• Every paper you rely on names both you and your supervisor, with each of you either first or last author.
• There is no dedication page.
• If any part is joint work, you have said which portion is yours.
• At least two months, and at most six, have passed since your synopsis went in.
• You have one hard copy and a soft copy on CD or pen drive, to go through your supervisor.

If you want the layout made consistent once your centre has told you its format, our thesis formatting service handles headings, numbering, tables and references. It does not change your argument or findings.