University of Kerala PhD thesis format and submission rules

Does the University of Kerala prescribe a PhD thesis format?

Not in any document it publishes. Kerala’s 2022 regulations deal with admission, supervision, coursework and evaluation, and say nothing about how the thesis looks on the page. The submission form lists copies and certificates. That is the whole of it.

So what do you do about margins? Ask your supervisor for two or three recently accepted theses from your department, and match them. Shodhganga also holds many University of Kerala theses in your subject.

If your department has no settled habit, the usual Indian default is safe: A4, 12 point serif text, 1.5 line spacing, a left margin of roughly 1.5 inches to allow for binding and an inch on the other three sides. That is common practice, not a University of Kerala rule.

The same goes for page order. The form only requires that the declaration and the supervisor’s report are inside the thesis. The usual order (title page, declaration, supervisor’s certificate, acknowledgement, contents, lists of tables and figures, abbreviations, chapters, references, appendices) is set out in our thesis structure guide. For a university that does fix these things in writing, compare the University of Madras format.

What do the University of Kerala PhD Regulations 2022 say about the thesis?

The regulations implement the UGC’s 2022 PhD regulations. The Academic Council approved them on 21.11.2023 and they were issued on 07.12.2023. Clause 1(2) applies them to candidates registered from the January 2024 session. Clause 16 says scholars already registered are governed by these regulations or by the UGC 2016 regulations, so if you joined before 2024, find out which applies to you before you plan the submission.

The parts that touch the thesis are few and short:

• Clause 9(3). A coursework score of 55% or more (or its grade equivalent) before you can submit.
• Clause 11(2). A presentation before the Department Doctoral Committee before you submit.
• Clauses 11(3) and 11(4). Plagiarism software, your undertaking and your supervisor’s certificate.
• Clauses 11(5) to 11(7). Evaluation, the viva-voce and the six-month deadline.
• Clause 17. The electronic copy goes to INFLIBNET.

Clause 4 allows three to six years from admission. The Syndicate can add two more, and women scholars and scholars with more than 40% disability can get a further two.

What similarity limit does the University of Kerala accept?

The 2022 regulations do not give one. Clause 11(3) says only that the University will detect plagiarism with “well-developed software applications”. It names no software and no percentage. We found no University of Kerala circular that sets a limit either.

What the regulations do require, in clause 11(4), is two documents with the thesis:

1. Your undertaking that there is no plagiarism.
2. Your supervisor’s certificate that the thesis is original, free of plagiarism, and has not been submitted for a degree or diploma at any other institution.

Your supervisor cannot sign the second one honestly without a similarity report, so in practice you run the check first. Ask your research centre how it is done and who issues the report. Without a Kerala-specific number, the national reference is the UGC’s 2018 plagiarism regulations, and our plagiarism limits guide explains those bands.

Our advice: don’t aim for any limit. Cite your own published papers properly and trim long quotations, since those push the figure up most.

How is the pre-submission seminar conducted at the University of Kerala?

Clause 11(2) of the 2022 regulations requires a presentation before the Department Doctoral Committee, open to faculty and research scholars, before you submit. The procedure comes from two earlier University orders. The rule on who signs the panel of experts was already in force under U.O. No. 733/2019 dated 07.11.2019, as the later order notes. The order dated 13.01.2021 (Ac.E1/A4/18881/2020), issued to improve the quality of these seminars, added the rules on who attends and how corrections are recorded. Together they set these steps:

1. 1

   Panel of experts

   The panel for your pre-submission seminar is signed by your supervisor, the head of the department and the Dean of the Faculty (U.O. No. 733/2019, dated 07.11.2019).

2. 2

   Open presentation

   You present the work before the Department Doctoral Committee. Clause 11(2) of the 2022 regulations says the session is open to all faculty members and research scholars.

3. 3

   Officials present

   All three of those signatories, and the observer, must be present at the seminar.

4. 4

   Corrections recorded

   The corrections the experts suggest are listed and submitted with the minutes of the seminar, signed by the same officials.

5. 5

   Revise, then apply

   Make the corrections before you print the four copies for submission.

The signed list of corrections matters more than scholars think. It is the written record of what the experts asked for, so make every correction or be ready to explain why you didn’t. The order does not say how long after the seminar you must submit. For preparing the talk itself, see our pre-submission seminar guide.

How do you submit a PhD thesis at the University of Kerala?

With the Application for Submission of Thesis for Research Degree, from the University’s application forms page. Its instructions set out the package.

What goes in

• Four copies of the thesis (instructions 2(a) and 5).
• Ten copies of a one-page synopsis. Instruction 4(vii) says your name and your supervisor’s name must not appear on it.
• The fee. The form states ₹3,500 for the PhD, non-refundable, with the original pay-in slip or DD attached. Check this figure with the office, as the form is several years old.
• Originals (instruction 4): your master’s degree certificate, the registration order, any change-of-title order, recognition of a master’s degree from another university, a non-liability certificate from your institution, Kerala University Library clearance, and a fee statement countersigned by your guide.
• A passport-size photograph on the form, attested by your supervisor.

Rules that catch people

Instruction 2(b) lets you send the application, fee and synopses up to three months before the thesis. If the thesis does not follow within three months, you lose the fee. Instruction 6 says a change of title must be approved by the University before you apply, and the order number goes on the form. Instruction 9 says the thesis must not be published without the University’s sanction, whether or not it is approved.

The form was written before the 2022 regulations and does not mention the plagiarism undertaking or the originality certificate. Attach them anyway, since clause 11(4) requires them.

How is the thesis evaluated, and does it go to Shodhganga?

Clause 11(5) says the thesis is evaluated by your supervisor and at least two external examiners not employed by the University, one from outside India where possible. If both recommend acceptance, you face the viva-voce board (your supervisor plus one or both externals). It may be held online and is open to faculty and scholars.

If one external recommends rejection, clause 11(6) brings in an alternate examiner from the approved panel; no viva is held unless that examiner recommends acceptance. Clause 11(7) gives the University six months from submission to finish, including the viva result. The application form adds that no interim enquiries are entertained.

After a successful evaluation and before the degree is announced, clause 17 requires the University to send INFLIBNET an electronic copy for hosting. The regulations don’t name Shodhganga or say who prepares the file, so ask the Academic section. Our Shodhganga guide explains how that deposit normally works.

University of Kerala PhD thesis submission checklist

Everything here traces to the 2022 regulations or the submission form. What they leave out is your supervisor’s call.

• You were admitted from the January 2024 session onwards, so the 2022 regulations apply to you. If you joined earlier, ask the Academic section which rules govern your submission (clause 16).
• The pre-submission seminar is done, and the list of corrections is signed and filed with the minutes.
• Any change in the thesis title has a University order approving it, and you have the order in original.
• The thesis contains your declaration and your supervisor’s report, and you have your plagiarism undertaking and your supervisor’s originality certificate (clause 11(4)).
• The thesis is printed in four copies, and the one-page synopsis, with no names on it, in ten.
• The originals listed in instruction 4 of the application form, the fee receipt and the attested photograph are ready.
• Margins, font, spacing, binding and reference style have been agreed with your supervisor, because no University document fixes them.

Because Kerala leaves layout to you, inconsistency is the usual problem. Our thesis formatting service makes the presentation consistent to the style you and your supervisor choose. The content stays yours.