KTU PhD thesis format

Where KTU’s thesis rules are written

You will need two documents. The 2023 regulations deal with admission, the Doctoral Committee meetings, coursework, publications, the synopsis, plagiarism, examiners and the viva. For the layout there is a separate set of thesis and synopsis guidelines. We could not find these guidelines on KTU’s own website. The link here is a copy put online by an affiliated college. Ask at your place of research which copy they are following, because a newer version may have come out.

One point at the start of the guidelines affects everything after it. KTU plans the evaluation as an online process. Your college uploads the soft copies of the abstract and the thesis to the University portal, and the evaluation happens from those files. The two hard copies, one for the college and one for the University, come only after the final viva. That means the PDF is the copy your examiners actually read. Before upload, check that the PDF opens cleanly, the fonts are embedded and the bookmarks work.

Page layout: the numbers

The table below has all the page settings in one place. Setting them in Word at the beginning takes ten minutes, but fixing them at the end can eat up hours.

Margins are where most scholars go wrong. The guidelines give them as odd-page and even-page values. On odd pages the left margin is 35 mm, and on even pages the right margin is 35 mm. The other side is 25 mm. It is a mirrored layout for double-sided printing, with the wider margin on the binding edge. In Word you just tick Mirror margins, then type 35 mm in the inside box and 25 mm in the outside box. Some scholars are making separate sections for odd and even pages to get the same effect. We have seen this go wrong many times once a page moves up or down, so better not to do it.

Then comes the chapter opening page. Every new chapter should start on a right-hand page with an odd number, and you leave around 75 mm of extra space above the chapter number. No number is printed on the first page of the Introduction, so the first number anyone sees is “2”. Pages before the Introduction get lower-case Roman numerals, and there also the first page is kept without a number.

Also the guidelines asks you to avoid a single line left alone at the top or bottom of a page. In Word, keep “Widow/Orphan control” switched on in the paragraph settings and it will take care of this. There is one more small rule. Don’t hyphenate the last word of the first line of a page or a paragraph.

The order of the pages

The guidelines fix the order of the pages as given here.

1. Title sheet
2. Declaration of academic honesty and integrity
3. Supervisor’s certificate
4. Acknowledgement
5. Abstract
6. Table of contents
7. List of figures, tables and illustrations
8. Abbreviations, notations and nomenclature
9. Introduction, which is always Chapter 1
10. Review of literature, normally Chapter 2
11. Chapters on your own investigation
12. Summary and conclusions, including scope for future work
13. Appendices
14. References or bibliography

The abstract should be complete in itself, so don’t put citations in it that send the reader into the thesis. In the table of contents use decimal numbering and keep the page numbers flush right. It lists only chapters, sections and subsections. In the nomenclature list, give the Greek letters also, with their subscripts and superscripts. Appendices take Roman capital numbers like “Appendix IV”. Keep them before the references only. The reason is that an appendix may also have citations in it. If you want to list your own publications, that list can come after the references.

The last chapter also has a fixed pattern. Start it with a short report of the work done. Then write the conclusions point by point, and close the chapter with the limitations and the scope for future work. If your results are already discussed in the earlier chapters, a separate Results and Discussion chapter is not compulsory.

Figures, tables, equations and references

Figures and tables are numbered chapter-wise. For example, the fourth figure in Chapter 5 becomes Figure 5.4. For a table, the number and title come on top of the table. For a figure, the number and caption come under it. When a figure or table is taken from another source, give the citation as a separate last line of the caption. Put each one soon after the place where it is first mentioned. Small ones stay in the text, and ones bigger than half the writing area can take a full page. Portrait orientation is preferred. Each equation is written in its own line, and its number is given at the right end.

When you are making the figures, remember the library copy will be in A5 size. A figure fine on A4 shrinks to about 70% of its width on A5. Make the axis labels bigger than you feel is needed, and take printout of one or two pages at A5 before the binder gets your file.

KTU does not fix one reference style. You pick one recognised journal of your field and take its citation style. Then use that style the same way from Chapter 1 till the last chapter. As examples, the guidelines are giving IEEE for Electrical Engineering and Materials Transactions for Metallurgical Engineering. Whatever style it is, write every author’s name with initials and give the title in full, not shortened. After that comes the journal or publisher name, volume, number, pages and year. For a website note down on which date you last opened it, and put that date in the entry.

Front cover, title page and the two certificates

The cover is black, and the lettering on it is embossed. At the top comes the full title in 17-point bold, in sentence case. Below that, “DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY” in 14-point bold capitals. Your name goes in the middle of the page, centred, in 14 point, with the register number under it in 12 point. At the bottom is the 30 × 40 mm University emblem, then the department, institution, University and year, each on a separate line in 14 point. On the spine, print your name, the title, the year and the degree.

The title sheet is same as the cover, with two extra lines added. One is “Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of”, in 12-point italics. The other names your supervisor, and the co-supervisor if you have one. The guidelines attach specimens for both, and for the synopsis cover.

After the title sheet come two short texts. Specimen C is your declaration of academic honesty. In it you state that the ideas are your own or properly cited, and that nothing has been fabricated or falsified. Specimen D is the certificate from your supervisor. In that your supervisor certifies you did the work under his or her supervision, and that it was not submitted anywhere else before. Copy the specimen wording word for word.

What has to happen before the synopsis

The 2023 regulations give numbers to the Doctoral Committee meetings. DC 3 is the qualifying viva, on your coursework and your field. Normally you should clear it within one year from registration, and not later than three semesters, with two attempts allowed (clause 12). DC 4 is the research proposal meeting, and it has to happen within two years of registration (13.3). DC 5 and DC 6 are two open seminars, conducted offline. By the time of seminar II, at least one journal paper should be published or accepted.

Progress reports are submitted once a year for the first three years, and once in six months after that (11.1). After three years, a special DC meeting is held at the beginning of every semester. As per clause 9.2.3 the DC meetings happen online. But you, your supervisor, the convener and the internal members have to be physically present at the place of research.

The publication rule in clause 19.2 has to be met before the synopsis. You need one journal paper in SCI, SCIE, SSCI (for management) or Scopus. Reviews and surveys are not counted. A paper from a conference is also needed. If the Scopus journal is charging the authors, it counts only when SCI, SCIE or SSCI also lists it. You should be first author or corresponding author, and KTU should come in your affiliation.

The synopsis and the synopsis meeting

The synopsis is written in the same style as the thesis, and it can be 20 pages at most, cover included. It starts with the cover and the title, then an introduction, the motivation, and the objectives and scope. After that you describe the research work, with conclusions and limitations. At the end come the references, tables and figures, the proposed contents of the thesis, and your publications. Don’t list any reference which you have not discussed in the text. The PDF is uploaded on the e-Gov portal.

The synopsis goes through your supervisor and the head of your college or department to the Dean (Research). You present it at DC 7 (clause 20). In that same meeting itself you give a first full draft of all the chapters, both printed and as a file (21.1). Once the synopsis is accepted, the DC will propose an examiners panel also, with eight names minimum. Not more than three of them can be from within Kerala, and none can be from KTU-affiliated institutions. Each should be associate professor or above, with a publication in your area.

After acceptance you get two months at most to do the corrections the DC asked for and submit the thesis. Extension is possible, but only the Dean (Research) can give it, and that too in exceptional cases with a valid reason.

The plagiarism check

Clause 21.2 is short. Here the scholar signs one statement, and in it you say a recognised software was used for checking the thesis. Before the thesis is submitted, your supervisor confirms that the check was done and countersigns your statement. For the limit KTU is suggesting 20%, but the regulation itself calls this a general guideline. The bibliography is not counted towards it, and your own earlier work is also not counted. Which software to use, the regulation is not telling. Use the tool your place of research gives you.

The self-plagiarism exclusion has a limited meaning only. Reusing your own published papers will not count against you. You still have to cite those papers wherever you reuse them, and mention at the beginning of each chapter which paper it is based on. The UGC 2018 regulations are still the national minimum, and your supervisor may ask for a figure below 20%.

Under clause 21.2.2, your supervisor can request the Dean (Research) for relief from the check on grounds of IP or national security. This is useful when the work has defence or space partners, or when a patent is pending.

Examiners and the open defence

The Vice-Chancellor sends the thesis to three examiners, normally picked from the DC’s panel (clause 22). The examiners have two months to send their reports. When two out of the three recommend the thesis, the viva process begins. If two do not, the registration gets cancelled. If an examiner wants revision and resubmission, the DC decides how much time you get (23).

You receive the reports through your guide, with the examiners’ names removed. You do the corrections and write rebuttal statements, which go round with the revised e-thesis before the viva. The board is chaired by the Dean (Research) or a nominee (24.2). Along with the chair, the board comprises of the head of your college or department, your supervisor, one thesis examiner based in India and one subject expert taken from the panel of eight. Normally it meets around three weeks after it is constituted.

On the viva day your supervisor starts with a short welcome. Your presentation can go up to 40 minutes, and after that the audience asks questions. Your DC members are also invited. If the board is not satisfied with the defence, you may have to appear again after one to six months (24.9). Once the defence is successful you get a provisional certificate. The degree is given after the Board of Governors approves it (25.1).