Lucknow, Jan 5 (IANS): For the first time, the Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (BBAU) in Lucknow is set to introduce five distinct types of Ph.D courses to cater to individuals from various walks of life.

With this, BBAU will be among a select group of universities in the country offering a comprehensive range of full-time, part-time, sponsored, re-registration, and joint degree research programmes.

Specifically designed for working professionals, the university will offer a part-time Ph.D program with a minimum duration of four years from the date of admission.

According to BBAU Controller of Examination (CoE) Vikram Singh Yadav, admission to the part-time Ph.D programme will be based on an entrance test and interview. The entrance test will carry a weightage of 70 per cent, while the interview/interaction will contribute 30 per cent.

The university is also set to launch a sponsored Ph.D programme, requiring research scholars to be sponsored by their employers and to have been in employment with the sponsoring organisation for at least five years at the time of admission.

Under the re-registration PhD programme, if a research scholar secures employment while pursuing a Ph.D, they can interrupt their research, join a job, and subsequently return to 're-register' when they wish to complete their Ph.D.

Additionally, BBAU will offer a Joint Degree PhD Programme (JDP), a collaborative effort with partnering institutions. Upon completion of the program, the degree will be jointly awarded with a single certificate by the institution where the scholar initially enrolled as their home institution.

Explaining the JDP, CoE Vikram Singh Yadav mentioned that a research scholar will have one of the institutes assigned as a home institute for administrative purposes. The scholar can work in any pair of departments between collaborating institutions, spending at least 12 months at each collaborating institution during the pursuit of the JDP.

For instance, if a scholar is conducting research in the field of Cell Biology at BBAU but requires access to certain instruments or facilities available only at specific scientific or medical institutions, they can opt for the JDP research programme.

The candidate will be provided with a list of collaborating institutions to choose from, and to be awarded a JDP degree, they must submit a thesis at their home institution, encapsulating the findings of their research conducted under this programme.