Minimum Criteria for MS/M.Phil and Ph.D. Programs in Pakistan

Minimum Criteria for MS/M.Phil and Ph.D. Programs

Minimum requirements for MS/M.Phil and PhD Programs are as follows:

MS/M.Phil Program:

1. Sixteen years of schooling or 4 year education (130 credit hours) after HSSC/F.A. /F.Sc/Grade 12 equivalent will be required for admission in the M.Phil/MS.

2. The GAT-General (www.nts.org.pk/gat/gat.asp) conducted by the National Testing Service with a minimum 50% cumulative score will be required at the time of admission to M.Phil/M.S. The GAT-General test is valid for a period of two years.

3. For award of M.Phil/M.S/Equivalent degree, candidates will either need to complete 30 credit hours of course work or complete 24 credit hours of course work along with a minimum of 6 credit hours for research work/thesis.

PhD Program:

Admission requirement:

1. For admission into the PhD minimum CGPA 3.0 (out of 4.0 in the Semester System) or First Division (in the Annual System) in M.Phil/M.S/Equivalent is required. Subject Test:

2. A subject test conducted by the National Testing Service (NTS) or ETS, USA in the area of specialization chosen at the PhD level must be cleared prior to admission for the PhD Program.

a. In the case of GAT Subject test (http://www.nts.org.pk/GAT/GATSubject.asp) a minimum of 60% marks is required to pass the test.

b. In the case GRE subject test, the minimum score will be acceptable as follows:

   i. 45% Percentile Score: Valid for Admissions until December 31, 2010

   ii. 50% Percentile Score: Valid for Admissions until December 31, 2011.

   iii. 60% Percentile Score: Valid for Admissions thereafter.

c. If the Test is not available in NTS subject list, then a University Committee consisting of at least

3. PhD faculty members in the subject area and approved by the HEC will conduct the Test at par with GRE Subject Test and qualifying score for this will be 70% score.

d. Only in the case of PhD students admitted prior to January 1, 2011 the students must attempt and pass the GAT Subject or GRE Subject in the first two consecutive offerings of the test. 

Course Work:

3. Course work of 18 credit hours preferably in the first year is required to be completed and followed

by a comprehensive examination for granting candidacy as PhD researcher.

Foreign Expert Evaluation:

4. The Ph.D. Dissertation must be evaluated by at least two Ph.D. experts from

technologically/academically advanced foreign countries in addition to local Committee members.

Open defense:

5. An open defense of Dissertation is essential part of PhD Program after positive evaluation.

Research Paper:

6. Acceptance/publication of at least one research paper in an HEC approved “X” category journal is a requirement for the award of Ph.D. degree (“Y” in case of Social Sciences only).

Plagiarism Test:

7. The Plagiarism Test must be conducted on the Dissertation before its submission to the two foreign experts, as described below.

Copy of PhD Dissertation to HEC:

8. A copy of Ph.D. Dissertation (both hard and soft) must be submitted to HEC for record in Ph.D. Country Directory and for attestation of the PhD degree by the HEC in future. 

Conduct of PhD Program:

9. There should be at least 3 relevant full time Ph.D. Faculty members in a department to launch the Ph.D. program.

10. The maximum number of Ph.D. students under the supervision of a full time faculty member is five which may be increased to eight under special circumstances in certain teaching departments subject to prior approval of the Higher Education Commission (HEC).

Higher Education Commission: Commission Increases Performance by 40 Per Cent with Cutting-Edge Technology

Commission Increases Performance by 40 Per Cent with Cutting-Edge Technology

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) in Pakistan often recommends IT solutions to universities. Before doing so, it tests them on its own organisation. When HEC needed to update its IT infrastructure, it implemented the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system with Windows 7, Microsoft Office Professional 2007, and Microsoft Unified Communications solutions for an intuitive and easy-to-use system. The result was so well received that the organisation is now encouraging universities to deploy some of these technologies.

Business NeedsHEC is the regulatory agency for higher education in Pakistan. Its primary focus is to help build a knowledge-based economy by developing the country’s universities into highly respected centres of education and research. The commission has always led by example, supporting the use of IT in education by implementing cutting-edge technology and making it available to institutes of higher education. In fact, HEC takes pride in being one of the first organisations in the government sector to use the latest advances in IT.

In recent years, HEC has reformed the way IT is used in higher education by setting up a programme of e-reforms. These reforms provide guidelines on technological infrastructure and address issues such as plagiarism and inefficiency of IT systems. Infrastructure projects that are part of e-reforms include a digital library containing a wide variety of locally and internationally published journals and papers, as well as digitised versions of papers published by PhD scholars in Pakistan.

The commission had a fairly robust IT system with a high-speed network, local area network connectivity and security, data centres, and proprietary in-house applications. However, it was difficult to respond to increasing demand for user services because of the lack of integration between applications. For example, the organisation used two parallel systems for local and international e-mail. Moreover, it relied on a third-party audio and videoconferencing solution, which didn’t provide single sign-on, and the cost of which was high. Due to these challenges, only a limited number of users were provided with collaboration services.

The commission also needed to replace a paper-based filing system that was prone to human error and delays, with a structure that would increase productivity with automated systems. Above all, any system implemented needed to be easy to adopt, allowing users with a wide range of technology skills to interact with each other seamlessly through a common interface.

SolutionHEC initiated the process of reforms through a thorough evaluation of solutions available, and signed up for a School Agreement with Microsoft Pakistan in 2008. HEC became the first public sector organisation in Pakistan to use the Enterprise Client Access Licence Suite, giving employees access to multiple business productivity applications within a single system.

In 2009, the IT team worked with Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Expert Systems and Microsoft to roll out a centralised infrastructure based on the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system with Windows 7. Anwar Amjad, Director General, Information Technology, at the Higher Education Commission, says: “When I was introduced to Windows 7, I was so impressed with the performance that we’re now encouraging our universities to adopt it.”

The solution included the familiar Microsoft Office Professional 2007 suite of applications, along with Unified Communications. Users who are geographically dispersed can now access conferences, workshops, and meetings from virtually anywhere. The use of Microsoft Office Live Meeting to host training for capacity building of remote users from the HEC head office has also helped cut costs and boost productivity. HEC is also using Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 to publish its external Web site and automate multiple business processes through an internal portal.

Deploying Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V cut the number of physical servers in half, from 30 to 15. Through more efficient use of its servers, HEC now has the ability to offer a rich set of services to end users without incurring additional hardware and real-estate cost.

BenefitsDeploying Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V is a key part of the commission’s strategy to provide the latest technology to universities. This stable environment for vital services improves communications with an intuitive, easy-to-use interface for executives and operational staff.

• Improved communication. Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V and Windows 7 integrates existing technologies and provides a stable environment for Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 R2. Geographically dispersed team members can now easily communicate through audio and videoconferencing. Help-desk staff can solve user problems in seconds without moving from their seats through the Desktop Sharing feature in Office Communicator 2007 R2.

• Reduced server footprint. Virtualisation ensures physical server requirements are cut by 50 per cent, reducing the cost of acquiring and running a system that is easy to build on as needed.

• Enhanced security. Windows Server 2008 R2 integrates seamlessly with existing systems. Amjad says: “We already had security mechanisms set up, but Windows Server 2008 R2 combined with Windows 7 gives us an even more efficient way of securing data.”

• Cutting-edge technology. As the governing authority of higher education in Pakistan, HEC can now provide universities with access to the latest technology and modern interfaces university students expect.

• Reduced travel expenses. Videoconferencing has significantly lowered the cost of travel among five offices in four provinces. “I used to travel at least twice a month,” says Amjad. “Since we installed Office Communicator, I’ve had to travel only once in the past six months.”

• Increased productivity. Productivity has increased at least 40 per cent since implementing the technology. Amjad says: “The bottom line is that a computer needs to meet the speed of a human working. Windows 7 is an operating system that helps us keep our productivity high.”
  
  
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