Ph.D.

Programme
(Full Time and Part Time)

Rules and Regulations

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF FOREIGN TRADE

(DEEMED UNIVERSITY
(Set up by Department of Commerce, Government of India)

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 INDIAN INSTITUTE OF FOREIGN TRADE
Rules and Regulations for Ph.D. Programme
(Full Time and Part Time)

1. About the Institute

The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) was set up in 1963 by the Government of India as an
autonomous organization to help professionalize the country’s foreign trade management and
increase exports by developing human resources; generating, analyzing and disseminating data;
and conducting research. The Institute visualizes its future role as:
• A catalyst for new ideas, concepts and skills for the internationalization of the Indian
economy;
• The primary provider of training and research-based consultancy in the areas of international
business, both for the corporate sector, government and the student community;
• An institution with proven capability to continuously upgrade its knowledge base with a view
to servicing the requirements of government, trade and industry through both sponsored and
non-sponsored research and consultancy assignments.
The Institute’s portfolio of long-term programmes is diverse, catering to the requirements of
aspiring International Business executives and mid-career professionals alike.

2. Objectives of the Ph.D. Programme

The Ph.D. Programme of the Institute covers Doctoral research in a variety of business related
areas leading to the award of Ph.D. degree. The main objectives of the Ph.D. Programme are:
• To provide facilities for higher studies and advanced research in areas relating to International
Business;
• To encourage and facilitate research on contemporary issues in the field of International
Business; and
• To encourage publication of research papers in academic journals, occasional papers and
monographs, books and other refereed forums.
One of the primary purposes of doctoral studies is to encourage in-depth analysis and enrich
knowledge in the chosen field. This includes the ability to independently apply methodologies of
scientific research as well as to create new scientific knowledge. Further, the candidate should
demonstrate an ability to critically analyze research findings and to understand their importance
in the relevant context. Skills to undertake and to effectively communicate research results are
needed in order to succeed in postgraduate studies. Thus, it is important to assume an adequate
knowledge and understanding of the problems, research methodologies, historical
developments, theory formulation and societal importance of the scientific disciplines which are
related to the candidate’s own research field.

3. Registration and Fee

All students selected for admission must register by the day of commencement of the
Programme, with the payment of necessary fees. Any extension of the period of registration may
be granted by the Chairperson (Research) to a student only under exceptional circumstances.

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4. Duration of Ph.D. Programme

Stage Stage of Research Timeline

Stage I Course Work One year (during Semester 1 and 2)

Stage II Confirmation of Ph.D. After successful completion of

Candidature coursework, the synopsis of the thesis is
to be presented in front of IIFT Faculty
committee. Once the suggestions received
at the presentation are duly incorporated,
the synopsis will be confirmed.
Stage III Thesis Writing Once the synopsis is confirmed, the
doctoral research and thesis writing will
commence.
Stage IV Submission of Thesis Before the end of FIVE years, from the
date of admission
Stage V Evaluation and Viva-Voce Once the comments from all the external
examiners are received, the Viva-Voce
will be conducted.

5. Stage I: Course Work

i. The duration of Coursework at IIFT Ph.D. programme is ONE year, spread over two
semesters. While only core courses are offered during the first semester, elective courses will
be introduced along with core papers during the following semester.
ii. In the Ph.D. programme, course work is compulsory for all the participants. Following the
“Minimum Standards and Procedure for Awards of [Link]/Ph.D. degree Regulation 2009” issued by UGC,
IIFT gives the exemption (of attendance) to the students who have done their [Link] from the
UGC/AICTE recognized University/Institutes. Exemption from the course work attendance is subject
to the submission of certificate and testimonials which confirms that the candidate has attended course
work during her/his [Link] Programme. Nevertheless, even in such cases, the student will
be required to clear the evaluation components.
iii. Minimum required Grade for clearing the course work is ‘B Only’.
iv. Minimum of 75% attendance is also required for each course.
v. During the Ph.D. course work stage, if the candidate is not able to attend the classes due to
unavoidable circumstances, the same needs to be communicated to Programme Director
(Ph.D.)/Research Division/ Chairperson (Research) within a fortnight citing the reason.
vi. IIFT provides an option to a student for dropping a semester and attend the missed courses
with the next batch. If the student is willing to do so, she/he has to apply to the Programme
Director (Ph.D.)/Chairperson (Research) providing a valid reason. She/he will then be
allowed to attend the course work along with the next batch as an exception after taking the
due approval from Director, IIFT.
vii. If the course work of a candidate remains incomplete for THREE years from the date of
joining of the Ph.D. programme, her / his registration for Ph.D. programme will be
automatically cancelled.
viii. During semester one, a Faculty Mentor will be allocated for each student to help them better
in their research pursuits, including selection of right electives during the second semester.
The student profile will be sent to the concerned discipline group, who upon discussion will
propose the name of the Mentor.

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ix. Regarding the seminar paper, the students will identify a topic of their interest in semester
one and whenever necessary will consult with Programme Director (Ph.D.) on this matter
for necessary clarifications. They may also discuss the research ideas with IIFT faculties
working on that area for identifying focused research questions. The student may indicate
his/her willingness to work under a certain faculty for the seminar paper, which will be
approved by Chairperson (Research). In the first semester, the concerned faculty guide will
evaluate the progress made by the student and submit their evaluation to the research
division. In the second semester, a panel of IIFT faculties, as proposed by Programme
Director (Ph.D.) and approved by Chairperson (Research), will evaluate the research
conducted by the students through a viva. It should be strongly encouraged that the seminar
papers be transformed into IIFT working papers, which will help in shaping the research
skills of the students.
6. Course Structure
The Course Structure of IIFT Ph.D. Programme is as follows:

Semester Compulsory Courses Elective (Hours) Credit

Courses
First • Foundation Course in Economics (non-credit) 1(10)
• Foundation Course in Finance (non-credit) 1(10)
• Foundation Course in Marketing (non-credit) 1(10)
• Foundation Course in Operations Research / 1(10)
Supply Chain Management (non-credit)
• Foundation Course in OB/HR (non-credit) 1(10)
• Foundation Course in Mathematical Methods 2 (20)
• Global Economic Environment and Policy 4(40)
• Statistics and Research Methodology 4(40)
• Research in Strategic Management : Concepts 3(30)
and Application
Second Applied Econometrics 2(20)
2(20)
Data Analytics
2(20)
Seminar Paper
 One Elective 3(30)
Course
 One Elective 3(30)
Course
 One Elective 3(30)
Course
List of Elective Courses (Any THREE to be opted):
• Research Issues in Macro Economics
• Research Issues in Trade Theory and Policy
• Research Issues in WTO
• Research Issues in International Marketing
• Research Issues in International Finance
• Research Issues in Innovation and Technology Management
• Research Issues in Supply Chain Management

Note: Course Structure is subject to revision by the Institute’s Academic Council from time to time.

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i. The Full Time Ph.D. scholars will attend the coursework along with the Part Time students
during weekend. In addition, they will contribute significantly in the academic activities of
the institute during the weekdays (with one day off).
ii. The Full Time Ph.D. Scholars may attend MBA coursework in line with their research
interest. This additional coursework will be optional and will be included as non-credit
courses in their grade sheet. The list of courses offered to MBA IB Full Time students will be
given before commencement of the semester.
iii. The responsibilities of the full time students will include case presentation, offering lectures
and tutorials and other similar academic responsibilities under the guidance of a faculty.
iv. These academic responsibilities of the Ph.D. scholars will be strictly defined and their
performance under these activities will be evaluated by the faculty concerned.
v. In addition, in order to develop proficiency in data handling techniques and use of databases,
they might be involved in some of the ongoing research projects of the institute. However,
the Ph.D. scholars will generally supervise the research work being undertaken by the
research fellows, so that the progress of their doctoral research does not suffer.

7. Stage II: Confirmation of Ph.D. Candidature and allocation of Research Supervisor

i. Initial enrolment to the Ph.D. Programme is ‘Provisional’. After completion of the

coursework, in the third semester the student is required to submit and present her/his
proposed Ph.D. ‘Synopsis’ before an IIFT Faculty Committee for approval.
ii. Candidate’s registration will get ‘Confirmed’, when: she/he (a) clears the coursework
satisfactorily and (b) her/his synopsis gets final approval of the IIFT Faculty Committee.
iii. After commencement of the Programme in July, the Programme Director (Ph.D.) will help
the Ph.D. scholars in identification of their research interest during the first semester of
coursework.
iv. The Programme Director (Ph.D.)/Research Division will also provide the students the faculty
research profile for enabling them to make an informed decision at the end of semester two.
The students would then be fully aware about the possibility of joining an IIFT faculty as
research scholar, earlier research thesis guided by the concerned faculty, his/ her research
interest etc.
v. The students will also keep regular contact with Institute faculties working in the discipline
of their interest.
vi. While preparing the synopsis, the Ph.D. scholars may get in touch with Institute faculties and
benefit from their suggestions.
vii. The Synopsis must successfully explain various aspects of their research, e.g. motivation of
undertaking the research, literature survey, gaps in the literature, identification of research
problem, proposed hypothesis, methodology, data sources and tentative chapterization to the
IIFT Faculty Committee.
viii. Ph.D. being the highest academic degree, the scholars require constant attention of their
respective supervisors. In order to ensure timely submission of the doctoral dissertation, IIFT
follows the policy of maintaining an upper limit on the number of research scholars to be
allocated per faculty.
ix. At the time of submitting the Synopsis, the students must indicate names of three IIFT

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 faculties as their proposed supervisor from a particular discipline. PD (Ph.D.) will put
forward the names to the Research Advisory Council (RAC), which will finalize the Research
Supervisor in line with the students’ research interest, faculty’s research inclination and the
existing IIFT norms on maximum number of Ph.D. scholars per faculty.
x. After allocation of Research Supervisor, every scholar will be having a Doctoral Advisory
Committee (DAC), consisting of the Ph.D. Guide and two other faculty members. The Ph.D.
supervisor may indicate the name of two faculties to PD (Ph.D.) for this purpose.
xi. After allocation of Research Supervisor, the candidate has to appear in the synopsis
Confirmation Seminar, where an IIFT Faculty committee will assess the presentation and
approve her / his Synopsis and Thesis Title. Suggestions received at the Seminar have to be
incorporated before submitting the revised synopsis to Research Division.
xii. A Candidate is allowed to submit her/his thesis after a minimum period of TWO years from
the date of ‘Confirmation’. All candidates are required to confirm their candidature before
completion of the third year from the date of enrolment.
xiii. In case participants find an academician from outside of the Institute who is conversant with
her/his topic of research she/he may apply to consider her/him as Co-supervisor requesting
Programme Director and getting the final approval from the Director, IIFT. Only one Co-
guide from outside the institute is allowed.
xiv. Only in exceptional circumstances (as per merit, e.g. the case of multidisciplinary research), a
student may be allowed to receive allocation of both Ph.D. supervisor and Co-supervisor
from within IIFT, with due permission of CP (Research) and the Director. However, the two
faculties must belong to different disciplines in that scenario.

8. Stage III: Thesis Title

i. The process of allotting the Research Supervisor to guide the student during her/his thesis
writing stage would be over along with the successful Confirmation of Ph.D. Candidature.
ii. The ‘Title’ of the thesis will also get finalized once the candidate’s synopsis is approved and
her/his candidature is confirmed.
iii. If required, the ‘Title’ approved at the time of Confirmation Seminar may be changed ONLY
ONCE ‘partially’ before the thesis submission. Under such circumstances, the student needs
to apply to Chairperson (Research) through her/his Supervisor for the same.

9. Evaluation of the Progress in Doctoral Research

i. After confirmation of the title, the student needs to work in association with the Research
Supervisor and the DAC.
ii. The students must report their progress to the DAC on a regular basis. Once in every six
months, they must meet their DAC for making a formal presentation in front of them, and
the concerned DAC would certify his/her progress to the Research Division.
iii. In addition, nearly six months after the presentation to DAC, the scholars would make
another presentation to a broader faculty panel. The DAC members of a particular student
would also attend the second meeting to evaluate the progress of the student over the last
presentation.
iv. In case the candidate is not presenting her/his research to the concerned DAC for more
than SIX months, her/his registration for Ph.D. programme may be automatically

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 cancelled.
v. Ph.D. scholars are also required to submit the proof of acceptance of at least TWO articles in
TWO Reputed Refereed Academic Journals, during their thesis work stage.

10. Stage IV: Submission of Thesis

i. A Ph.D. candidate at IIFT must deliver a pre-submission internal defence seminar to all
faculty members of the Institute, without which submission of the thesis is not possible.
ii. The student is required to incorporate all suggestions/comments received during internal
defense in the thesis to be submitted.
iii. The student needs to submit her/his thesis within SIX months from the day of the pre-
submission seminar.
iv. Details of the Submission Requirements are provided in the Box that follows:

Submission Requirements
1. Submit completed Course work Grade sheet. Minimum requirement is B Only Grade.
2. Submit ‘Confirmation’ Certificate.
3. Work for a minimum period of TWO years from the date of ‘Confirmation’.
4. Submit letter of ‘acceptance’ of two articles in two reputed refereed academic journals
5. Presentation in at least ONE progress seminar every year.
6. Successful defense of the thesis at the internal defense seminar
7. Clearance of all dues
8. Submit FIVE copies of “Abstract” and FIVE original copies of the thesis duly signed by
the candidate and countersigned by the Supervisor declaring that it is an original work
and not submitted partly or fully for the award of any degree in any institution.

11. Stage V: Ph.D. Thesis Evaluation Procedure and Viva-Voce at IIFT

i. The Supervisor of a candidate shall, after her/his pre-submission defense, two weeks in
advance of the submission of Ph.D. thesis, forward FIVE copies of Abstract of the thesis
including Table of Contents to Chairperson (Research) through Programme Director (Ph.D.)
in both soft and hard format. The Chairperson (Research) will forward the copies to
Controller of Examinations.
ii. The Supervisor of the candidate shall also submit names of FIVE External Experts on the
subject area to the Director, IIFT, through Chairperson (Research). At least TWO External
Examiners must be named from outside of the state.
iii. The Director will rank the names of the five proposed External Experts in the order of his
preference and forward the document to the Controller of Examinations.
iv. The Examination Cell of IIFT will send the soft copies of the abstract of the thesis to THREE
Experts in the order approved by the Director for checking their availability and willingness
for the evaluation. The experts will be requested to respond by THREE weeks. This will
facilitate immediate communication of the submitted thesis to the External Experts. Upon
receiving their positive response, the Examination Cell of IIFT will send the hard copy of

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 the thesis to the External Experts.
v. If one of the three top-ranked External Experts expresses her/his inability to evaluate the
thesis owing to prior commitments/by the proposed timeline, the External Expert ranked
next in the same order will be contacted by the Examination Cell.
vi. A candidate, after completion of research, shall submit the thesis to the IIFT at any time
during working hours of the University (proposed) after completing the clearance process.
vii. A candidate shall be permitted to submit the thesis only after her/his Supervisor certifies
that the thesis in current form is worthy of consideration for the award of a Ph.D. degree.
viii. A candidate shall be permitted to submit the thesis, only when the same incorporate ALL
relevant comments received at the pre-submission defense seminar from IIFT faculties.
ix. A candidate shall be permitted to submit the thesis, provided they submit the letter of
‘acceptance’ of two articles in two reputed refereed academic journals.
x. The submitted thesis must be a piece of novel research characterized either by the discovery
of new facts, or by a fresh interpretation of facts or theories. The thesis work must be
satisfactory in terms of its academic rigour, language and presentation.
xi. The candidate may incorporate in her/his thesis the contents of any work which she/he
may have published in refereed/non-refereed forum, after clearly mentioning that in the
thesis. However, she/he shall not submit as her/his thesis any work for which a degree has
been conferred on her/him by any other University.
xii. The candidate needs to submit an undertaking that the submitted thesis involves original
research by her/him. Copy of the undertaking needs to be attached with every bound
thesis.
xiii. The candidate shall submit FIVE printed or typed copies of the thesis and an electronic copy
to the Research Division of IIFT. The electronic copy of the thesis can be submitted in a CD
after the viva.
xiv. Submitted thesis will be sent for evaluation to THREE ‘External Experts’ and at least one of
them need to be located outside the state.
xv. The Examination Cell of IIFT will request the External Experts to submit their comments by
FOUR months.
xvi. In case, an External Expert does not send her/his comments by the deadline suggested by
IIFT Examination Cell, another expert earlier approved by the Director in order of
preference might be approached, after intimating Chairperson (Research) and obtaining
necessary permission.
xvii. On submission of the evaluation report by at least TWO External Experts, viva-voce will be
conducted if both reports are favourable. In case, one of the evaluation reports is not
favourable, the evaluation report of the third examiner will be considered. The candidate is
required to defend her/his thesis in front of the External Expert (at least ONE has to be
present), Research Supervisor, Programme Director of Ph.D. Programme and Chairperson
(Research).
xviii. The External Experts may recommend that the degree be awarded subject to satisfactory
viva voce test on the thesis, or that the thesis may be rejected, or that the thesis be
resubmitted.
xix. The Ph.D. degree shall be awarded only after TWO external experts unanimously
recommend for the same, and following the successful viva-voce.
xx. In case of resubmission of thesis, the thesis must be resubmitted within SIX months from

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 the date of supply of comments of the External Experts to the candidate by the Office of the
Controller of Examinations of the IIFT. The thesis may only be resubmitted ONCE.
xxi. In case of resubmission, the thesis needs to be sent to the original External Experts, unless
they explicitly express their inability.
xxii. Any issue concerning the Ph.D. thesis evaluation procedure or interpretation of the
approved provisions shall be referred to the Director, IIFT whose decision shall be final.
12. Extension Provision in the Ph.D. Programme
i. If any candidate who has received confirmation for the Ph.D. programme fails to submit
her/his thesis within the stipulated FIVE years (from the date of enrolment) she/he may seek
for ‘Extension’.
ii. Only ONE year extension will be given to the candidate if the Doctoral Advisory Committee
(DAC) and Research Advisory Council (RAC) are satisfied by the progress of the thesis work.
Candidate has to submit her / his thesis within the extension period without paying any
extra fees.
iii. The full time Ph.D. scholars may receive scholarship during fifth year period for the first SIX
months. Further extension to the scholarship will be subject to satisfactory progress of the
doctoral work.
iv. Under no circumstances, doctoral fellowship to full time students will be extended beyond
FIVE years.
v. If the candidate is not able to submit her / his thesis during the extension period, her / his
enrolment from the Ph.D. Programme will be cancelled automatically.

13. De-Registration from the Ph.D. Programme

i. If any candidate who has received confirmation for the Ph.D. programme fails to submit
her/his thesis within the stipulated FIVE years (from the date of enrolment) she/he may
apply for the ‘Deregistration’.
ii. Candidate who has been granted extension for the submission of Ph.D. thesis will not be
permitted to avail the facility of Deregistration.
iii. Candidate willing to apply for Deregistration has to send her / his request for deregistration
in writing through Supervisor to the Programme Director. Deregistration will be allowed
only when the Director approves the recommendation of the Chairperson (Research).
iv. Any Deregistered candidate may Re-register herself/himself within FOUR years from the
date of Deregistration after payment of the registration fee of Rs. 1,25,000. In addition to this,
the candidate availing the option of De-registration would be required to pay Annual Fee of
Rs. 10,000/- for use of various databases/journals available in IIFT library.
v. During the Re-registration of a deregistered candidate, she/he has to furnish the following
documents
- Deregistration Certificate
- Confirmation Certificate
- Re-registration Fee Payment Certificate
vi In case of deregistration, the, candidate has to submit her/his thesis within FIVE years from
the date of Deregistration. Failing to do so, her/his enrolment from Ph.D. Programme will
be cancelled automatically.