Shahjalal University of Science and Technology Graduate Admission

Graduate

Introduction

The graduate program consists of Masters (General), Masters (Thesis), M. Sc. (Engg), Masters of Philosophy (M. Phil) and Ph. D. degrees.

• A graduate program may also be offered by a discipline in some specified field in collaboration with other disciplines.
• Any student with (i) 4 year Bachelors degree (ii) 3-year Bachelor and 1-year Masters Degree or (iii) 5-year Bachelor of Architecture degree from a recognized university is eligible to get admitted into the graduate program at SUST.
• Notification for the admission process will be published every year.
• After admission every student will be assigned to a student advisor/supervisor from the teacher of his/her discipline to guide him/her throughout the academic program.

Qualification

Masters and M. Phil

• Any student with a Bachelors degree from SUST is eligible for admission to the Masters (General) Program.
• Any student with a CGPA of 3.25 or more from SUST is eligible for admission to the Masters (Thesis), M. Sc (Engineering) or M. Phil Program.
• Four-year Graduates from other recognized universities and institutions can apply for admission to the Masters (Thesis), M. Sc (Engineering) or M. Phil Program.
• Any student registered for Masters (General) or Masters (Thesis) may transfer to the M. Phil. program, offered by the relevant discipline, if he/she can maintain a CGPA of 3.25 or more during the first two semesters.
• The GSC of a discipline will decide if a student from a related discipline will be allowed to apply to the graduate program of that discipline. In these cases if necessary the GSC may ask the candidate to take extra under-graduate/graduate courses to ensure the basic foundation.

Ph. D.

• Candidates with Masters (Thesis) or M. Phil Degrees are eligible for application for Ph. D. and will be selected after a written and/or viva voce examination and the proper evaluation of academic records by the GSC.
• A Masters (Thesis) or a M. Phil student may be transferred to the Ph. D. program after the completion of first two semesters with a CGPA 3.25 and the recommendation of his/her supervisor  certifying satisfactory progress of research work and with the approval of the GSC and BAS.
• The following candidates are eligible for direct admission to Ph. D. if they have a CGPA of 3.25 or more at Bachelors and Masters Level and 3.00 or equivalent in all public examinations (i) University teachers with two years teaching experience and one publication in standard academic journals. (ii) Teachers of colleges with three years of teaching experience and one publication in a standard academic journal (iii) Researchers of recognized research organizations with three years of research experience and at least three publications in standard academic journals.

Admission

Masters and M. Phil

• If a SUST graduate has the required qualifications he/she can be admitted to the Masters program (General, Thesis or Engineering) as per the recommendation of the GSC.
• The candidates for Masters (Thesis and Engineering) and M. Phil will be selected for admission after a written and/or viva voce examination conducted by the GSC. Full time teachers of SUST are not required to sit for the admission test. GSC will then recommend the candidates for admission to the academic council through the BAS. During the process of admission each candidate shall be assigned by the appropriate GSC and approved by BAS a supervisor from among the teachers of the relevant discipline/institute not below the rank of an associate professor or an assistant professor with a Ph. D.

Ph. D.

• A candidate for admission to the Ph.D. degree program will apply in the prescribed form to the head of the discipline or the director of institute along with the recommendation from possible supervisor(s). The supervisor must be of the rank of professor or associate professor.
• After approval from the GSC, the application will be forwarded to the BAS for the approvals of the supervisor and co-supervisors (if any).  Each candidate shall have not more than two co-supervisors, one co-supervisor may be from outside SUST. After careful scrutiny of the research proposal BAS will send it to the Academic Council for final Approval.
• If necessary a change of supervisor must also be approved by the BAS and the Academic Council.

Registration

• Every selected candidate will be registered with the University and enrolled as a full time or if allowed, part time student with payment of prescribed fees and dues before the commencement of each semester.
• A candidate may be admitted or change his status into part time student with prior approval of the university and a written consent from the serving organization. A part time student may be assigned a minimum of 6 credit hours per semester.
• A full time student must register for a minimum of 12 credits hours per semester. A full time student shall not be allowed to be employed as a part time employee in other organizations. However he/she may be employed as teaching/research assistant at the University. A Ph. D. candidate shall have to be a full time student for at least one year during his/her Ph. D. work
• The registration for the Ph. D. degree will remain valid for a period of four years, and can be renewed for a further period of two years.

Academic Regulations

Duration:

The minimum duration for the Masters, M. Sc. (Engineering), M. Phil  and Ph. D. degrees will be as followed: 
 

Degree	Duration of Completion	Required Credits
Masters (General)	2 Semesters	24
Masters (Thesis)	3 Semesters	36
M. Phil / M.Sc. (Engg.)	4 Semesters	48
Ph. D.	8 semesters	96

Credit Requirement:

For the graduate program a full time student has to register for at least 12 credits each semester. For course work 1 credit means one hour of contact hour per week and for research or project work 1 credit hour means at least three hours per week. A student will be allowed to take theoretical course and research work simultaneously. Once the course requirement is completed, for the research work a graduate student has to register for “independent study” as credit/no-credit basis to fulfill the 12 credits per semester requirement.

Course Requirement

• Syllabus committee for the graduate program will be comprised of the GSC members and two external members from other universities nominated by the Dean.
• Every year the syllabus committee will design the graduate level courses for the respective disciplines and recommend the courses for approval of the Academic Council through the School and BAS. GSC can review the curriculum from time to time and recommend any change to the syllabus committee as may be considered necessary.

Masters and M. Phil

Every Masters (general, thesis and engineering) and M. Phil student has to complete at least 16 hours of theory course work during the first two semesters. GSC will propose the required courses to the students with consultation of respective supervisors.

Ph. D.

The GSC may suggest courses, if felt necessary, for the Ph. D. students.

Research Work Requirement:

• Research work for thesis shall be carried out under the supervision of the supervisor. Co-supervisors from within or outside the discipline / Institute may be appointed, if necessary. The topic of research proposal shall be approved by the BAS after the completion of the required course credits within six months/one year for M. Phil/Ph. D. on the recommendation of the Head of the Discipline/Institute. A Ph. D. student must submit a progress report of his work to the supervisor(s) at the end of the every semester who will present it to BAS.
• The Ph. D. student will give at least one public seminar talk conducted by GSC at the Discipline / Institute every year on a topic of his own field of research.
• The research work must be carried out in this University or at a place approved by the supervisor in consultation with the GSC.

Conduct of Examinations

Course Examination:

The examination committee will conduct the course examinations as per the examination ordinance of graduate program.

Thesis Submission

• The title of the thesis has to be approved by the BAS on the recommendation of the Head of the Discipline / Institute. For Masters/M. Phil it has to be done at least three months and for Ph. D. it has to be done at least six months before submitting.
• Every student shall submit to the supervisor required number of type written copies of his thesis in the approved format on or before a date to be fixed by the Head of the Discipline/ Institute in the consultation with the supervisor concerned.
• The student shall declare that the research work was done by him/her and has not submitted elsewhere for other purpose (except for publication)
• The thesis should demonstrate an evidence of satisfactory knowledge in the field of research undertaken by the student.

Masters Thesis Examination:

There is no thesis requirement for Masters (General). The project (if any) and the thesis for Masters (Thesis) and will be evaluated as per the examination ordinance of graduate program.

M. Phil / M. Sc. (Engg) Thesis Examination:

Thesis Evaluation:

• The academic council will, on the basis of the suggestion of the GSC and recommendation of the BAS, appoint for every thesis an examination committee consisting of two examiners of whom at least one shall be from outside this University.
• The examiners of thesis will either accept it or reject it for the degree and then individually and separately submit one copy of their reports in sealed covers to the controller of examination and another copy to the GSC Chairman. The majority decision will be considered as the final result.
• If a thesis is adjudged inadequate for the award of the degree, the candidate will be allowed to resubmit his thesis within six months. If the candidate fails to resubmit or the thesis is adjudged  inadequate again  the examiners may recommend Masters (general) degree and the controller of examination will place such recommendation before the BAS for the approval of academic council.

Oral Examination and open presentation:

• The GSC in consultation with the supervisor shall suggest, to the Vice Chancellor through BAS, a committee of three members for oral examination consisting of: (i) Convener: Thesis supervisor (ii) A Professor in relevant field from outside the University  (iii) One of the thesis examiners.
• If any examiner is unable to accept the appointment or has to relinquish his appointment before / during the examination, the Vice-Chancellor shall appoint another examiner in his place as per the recommendation of GSC,
• After the oral examination the convener will send a consolidated report to the controller of examinations stating clearly whether the award of the degree is recommended, who will in turn place it to BAS for the approval of the Academic Council.
• In case a candidate performs unsatisfactorily in oral examination even though the thesis is adjudged adequate the examiners may recommend to the Academic Council that the candidate may be permitted to appear at another oral examination within six months from the first oral examination. No candidate shall be allowed to appear at the oral examination of the same thesis for more than two times.

Recommendation for degree:

After completion for the viva-voce examination, the convener of the viva examination committee will send a consolidated report, stating clearly whether the award of the degree is recommended, to the Controller who will in turn place it to BAS for the approval of the academic council.

Ph. D. Thesis Examination

Thesis Evaluation:

• The academic council will, on the basis of the suggestion of the GSC and recommendation of the BAS, appoint for every thesis an examination committee consisting of three examiners of whom one shall be the supervisor and the other two from outside this University and at least one from a university from abroad
• One of the three examiners will be appointed by the academic council as the convener of the examination committee..
• The examiner of thesis will individually and separately submit one copy of their reports in sealed covers to the controller of examination and another copy to the convener. Every examiner will have to explicitly state whether the award of the Ph. D. degree is recommended or not. The recommendations of all the three examiners must be explicit, unambiguous and unanimous for the award of the degree.
• If a thesis is adjudged inadequate for the award of the Ph. D. degree, the candidate will be allowed to resubmit his thesis after six months with proper modification. If the candidate fails to resubmit or the thesis is adjudged  inadequate again the examiners may recommend the award  of M. Phil or M. S. degree and the controller of examination will place such recommendation before the BAS for the approval of academic council.

Oral Examination and open presentation:

• On receipt of the unanimous opinions of the examiners, the convener shall fix a date and a venue and suggest, to the Vice Chancellor through BAS, a committee of three members for oral examination consisting of the convener, supervisor/co-supervisor and a thesis examiner. At least one of them has to be from outside the university.
• If any examiner is unable to accept the appointment or has to relinquish his appointment before/during the examination, the Vice-Chancellor shall appoint another examiner in his place as per the recommendation of GSC.
• In case a candidate is unable to satisfy the viva voice Board even though the thesis is adjudged adequate the Board may recommend to the Academic Council that the candidate may be permitted to appear at another oral examination after a lapse of six months from the first oral examination. No candidate shall be allowed to appear at the oral examination of the same thesis for more than two times.

Recommendation for degree:

After completion of the viva voce examination, the convener will send a consolidated report to the controller of examinations stating clearly whether the award of the degree is recommended, who will in turn place it to BAS for the approval of the Academic Council.

.

Award of the degree

Masters

Students will be awarded his/her degree as per the recommendation of GSC chairman after the completion of his required credits.

M. Phil and Ph. D.

The vice chancellor shall place the reports of the Oral Examination committee for consideration of the academic council  which shall recommend to the Syndicate for the award of the degree.

A hard copy of the thesis accepted by the academic council incorporating any correction and changes suggested by the examination committee shall be preserved in the central library of the university and the corresponding electronic version shall be preserved in the archive