MPhil, MS not mandatory for admission in PhD, announces HEC chairman

ISLAMABAD: Higher Education Commission (HEC) chairman Tariq Banuri announced on Wednesday that HEC has introduced new PhD policy and has discontinued ‘MS/MPhil leading to PhD’ programmes.

“HEC has abolished the condition of having an MS or MPhil degree for admission to PhD,” Tariq Banuri said while addressing a presser at the HEC office in Islamabad.

He said that HEC had received a lot of complaints regarding the new PhD policy, but “now universities will have to strictly follow the rules of the doctorate programmes.”

HEC’s new PhD policy

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) in its newly announced PhD policy has discontinued ‘MS/MPhil leading to PhD’ programmes and restricted the universities with less than 10 years existence from starting specialised PhD programs.

According to the policy document on PhD effective from January 1st 2021, MS/MPhil leading to PhD programmes have been discontinued by the HEC, and as previously notified, no further admissions are allowed in such programmes.

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The maximum duration of a Ph.D. degree will be eight years, with the minimum being three years. Similarly, the proposed policy said the previous qualification in the same discipline shall not be required for admission to the Ph.D. program.

Here’s HEC’s new PhD policy