PhD Programme is divided into three stages. These are:

Stage I: Ph.D. Course work
Ph.D. course work at the Department of Policy Studies aims to equip scholars with the necessary research and analytical skill sets. Ph.D. Course work is governed by the ‘TERI School of Advanced Studies Ph.D. Regulations-2019’ (and its subsequent amendments) and UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Awards of M.Phil./Ph.D. Degree) Regulations, 2016 (and its subsequent amendments).

Ph.D. Course work structure and requirement
A minimum of 8 credits and a maximum of 16 credits will have to completed by the Ph.D. students in order to complete their course work. Some courses are mandatory in nature and some are prescribed by the Department Research Committee (DRC)/ Centre Research Committee (CRC) on the recommendations of the Student Research Committee (SRC). The Ph.D. course work must be completed within the first two semesters of joining the programme.
Every Ph.D. student must take the following mandatory courses.
a) Research Methodology – 3 Credits (Credit only course)
b) Research and Publication Ethics - 2 Credits (Credit or audit course)
c) Philosophy of Social Science- 3 Credits (Credit or Audit course—based on the recommendations of SRCs)
d) Quantitative Research Method – minimum of 2 Credit course from the list of quantitative methods course as prepared by the DRC^*

Ph.D. students can opt for ‘Communication Skills’, as a non-mandatory course. Students can also opt for other courses related to their area of research, based on the recommendation of the SRC and approval of DRC.

Stage II: Research proposal defense and research work
• A student will be permitted to appear for defending his/her research proposal only after he/she has completed the Ph.D. course work as decided by the SRC.
• As a part of the research proposal defence, a draft research proposal must be prepared in the prescribed format by the student in consultation with the Supervisor(s).
• The Supervisor will schedule the research proposal defence.
• After a satisfactory defence, the student will submit his/her final research proposal and related documents to the DRC with due approval from the Supervisor. The final research proposal must be submitted to the DRC within a period of 24 months from the date of registration to the Ph.D. programme.
• During the Ph.D. programme, the student shall appear before the SRC at least once in each semester to make a presentation of the progress of his/her work. This process will continue until thesis submission.

Stage III: Thesis submission
A Ph.D. student may submit his/her thesis, in the prescribed format, at any time provided that he/she has completed the minimum period of registration and he/she has completed the course work requirement as prescribed by the DRC on the recommendations of the SRC with a requisite CGPA and has also successfully defended his/her research proposal.^** Prior to the thesis submission, the student should submit a synopsis document, duly approved by the SRC, and should make a presentation in the Department (to the DRC). He/she should also have the requisite publication/s, as specified in the ‘TERI School of Advanced Studies Ph.D. Regulations-2019’ (and its subsequent amendments).