Objectives of the Course

The Department offers Ph.D. Programme in Library and Information Science. The programme is interdisciplinary and carries a comparative perspective, enhancing the quality of research. The Ph.D. coursework is a prerequisite to continue with the programme and aims at facilitating research students joining the programme from 2015–2016 onwards to understand the essentials of quality research.

The course further aims to familiarize the perspectives, pedagogy, and their implications in various areas of investigations. The course aims at developing the following skills:

• Investigation
• Evaluation
• Reasoning
• Comprehension
• Analysis
• Writing
• Editing, Proof Reading and Designing

Major Research Areas in Library and Information Science

Marketing of LIS Products, Cataloguing, History of Libraries in India and Information Systems, Library, Information and Society, Library Cataloguing, ICT Applications in Libraries and Information Activities, Content Development, Library Classification, Bibliometrics, Scientometrics, Altmetrics, Webometric studies, Public Library System, Designing and evaluation of Websites, Web-OPACs, e-journals, Social Networking Sites, Mobile Library Services, Text Mining, Developing Thesaurus, Artificial Intelligence and Libraries, etc.

Duration: As per the Ordinance-VI of the University of Delhi.

Intake: As per the yearly vacancies, please refer to the Bulletin of Information, Admission to Ph.D. Programme.

Admission Procedure

1. Admission to Ph.D. Program of University of Delhi is governed by the Ordinance VI of the University, its Amendments, and other notifications issued by University of Delhi from time to time in this regard.
2. Admission to all Ph.D. Programs are done on the basis of the eligibility criteria and procedures specified by the University on its website, Ph.D. Bulletin of Information (Refer to the current year on the university website). Before initiating the registration process, the candidates must read the contents of Ph.D. Bulletin of Information  and consult the University of Delhi Act, 1922, its amendments, and the Statutes. The Ordinances, Rules, Regulations, and Notifications of the University of Delhi available on the University website, www.du.ac.in shall be final and binding.

3. Admissions to Ph.D. Program 2025-26 will be based on : 

   i. Gazette Notification, University Grants Commission (Minimum Standard and Procedures for Award of Ph.D. Degree) dated 07th November, 2022 (Annexure-I) 

   ii. University of Delhi Notification; Sub: Amendments to Ordinances, September, 2023 (Annexure-II) iii. Notification Ph.D. Admissions 2025-26 dated: 19.08.2025 (Annexure-III)

4. For the academic session 2025-26, the Ph.D. registration portal may be opened more than one time in an academic year. 5. For admission to Ph.D. program for the academic session 2025-26, the scores of NET Examination conducted in December 2024 and June 2025 will be considered.
5. Candidates are advised to check the admission website (www.admission.uod.ac.in) of the University and the website of the respective Department for all communications and updates related to admissions. University of Delhi will not be responsible for a candidate's lack of awareness of the admission guidelines, schedule, eligibility criteria, and Ph.D. admission rules. It is the sole responsibility of the candidate to keep checking the dashboard, email and admission websites of UoD regularly. Grievances resulting from lack of reading/consulting this Bulletin and information published/uploaded on the website of the University and/or Departments time to time will not be entertained.
6. Admission to all Ph.D. in Library and Information Science is done online through the University’s portal.
7. Admission of the candidates for Ph.D. Program is based on the suitability of specific specializations and is also subject to fulfilling all other conditions laid down in the respective Ordinances of the University of Delhi.
8. Interview is mandatory for all Candidates. Interview will be done only in physical mode at the respective department. The candidate is advised to make necessary arrangement for travel well in advance. No TA/DA/Accommodation will be given for attending the Interview
9. A candidate shall provide details of the Research Proposal on the admission portal for seeking admission to the Ph.D. Program. Candidate must go through:
   • Annexure-IV: Requirement of Research Proposal
   • Annexure-VI: Eligibility for admission to Ph.D. Program
   • Annexure-VIII: Major Areas of Research offered by Department

Research Proposal is mandatory for the Ph.D. Programme of the Department of Library and Information Science.

Candidates must visit the Department website (http://dlis.du.ac.in) regularly. The decision of the Departmental Research Committee (DRC) of the Department shall be final.

Note: For further Ph.D. admission-related information, please refer to the Ph.D. Bulletin of Information (refer to the current year on the university website). 

Admission Procedure for Foreign Students

The Admission Committee on individual merit will consider applications of international students. International students seeking admission to Ph.D. programme in the Department of Library and Information Science are required to apply directly to the Foreign Students’ Advisor, Foreign Students’ Registry, Room No. 11, First Floor, Conference Centre, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007.

They will arrange their admission to the Department. International students stationed in India who have passed the last examination from the Board/University in India may seek admission based on merit and other students may seek admission after obtaining a No Objection Certificate from the Foreign Students’ Advisor.

Procedure for Admission: Interview.

Candidates seeking admission to the Ph.D. programme will have to apply online. For more details about the Ph.D. programme, please refer to the Bulletin of Information, Admission to Ph.D. programme.

Ph.D. Course Work

As per University Ordinance-VI and new guidelines, the research scholars who were provisionally registered under the Ph.D. Programme from 2015–16 onwards will have to undergo a Ph.D. Course Work.

PhD Course Work

The Ph.D. Coursework shall comprise one semester (i.e. six months) in which there shall be three compulsory papers (See the below Courses of Study).

Medium of instruction: English. (b) Each paper will be of 60 hours of instruction/studies per week. (c) The student shall be evaluated at the end of the semester. Total marks for Ph.D. Course Work is 300 (Paper-I 100 marks, Paper-II 100 marks, and Paper-III 100 marks). Pass marks are 50% on each paper.

Suppose a student cannot complete a course with 50% marks. In that case, the student shall be allowed to reappear only once in the examination in the subsequent academic year (As per the University Ordinance-VI).

(d) The final research proposals will be presented before the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) and reported in the DRC within the period prescribed by the Ordinance-VI.

(e) The minimum attendance required during the Course Work period is not less than 75% of the total classes.

Courses of Study for Ph.D. Course Work

Core Courses (Compulsory):

• Course – I: Research Methodology 
• Course – II: Research Tools, Statistics & Data Analysis 
• Course – III: Research and Publication Ethics 

Elective Course: 

Course – IV: Choose any one of the following options:

• Course – IV (a): Education for Library and Information Science
• Course – IV (b): Scholarly Communication & Research Evaluation
• Course – IV (c): University and College Library System
• Course – IV (d): Library Planning and Management
• Course – IV (e): Digital Library Management System
• Course – IV (f): Digital Archive Management System

(a) The topic and the other details of the Ph.D. for each candidate shall be finalized by the DRC. Other rules in this regard shall be as given in Ordinance-VI about the Ph.D. programme.

(b) The Thesis shall be submitted only when the supervisor concerned is/are satisfied that the Thesis is worthy of consideration in partial fulfilment of the Ph.D. degree, provided that the Head of the Department concerned shall also countersign the application for submission of the Thesis.

The Thesis may include results of original research, a fresh interpretation of existing facts and data, or a review article of a critical nature, or it may take other forms as determined by the DRC.