University of Calicut PhD thesis format

What does Calicut University prescribe for PhD thesis format?

Not much, compared with most universities. There is no thesis manual. The typing rules come from a Research Council decision approved by the Academic Council on 30 March 2022 and issued as U.O. No. 9330/2022/Admn; later orders added the Shodhganga rules.

The only font size Calicut fixes is for the references. Nothing we read sets the typeface, size or spacing of the main text, the margins or the paper size. Most Indian theses use A4 paper, 12 pt type and 1.5 line spacing, with extra room on the binding edge; treat that as your supervisor’s call, not a Calicut rule.

The citation style is a preference (“preferably”), not a requirement. If your discipline uses MLA or Chicago, agree it with your supervisor and RAC and apply it consistently. A Malayalam thesis, under Item 6 of the same order, is a permission you apply for, not a default.

What must a Calicut PhD thesis contain?

Calicut does not publish a model thesis or a fixed order of preliminary pages. What it does fix is a set of items that must be inside the bound volume:

• A certificate from your supervisor, signed and sealed, and your signed declaration, in both the hard copy and the soft copy (U.O. No. 13780/2023/Admn, 7 September 2023).
• The declaration in the current format (circular No. 93933/RESEARCH-C-SO/2023/Admn, 9 January 2024). It names the software used for the plagiarism check at CHMK Library, states that the similarity index is within the permissible limit, and ends: “I also declare that the thesis is free from AI generated contents.” You and your supervisor both sign it. Read our guide to AI tools in a PhD before you sign that line.
• Abstracts in English and Malayalam, one page each, in both copies (U.O. No. 13780/2023/Admn). The order says five keywords “may be given”; the CHMK Library checklist makes them compulsory, so add them.
• A “Recommendations” chapter. U.O. No. 8621/2022/Admn (16 April 2022) makes it compulsory after the Shodhganga team at INFLIBNET said it would not host theses without one. It can be short: what should be studied next and who could use your findings.

The abstract rule has a wrinkle. Clause 8.4 of the Regulations 2023 says “a two page abstract of the thesis should be included in the thesis.” The 2023 order asks for a single page in each language. The two can be read together as one page in English plus one in Malayalam (the CHMK Library checklist asks for abstracts in both languages), but ask your research centre which reading it applies.

Take the Malayalam abstract seriously even if your thesis is in chemistry. A circular of 2 March 2026 (No. 39470/RESEARCH-C-SO/2026/Admn) says “serious errors” were noted in Malayalam abstracts of theses put to the Syndicate for the award of the degree, and directs supervisors to verify them thoroughly. Don’t rely on machine translation for technical terms.

For page order, the nearest thing to guidance is the CHMK Library’s split-file list: title page, preliminary pages (declaration, dedication, certificates, acknowledgements, lists), contents, abstracts, chapters, then bibliography and appendices. That is a file list, not a rule. Our thesis structure guide covers how chapters are usually organised.

What similarity limit does Calicut accept for a PhD thesis?

10%, and at Calicut it applies to the core chapters as well as the rest. The current Certificate on Plagiarism Check, the form linked from the Final Thesis page, splits the thesis into two parts and sets an acceptable maximum of 10 for each:

• Non-core: introduction, theoretical overview, review of literature, materials and methods, methodology.
• Core: analysis, results, discussion, summary, conclusion, recommendations.

This follows U.O. No. 12218/2023/Admn (4 August 2023), which adopted the UGC’s 2018 plagiarism regulations in place of the university’s older policy, and U.O. No. 927/2024/Admn (18 January 2024), by which the Academic Council ratified that change. The older policy allowed 25% or 35% in the introduction and literature review and 25% in materials and methods, with 10% only for results onwards. If a senior tells you the review chapter can run at 25%, that was the old rule.

The full report, showing what was included and excluded, is attached to the certificate. You, your supervisor and the person who ran the check sign it, and the head of the department or institution signs as chairperson of the Doctoral Committee, certifying that the committee compared the report with the thesis. For Malayalam and other languages no software can check, the Doctoral Committee does a manual check and attaches an additional certificate.

What the documents don’t say: which software CHMK Library uses, and how long a certificate stays valid. Ask the Library. For the UGC bands and exclusions, see our plagiarism limits guide.

How is the PhD thesis submitted at Calicut University?

Before you submit

Clause 8.3 of the Regulations 2023 asks for at least one paper in a UGC-CARE-listed journal and two conference or seminar presentations, with reprints and certificates. The paper must name the University of Calicut (circular of 26 October 2022). See our publication requirement guide.

Then comes the pre-submission presentation in the department (clause 8.2). You may hold it before three years are up but can submit only after three years from registration. The title is finalised before it (clause 8.2.1), and since title-change orders stopped on 29 July 2023, the pre-submission minutes must state any title the RAC changed. Our pre-submission seminar guide covers preparation.

What goes to the Directorate

The checklist on the Final Thesis page lists 25 items. The ones that affect the thesis itself:

• Two copies of the thesis, with a third kept by you and submitted only if asked for.
• The thesis PDF by email to [email protected]. A CD or DVD is no longer needed for the Directorate (circular of 13 November 2023).
• The synopsis as a PDF only, four pages at most, also by email. Our synopsis guide will help you cut.
• A panel of at least ten examiners, none below Associate Professor, five from outside Kerala (not insisted on for Malayalam), none from Calicut or its colleges. Clause 8.6 of the regulations would also allow experienced Assistant Professors; the checklist is stricter, so follow it.
• The plagiarism certificate, no-dues certificates from the department, hostel and CHMK Library, attendance statements for the last two years, and a challan for the fee, which is ₹6,790 from 1 June 2026.

Your supervisor and two external examiners evaluate the thesis, with a third if one report is unfavourable (clauses 8.5 to 8.7). Scholars registered from 13 December 2016 until the 2023 regulations took effect remain under the 2016 regulations (clause 15.1), but the format orders above apply to every thesis submitted now.

What does CHMK Library need for Shodhganga?

A separate set. Clause 16.1 of the Regulations 2023 has the university send an electronic copy to INFLIBNET after evaluation and before the degree is announced, and CHMK Library handles it. Its checklist (on library.uoc.ac.in) asks for:

• A bound copy of the full thesis, and printed abstracts in the thesis language and in Malayalam, each with five keywords.
• A CD with the full thesis as PDF/A, no larger than 15 MB, identical to the printed copy and with all signatures, plus the signed no-correction certificate, the abstracts, the synopsis, the plagiarism certificate and your ORCID iD. All files must be Unicode (UTF-8).
• Chapter-wise PDFs of under 2 MB each, with fixed file names: 01_title.pdf, 02_prelim pages.pdf, 03_content.pdf, 04_abstract.pdf, 05_chapter 1.pdf onwards, 10_annexures.pdf, 80_Recommendation.pdf and 90_Plagiarism_Report.pdf.

So the CD survives here even though the Directorate dropped it. The 15 MB limit is the one that bites: a thesis full of photographs or maps needs its images compressed, and the PDF must still match the print. Sort it out with the first PDF, not after the viva.

To delay public access for a patent or book, the Embargo Policy (U.O. No. 1675/2026/Admn, 31 January 2026) lets you apply through the Directorate with your supervisor’s and RAC’s endorsement; INFLIBNET decides, and the title and abstract stay public. See our Shodhganga guide.

Calicut PhD thesis checklist before printing

Each item comes from a Calicut order, circular or checklist named above. Layout details that are not on it, such as margins and heading styles, are agreed with your supervisor.

• Printed on both sides, avoiding plastic in any form in the thesis and synopsis.
• References set in 10 or 11 pt with single line spacing, in one consistent style (Harvard, Vancouver or APA unless your RAC has agreed another).
• A chapter titled Recommendations is present.
• A one-page abstract in English and a one-page abstract in Malayalam are bound in, with five keywords, and your supervisor has read the Malayalam version line by line.
• The declaration follows the January 2024 format, names the software used at CHMK Library, and includes the line that the thesis is free from AI-generated content.
• The supervisor’s certificate is signed and sealed, and both it and your declaration appear in the hard copy and the PDF.
• The plagiarism certificate shows 10% or less for both non-core and core chapters, carries the Doctoral Committee’s verification, and the report is attached.
• The PDF is PDF/A, Unicode and identical to the printed copy page for page, with bookmarks (suggested, not required).
• Two bound copies are ready for the Directorate, a third is kept aside, and the thesis PDF, synopsis PDF (four pages at most) and panel of examiners are ready to email to [email protected].
• The CHMK Library set is ready separately: bound copy, abstracts, the CD with the full thesis under 15 MB, and the chapter-wise split files under 2 MB each.

Our thesis formatting service can make references, headings, numbering and PDF bookmarks consistent before you print. We touch presentation only; the research and writing remain yours.