SPPU (Savitribai Phule Pune University) PhD thesis format

What does SPPU prescribe for PhD thesis format?

Everything SPPU fixes about the look of the thesis sits in one clause, 10.12, on page 18 of the annexure. It is short. The table has all of it.

A few things in that list deserve a second look.

Both sides. Plenty of binders in India still print theses on one side out of habit. The amended ordinance says both sides, so tell the binder before the first page is printed.

Only the left margin is given. 1.5 inches on the binding side, and nothing about the top, bottom or right. With double-sided printing, the binding edge is on the left for odd pages and the right for even pages, so ask your binder whether to set mirrored margins in Word. Most Indian theses use about 1 inch on the other sides. That is common practice, not an SPPU rule.

“Whenever necessary”. Clause 10.12 opens by saying the final thesis “shall be presented in accordance with the following specifications whenever necessary”. We read that as referring to the printed copy (the soft copy needs no cover card), not as permission to ignore the list. Don’t test it.

References. No house style. Clause 10.12(f) says to use the standard referencing style of your discipline, so APA in psychology and management, IEEE in engineering, and so on. Pick one with your supervisor and apply it to every entry.

What must go in the front pages of an SPPU thesis?

The ordinance names four items for the front of the thesis, in three clauses:

• Title page (10.12(e)): title, your name, the degree, your research supervisor’s name, the place of research, and the month and year of submission. The same details go on the front cover. A co-supervisor’s name may be added to both.
• Your undertaking that there is no plagiarism as per UGC regulations (10.4(a)).
• Your supervisor’s certificate attesting that the thesis is original and was never submitted for a degree or diploma elsewhere (10.4(b)). Clause 10.4 says both of these “shall be part of the thesis and be included before Index page”.
• A certificate of the research supervisor and a declaration by you that the work is your own and material from other sources is acknowledged (10.14).

Clauses 10.4 and 10.14 overlap. You can meet both with one supervisor certificate and one candidate declaration, provided each carries the wording of both clauses. Ask your research centre whether it has a template; that is simpler than drafting your own.

The ordinance does not give an order for the rest: abstract, acknowledgements, contents, lists of tables and figures, abbreviations. Put the certificates and declarations before the contents page (the ordinance’s “Index page”) and follow the usual sequence for everything else. Our thesis structure guide sets out that sequence and how chapters are normally divided.

What similarity limit does SPPU accept?

10% or less. Clause 10.15 says: “It is mandatory to check for plagiarism as per UGC regulations, ensure that it is less than or equal to 10%, and submit the certificate for the same.”

The ordinance names no software. Clause 10.3 only says each research centre must have “a mechanism using well-developed software applications to detect Plagiarism”. Many Indian universities now use DrillBit, which INFLIBNET has supplied through its ShodhShuddhi programme since October 2023, but confirm with your research centre or the Jayakar Library which tool and which exclusions (bibliography, quotes, small matches) they apply. The number can move by several points depending on those settings. Our DrillBit guide explains how the report is read.

Three separate papers are involved, and scholars mix them up:

1. Your undertaking that there is no plagiarism, bound into the thesis (10.4(a)).
2. Your supervisor’s originality certificate, also bound in (10.4(b)).
3. The certificate of the similarity check itself, submitted with the thesis (10.15).

SPPU’s 10% sits at the strict end. Several universities accept higher figures for some sections or disciplines; the plagiarism limits guide compares them with the UGC’s 2018 levels. Since the ordinance says “as per UGC regulations”, self-plagiarism from your own published paper counts too. Cite that paper in the chapter that reuses it.

When can you submit the synopsis and thesis at SPPU?

The sequence below comes from clauses 2.1, 8.7 and 10.8 to 10.13 of the amended ordinance.

1. 1

   Finish course work

   Pass the course work with at least 55% (or the equivalent grade on the UGC 10-point scale) within the first two years. You cannot submit the thesis without it (clause 8.7).

2. 2

   Publish one paper

   At least one research paper in a Scopus or UGC-CARE listed journal, following SPPU’s own publication guidelines (clause 10.10).

3. 3

   Pre-submission seminar

   At least three months before thesis submission, arranged by the Head of your Place of Research on your request, endorsed by your supervisor. Not before 36 months from registration (clauses 2.1 and 10.8).

4. 4

   Submit the synopsis

   Within one month (thirty days) of the seminar, through your supervisor, to the P.G. Admission Section. Your supervisor sends the list of recommended referees at the same time (clauses 10.8(3) and 10.9).

5. 5

   Submit the thesis in soft copy

   No earlier than two months and no later than six months after the synopsis, online to the P.G. Admission Section, with an acknowledgement from your supervisor and the Head of the Place of Research (clauses 10.9, 10.11 and 10.13).

6. 6

   Submit the hard copy

   After you have made any changes the referees ask for, and before the viva (clause 10.13).

Some dates in that sequence are firm. The synopsis cannot go in before 36 months from registration (10.8(1)), and clause 2.1 says pre-PhD presentations are allowed only after three years. The synopsis should contain an introduction, a chapter-wise brief account of the work, and overall conclusions. For drafting it, see our synopsis format guide, and the pre-submission seminar guide covers the presentation.

The fine is where the text is untidy. Clause 10.8(4) says late submission is allowed up to one year from the synopsis “or till the expiry of the registration period, whichever is earlier”, on payment of “the prescribed fine”. Clause 10.9 then fixes that fine at ₹1,000 a month after six months, and says that after one year you present the synopsis again. The two clauses agree if you read them together, but note the “whichever is earlier”: if your registration expires in month eight, month eight is your deadline. Clause 10.8(4) also says that a scholar given an extension has to submit a synopsis again, and that your registration must be valid on the day you submit.

Now a worked example, with made-up dates. You submit the synopsis on 10 January. You can submit the thesis from 10 March without a fine, until 10 July. From then until the following 10 January you pay ₹1,000 a month. After that, a fresh synopsis.

The publication requirement (10.10) is one paper in “Scopus, UGC CARE list journals”, and SPPU says its own publication guidelines, posted on its website, apply as well. If you are unsure what counts as a CARE-listed journal now, read our UGC-CARE guide.

What happens after you submit an SPPU thesis?

Your supervisor and at least three external examiners evaluate the thesis (10.5). The externals are experts not employed within SPPU’s jurisdiction, and wherever possible one comes from outside Maharashtra or outside India. The viva goes ahead if at least two of the three recommend acceptance after any corrections they ask for. If two recommend rejection, the thesis goes to two alternate examiners, and if they also do not recommend it, the thesis is rejected (10.6). SPPU says it will try to finish the whole evaluation, viva result included, within six months of submission (10.7). “Will try” sets a target rather than a fixed deadline.

The viva may be online or offline as the university circular decides, and the Head of the Place of Research must notify the day, time and place at least fifteen days in advance (11.1). The panel is your supervisor, one external examiner and a chairperson (11.2). The viva is open to the Research Advisory Committee, faculty, research scholars and other interested researchers (10.5), so expect an audience.

After the evaluation and before the degree is announced, the P.G. Admission Section sends the thesis to SPPU’s Jayakar Library online. The library prepares the metadata and submits the electronic copy to INFLIBNET, which hosts it (18.1 and 18.2). That is the Shodhganga deposit, although the ordinance does not use the name. Clause 18.2 speaks of the library receiving the thesis “in the format suggested above”, so the soft copy you submit is the one that ends up public. See our Shodhganga guide for what that means for you.

What does the SPPU ordinance leave out?

Quite a lot, for a thesis format. If someone tells you “SPPU requires Times New Roman 12”, ask to see the circular. Amended Ordinance 186 is silent on:

• font and font size, and heading styles;
• top, bottom and right margins;
• page count or word limit for the thesis;
• the number of hard copies (clause 10.13 says “the hard copy”, singular);
• the language of the thesis;
• page numbering, and the order of preliminary pages beyond “certificates before the index page”;
• the file format or size of the soft copy, and the “prescribed format” clause 10.11 refers to;
• the plagiarism software and its settings.

For each of these, your research centre or department usually has a habit, and your supervisor knows it. Get their answer in writing (an email is enough) so the agreed settings are on record when you bind.

A note on older scholars. Clause 16 says degrees for candidates registered from 11 July 2009 up to the date the regulations were notified are governed by the UGC 2009 regulations with Circular 217/2014, or the UGC 2016 regulations with Circular 17/2017, and then adds that candidates “already registered and pursuing Ph.D.” are governed by these regulations or the 2016 ones. Which applies to you is not clear from the text. Ordinance 186 was first notified by Circular No. 113 of 2025 on 25 April 2025, so if you registered before that date, ask the P.G. Admission Section in writing. For thesis format it matters less than you might think: most scholars will find it easiest to follow clause 10.12 anyway.

SPPU PhD thesis checklist before submission

Every item below traces to Amended Ordinance 186. Anything else is your research centre’s call.

• Printed on A4, both sides, at 1.5 line spacing; left margin 1.5 inches.
• Title page and front cover carry the title, your name, the degree, your supervisor’s name, the place of research and the month and year of submission.
• Black hard-bound cover on card of 330 GSM or less; the spine reads “Ph.D. thesis” at the top, then your name, then the month and year.
• Your plagiarism undertaking and your supervisor’s originality certificate are bound in before the index page.
• The supervisor’s certificate and your declaration (work done by you, other sources acknowledged) are in the thesis.
• The similarity check shows 10% or less, and you have the certificate for it.
• You are between two and six months from synopsis submission, or you have paid the late fine, and your registration is still valid.
• The hard copy includes every change the referees asked for.

Need margins, numbering and references tidied before the pre-submission seminar? We can handle the layout through our thesis formatting service, without touching your argument or findings.