Part-time law PhD enrolment on the rise as lawyers, aspiring academics embrace flexible courses

Twenty-five-year-old Kanika Bansal has been practicing law and even working as legal advisor for private companies in Uttar Pradesh. With the aspiration of getting into academia, she has recently enrolled in a part-time Phd programme in Amity University, Noida. It enables her to complete her coursework on weekends.

Over the years, the number of students opting for part-time PhD in law at universities have been rising. It is not just aspiring academics – practising lawyers too are increasingly enrolling in these flexible doctoral programmes.

An analysis of the PhD data from the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) reveals that in some private universities, part-time PhD enrolments now outnumber full-time students.

Part-time PhD: Increasing enrollment

The data was analysed from the central/state and private universities ranked among the top 100 in NIRF’s law category.

While national law universities also offer part-time PhDs, their numbers are modest compared to the regular enrolments.

Source: NIRF ranking data

A closer look at the data reveals consistent growth in enrolment across nearly all universities.

The most dramatic jump has been for Symbiosis Law School Pune where the numbers increased to 42 in 2023-24 from just 4 the previous year. That same year, full-time PhD enrolment stood at 3.

Similarly, at Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, 40 students were enrolled in part-time PhD in 2022-23, compared to 33 full-time students. The year after, part-time numbers stood at 47, and full-time a little higher at 49.

Another interesting trend is that the increase in part-time enrolments has steadily outpaced that of full-time ones. For instance, at Manipal University part-time PhD numbers in 2022-23 and 2023-24 were 25 and 34, respectively. Enrolment in the full-time programme the same two years were 12 and 22, respectively.

Shefali Raizada, director, Amity Law School, Noida, said, “These days research criteria and procedures pertaining to PhD are very stringent and scholars are adding value through their research papers in scopus index and other journals. Part-time PhDs add value and equally contribute towards knowledge at the same level as full-time ones. So the outcome of both is the same.”

While part-time PhDs are allowed, the Bar Council of India does not allow part-time courses in law at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

PhD in Law: A flexible alternative

Bansal, who is in her first semester of the course, works in Ghaziabad. Her PhD thesis is on misleading advertisement in digital platforms, and the regulation framework.

“I do not get time during the week. Such flexible options are very helpful. On weekends, I have classes from 9 am to 6 pm. However, the supervisor clears our doubts on weekdays as well,” said Bansal.

Anubha Gupta has completed her course work. She is an assistant professor at OP Jindal Global University, teaching corporate law.

Her PhD thesis is on Blockchain Technology in financial transactions and explores the laws in India and if there is a need for them. She wants to get into policy making, but feels completing her PhD will keep her option to work as a visiting faculty open.

Part-time PhD fees

However, private universities charge significantly higher fees for part-time PhDs – typically Rs 20,000-25,000 higher than the full-time programme.

Sagar Patel, a practising lawyer, thinks it is important that central and state universities start providing such flexibility. He has just enrolled for a part-time PhD at Nirma University, Gujarat.

“The NLUs do provide part-time PhD but not everyone can get into it. So public universities should also have the option,” said Patel, who has been a lawyer for over six years.

PhD admission in national law schools varies with a number of entry requirements. Many require junior-level candidates to complete two semesters residency but for senior levels, residency is exempted. Six years is the maximum time provided to complete the PhD thesis.

Central Universities like Jamia Millia Islamia, Aligarh Muslim University, Delhi University do not offer part-time PhD programmes.