UPES

The position of Head of Department (HoD) or Associate Professor in universities like UPES School of Design can be held without a PhD under certain exceptional cases mentioned below:

Exceptions of UGC Guidelines: UCG guidelines permit those with experience in the relevant field and having given so much to the discipline to also become faculty as it is not mandatory for them to have a PhD. This holds more ground in professional or design disciplines, where experience is more precious than qualification.

A legacy appointment was made before these rules came into effect-based requirement for the Ph.D. stipulated by the UGC effective July 2023.

Qualification Equivalence for Design Disciplines: In several creative and applied sectors such as design, institutions will award qualifications such as a master's and a wealth of professional experience the place a candidate may hold, having undergone evaluation on eligibility for such reference standings.

Institution Autonomy: UPES being a private university under Indian laws, enjoys certain autonomy with regard to recruitment. The university is expected to follow UGC norms but is very flexible in recruiting a high-profile industry professional as faculty, which is what design education normally relies on.

If you seek clarification on certain cases, UPES is available for contact or you could look up faculty recruitment policies and profiles to understand what guidelines are invoked during the recruitment of faculty of the School of Design.

As per the decree of the University Grants Commission (UGC), starting July 2023, possessing a Ph.D. is mandatory to hold an appointment in Assistant Professor capacity in any Indian University.

Subscribing to UGC guidelines, UPES has its own set of faculty recruitment policies. For example, one of the recruitment notifications at UPES that are released recently for the Professor position reads: "the candidate must possess a Ph.D. in the concerned domain with an excellent academic track, covering research work and publications".

UPES does not publish details regarding the qualifications of all current faculty members, but the university claims that it follows UGC norms while recruiting them. To get the most authentic and the latest information, it is best to contact UPES directly or visit the university's website.

The University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES) follows the norms set by the University Grants Commission (UGC) for the engagement of external examiners in Ph.D. programs of the university. The rules in the Ph.D. programme of the university state that there are two external examiners for a thesis, and one of them must be from a foreign country. External examiners would usually be professors or associate professors in a deemed or recognised university.

There are no explicit provisions for fairly appointing external examiners for undergraduate and postgraduate programs, including that of the School of Design, available in public documents. However, the university has provisions for adherence to UGC guidelines, which also maintain a code of conducts that encourage the acts of ethical behavior and compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

UGC guidelines do not necessarily mention the provision of excusing external examiners from states other than the one for purposes of conducting end-semester examinations in undergraduate and postgraduate programs. It is entirely institution dependent.

For the actual and detailed examination system and appointment of external examiners in UPES School of Design, it is best to directly inquire with the university's examination or academic affairs office. 

UPES School of Design ranks up the list in design schools in India, with mixed review benefits like good facilities, modern infrastructure, and industry-oriented programs. The interdisciplinary education and strong ties to industries afford good advantages. However, some students raise concerns about high fees and below-average job placements compared to other highly renowned design schools such as NID, NIFT, or Srishti.

Whether or not you can fit into a design school depends quite a lot on what you expect from it in terms of career aspirations, monetary allowance and expectations. Take time to look at the curriculum, faculty, alumni feedback and placement records at UPES if you want to know about it. Compare it with other institutions to know if it is the one that you wish to be in.