The program will educate, train and mentor scholars with curious and investigative minds to learn advanced concepts, techniques and methodologies through courses and especially practical research work and mentoring. The knowledge and research skills thus gained can open a multitude of opportunities in academia, industry and research organizations both locally and internationally. A trained PhD scholar has a multitude of opportunities where he can apply his expertise to solve applied research problems. Teaching and research sectors are the main markets that employ PhD degree holders apart from public sector research and development organizations that require the skillset of a PhD to solve complex problems related to the national interest. It will be pertinent to mention here that a PhD is a path adopted by a few individuals, especially in engineering and qualified PhDs in the field of mechanical engineering are in limited supply. Therefore, there is good market potential for a degree holder and in future, it is expected that the demand for PhD graduates will increase both at the national and international levels. As an example, the recent accreditation visits to various universities across Pakistan have identified a lack of PhD faculty and recommended the hiring of PhD faculty. The vision of HEC of 100% PhD qualified faculty in the university will also increase the employability of PhD graduates.

In addition, there is a growing need to integrate and employ more PhDs in the local industry to boost the innovation, technology and quality of the local manufacturing industry. This might create opportunities soon as the race for technology adaptation and upgradation will require advanced knowledge with an innate research aspect to compete in the global market.

A student has to fulfill the residency requirement of at least 02 years at the university. The timeline of various milestones is defined in the table given below.

• Activity Preferred Time Limit (by the end of) Maximum time Limit (by the end of)
• Course Work2nd Semester 3rd Semester
• Comprehensive Exam3rd Semester 5th Semester
• Synopsis Qualification4th Semester 6th Semester
• Thesis Submission7th Semester16th Semester

1. A PhD scholar shall cease to continue his/her studies if he/she fails to complete 18 Cr. Hrs. coursework within four regular semesters with at least 3.00/4.00 CGPA.
2. The PhD degree shall be awarded after a minimum of three (3) years and not more than eight (8) years after the enrolment of the student; provided that for students who are unable to complete the program within eight (8) years, the university may designate a competent authority to determine whether the delay was caused by circumstances beyond the student’s control, and if so, grant an extension in such exceptional circumstances; however, in no event shall the PhD degree be awarded more than ten (10) years after the enrolment of the student in the program. The date of notification of the award of the PhD degree subsequent to the PhD defense shall be considered to be the date of the completion of PhD studies.