i). The PhD dissertation must be evaluated by:
a). At least two external experts who shall be:
ii. PhD faculty member from the world top 500 universities ranked by the Times Higher
Education or QS World Ranking in the year corresponding to dissertation evaluation year OR
iii. Pakistan-based Distinguished National Professors, Meritorious Professors from any national
university; or professors from top universities ranked by HEC; or professors from any Pakistani
University having a minimum H-Index 30 for Sciences, 15 for Social Sciences or 8 for Art &
Humanities as determined by Web of Science.

OR
b. At least one external expert qualifying any one of the conditions mentioned at ‘a’ above if the
PhD candidate publishes dissertation research in a peer-reviewed journal that is classified by the
HEC in category W for Sciences and X or above for Social Sciences.