MD/MS thesis rules under NMC’s PGMER-2023
Under the National Medical Commission’s Post-Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023 (PGMER-2023), every MD and MS student must do thesis-related research and write a thesis. At the final exam it carries 20 of the 400 clinical/practical and viva marks, awarded by an external examiner from outside the state for the quality of the thesis and your viva on it. The regulation sets no page limit, format or submission date: those come from your university.
Is a thesis compulsory for MD and MS?
Yes. Clause 5.2(iii) of PGMER-2023 reads:
“All broad-speciality and super-speciality students will do thesis related research and will write thesis.”
Broad-speciality means MD and MS; super-speciality means DM and MCh. The NMC notified the regulation on 29 December 2023, and it was published in the Gazette of India on 1 January 2024. It replaced the Post-Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000, which clause 11.3 repealed.
Sources: NMC, PGMER-2023, clauses 5.2(iii) and 11.3; NMC, FAQs on PGMER-2023 (2024), covering notice and FAQ 10.
How many marks is the MD/MS thesis worth?
Twenty. The thesis is marked inside the clinical/practical head of the university’s final (summative) exam.
| Clinical/practical head | Marks |
|---|---|
| Clinical or practical examination | 280 |
| Dissertation/thesis | 20 |
| Viva voce | 100 |
| Total | 400 |
An external examiner from outside the state evaluates the thesis and takes a viva voce on it, and the marks reflect both the quality of the thesis and how you answer. To pass this head you need 200 of the 400 marks. The panel has at least four examiners, at least two of them external, and at least one from a university outside the state.
Sources: NMC, PGMER-2023, clause 8.2 and the MD/MS evaluation criteria in chapter VIII; NMC, FAQs on PGMER-2023 (2024), FAQ 6.
What must you complete before the MD/MS final exam?
Besides the thesis, PGMER-2023 sets these conditions for sitting the final exam.
- Research methodology. An online course, taken by registering on the portal of the designated training institution and expected in the first year. Its online certificate is mandatory (clause 5.2(xi)).
- Ethics. A course in ethics, including Good Clinical Practice or Good Laboratory Practice as relevant, run by your institution or university and expected in the first year (clause 5.2(xii)).
- Cardiac life support. A course in Basic and Advanced Cardiac Life Support skills, run by your institution and expected in the first year (clause 5.2(xiii)).
- A presentation or a paper. At least one of: a poster presentation or a podium presentation at a national, zonal or state conference of your speciality, or one research paper published or accepted for publication in a journal of your speciality, as first author (clause 5.2(x)).
The NMC’s FAQs add that the ethics and cardiac life support courses apply to every postgraduate student admitted from 2021 onwards, and that your college’s Academic Cell designs and runs them. The free exam eligibility checker walks through the full PGMER-2023 list.
Sources: NMC, PGMER-2023, clauses 5.2(x) to 5.2(xiii); NMC, FAQs on PGMER-2023 (2024), FAQs 8 and 9.
Does the NMC set a page limit, format or deadline for the thesis?
No. PGMER-2023 does not mention a synopsis, a page limit, a layout, a referencing style, a plagiarism check or a submission date for the MD/MS thesis. Each of these comes from your university, through its regulations and notifications.
- A rule quoted from the old PGMER-2000 is no longer an NMC rule. Where your university applies a similar rule, it does so through its own regulations, and those are what you follow.
- For DNB, NBEMS sets these details itself, down to word limits for each part of the protocol and an 80-page ceiling for the thesis. See DNB thesis guidelines.
Source: NMC, PGMER-2023, the full text, read on 1 October 2026.
What does PGMER-2023 say about thesis work on animals?
Animal experimentation stays part of the postgraduate curriculum in physiology and pharmacology, with non-animal, human-relevant methods encouraged wherever possible. If animals are used in research or thesis work, biomedical ethics and the rules framed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, must be strictly followed.
Source: NMC, PGMER-2023, clause 10.2.
When are MD/MS final exams held?
Your college conducts the formative exams and your university the summative (final) exam. A university may hold no more than two examinations a year in a subject, between 4 and 8 months apart, and the theory exam is held well before the clinical or practical exam, where the thesis is examined.
Source: NMC, PGMER-2023, clauses 8.1 and 8.3.
Read next: How DNB differs: DNB thesis guidelines · The order of the work, with dates: thesis timeline
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See conference support →Questions residents ask
Is a thesis compulsory for MD as per NMC?
How many marks does the MD thesis carry?
Does the NMC fix the page limit of an MD thesis?
Is a paper or poster compulsory for the MD final exam?
More thesis guides
- Thesis timelineTopic, synopsis or protocol, ethics approval, data, analysis and submission, in order, with the fixed NMC and NBEMS dates.
- Choosing a topicHow to pick a thesis topic you can finish: feasibility, sample size and the FINER test.
- DNB thesis guidelinesNBEMS protocol word limits, the 180-day and 26-month deadlines, the 80-page layout, and how DNB differs from MD/MS.
- Writing chapter by chapterWhat goes in each chapter of an MD/MS thesis, from introduction to references.
- Which statistical testChoosing the right test for each objective, and how to report it.
- Thesis vs dissertationThesis, dissertation, synopsis, protocol, IEC approval and CTRI registration: what each term means.
Sources
Every rule on this page comes from the official documents below, read on 1 October 2026. AuraPharmLab is independent and is not affiliated with the NMC, NBEMS, ICMR or any university. Rules and dates change: check the latest notice, and your university’s own regulations, before you submit.
- National Medical Commission. Post-Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023 (PGMER-23). Notified 29 December 2023; published in the Gazette of India on 1 January 2024. nmc.org.in
- National Medical Commission, Post Graduate Medical Education Board. Clarification on PGMER-23: Frequently Asked Questions. Public notice F.No. N-P016(11)/2/2023-PGMEB-NMC, 10 April 2024. nmc.org.in
- National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences. Guidelines for Thesis Protocol & Thesis Submission. The current version on the NBEMS Digital Thesis Processing Portal (file dated April 2022). natboard.edu.in