Check Your PhD Supervisor in Pakistan: HEC No Longer Awards Approved Supervisor Status

Short answer: HEC no longer awards the "HEC Approved Supervisor" status. It stopped after the Graduate Education Policy 2023, dated 10 July 2023. Universities now approve PhD supervisors themselves under Clause 4.2 of the policy. A supervisor can guide at most five PhD students at the same time.

A PhD student in Lahore or Karachi often asks one question in the first month: is my supervisor on the HEC approved list? The honest answer is that HEC's "Approved PhD Supervisors" page now holds one notice and no list. The old award has ended.

We read that HEC page, the HEC notification dated 22 December 2023 and the Graduate Education Policy 2023 on 14 October 2026. This is for students who are choosing a supervisor or already have one. It is not legal advice, and your university's own rules still apply.

HEC stopped awarding the approved supervisor status in 2023

HEC's own page says the commission "has discontinued awarding HEC Approved Supervisor" after the Graduate Education Policy 2023 was promulgated on 10 July 2023. The policy itself says it applies from Fall 2023. A notification to vice chancellors on 22 December 2023 repeats the decision.

The same notification says the change gives universities, called higher education institutions in the text, more power to approve their own PhD supervisors. It also says HEC is working on a way to sync supervisor data with its Higher Education Data Repository.

Old approvals last until the date on the award letter

The policy says supervisors approved before it came in stay approved until the date on their award letter. New PhD holders go through the university route instead. So a supervisor with an old HEC letter is fine until that letter runs out, but a newer one will not have such a letter at all.

Ask for the date. If a supervisor says "I am HEC approved", it is fair to ask when the award letter expires. If the answer is vague, ask the university's graduate office for the supervisor's eligibility checklist.

Clause 4.2 sets the rules universities must follow

A PhD supervisor must hold a PhD, be relevant to your field, have no conflict of interest and have time to give clear feedback. They should mainly be regular or adjunct faculty at your university. Their PhD must come from an HEC-recognised university, and the policy says they should get the chance to qualify in a supervision course.

Allocation of a supervisor should happen from the date of enrolment, according to the policy. If months pass without one, raise it in writing with your department.

Workload and publications show if a supervisor qualifies

After two years from the PhD, a supervisor can take one PhD student in the third year, two in the fourth year and up to five from the fifth year. Publication rules also apply. In science and technology, the supervisor needs one W-category paper in three years or five X-category papers in five years.

For social sciences, arts, humanities and business, the policy asks for one W-category paper in three years, or five papers in X and Y journals in five years. For regional and national languages, it asks for one X-category paper in three years, or five in X or Y in five years. W, X and Y are HEC journal categories.

1. Ask the department for the supervisor's eligibility checklist.
2. Ask how many PhD students the supervisor already has.
3. Check the supervisor's PhD year and recent papers.
4. Check each journal's category in the HEC journal system.
5. Put any doubt in writing to the graduate office.

What to do if the university is not following the rules

If your university allots a supervisor who does not meet the clause, tell the department first, in writing. If that fails, a student can use the HEC portal to file a complaint against a university. Keep emails and the enrolment letter as proof.

A PhD also needs other HEC checks. Joint and dual programmes need an NOC, covered in how to check a dual, double or joint degree. After you graduate, read how to get your degree attested by HEC. If you need funding in the middle of your PhD, see the HEC US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor PhD scholarship or the DAAD PhD route to Germany.

The same policy also governs other parts of graduate study, for example comprehensive exams and dissertations. We read only the supervisor clauses for this piece.

Common questions

Does HEC still keep a list of approved PhD supervisors?

No list appears on HEC's page. It carries only a notice that the award was discontinued.

When did HEC stop approving supervisors?

HEC's page says after the Graduate Education Policy 2023 was promulgated on 10 July 2023.

Who approves PhD supervisors now?

The university or degree awarding institution does, following Clause 4.2 of the policy.

How many PhD students can one supervisor have?

The policy says not more than five at the same time.

Is an old HEC approval still valid?

The policy says it stays valid until the date on the supervisor's award letter.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

Last checked on 14 October 2026, Pakistan time. We read the HEC Approved PhD Supervisors page, the discontinuation notification and the Graduate Education Policy 2023. We did not check any university's own supervisor rules, which can be stricter than the policy.