Academic Setup

Academic Calendar

An academic year comprises two regular semesters of sixteen weeks each, and an eight-week summer school. The duration of two regular semesters and summer school will be as under:

Fall: August to December.
Spring: January to May.
Summer: June to July.

The last week of a semester is allocated to the final examinations. There is normally a mid-semester break in a semester.

Duration of Studies

Students have to complete their entire degree requirements within the following time-limits:

Normal Duration: 4 years
Maximum Duration: 6 years

Faculty Advisors

All students are assigned to faculty advisors. The advisors develop plans of study for them, monitor their records, and guide them on all academic matters.

Examinations Office

The Examinations Office works under the supervision of Controller of Examinations. This office is responsible for preparing time tables and date sheets, holding of semester’s examinations, maintenance and compilation of results, issuance of result cards, transcripts, certificates and degrees.

Credit Hour System

The credit hours assigned to a theory or a laboratory course are determined by the contact hours allocated to it per week throughout a semester. For a theory course one credit hour is equivalent to one contact hour of lecture per week, and for a laboratory course, three contact hours of practical work per week constitute one credit hour.

Semester Credit Load

Students can normally register for 15-18 credit hours in a semester. No exception to this upper limit is allowed to freshmen. However, in later years this limit may be relaxed depending on the student’s CGPA and LSGPA, and with the approval of the Dean. Under all cases the maximum limit remains 21 credit hours.

Degree Requirements

For a Bachelor degree a student must earn 134 to 135 credits, depending upon his faculty. At the time of graduation the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) should not be below 2.00.

Curriculum Components

The major academic components of the Bachelors degree programs are described below:

• FOUNDATIONAL COURSES IN ENGINEERING SCIENCES
  Courses in physics, chemistry, mathematics and introductory engineering are common for students of all faculties before they move on to the major courses of their own faculty. The aim of these courses is to provide thorough grounding in the basic principles and analytical skills essential for studies in specialized areas of engineering.
• MANAGEMENT SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES COURSES 
  Common courses in English language, social sciences and management are required for all students. They are meant to inculcate in the students an awareness of our history and culture, to help them cultivate aesthetic and moral dimensions of their personalities and to equip them with communicational and managerial skills.
• FACULTY COURSES
  Students are required to take a number of core and elective courses of their own faculty which are listed in the academic programs of each faculty.
• INTER-FACULTY COURSES
  Students are required to select some courses offered by faculties other than their own. Such courses aim at providing broader base to their studies, and widening their awareness of allied fields, which impinge on their areas of specialization.
• TECHNICAL ELECTIVES
  Students are also required to take a number of advanced technical courses. To fulfill this requirement, they may choose additional courses in their own field of specialization, select a second area of specialization, or select advanced courses from some different fields. Each faculty offers a number of advanced courses in different fields.
• FINAL YEAR PROJECT
  In the final year, students have to do a project, which is assigned 6 credit hours. They may consult their faculty advisors for the selection of the project. Students are encouraged to undertake projects that are of interest to industry or to government departments. They are expected to complete their projects and present their reports by the end of the eighth semester before the final examination.
• SUMMER INTERNSHIP
  Every student has to participate in a practical training program of eight week during the summer of junior year and submit a formal written report about it. GIK is among the few institutes in Pakistan that arrange for an internship for its students by requesting reputed organizations and companies all over Pakistan and some Multinational companies to take up their undergraduates for the Summer Internship Program.

Course Codes

The courses are identified by the course numbers, which consist of two or three letters and three digits. The first two or three letters represent the major field; the first digit indicates the year in which the course is offered; the next digit the broad area of the course; and the last, the sequence number of the course offered in the same area in the same year.

Student Evaluation

Students are evaluated via mid semester tests, home assignments, quiz tests, case studies, lab reports, vivas and the end-of-semester examination. The weight allocated to them depends upon the discretion of the teacher. Usually, the end of semester examination carries 50% weightage of a course.

Grading System

Depending upon academic performance, students are awarded grades A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, F, I, W for each course. These grades indicate the following levels of performance.

Each grade is assigned Grade Points per Credit (GPC). The following table indicates the gradation from excellent to failure.

I and W grades are not counted in calculation of GPA. The academic standing of a student is referred as grade point average (GPA) which is the ratio of the total number of grade points earned to the total number of credits attempted. The maximum possible GPA is 4.00.

The minimum semester GPA to remain in satisfactory academic standing is 2.00. Students are placed on academic probation at the end of any semester in which their semester GPA falls below 2.00. A student on probation is allowed to register only 10-13 credit hours.

A student whose semester GPA remains below 2.00 for two consecutive semesters is given a warning for his/her poor performance. If his/her SGPA remains below 2.00 for two consecutive semesters (excluding summer school) his/her name will be removed from the roll of the Institute. Freshmen, upon request, may start afresh with no credit transfer if two consecutive probations are experienced in very fist two semesters. 

Registration Schedule

Students have to register for their courses during the period specified for the purpose before the commencement of a semester. The office of the Controller of Examinations before the start of every semester will notify the registration deadline. Requests for late registration for valid reasons can be entertained by the Pro-Rector (Academic) till the end of the third week of a semester. However, such students are requried to pay late fee per day.

Registration in Summer

An eight week summer session is organized each year for those students who fail to qualify in a course or have obtained a D or D+ grade. The courses offered in the summer are decided by the respective Dean’s office keeping in view the number of students interested in taking a particular course. Students have to pay separately for registering in a summer course. The maximum limit for registration is 8 Credit Hours.

Double Degree Program

Graduates of the Institute desirous of obtaining a degree in discipline other than the previously earned degree can apply afresh for a separate Double Degree Program. They would be required to spend additional two or four semesters in the Institute to complete the requirements of a Double Degree. The students have to do a separate project for a Double Degree. The acceptance in the Degree Program and details of the requirements are worked out by the respective Dean’s office and communicated to the office of the Controller of Examinations.

Attendance Rule

Although the students are encouraged to attend all the Lectures and Laboratories work pertaining to their courses of study but are required to attend at least 80% of the total Lectures/Lab work for each course to qualify for appearance in the final examination.

Change In Courses

Once registered for a semester, students may add or drop courses only with approval of their Deans and in conformity with the prescribed procedures and time-limits. Courses dropped during this period are not shown on the semester result.

Withdrawal From Courses

Students may withdraw from one or more courses with the approval of their Dean between the 4th and 10th week of a semester. In such cases, a W grade appears on their transcripts. Any withdrawal after the 10th week entails award of an F grade in the course.

Incomplete (I) Grade

An I grade is given to students in a course if:

• They could not appear in the final examination due to valid medical reasons.
• They do not complete its requirements within the prescribed time-limits, and the instructor is convinced that it was because of circumstances beyond their control, and that only a minor component of the course is outstanding.

The outstanding requirement, in such cases, is to be met during the first two weeks of the next semester, and the students themselves are responsible to make arrangements for the purpose with their instructors. Failing this, the I grade is converted to F grade. They cannot re-register for a course in which they have the I grade. The grade point average of a student for a semester is calculated excluding the I grade, and it is re-calculated when a regular grade has been awarded in the course.

Repeating Courses

Courses in which students secure F grade, and which are a requirement for the degree have to be repeated in entirety. They may opt for a substitute course only if there is an alternative in the curriculum. Students can repeat courses for which they obtained D+ or D grade, on the condition that they repeat the courses within 3 semesters after the semesters in which they obtained these grades. In case of repeated courses, all grades achieved by students appear in their transcripts. However, only the latest grade will be counted for the Cumulative Grade Point Average, even if it is lower than the earlier one.

Interruption Of Studies

If a student interrupts his study programs for a period longer than one semester then, upon his return, all the credits previously earned by him at the Institute are evaluated by the Dean to determine their relevance to the changes made in the curriculum, if any. He may be required to modify his degree plan to ensure conformity to the latest version of the curriculum.

Institute-Industry Partnership Programme

The recent advancement in science and technology has led to the crumbling of the traditional geo-cultural barrier and the whole world has been transformed into a single global market. This is a challenging situation for the developing countries like Pakistan who have to ensure for survival that their industries and production systems are globally competitive.
Pakistan is yet to respond adequately to this challenge and has to gear up to cope with the situation. One major input in this respect can be a close liaison between industry and the pool of expertise in our universities and research organizations. The Institute has taken the initial steps in this direction by establishing the partnership program.
Under the program the Institute invites industry to participate at various membership levels. The membership provides flexible and tailored access to students, faculty, research, publications, seminars, workshops, and conferences. Corporate Liaison Program is designated to serve as the firm’s personal representative ensuring that the interactions between the member firm and Institute are as productive as possible. Recruiting assistance is provided to member firms in addition to computerized database of undergraduate and graduate students seeking permanent, summer, or co-operative job opportunities. Graduate fellowships are also available for support. The liaison provides campus-wide visibility and access to resources of the GIK Institute.

Continuing Education Programme

The last few decades have witnessed a vertiginous pace of advancement in almost all fields of science and technology. The galloping technological advancements have created a host of socio-cultural dislocations and prominent amongst them is the rapid obsolescence of the know-how of technologists and engineers. What they had learnt at schools or universities becomes antiquated within years of the commencement of their practical careers. It poses new challenges for technical universities and creates new role for them.
The Institute has responded to this need and established a Continuing Education Program for the purpose. Under this program a faculty committee is assigned the task of surveying national industries for identification of their need for updating of technical personnel, and to apprise them of the expertise available at the Institute. The program was inaugurated in summer 1995 with intensive short courses for engineers and managers from industries. The Institute is now offering intensive courses on a number of subjects to managers, supervisors and engineers from public and private sector industries and organizations.