IISER Pune PhD Humanities and Social Sciences Admission 2026 (Jan)
Full details for IISER Pune PhD Humanities and Social Sciences Admission 2026 (Jan).
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune invites application for PhD Humanities and Social Sciences Program for the academic session starting from January 2026.
Vacancy
Only those faculty members whose names are given below will accept students through this round of PhD admissions. Therefore, before applying, applicants should check this carefully to ensure that areas of their interest are available for admissions in this round.
- Bejoy K Thomas
- Ecological Economics, Development Studies, or closely related areas
- Pushkar Sohoni
- History, History of Architecture, or closely related areas
Research areas are not restricted to any specific disciplinary background. Applicants are welcome to work across disciplines.
Eligibility Criteria
1A.The applicant should have a minimum of 60% aggregate marks or CGPA of 6 on of a 10-point scale (55% or equivalent CGPA in aggregate for SC/ST and PD candidates) in their Master’s (MA/MSc/MPhil/BS-MS) Degree, in subjects including Sciences, Anthropology, Archaeology, Economics, History, Philosophy, Sociology, allied disciplines and interdisciplinary areas. Applicants from Architecture, Engineering/Technology, and Medicine are eligible after a Bachelor’s degree (minimum four years).
Additionally, the candidate MUST have qualified in any ONE of the following exams with any science or humanities/social sciences subject:
- National Eligibility Test (NET) with valid* CSIR-JRF / UGC-JRF
- CSIR-UGC NET-LS (from examination conducted during the year 2023 and 2024)
- NBHM/GATE with a valid* score.
*The score/rank MUST be valid at least till January 01, 2026.
OR
1B.BS-MS/Masters students from any of the Institutes of National Importance with major in one of the subjects mentioned above with a CGPA 8 or above on a10-point scale are exempted from national-level test eligibility criteria.
Candidates in the final year of qualifying degree are also eligible to apply. However, their final selection is subject to their successful completion of the qualifying degree with the above-mentioned requirements at the time of admission i.e. on January 01, 2026.
Selection Procedure
Based on application form and the above listed criteria, applicants will be shortlisted for an interview. The shortlist will be based on a two-page research plan in addition to the above requirements. Candidates selected for the interview will receive a separate email to appear for the interview at the IISER Pune campus. Selection will be based on interviews of the short-listed candidates.
Only online applications are accepted. Incomplete applications will be rejected. Applying does not automatically guarantee that a candidate will be shortlisted for interview. The department may use additional criteria in order to shortlist candidates for interviews depending on the number of applications received.
Important Dates
- Application Start Date: October 3, 2025
- Last date for Application submission: 05.00 PM, October 15, 2025
- Tentative Date of Interview: 3 November 2025