IIT Palakkad MS (by Research) Admission 2026 (Jan)

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Palakkad invites applications for MS (by Research) admission in various disciplines for January 2026 Session.

Eligibility Criteria

The minimum educational qualifications for admission to the MS (by Research) degree are as follows:

• Candidates with a four year Bachelor’s degree a in Master’s Engineering/Technology/Sciences/Architecture/Planning or degree in sciences with a valid GATE score in relevant discipline.
• Candidates with a good academic record, having memberships in professional bodies, approved by the MoE/UGC/AICTE, are also eligible for admission to the MS (by Research) programme of their parent discipline provided they have a valid GATE score and have passed both part A and part B of the membership examinations.
• Candidates who have qualified for the award of four year Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/Technology/Sciences/Architecture/Planning from a Centrally Funded Technical Institute (CFTI) with an exceptionally good academic record in an eligible discipline provided he/she has a minimum CGPA of 8.0 (7.5 for OBC-NCL/GEN-EWS and 7.0 for SC/ST/PwD) on a 10.0 point scale.
• Candidates with a four year Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/ Technology/ Sciences or a Master’s degree in sciences are eligible to apply for MS (by Research) “Project-NHTRA” category and will be funded by a project administered via ICSR. The candidate applying under this category does not need to have a valid GATE score to pursue MS, provided the funding agency for the project has no requirement of GATE for hiring of staff under the project. Such candidates are not eligible for HTRA funding under any circumstance.

Research Areas Available for Admissions in January 2026 under “Project-NHTRA” category

Exceptional applicants meeting the appropriate criteria are eligible to apply for MS (by Research) admission under “Project-NHTRA” category in the following department/centre only.

• Electrical Engineering (Area: Signal Processing and Imaging and Control and Robotics)
• Biological Sciences and Engineering (Area: Diagnostic Sensor Device Development)
• Mechanical Engineering (Area: Thermo-fluids Engineering)
• Civil Engineering (Area: Water Resources Engineering)

Institute staff members or Research Scholars under External Registration

• For MS/PhD Research Scholars in these categories, the minimum educational qualifications are the same as prescribed for full time research scholars. However, a valid GATE score or CSIR / UGC JRF or Lectureship / NBHM or equivalent qualification as applicable for regular full time research scholars shall not be required in these cases.
• Candidates who are sponsored by and employed in the parent industry/organisation having R&D facilities and recognized by DSIR (or IIT Palakkad, or from national laboratories and CFTIs are only eligible for MS (by Research)/PhD under external registration category. List of Scientific and Industrial Research Organizations (SIROs) Recognized by DSIR is available in this link.
• List of institutions other than CFTIS, DSIR recognized organizations and National Laboratories, recognized by IIT Palakkad for external registration are available in brochure.
• Research scholars under the category will normally carry out part or all of his/her research work in the industry / organization / national laboratory employing the scholar under the supervision of a co-guide employed in the same organization and a guide at IIT Palakkad. The co-guide should have a PhD degree in Engineering/Technology, in the absence of which a research coordinator belonging to the parent organisation should be designated.

Selection Procedure

• Eligible candidates possessing the minimum educational qualifications and satisfying additional and stiffer criteria set from time to time, will be called for an interview and/or test by the Selection Committee.
• If you are shortlisted, you will be required to submit a statement of purpose (SOP) in support of your application in about 500 words in pdf format.
  • SOP should list research areas in the order of preference.
  • SOP should not exceed 500 words.
  • SOP should be submitted in pdf format.
• The applications of foreign nationals may be considered with or without a personal interview / test.
• Based on the academic record and the performance of the candidates in the interview and/or test, the Selection Committee will recommend to the Chairman, Senate the names of candidates found suitable for admission.

Financial Assistance

Assistance will be as per MHRD norms. Fulltime Scholars admitted to M.S. and Ph.D. programare eligible for the Half-time Teaching/Research Assistantship (HTRA) for which:

1. They should work for 8 hours per week for the Institute to earn this assistantship. The work would normally involve assistance in teaching/research, and will be assigned by the Institute.
2. Renewal of assistantship every semester will be contingent on enrolment, satisfactory progress in research work and good performance during the preceding semester in the discharge of responsibility as teaching/ research assistant.

Other scholarships like UGC- JRF, CSIR-JRF, ICMR, ICAR & AICTE etc. may also be available for those who have qualified for these schemes and get admission and the amount of fellowship will be as per the norms of the funding agency.

Application Process

• Application form is available online.
• Kindly go through the information brochure before applying.
• Create an account in the portal.
• Please check your email for the welcome email.
• Log in with your email and password.
• Click on “Programs” > Choose “MS” or “PhD”.
• Click the “Apply” button against the MS/PhD program that you wish to apply.
• Fill personal details.
• Fill qualification details.
• Enter the details of your GATE/UGC-NET/Other National Level Test scores
• Upload the required documents. If you do not possess a valid category Certificate (due to current situation), please fill the enclosed undertaking and upload the same in PDF format.
• Verify the data in profile using “Preview” and do the final submission if everything is okay.
• Make the payment.
• Download application after successful payment.

• Advertisement to Appear: 15 October, 2025
• Application Portal Opens: 15 October, 2025
• Last date for submission of application online: 2 November, 2025
• Shortlist to appear: On or before 14 November, 2025
• Interview dates: 4 December, 2025 to 12 December, 2025
• Selection list to appear: Before 16 December, 2025
• Date of Joining: 1 January, 2026

• Information Brochure
• Application Form
• IIT Palakkad Website