Indian Institute of Mass Communication PhD Admission 2025-26

The Indian Institute of Mass Communication, a Deemed to be University under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, invites online applications from eligible candidates for admission to the Ph.D. Programme (Academic Year 2025-26).

Eligibility

• Candidates who have completed
  • A one-year/two-semester Master’s Degree Programme (after a four-year/eightsemester Bachelor’s Degree) Programme in Journalism and Mass Communication and allied disciplines.
  • Or A two-year/four-semester Master’s Degree Programme in Mass Communication/ Journalism and/or related field after a three-year Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Social Sciences and allied disciplines
  • Or Qualifications declared equivalent to the Master’s Degree in Media and Communication and allied disciplines by the corresponding statutory regulatory body, with at least 55% marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade on a 10-point scale wherever the grading system is followed.
  • Or An M.Phil. Programme with at least 55% marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade in Journalism and Mass Communication and allied disciplines in a point scale wherever grading system is followed.
• Candidates seeking admission after a four-year/eight-semester Bachelor’s Degree Programme with Research should have a minimum of 75% marks in aggregate or a CGPA of 7.5 on a 10-point scale.
• The candidates who belong to SC/ST/OBC (non-creamy layer)/DifferentlyAbled, Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and other categories shall be given relaxation in qualifying marks/grade for admission to the Programme as per the existing rules of the Government of India.
• A candidate may be allowed to pursue research work for the Ph.D. Degree in allied subjects in the same or any other Faculty on the recommendation of the Doctoral Advisory Committee (DAC) as referred to by Doctoral Programme Committee (DPC) for the above-stated purpose needs to be approved by the university’s Academic Council.

Part-Time

• The eligibility criteria for admission to the Part-Time Ph.D. Programme shall be the same as those prescribed for the Full-Time Ph.D. Programme. Additionally, applicants to Part-Time Ph.D. Programme must be in regular/contractual employment and must have minimum three years’ experience in regular/contractual mode in media and mass communication or allied industries.
• Coursework will be mandatory for Part-Time Ph.D. candidate also, and he/ she will also produce a “No Objection Certificate” for a Part-Time Ph.D. Programme from the appropriate authority in the organization where the he/she is employed, clearly stating that:
  • The candidate is permitted to pursue studies on a Part-Time basis.
  • His/her official duties permit him/her to devote sufficient time to research.
  • If required, he/she will be relieved from the duty to complete the coursework.

Selection Process

UGC’s recent NET/JRF rules as per the letter (No. F, 4-1(UGC-NET Review Committee)/2024(NET)/140648) issued on 28th March 2024 will be the base for admission to the Ph.D. Programme at IIMC (Deemed to be University). In future also any succeeding changes in the admission rules for Ph.D. Programme made by UGC will be followed. From June 2024 onwards therefore, the NET candidates will be declared eligible in three categories:

• Category-1 Eligible for (i) admission to Ph.D. with JRF and (ii) appointment as Assistant Professor.
• Catcgory-2 Eligible for (i) admission to Ph.D. without JRF and (ii) appointment as Assistant Professor.
• Catcgory-3 Eligible for admission to Ph.D. Programme only and not for the award of JRF or appointment as Assistant Professor.

The result of NET will be declared in percentile along with the marks obtained by a candidate to utilize the marks for admission to Ph.D. Programme.

The marks obtained in the NET by the candidates in Categories 2 and 3 will be valid for a period of one year for admission to Ph.D. Programme.

For Full-Time Ph.D. Programme, the candidate must have cleared UGC-NET in Mass Communication & Journalism. There will be an entrance test for the Part-Time Ph.D. Programme.

Selection procedure for Full-Time Ph.D. Programme

All eligible candidates with valid UGC-NET (Mass Communication & Journalism) qualification will be invited directly for the final interview.

• No entrance examination will be conducted for full-time Ph.D. applicants.
• While preparing the final merit list, weightage will be given to both the candidate’s performance in the interview and their UGC-NET/JRF percentile.

Selection procedure for Part-Time Ph.D. Programme

• All eligible candidates shall be required to appear in an entrance examination conducted by IIMC.
• Candidates who have qualified UGC-NET in Mass Communication & Journalism shall be exempted from the entrance examination.
• Those appearing in the entrance test must obtain a minimum of 55% marks to qualify for the next stage.
• All qualified candidates will be invited for the final interview.

Merit list

The final merit list of applicants for the Ph.D. programme (Full-Time/Part-Time) through the UGC-NET/Entrance Exam will be created based on their interview scores and NET percentile/Entrance Exam score.

Weightage for final merit list will be in the following manner:

• UGC NET/JRF percentile or Entrance exam score – 70%
• Interview – 30%

Application Process

• Candidates are required to apply online in the prescribed online form for admission to Ph.D. Full/Part time programme of the IIMC (Deemed to be University).
• The Prospectus can be obtained from IIMC (Deemed to be University) after online payment. Application fee for International candidate will be USD 100/- and will be non-refundable.
• An online form link will be available on the IIMC website (www.iimc.gov.in). The required documents, online payment receipt and a brief write-up on the statement of purpose (500 words) and a research proposal on any one of the proposed area(s) of research in around 2000 words within the broad areas of Journalism & Mass Communication, as per the outline provided, may be uploaded along with the application.
• Candidates who are in employment must upload a ‘No Objection Certificate’ issued by an appropriate authority/cadre controlling authority in the organization where the candidate is employed. The NOC must state that the candidate will be granted six months’ leave to undergo Coursework at IIMC, time as required to attend seminars and to carry out other research related work. The NOC format may be downloaded from the IIMC website.

• Call for Online Applications Opens: 1 January, 2026
• Last Date for Applications: 30 January, 2026
• Entrance Examination (Part-Time Candidates only): 15 February, 2026
• Result of Entrance Exam: 20 February, 2026
• List of Selected Candidates for Interview: 23 February, 2026
• Start of Interviews: 9 March, 2026
• Declaration of Final Result: 19 March, 2026
• Admissions: 23 – 27 March, 2026
• Commencement of Session/Coursework: 1 April, 2026

• Ph.D Admission Notice 2025-26
• Information Brochure (Ph.D 2025-26)
• Application
• IIMC Website