National Law Institute University – NLIU Bhopal PhD Admission 2026-27

National Law Institute University Bhopal invites online applications for admission to the Ph.D. Programme (Full-time and Parttime) for the Academic Session 2026-27.

Categories for PhD Admission

• Full-Time Ph.D. Programme
  • Candidates who take up the Ph.D. programme on a Full-time basis shall not be allowed to take up any employment during the period of the Ph.D. programme. However, they can receive a Scholarship/ fellowship/ stipend/ assistantship, if any, with an intimation to the University.
• Part-Time Ph.D. Programme
  • This category refers to candidates who are regular and permanent employees of the NLIU or any Govt./ Autonomous/ PSU/ Private or any other organisation with more than 2 years of their service and having more than 3 years of service left to their retirement.
  • Candidates from the NLIU specifically, while engaging a reduced academic load on request and approval of the Vice Chancellor, can pursue the research programme leading to a Ph.D. Degree.
  • The candidate shall submit to the University a “No Objection Certificate” for a Part-Time Ph.D. programme from the appropriate authority in the organization/ institution, where the candidate is employed, the format of which shall be provided at the time of admission.

Eligibility

• A 1-year/2-semester master’s degree programme after a 4-year/8-semester bachelor’s degree programme or a 2-year/4-semester master’s degree programme after a 3-year bachelor’s degree programme or qualifications declared equivalent to the master’s degree by the corresponding statutory regulatory body, with at least 55% marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade in a point scale wherever grading system is followed.
• Or equivalent qualification from a foreign educational institution accredited by an assessment and accreditation agency which is approved, recognized or authorized by an authority, established or incorporated under a law in its home country or any other statutory authority in that country to assess, accredit or assure quality and standards of the educational institution.
• A relaxation of 5% marks or its equivalent grade may be allowed for those belonging to SC/ST/OBC (non-creamy layer)/Differently-Abled, Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and other categories of candidates as per the decision of the Commission from time to time.
• Provided that a candidate seeking admission after a 4-year/8-semester bachelor’s degree programme should have a minimum of 75% marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade on a point scale wherever the grading system is followed. A relaxation of 5% marks or its equivalent grade may be allowed for those belonging to SC/ST/OBC (non-creamy layer)/Differently-Abled, Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and other categories of candidates as per the decision of the Commission from time to time.
• Other eligibility conditions for admission to the Ph.D. program as per the latest UGC NET notification shall also be admissible.
• In the case of admission to the Ph.D. in Cyber Law and Information Security Program, the MCLIS degree of the NLIU Bhopal or its equivalent degree, namely ‘Integrated Post-Graduate Degree in Cyber Law and Information Technology’ from a recognized University with at least 55% marks (50% marks in case of SC/ST/OBC (NCL)/ PWD/PWBD/EWS candidates).
• In the case of admission to the Ph.D. in Cyber Security Program, the candidate should possess a master’s degree in Computer Science/ Information Technology/ Cyber Security/Electronics & Communications from a recognized University with at least 55% marks (50% marks in case of SC/ST/OBC (NCL)/ PWD/PWBD/EWS candidates).

Admission Process

Ph.D. in Law, Ph.D. in Computer Science/ Information Technology, Ph.D. in Cyber Security, and Ph.D. in Social Sciences i.e. Political Science, Sociology, Economics, English

• The University shall use the University Grants Commission’s National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET/ UGC- CSIR) score for admission to these Ph.D. programmes. Based on the score, candidates shall be declared eligible by the UGC to apply in the following categories:
  • Category-1: Eligible for admission to Ph.D. with JRF and appointment as Assistant Professor
  • Category-2: Eligible for admission to Ph.D. without JRF and appointment as Assistant Professor
  • Category-3: Eligible for admission to Ph.D. programme only
• The JRF-qualified candidates shall be admitted into the Ph.D. programme based on an interview, as per the prevailing UGC Minimum Standards and Procedures for the Award of Ph.D. Degree Regulations.
• Those candidates who have been placed in Category-1 by UGC based on UGC-NET/ UGCCSIR written test shall be required to score more than 50% marks in the interview conducted by NLIU as minimum qualifying marks.
• For candidates who qualify in Category-2 and Category-3 given above, 70% weightage shall be given to the test score and 30% weightage to the interview conducted by the University. The Ph.D. admission shall be based on the combined merit of the NET marks and the marks obtained in the interview. Minimum qualifying marks in the combined result shall be 50% of the total marks.
• Admission shall be offered to the candidates in the respective category and specialisation, purely based on a merit list prepared according to the provisions stated above.
• The UGC-NET/ UGC- CSIR scores of the last one year shall be valid for admission to Ph.D. programmes.

Ph.D. in Cyber Law and Information Security programme

• Candidates to this Ph.D. programme shall be admitted through an All-India Entrance Test consisting of a ‘Written Test’ and a ‘Personal Interview’ conducted by the University.
• The Question Paper of the ‘Written Test’ shall be a combination of descriptive and problembased questions. The Entrance Test syllabus shall consist of 50% of research methodology, and 50% shall be subject-specific. The duration of the ‘Written Test’ shall be three hours.
• Candidates who secure 50 % marks in the ‘Written Test’ shall be eligible to be called for the ‘Personal Interview’.
• A relaxation of 5% marks shall be allowed in the ‘Written Test’ for the candidates belonging to SC/ ST/ OBC (NCL)/ PWD/ PwBD/ EWS and any other categories of candidates as per the decision of the UGC from time to time.
• 70% weightage shall be given to the ‘Written Test’ and 30% weightage to the ‘Personal Interview’ to calculate the total score.
• Candidates who fail to appear either in the ‘Written Test’ or ‘Personal Interview’ shall not be eligible for admission.
• Minimum qualifying marks in the combined result of the written Test’ and ‘Personal Interview’ shall be 50% of the total marks of the All-India Entrance Test.
• Eligible candidates shall be admitted to the programme strictly according to the combined merit of the ‘Written Test’ and ‘Personal Interview’.

Admission of Foreign Candidates

• Foreign Nationals are exempt from the UGC-NET/UGC-CSIR or ‘All India Written Test’ conducted by the University.
• Foreign Nationals shall be admitted if they possess the qualification equivalent to the qualifying examination applicable to the respective Ph.D. programme.
• The equivalence of educational qualification awarded by a foreign university should be recognized by the University Grants Commission.
• The candidate must have studied English language as one of the compulsory subjects in the qualifying examination. The University shall organize an English language competence test, passing which shall be a mandatory condition for admission.
• The admission of foreign nationals shall be according to the merit of marks obtained in the personal interview by a ‘Personal Interview Board”.

Application Process

• The candidates are advised to go through the Admission Notification thoroughly to check the eligibility criteria/ other details before filling out and submitting the online application form.
• A link to fill out the application form shall be provided on the NLIU website www.nliu.ac.in.
• In case candidates apply for more than one programme, they shall have to pay the same additional application fee for each programme (non-refundable) through online mode only.

• Availability of online application forms on the NLIU Website: 10 March, 2026
• The last date for submission of application forms: 30 April, 2026
• Date of Entrance Examination: 10 May, 2026
• Date of Interview: 14 May, 2026 to 16 May, 2026

• Application
• Notification
• NLIU Bhopal Website