Centre for Development Studies PhD Economics Admission2026-27

Centre for Development Studies (CDS), an Autonomous Research Centre sponsored by the Government of Kerala and the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) invites applications for its PhD Programme in Economics for the academic year 2026-27.

About CDS PhD Economics Program

The PhD programme in CDS was launched in 1975. The Programme has a strong orientation towards development with a core focus on economic aspect of development.

The degree is awarded by the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. CDS is also a recognised centre for the PhD research of Kerala University. Admission to the programme and its conduct will be according to the prevailing rules and regulations of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and PhD Ordinance of JNU.

The PhD research topics chosen by the students are usually aligned with the research interest and expertise of CDS faculty members. Therefore, applicants are advised to go through the research profile of the current faculty members and PhD supervision vacancies available with each faculty member provided at CDS website www.cds.edu.

Broadly, the research interests and expertise of current faculty members include macroeconomic issues of the Indian economy, industrial development, international trade, innovation and technological progress, gender and development, migration, poverty, vulnerability and social security, labour and employment, and agriculture and plantations.

Eligibility Criteria

• Candidates who have completed 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.
• 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.
• Candidates who have completed the MPhil programme 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 educational institutions, shall be eligible for admission to the PhD programme.
• A relaxation of 5% marks or its equivalent grade will be applied to those belonging to SC/ST/OBC (non-creamy layer)/Differently-Abled, Economically Weaker Section (EWS) categories. The applicable relaxation provisions are common to all the sections mentioned above
• Those awaiting results of the qualifying degree may also apply. Such candidates, if selected, can join the programme only if their previous institutions certify that they have completed all the requirements for award of degree. In the event that a candidate fails to acquire the relevant degree or the relevant marks/ grades stipulated above, they will be automatically removed from the Centre & University.

Selection Process

Admission through UGC NET Examination (three categories)

The CDS considers the following categories of candidates based on performance in the UGC-NET examination:

• Category 1: Candidates who have qualified for JRF
• Category 2: Candidates who have qualified for Assistant Professorship without JRF
• Category 3: Candidates outside Categories 1 and 2 but whose NET score qualifies them for “PhD only” in accordance with UGC regulations.

For Category 1, candidates should make sure that the JRF certificate is valid at the time of physical verification of documents. Candidature will be rejected in case the JRF certificate is found to be invalid at the time of physical verification of the documents.

Note that the percentile score from UGC-NET examinations from June 2025 onwards will be taken into account for admission eligibility for the academic year 2026-27. Scores prior to the June 2025 examination will not be considered for admission eligibility.

Admission Process

The admission process is different for UGC-JRF and non-JRF holders. Candidates with fellowships other than UGC-JRF (such as NFSC, NFST, NFOBC, etc.) will be considered under the category of non-JRF and the corresponding admission procedure will be applicable.

Candidates with a valid JRF qualification can choose to apply through the non-JRF admission category instead of the JRF category by selecting the option ‘JRF Qualified Applying under NET Category’ in the application portal. Their admission will then be processed according to the non-JRF rules/criteria.

Admission of JRF holders

• In the case of candidates with a valid JRF qualification, admission will be based solely on inperson interview for which the date will be announced later.

Admission of non-JRF holders

• In the case of non-JRF candidates (Categories 2 & 3) and JRF candidates who apply through nonJRF admission category, admission will be on the basis of the UGC-NET score and in-person interview (with weightage of 70% and 30%, respectively).

Research proposal and interview

• Candidates have to submit a research proposal written in English along with their application.
• The research proposal should not be more than 2000 words.
• The research proposal should have a critical understanding of the body of knowledge in the proposed area of research and to be specific in terms of study issues and objectives and to demonstrate some understanding of the analytical framework and data.
• The research proposal should not be a copy of a study presented as part of any other programme.
• An application without a research proposal will not be considered.

The interview focuses on the followings.

• The competence of the candidate to undertake the research proposed in the re-search proposal.
• The suitability of pursuing the research at the Centre.
• The potential of the proposed research to contribute the relevant literature.

Fellowships

• Students who have already cleared doctoral research fellowship schemes like JRF can avail them for their PhD research in CDS.
• PhD students can also apply for ICSSR doctoral fellowships which are awarded on the basis of an all-India competition.
• It is important to note that admission to the PhD programme in CDS does not guarantee fellowship. Therefore, candidates not having cleared any fellowship scheme must have a plan for financing their doctoral research.

Application Process

• Candidates are required to apply online through the online application portal given in the website www.cds.edu.
• It is the responsibility of the candidates to ensure that all the relevant details are correctly entered.
• Applications that are found to be incomplete or contain incorrect information at any stage of the admission process will be rejected without any notice.

• Opening date of online applications: 2 June, 2026 (at 9:00 AM)
• Closing date of online applications: 23 June, 2026 (at 5:00 PM)
• Tentative dates of in-person interviews: 20 July, 2026 to 24 July, 2026
• Commencement of PhD programme (tentative): 2 September, 2026

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• CDS Website