Jawaharlal Nehru University – JNU Delhi PhD Admission 2026-27

Jawaharlal Nehru University Delhi invites application for PhD admission 2026-27.

Admission Modes

Jawaharlal Nehru University offers admissions to its Ph.D. Programmes for academic session 2026- 27 through (i) National Eligibility Test (NET) of University Grants Commission/Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (UGC/CSIR) –all three categories (Category 1, 2 & 3) as per UGC Public Notice dated March 27, 2024 (ii) Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) of UGC, CSIR, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and National Board of Higher Mathematics (NBHM) and (iii) Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE).

Candidates, for being eligible for admission to Ph.D, must possess the minimum eligibility criteria in terms of – (i) educational qualification and, (ii) relevant NET/JRF/GATE subjects, as prescribed by the respective School/Centres/Special Centres of the University duly mentioned against each of them in this e-Prospectus. Candidates having only educational qualification but not having qualified NET /JRF/GATE in the relevant subjects or vice versa, shall not be eligible for admission.

A candidate can opt for maximum of three fileds of study of his/her choice in order of preference in the online application form for admission to Ph.D. programme when notified. Option(s) once exercised shall be final and no change shall be allowed later. The preference given by the candidates at the time of submitting online application shall be final, e.g., a candidate selected for a discipline falling under higher preference will have no claim for other preferences. In other words, if a candidate gets selected in higher preference, he/she will be offered admission only against that preference.

A candidate has to apply in online mode only with his/her UGC/CSIR NET percentile / GATE score as applicable. The candidates seeking admission through JRF have to apply separately under JRF category. However, a JRF qualified candidate can also apply separately through online mode for admission under NET category. No offline application will be considred.

Candidates having GATE score are eligble for admission to Ph.D programmes of School of Engineering only.

Admission through UGC/CSIR NET Examination (All three categories)

• Applications for admission to Ph.D Programmes through NET Examination of UGC/CSIR using NET percentile are invited from eligible candidates as under:
  • Category 1: JRF qualified candidates
  • Category 2: Candidates qualified for Assistant Professorship without JRF
  • Category 3: Candidates neither qualified for JRF nor for Assistant Professorship but eligible for admission to Ph.D only.
• Admission through UGC/CSIR NET Categories will be done on the basis of NET percentile of NET Examination of UGC/CSIR in place of the entrance examiniation as per UGC Public Notice dated March 27, 2024. The weightage for NET percentile and for viva-voce will be 70% and 30% respectively for preparing the merit list for admission.
• It must be noted that percentile of NET Examination of June 2025 onwards of UGC/CSIR shall be taken into account for being eligible for admission to Ph.D Programmes for the academic year 2026-27. Previous NET percentiles/scores shall not be considered for admission to Ph.D.Programmes.
• Candidates desirous of admission in these programmes of the university should satisfy themselves about their eligibility criteria prescribed for admission as mentioned against Ph.D Programmes of the concerned School/Centre/Special Centres in this e-Prospectus. They must fulfill the eligibility criteria both in terms of educational qualification and relevant NET/JRF subjects failing which they shall not be considered for admission to Ph.D programme.
• Candidates not having NET percentiles in of UGC/CSIR NET Examination in the relevant/allied NET subjects as prescribed by the concerned Centres/School/Special Centres for their Ph.D programmes shall not be eligible for admission to these programmes.
• Reservation Policy of Govt. of India shall be applicable to candidates belonging to SC/ST/OBC/EWS/PWD categories.
• For admission to Ph.D Programmes for academic session 2026-27 in JNU, the candidates must apply separately through online mode with UGC/CSIR NET Percentile of June 2025 onwards of NET examinations. No offline application for admission will be entertained.

Admission through JRF Category

• Only those candidates are eligible for admission to Ph.D programmes through JRF who fulfill the minimum eligibility criteria as prescribed by the respective School/Centre/Special Centre mentioned in the e-Prospectus against each of them and who have qualified for
  • (i) Junior Research Fellowship of UGC/CSIR in the relevant NET Subjects mentioned in the e-Prospectus OR
  • (ii) Junior Research Fellowship of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and National Board for Higher Mathematics (NBHM) examinations in the relevant subjects.
• Such eligible candidates have to apply separately in online mode in the prescribed form for JRF category according to JRF intake. No offline application for admission will be entertained.
• Candidates shall have to appear for viva voce with 100% weightage and their selection shall be purely on the basis of their performance in the viva voce.
• Please note that candidates who have been awarded “Lectureship/ Assistant Professorship” (without JRF) in the CSIR/UGC examination and any other fellowship such as National Fellowship for Scheduled Caste (NFSC), National Fellowship for Schedule Tribe (NFST), National Fellowship for Other Backward Classes (NFOBC), National Fellowship for PWD (NFPWD) on the basis of Lectureship/Assistant Professorship (without JRF) are not eligible. DST INSPIRE Fellows are also not eligible under JRF Category.
• Candidates shall make sure that their JRF certificate must be valid at the time of physical verification of documents. Candidature will be rejected outrightly in case their JRF certificate not found valid at the time of physical verification of the documents.

Admission to Ph.D. programmes in the School of Engineering through GATE Score

• Only those candidates, who fulfil the minimum eligibility requirements, as prescribed for admission to the Ph.D. programmes (Computer Science and Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering and Mechanical Engineering) in School of Engineering with a valid GATE score on the last date of submission of online application for Ph.D Programmes, are eligible.
• The weightage of GATE score and that of viva-voce will be 70% and 30% respectively for preparing the merit list.

Eligibility Criteria

The eligibility criteria required to qualify for admission to JNU’s PhD programme is mentioned below:

• Candidates who have 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.
• Candidates who have completed the M.Phil. 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 Ph.D. programme. 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.

For subject wise eligibility criteria refer to prospectus.

Application Process

Candidates have to apply online.

Read prospectus carefully before applying.

Steps for Application –

• Step 1 -Fill the online application with personal details.
• Step 2 -Fill the online application with Qualification Details.
• Step 3 -Fill the online application with Professional Details.
• Step 4 -Upload scanned images of photograph and signature. The image should be in jpg/jpeg format only. Size of photo image must be between 10 kb to 200 kb. Size of signature image must be between 4 kb to 30 kb.
• Step 5 -Pay fee through online payment mode

Selection Procedure for Admission

The candidates seeking admission into Ph.D. programmes have to appear in the UGC/CSIR NET Exam and GATE exam. It is to be noted that mere qualifying in UGC/CSIR NET Exam or GATE Exam does not entitle the candidates to be shortlisted for viva voce Examination.

Short listing of the candidates for viva voce shall be done as per the following criteria on the basis of their NET percentile of the NET Examination of UGC/CSIR June 2025 onwards and valid GATE score:-

• (1) For General Category: Intake x 8 times
• (2) For SC/ST/OBC(NCL)/EWS Categories: Intake x 10 times
• (3) For PWD Category: 10 times – wherever available

With regard to (1) above, it is further clarified that in case of reserved category candidates scoring equal or more NET percentile than that of General category candidates, such reserved category candidates shall be called for viva-voce as per seat matrix given for (1) above.

For admission to Ph.D. programme through JRF category: All the applicants under JRF category will be called for viva-voce.

In case of bunching of aggregate total (NET percentile/GATE score + Viva voce) marks for Ph.D. programmes, merit shall be drawn in the following order –

• (i) Candidates having higher percentile in the UGC/CSIR NET/GATE will be preferred
• (ii) In case of further tie above candidates having higher marks in the qualifying Post-graduation degree will be preferred. The candidates whose results have been declared, would be given preference over those whose result have not been declared.
• (iii) In case of further tie, the candidates having higher marks higher marks in the graduate degree examination shall be preferred.
• (iv) In case of any further tie, the marks secured by the candidate(s) in the 10+2 examination shall be the basis for determining merit.
• (v) In case of bunching in the JRF categories merit shall be drawn according to the marks obtained in the qualifying PostGraduate degree, and for further tie, the same procedure will be adopted as mentioned above at (iii) & (iv).

• Online submission of application form for admission: 6 October, 2026 to 16 October, 2026
• Correction of particulars of online application form on website only: 17 October, 2026 to 18 October, 2026
• Invitation for viva voce to the candidate (tentative): By 22 October, 2026
• Holding of viva-voce examination (tentative): 26 October, 2026 to 30 October, 2026
• Publication of first merit lists for admissions to Ph.D. programmes (tentative): 9 November, 2026
• Pre-enrolment registration and payment of fee with blocking of seats of first list (tentative): 9 November, 2026 to 11 November, 2026
• Physical verification of admission/registration for first list of selected candidates: 16 November, 2026 to 18 November, 2026
• Publication of second merit lists for admissions to Ph.D. programmes (tentative): 23 November, 2026
• Pre-enrolment registration and payment of fee with blocking of seats of second list (tentative): 23 November, 2026 to 25 November, 2026
• Physical verification of admission/registration for second list of selected candidates: 30 November, 2026
• Release of third/final list after registration, wherever considered necessary (tentative): 4 December, 2026
• Pre-enrolment registration and payment of fee with blocking of seats of third/final list (tentative): 4 December, 2026 to 6 December, 2026
• Physical verification of admission/registration for third/final list of selected candidates: 8 December, 2026
• Deadline for admission/registration: 10 December, 2026

• Schedule
• Notification
• Prospectus
• Application
• JNU Website