BITS Pilani PhD Admission 2025-26 (Semester II)

BITS Pilani invites applications for admission to 2nd Semester Full time and Part time PhD program for 2025-26 starting January 2026 in Pilani, Goa and Hyderabad campuses of BITS Pilani.

PhD Admission Categories

• Full-time Students: Preferably individuals who would like to pursue Ph.D. in-house, residing on campus.
• Part-time Students: Preferably individuals working in organizations providing basic facilities and environment for research.

Eligibility Criteria

• M.E./M.Tech./M.Pharm./MBA/M.Phil. or an equivalent degree with a minimum of 60% aggregate in the qualifying examination
• M.Sc./B.E./B.Pharm. or an equivalent degree with a minimum of 60% aggregate in the qualifying examination
• For admissions to Humanities and Social Sciences, candidates with anM.A. degree and a minimum of 55% aggregate may apply.
• For part-time applicants, a minimum of one year experience in the related field of study is required.

Financial Assistance

• All the full-time Ph.D. students admitted into the Ph.D. program will receive fellowship up to a maximum of five years.
• The fellowship could be from the Institute or Sponsored Projects. Ph.D. students may also have their own fellowship if qualified through UGC/CSIR NET.
• Students offered Institute fellowship will receive ₹37,000 per month. The fellowship may be enhanced to ₹40,000/- or ₹42,000/- after two years based on the performance. Institute Fellows will also receive a contingency amount of ₹20,000/- per year.
• Students offered admission through Sponsored Projects would receive the fellowship in accordance with the funding agency guidelines.
• BITS Pilani provides International Travel Support of up to ₹1.5 lakh to full-time Ph.D. students to present their work in an international conference.

Application Process

• The Admission portal to apply online opens on 26th September 2025.
• Interested and eligible candidates should apply through the prescribed application form available online at https://www.bitsadmission.com/phdmain.aspx. Hard copy of the application form is not required to be sent. Candidates are advised to take a printout of the filled form and retain it for further reference.
• Candidates will need to register online prior to filling the application form. A registered mobile number and email ID will be required to generate a username and password essential for filling the application form.
• While filling the application form online, candidates are required to give preference of the campus or campuses to which they wish to apply for. It is advised that the candidates provide preference after careful thought. This preference will be used to assign the campus for appearing in the written test/interview if shortlisted. The preferences cannot be changed after submission of application. Please refer to Department offering full and part-time admissions prior to filling the application form.
• The completed application form along with the prescribed application fee should be submitted online by the prescribed deadline. Details on modes of Fee Payment will be available while applying online. Campus preference and priority cannot be changed once the application form is submitted.

Selection Process

Departments may set specific admission criteria for shortlisting.
Shortlisted candidates will have to appear for an admission test, which may comprise of a written exam and/or interview.

BITS Pilani PhD Admission Written Test Details

For Biological Sciences/ Chemistry/ Mathematics/ Physics Department

• The question paper will consist of 50-100 multiple-choice questions, all subject specific, covering the relevant syllabus for the candidate.
• The total duration of the test will be 2-3 hrs.
• Negative Marking may be applicable, with a 25% deduction in marks of each incorrect answer.
• Candidates with M.Phil. / M.E. / M.Tech. or with National level fellowships like CSIR NET-JRF, DBT-JRF, UGC NET-JRF etc. are exempted from writing the above test.

For Humanities & Social Sciences/Economics Department

• Candidates shortlisted for the department of Humanities & Social Sciences/ Economics & Finance will have to write two tests. Test-I will be common to both disciplines and Test-II will be discipline specific.
• Test-I will comprise of the following components:
  • Reading Comprehension (2 Passages)
  • Logical Reasoning
  • Analytical Reasoning
  • General Awareness
• Test-II for candidates shortlisted in Humanities & Social Sciences will be discipline specific and subjective in nature.
• Candidates with an M.Phil. degree or with fellowships like CSIR NET-JRF, DBT-JRF, UGC NETJRF etc. are exempted from writing the above test.

For Department of Management

• All Candidates shortlisted for the Department of Management, Pilani campus, need to appear in a One-hour subjective test.
• The nature of the written test will be application-based in the areas of Business & Management to test basic management knowledge and research aptitude.
• Based on the test results, there may be shortlisting of candidates for Interview.

Candidates with a B.E./B.Pharm. or an equivalent degree

• Candidates with a B.E./B.Pharm. or an equivalent degree, if shortlisted, will be required to appear for the written test.
• The test for B.E./B.Pharm. will be conducted by the Departments concerned as per the applicants’ discipline and will be informed after shortlisting the applicants.
• Based on the test results, there may be shortlisting of candidates for Interview.

Syllabus for Test

Syllabus for Written Test is given in brochure.

• Admissions open for II Semester 2025-2026: 26 September, 2025
• Last date for submission of application: 17 November, 2025
• Declaration of shortlisted candidates for written test and interview: 28 November, 2025
• Written test and/or interview date: 17 December, 2025 and 18 December, 2025
• Announcement of admission offers: 23 December, 2025
• Last date for fee payment: 3 January, 2026
• Reporting at the respective BITS Pilani campus: 3 January, 2026
• Course registration: 5 January, 2026
• Beginning of classwork: 6 January, 2026
• Orientation: 7 January, 2026 to 10 January, 2026

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