IIIT Bangalore PhD Admission 2025 (Aug)

11 May, 2025

Bengaluru, Karnataka

PhD

International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore

Deemed University

IIIT Bangalore Logo

Full details for IIIT Bangalore PhD Admission 2025 (Aug).

International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIIT Bangalore) invites applications for PhD Admission for the academic year 2025-26 (August term).

Vacancy

  • Computer Science (CS)
  • Data Science & Artificial Intelligence (DSAI)
  • Digital Humanities & Societal Systems (DHSS)
  • Mathematics & Physics (MP)
  • Networking, Communications & Signal Processing (NCSP)
  • Software Engineering (SE)
  • VLSI & Embedded Systems

Research Domains

Computer Science (CS)

  • Algorithms, in general, and specifically, Graph and Geometric Algorithms, Graph Algorithms for IoT Networks.
  • Cryptography, in general, and specifically, Privacy preserving ID verification using homomorphic encryption, Secure cryptographic implementations against side-channel attacks.
  • Formal verification of machine learning algorithms and applications, Formal Verification and Architectural Analysis of Enterprise Applications (e.g., Digital public infrastructures).
  • Testing of software systems (e.g., data-driven applications, platform software e.g., embedded, gaming, and consumer electronics).
  • Engineering software systems for regulatory compliance, accessibility, inclusiveness, security, and trustworthiness.
  • Formal verification of embedded systems.
  • Design of computer languages (programming languages, specification and modelling languages etc.).
  • Testing of machine learning algorithms and applications.
  • Convex methods in machine learning, Machine Learning using Robust Statistics.
  • Computational sustainability and energy-efficient computing: algorithmic as well as control-theoretic approaches to sustainability in and by computing.
  • Computational problems in electric vehicles: algorithmic and artificial intelligence solutions for various issues arising in the large-scale electrification of road transport systems.
  • Computational social science and cognitive science: understanding human decision making and its consequences at the individual and social levels, using computational methods.
  • Ethics and regulation in the internet economy: understanding ethical and unethical behaviors among internet-based companies, and market-based regulatory frameworks for ensuring ethical conduct.

Faculty Involved: Prof Ashish Choudhury, Prof Meenakshi D’Souza, Prof V. N. Muralidhara, Prof Sachit Rao, Prof Shrisha Rao, Prof Sujit Kumar Chakrabarti, Prof Pradeesha Ashok, Prof Srinivas Vivek, Prof Vinu E Venugopal, Prof Tulika Saha.

Data Science & Artificial Intelligence (DSAI)

  • Remote Sensing, GIS and Geospatial Data Science.
  • Digital Public Infrastructures (DPIs).
  • LLMs and AI in Education.
  • Streaming data systems.
  • Neuro-Symbolic AI.
  • 3D LiDAR point cloud processing.
  • Analysis of chart images.
  • Multimodal Conversational Agents.
  • Action and activity recognition.
  • 6D Object Pose Analysis.
  • Language Guided navigation in 3D scenes.
  • Topological Data Analysis.
  • AI and Big Data.
  • Reinforcement Learning.
  • Large Language Models.
  • Deep Learning.
  • Machine Learning.
  • Consent Management in DPI.
  • AI for sustainable development.
  • Indian language NLP.
  • Scene Analytics for Autonomous Vehicles.
  • Medical Image Analysis.
  • Multi-modal AI in Medical Domain.
  • Data Centric Optimization.

Faculty Involved: Prof Amit Chattopadhyay, Prof Chandrashekar Ramanathan, Prof Dinesh Babu Jayagopi, Prof Jaya Sreevalsan Nair, Prof Sachit Rao, Prof Srinath Srinivasa, Prof T. K. Srikanth, Prof V. Ramasubramanian, Prof Viswanath Gopala Krishnan, Prof Uttam Kumar, Prof Vinu E Venugopal, Prof Raghuram Bharadwaj, Prof Sushree Sangeeta Behera, Prof Tulika Saha, Prof Aswin Kannan.

Digital Humanities and Societal Systems (DHSS)

  • ICTD.
  • Information Technology and Labour.
  • Political Economy of Innovation.
  • The Information Technology Industry.
  • E-Governance and Digital Public Infrastructure.

Faculty Involved: Prof Amit Prakash, Prof Balaji Parthasarathy, Prof Preeti Mudliar, Prof V. Sridhar.

Mathematics

  • Pure Mathematics: Number Theory, in particular, Algebraic Number Theory, Diophantine Equations, Galois Module Structure, and Elliptic Curves. Faculty Involved: Prof Manisha Kulkarni
  • Applied Mathematics: Theoretical, numerical, & computational analysis of thin-film flows, microfluidics & fluid-porous interactions. Topics include: the analysis of drop spreading and evaporation of complex liquids on porous substrates, turbulence in thin-film flows, and stability in interfacial flows within confined geometries. Faculty Involved: Prof Sanghasri Mukhopadhyay.

Physics

  • Nonlinear dynamics & Complex systems, Soft matter physics including complex fluids & macromolecular systems, Cavitation & Bubble Dynamics, Instabilities & Synchronization in Nonlinear Systems including physical, biological & living systems, dynamical neuron models, aspects of earth system dynamics, physics of sensory systems, and some aspects of Quantum Computation. Faculty Involved: Prof. B. Ashok
  • 3D Simulations and Modeling of Hydrodynamic and Magneto hydrodynamic Turbulent Flows (involving research in fundamental physics / astrophysics / mechanical engineering), Quantum Internet. Faculty Involved: Prof Shiva Kumar Malapaka

Networking, Communications & Signal Processing (NCSP)

  • Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC).
  • Semantic communication for 6G wireless networks.
  • Digital Twin for Industrial IoT.
  • Security in Network Slicing.
  • Zero Touch Networks.
  • Beam management in 5G networks.
  • Channel estimation in IRS systems.
  • Transceiver Design for High Mobility Applications.
  • Physical-layer Security.
  • Robust Beamforming and Optimization for IRS-Assisted 6G Wireless Networks.

Faculty Involved: Prof Debabrata Das, Prof Jyotsna Bapat, Prof V. Ramasubramanian, Prof Priyanka Das, Prof Amrita Mishra, Prof Prem Singh, Prof Vinod Reddy, Prof Sushree Sangeeta Behera.

Software Engineering (SE)

  • Formal Verification and Architectural Analysis of Enterprise Applications (e.g., Digital public infrastructures).
  • Testing of software systems (e.g., data-driven applications, platform software e.g., embedded, gaming, and consumer electronics).
  • Engineering software systems for regulatory compliance, accessibility, inclusiveness, security, and trustworthiness.
  • Design of computer languages (programming languages, specification and modelling languages etc.).
  • Formal verification of embedded systems.

Faculty Involved: Prof Sujit Kumar Chakrabarti, Prof Chandrashekar Ramanathan, Prof Thangaraju B.

VLSI and Embedded Systems

  • VLSI Architecture Design.
  • IoT systems.
  • Biomedical systems.
  • Assistive and surgical systems.
  • Wearable Design.
  • Rehabilitation Robotics.
  • AI/ML Hardware Accelerators.
  • AI for VLSI Placement and Routing.
  • VLSI Architecture for Communication Systems.
  • AI for Designing FPGA Architectures, Placement and Routing Algorithms for FPGA Design.
  • AI for Physiological Signals such as EMG, EEG, EOG, ECG.
  • Hardware-Software Co-Design for AgriTech.
  • Cryptography Accelerators.
  • Hardware Security.
  • In-memory-computing.
  • Neuromorphic computing.
  • Spiking Neural Networks Design for Hardware.
  • Hardware-Aware Neural Architecture Search.
  • Quantum Computing.
  • Approximate Computing.
  • FPGA system design.
  • Image segmentation and localization for healthcare applications, FPGA based acceleration.
  • RISC-V based system design.
  • Biomedical Wearable Designs for Internet of Bodies (IoB).
  • Ultra-Low Power and Secure Communication for Wearables (E.g., Human Body Communication).
  • PUF-based Hardware Security.
  • Circuit techniques for energy harvesting battery-less sensor nodes.

Faculty Involved: Prof Madhav Rao, Prof Subir K. Roy, Prof Kurian Polachan, Prof Sakshi Arora.

Eligibility Criteria

General Minimum Eligibility Criteria

Applicants to the Doctor of Philosophy program should hold a Master’s degree (or equivalent), as well as have a good academic and, where applicable, technical track record.

As an admission criterion placed for Doctor of Philosophy degree by the University Grants Commission, we require shortlisted applicants to have taken either a national entrance examination, as specified by concerned research domains, or take a domain-specific entrance examination at IIIT-Bangalore before the interview.

Qualified applicants with UGC-NET or similar Research Fellowships can avail of these at IIITB provided they are selected through the Institute’s selection process, the decision of which would be deemed final.

Additional Domain-specific Eligibility Criteria

In addition to the general minimum eligibility conditions, the various research domains have additional requirements:

Computer Science and Software Engineering:

  • Applicants should have a GATE or GRE score taken in the last five years.
  • Candidates with suitable industrial or academic experience and credentials may apply without competitive exam (GATE/GRE) scores, which may be waived. Applicants should clear a written exam conducted by IIIT-Bangalore, covering topics on Data Structures and Algorithms, Discrete Maths, DBMS, Operating Systems, Basic Programming, Computer Architecture and Organization.
  • Screening/shortlisting will be based on the afore-mentioned score and other application details furnished by the applicant, followed by an interview.

Data Science:

  • Applicants should have taken one of the following examinations:
    • GATE examination in any relevant engineering domain.
  • For Ph. D., candidates should have a M.Sc. (Math or Computer Science) or, M. Tech (Computer Science) degree.
  • Screening/ shortlisting will be based on the afore-mentioned score and other application details furnished by the applicant, followed by an interview.

VLSI and Embedded Systems:

  • Applicants will have to write written exam, followed by an interview if selected. GATE scores are not mandatory but will be desirable.
  • Shortlisting of applicants will be done based on their academic background and other details submitted by the applicants.

Networking, Communications & Signal Processing:

  • Strong background in Computer Networks
  • Strong background in Analog and Digital Communication
  • Basics of Signal Processing
  • Mathematics: Probability Theory, Random Variables, and Statistics
  • Optimization techniques for Applied Wireless and ML

Four-year Bachelor’s degree in engineering (B.E., B. Tech. or equivalent degree in ECE/CS/IT) is required for the M. S. (By Research) program, and a Master’s degree in engineering (M.E., M. Tech. or equivalent in ECE/CS/IT/ Networking/Communication/Signal Processing) is required for the Ph. D. program. Additional specific requirements are as follows:

  • Applicants will have to write written exam, followed by an interview if selected.
  • Applicants with good GATE score will be exempted from the written exam, and will appear directly for an interview.
  • Shortlisting of applicants will be done based on their academic background and other details submitted by the applicants.

Physics:

  • The minimum qualification required for the PhD program is an M.Sc. in Physics, or a Master’s degree (M.E., M. Tech. or equivalent) in related disciplines for the Ph. D. program.
  • Candidates for the PhD program who have appeared and qualified in a national entrance test (CSIR-UGC NET, UGC-NET, GATE or JEST examination) may be exempt from taking a written test at IIIT Bangalore. M. Phil. candidates can also apply for the Doctor of Philosophy program.
  • For the Integrated Ph.D. program in physics, a 4 year Undergraduate Degree in Physics such as a BS or B.Sc. (Hons) is the minimum qualification, with a valid GATE score.
  • Screening/ shortlisting will be based on the scores obtained in the afore-mentioned examinations or written examination at IIIT Bangalore, and other application details furnished by the applicant followed by an interview if shortlisted.

Mathematics:

  • The minimum qualification required for the PhD program is a Master’s degree in engineering (M. Tech., M.E. or equivalent) or a Master’s degree in Mathematics, Applied Mathematics or Engineering.
  • Candidates who have appeared and qualified in one of the two national entrance examinations: CSIR-UGC NET or NBHM may be exempt from the written test at IIIT Bangalore.
  • M. Phil.candidates can also apply for the Doctor of Philosophy programme.
  •  For the Integrated Ph.D. program in mathematics, a 4 year Undergraduate Degree in Mathematics (Applied Mathematics / Engineering / Physics /or an allied discipline also being considered for applicants to Applied Mathematics)  is the minimum qualification, with a valid GATE score.
  • Screening/ shortlisting will be based on the scores obtained in the afore-mentioned examinations or written examination at IIITB, and other application details furnished by the applicant followed by an interview if selected.

Digital Humanities & Societal Systems:

  • Candidates with a Master’s degree in any of the social sciences are eligible to apply for Master of Science by Research/ Master of Science (Research) and Doctor of Philosophy in the DHSS domain.
  • In addition, candidates with a four-year Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Sciences, Maths/ Statistics (B.E., B.Tech. or equivalent) can apply for the Master of Science by Research program or the Integrated PhD program; and those with a Master’s degree in engineering (M.E., M.Tech. or equivalent) can apply for the Doctor of Philosophy program.
  • Candidates are encouraged to provide a valid score in GATE, JRF, NET, GRE, or GMAT along with their applications. Those without such a score may apply as well.
  • For some of the topics, work experience in the information technology industry is desirable but not essential.
  • Shortlisted candidates will have to take a written examination at IIIT Bangalore when called for interview.
  • A bachelor’s degree (minimum of 4 years) or a master’s degree in any field. Strong writing skills essential; prior fieldwork experience useful but not essential. For some topics: preferably graduates in Engineering, Sciences and Math/ Statistics.

Application Process

Candidates have to apply online on IIIT Bangalore website.

Only those applicants will be considered for admission who will apply online before the last date and satisfy the eligibility criteria.

Fellowships/Scholarships

For full-time Doctor of Philosophy students, a fellowship of INR 38,500/- per month till completion of comprehensive Exam. INR 43,500/- per month for a maximum period of 3 years (36 months) after completion of comprehensive Exam.

Important Dates

  • Call-for-Applications (Formal Announcement): 7 April, 2025
  • Research Admissions Portal is live for application submission: 8 April, 2025
  • Last date for online application submission: 18 May, 2025
  • Notification to candidates to be invited for interview and optionally, written test: 22 May, 2025
  • Dates of Written tests and interviews: 2 June, 2025 to 12 June, 2025
  • Notification to admitted candidates: 19 June, 2025
  • Last date for remittance of acceptance fees by the admitted candidates: 9 July, 2025
  • Joining date: Orientation and course registration begins: 28 July, 2025
  • Classes begin for Term I (2025-26): 1 August, 2025

Application Fee

Application fees: Rs 1000/-

Important Links