IIT ISM Dhanbad PhD (Regular) with Institute Assistantship Admission 2025-26

IIT (ISM), Dhanbad invites application for PhD (Regular) with Institute Assistantship admission for session 2025-26.

Classification of Candidates

A candidate who does her/his courses and research at the IIT (ISM) Dhanbad is a full- time candidate. Such candidates are required to stay in the Institute during the entire period of their academic program.

A full-time candidate may have financial support in the form of

• a) Institute Assistantship (IA)
• b) Fellowship from Research Projects at IIT(ISM) Dhanbad (Project Fund)

Eligibility Criteria

A candidate, who has qualified GATE/NET/Appropriate National Level Examination, is ELIGIBLE for Ph.D. admission ONLY in Engineering, Science, Management Studies and Humanities & Social Sciences under the IA.

• A. Qualifying NET/GATE is not mandatory for application in Ph. D. in Engineering / Science, if the candidate –
  • Has done M. Tech/M.E. with First Class or First Division or with minimum 60% marks or equivalent CGPA or
  • Has done B. Tech/ B.E. with a minimum CGPA of 8 (on a 10 point scale) or with equivalent percentage from any CFTI or
  • Has done B. Tech/ B.E. with a minimum CGPA of 8 (on a 10 point scale) or with equivalent percentage from any Institute/University having 1 to 100th rank in the Overall category in NIRF India rankings (either in the year of application or in the last year).
• B. Except for the candidates mentioned in the para A above, all other eligible candidates, will have to qualify NET/GATE to apply for Ph. D. admission in Engineering/ Science.
• C. Qualifying CAT/GMAT/ UGC NET/CSIR NET/GATE will be mandatory for applying for Ph. D. in Management.

It may be noted that based on number and quality of applications received in an admission cycle, the respective department may also impose additional shortlisting criteria (and shall also publish it while sending calls for interview) to restrict number of eligible applicants to be called for Interview.

Candidates appearing for their final semester exams are ELIGIBLE to apply under Result Awaiting (RA) category. However, they have to submit proof of the completion of their previous degree by September 30, 2025, failing which their candidature or even admission will be cancelled.

Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF) Candidates

• A candidate, selected under Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF) scheme, shall be directly admitted to the Ph.D. program without any interview.

Project Candidates

• This admission procedure also applies to candidates holding positions in projects being executed in various departments at the Institute for availing IA beyond the project tenure.
• In such cases, the candidate must give the details in the online application portal, such as, the current position, admission number availed, project title, name of the project investigator (PI), department, date of joining, date of completion of the project. Such projects should be of minimum one year duration.

Essential Qualification

PhD in the Engineering Stream

• An applicant must have a Master’s degree in Engineering in the relevant subject with first class/division or a minimum of 60% marks/CGPA of 6.0 (on a 10 point scale) OR
• An applicant must have a Bachelor’s degree in engineering with a minimum of 60% marks/CGPA of 6.0 (on a 10 point scale) OR
• An applicant must have a Master’s degree in science or an allied area with first class/division or a minimum of 60% marks/CGPA of 6.0 (on a 10 point scale).

PhD in the Science Stream

• An applicant must have a Master’s degree in the relevant subject with first class/division or a minimum of 60 % marks/CGPA of 6.0 (on a 10 point scale), OR
• An applicant must have a Bachelor’s degree in engineering with a minimum of 60 % marks/CGPA of 6.0 (on a 10 point scale) OR
• An applicant must have a Master’s degree in science or an allied area with first class/division or a minimum of 60 % marks/CGPA of 6.0 (on a 10 point scale).

PhD in the Humanities and Social Sciences Stream

• An applicant must have a Master’s degree in the relevant subject, arts, commerce, humanities and social sciences with first class/division or a minimum of 60 % marks/CGPA of 6.0 (on a 10 point scale), OR
• An applicant must have a Master’s degree in engineering / technology/science/ commerce / management with first class/division or a minimum of 60 % marks/CGPA of 6.0 (on a 10 point scale), OR
• An applicant must have a Bachelor’s degree in engineering with a minimum of 60% marks/CGPA of 6.0 (on a 10 point scale).

PhD in the Management Stream

• An applicant must have a Master’s degree or equivalent in Management or allied areas or engineering / technology with first class/division or a minimum of 60 % marks/CGPA of 6.0 (on a 10 point scale), OR
• An applicant with a Bachelor’s degree in engineering with a minimum of 60 % marks/CGPA of 6.0 (on a 10 point scale), OR
• An applicant must have a Master’s degree in Science/Arts/Commerce with first class/division or a minimum of 60 % marks/CGPA of 6.0 (on a 10 point scale), OR
• An applicant who has qualified for CA/ICAI/ICMA/CS, with first class/division or a minimum of 60 % marks/CGPA of 6.0 (on a 10 point scale) in Bachelor’s degree.

Note:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering means regular full-time Bachelor’s degree. A candidate with AMIE or similar degree is not eligible for admission.
• The exact qualification and eligibility requirements, and the list of programs to be offered in a year will be available in the Information Brochure published by the Institute before the start of admission process for every Academic Year.
• For consideration of qualifications obtained from universities/institutes outside India, an equivalence certificate issued by Association of Indian Universities will be required to be submitted along with application.

Eligibility and Qualifying degree for various departments is given in brochure.

Institute Assistantship (IA)

• The Institute may provide IA (Institute Assistantship) to full-time Ph.D. students who have qualified under eligibility mentioned in brochure.
• The Ph.D. students will be awarded the assistantships for a period of five years based on the performance every year.
• The assistantship is paid at the approved rates as specified by the MoE, GOI, from time to time.
• Full-time Ph.D. students, financially supported by research projects, may avail IA after completion of the project, provided that she/he has qualified GATE or any other eligible national level examination and have been admitted through the Institute selection process.
• The maximum duration of assistantship is five years (inclusive of Project and Institute funding) from the date of admission to the Ph.D. program. Extension of assistantship shall not be given in any case, beyond five years.
• A student should devote eight hours per week towards teaching/laboratory assistantship assigned to him/her. The renewal of assistantship is contingent on the recommendation of the Doctoral Scrutiny Committee (DSC) on the good performance of the candidate in the academic program and the discharge of assistantship duties.
• IA per month (INR)
  • First 2 years: 37000/-
  • 3rd, 4th and 5th year: 42000/-
• Contingency grant
  • A cumulative contingency grant of INR 30,000/- per annum is allowed with prior approval from the Guide and Head of the Department and the contingency is cumulative in nature. The work performance of the research scholars would be assessed as per the Institute rules. The IA may be withdrawn/withheld/discontinued at any time if the performance is unsatisfactory.

Application Form

• Interested candidates may submit their application through online mode.
• The detailed information are also available on the institute’s website at https://admissions.iitism.ac.in/phd/index.php/admission/add_phd/home
• The candidates are advised to save a soft copy of the application form after successful submission for future references.
• The hard copy of the application form or any other document is NOT required to be submitted at the time of application. However, the candidates are advised to keep a hard copy of the application form for their own reference.
• It is the responsibility of the candidate to follow the instructions given in the Ph.D. admission brochure and on the website carefully before submitting an online application.
• Any erroneous/wrong information provided during the online application, intentionally or unintentionally, will result in cancellation of the applicant’s candidature.
• No further information/clarification will be intimated to the candidates in such cases. Extension of the deadline will NOT be allowed in any case.

Admission Procedure

For IA the admission procedure consists of

• (i) scrutiny and shortlisting
• (ii) interview

Appropriate shortlisting criteria will be adopted by the department for the shortlisting of applications received against the Ph.D. admission 2025-26 from April 1, 2025 to April 30, 2025.

This includes

1. scrutiny against the eligibility criteria of admission to the particular program, academic credentials, etc
2. fixing appropriate cut-off GATE/CAT/GMAT score and/or
3. NET (LS) marks/rank and/or CGPA/OGPA/percentage in the qualifying degree and will be decided by the respective department, if necessary.

The final selection of the candidates for admission to the Ph.D. program will be based on their performance in the interview conducted by the respective departments.

Interview procedure

All IA candidates shortlisted for the interview have to appear for personal interview on the scheduled date at IIT(ISM), Dhanbad. The information about interview to the candidate will be communicated by respective department only.

• Commencement of online application: 4 April, 2025
• Last date for applying through online portal/COAP portal for registration: 30 April, 2025
• Intimation to shortlisted candidates for interview: 15 May, 2025
• Interview for shortlisted candidates: 26 May, 2025 to 28 May, 2025
• Declaration of the merit list (IIT(ISM) Dhanbad): 4 June, 2025
• Fee payment & Seat Acceptance of Merit list candidates: 4 June, 2025 to 9 June, 2025
• Declaration of extended merit list: 11 June, 2025
• Fee payment & Seat Acceptance of Extended Merit list candidates: 11 June, 2025 to 16 June, 2025
• Physical reporting (in Campus) & joining of admitted students: 1 July, 2025

• Application Form
• Brochure
• IIT Dhanbad Website