IIT Kharagpur PhD Admission 2026-27

Applications are invited for admission to the Ph.D. Programme [Regular with Institute Assistantship, Individual Fellowship (i.e. CSIR/UGC/ DBT/ICMR/ INSPIRE etc.), Sponsored, and Working Professionals] of the Institute in all disciplines of Engineering, Technology, Science, Architecture & Regional Planning, Humanities & Social Sciences, Rural Development, Law, Management and Medicine. IIT Kharagpur.

Eligibility Criteria

Minimum 60% marks or a CGPA of 6.5 in 10 point scale in the qualifying examination (A and/or B given below) in Science /Engineering / Commerce /Management/ Law and/or equivalent OR

Minimum 55% marks or a CGPA of 6.0 in 10 point scale in the qualifying examination (A and/or B given below) in Social Science/Humanities/MBBS degree and/or equivalent.

Note –

Candidates appearing in the final year of qualifying degree programme whose final result is awaited is required to enter the CGPA/Marks of all other preceding semesters expect the final semester for that particular programme e.g., for B.Tech programme of 8 semesters, CGPA/Marks upto the 7th semester or M.Sc./M.Tech. programme of 2 years, CGPA/Marks upto 3rd semester and so on. An application not meeting this requirement will be rejected.

CGPA will not be converted into percentage if the degree awarding Institute provides marks in CGPA system and vice versa.

A) Minimum qualifying degree required for admission into the Ph.D. program

• M.Tech (Master of Technology) / MS / ME (Master of Engineering)/ M.Sc.(Engg.,)
• M. Arch. /MRP (Master of Regional Planning) / MCP (Master of City planning)
• M. Phil. (2 years programme)
• PG Diploma/MBA in Management of 2-year duration (after completion of M.Sc/MA/B.Tech/ M.Com)
• LLM (2 years programme) after either 3 years LLB degree after 10+2+3 examination or at least 5 years of integrated LLB degree after 10+2 examination
• A equivalent degree  to any of the above

OR

B) Minimum qualifying degree required for admission to the Ph.D. program

• B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology)/ BE (Bachelor of Engineering)/ B.Sc (Engg.)/BS (4 yrs.)
• B.Arch (Bachelor of Architecture)
• M.Sc. (Master of Science) / MA (Master of Arts) / M. Phil. (1 year programme)
• MBA/PG Diploma in Management of 2-year duration (after completion of BA/B.Sc/B.Com)
• MBBS degree with compulsory one-year internship
• 5 years (minimum) of integrated LLB degree after 10+2 examination OR 3 years LLB degree after 10 + 2 + 3 examination
• A degree equivalent to any of the above, comprising a total of 10+2+3+2 years

Additional Requirements for different Admission category

For Regular with Institute Assistantship

1. For candidates with M.Tech. / M.S. (by Research) or equivalent degree, GATE qualification is not mandatory
2. B.Tech. / B.E./ B.S. (or equivalent) from IITs with at least 8.0 CGPA – (GATE / NET qualification not mandatory);
3. B.Tech. / B.E./ B. S. (or equivalent) from other CFTIs / Universities / Institutes whose current NIRF ≤ 25) with at least 8.0 CGPA – (GATE / NET qualification not mandatory);
4. B.Tech. / B.E. / B.S. students (or equivalent) from institutes other than those covered under (b) and (c) with GATE Score / NET qualification in the previous five years (to be counted from the particular year when the candidate applies for admission);
5. B.S.-M.S./5-Year Integrated M.Sc. from CFTIS / Universities / Institutes whose current NIRF ≤ 25, or Joint M.Sc.-Ph.D. program of IIT Kharagpur with at least 8.0 CGPA – (GATE / NET qualification not mandatory)
6. For other candidates with degrees equivalent to Masters, not covered in (i) to (v), the existing minimum eligibility criteria will continue.

Candidates who are having minimum qualifying degree as (B) above must possess a valid GATE score that is above the cut-off level of students admitted for M.Tech/MCP admission in a particular year or NET qualification with Assistant Professorship for the award of Institute Research Assistantship. For admission in PhD programme, the validity of NET qualification with Assistant Professorship is for three (5) years from the date of declaration of NET results.

• If a person who is in employment and is applying for Institute Assistantship and is selected for admission, he/she must resign and produce the acceptance of resignation by the employer at the time of joining or produce a document that he/she is not receiving any salary from his/her employer along with proper document of sanctioned leave.
• The Institute Research Assistantship shall be awarded for a maximum period of 5 years. At present the amounts are as follows:
  • Rs. 37,000/- pm for the first 2 years
  • Rs. 42,000/- pm for the next 3 years
• No Research Student shall be permitted to receive any emoluments, salary, stipend or any other scholarship/assistantship during the tenure of Institute Research Assistantship.

For Individual Fellowship (CSIR/UGC/DBT/ICAR/INSPIRE etc.)

• Candidates applying for Individual Fellowship category must have valid fellowship award letter issued by the respective fellowship agency (i.e. CSIR/ UGC/ ICMR/ DST/ DBT etc.).
• Candidates admitted under Individual Fellowship category shall not be entitled for Institute Research Assistantship.
• Candidates having provisional Individual Fellowship award letter must give an undertaking that “In case of cancelation/withdrawal of Provisional award of fellowship by the funding agency, the admission at IIT Kharagpur will be cancelled from the date of joining the Ph.D. programme and there is no liability on the part of IIT Kharagpur in this regard”.

For Sponsored

• Persons who possess the minimum prescribed qualifications (a) OR (b) (without GATE/NET) mentioned above and are in service in any of the following establishments with Minimum of two-year job experience shall be eligible for admission to the Ph.D program as sponsored candidates:
  • a) Defense or other ministries of the Government of India or any other government
  • organizations;
  • b) Established industrial research and development organizations;
  • c) Autonomous bodies and public undertakings;
  • d) Universities/colleges;
  • e) Reputed industries as may be recognized by the Institute.
• An intending sponsored candidate must submit his/her application in prescribed form along with No objection cum sponsorship certificate (Appendix I) for admission through his/her employer, who will forward the same to the Institute with suitable endorsement.
• A sponsored candidate selected for admission shall be required, at the time of joining the Institute, to produce certificate in the prescribed form from the employers to the effect: (i) that he/she has been officially released from his duties for purpose of joining the program and has been granted leave for the required period; (ii) that his/her services shall be retained with the employer.
• In the case of a sponsored candidate admitted as such to the Ph.D program, the minimum residential requirement is one year at a stretch subject to successful completion of the prescribed course work.
• A candidate sponsored by an industry, an R&D organization, educational institution or a Government organization having adequate research facilities may be allowed to work externally subject to his/her fulfilling all such conditions prescribed in the Regulations. There is no provision of any financial assistance for sponsored candidates.

For PhD through Project

• Persons who possess the minimum prescribed qualifications and are working in a sponsored project of the Institute (i.e. under the auspices of SRIC of the Institute) shall be eligible for admission to the Ph.D program under project category.
• If the candidate holds a B.Tech. / B.E. / BS / M.S. (by Research) / B.S.-M.S. / 5-Year Integrated M.Sc. degree from any IIT or CFTI, or any other institute within NIRF ≤ 25, and has a CGPA ≥ 8.0, he/she is eligible for admission to the Ph.D. programme, even without GATE Score / NET Qualification.
• The concerned candidate must submit his/her application in a prescribed format for admission, through the Principal Investigator (PI) and Head of the Department/Centre/School and Dean, R&D, with forwarding endorsement.

For detailed eligibility read information brochure.

Application Process

Applicants are required to apply online at IIT Kharagpur official website.

Read instructions carefully before filling application form.

Steps To Fill Application Form –

• STEP-I : Fill in the ONLINE application form
  • Register with Your Email Id and Login. FILL in the appropriate data. Please note that you have to upload your testimonials wherever it is required to validate your information along with your digital photograph and signature.
• STEP-II : Make PAYMENT and SUBMIT Application
  • Payment of application fee has to be made through online payment gateway only.
• STEP-III : Take PRINT
  • After final submission of your online application, you will be able to generate your online application printed with your specific details/data. This application printout may be retained with you for future requirement.

Selection Process

Departmental Academic Committee (Post-Graduate and Research), abbreviated as DAC (PG&R), of the Department/Centre concerned recommends the admission of a candidate to the Ph.D. program on the basis of:

• Overall Academic Performance
• Online Written Test and
• Interview

The academic units may shortlist the candidates for final interview based only on Overall Academic Performance or based on both Overall Academic Performance and an Online written test. However, final selection will be based on overall academic performance and performance in final interview only.

• Application Process: throughout the year

Since this is a rolling advertisement, candidates may apply for Ph.D. admission throughout the year. Processing of applications will be done at least quarterly by each academic unit; unprocessed applications, if any, will remain valid till the end of the next quarter.

• Information Brochure
• Application Form
• IIT Kharagpur Website