IIT Madras PhD Admission 2025 (July)

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras invites applications for admission to PhD Programs under Regular/External Schemes/Part-Time.

Eligibility Criteria

Minimum Educational Qualifications For Regular Research Scholars

PhD in Sciences

• Master’s degree in Sciences with a good academic record and having a valid GATE score or UGC-JRF/ NET/CSIR-JRF/NBHM/ INSPIRE/JEST or equivalent qualification tenable for the current year in the relevant area.
• Master’s degree in Engineering/Technology or 5 Year BS+MS Dual degree/ 5 Year Integrated degree are eligible with a good academic record.
• 2 Year M.Sc. from IITs (entry through JAM) with 8.0 and above are exempted from qualifying in National level examinations otherwise valid national level examination score is required.
• Students who get more than 8.0 CGPA in M.Sc. in Science Departments of IIT Madras can be admitted directly to their Ph.D programme in Sciences with interview at departmental level.

PhD in Engineering

• Candidates with a Master’s degree in Engineering/Technology with a good academic record / Master’s degree by Research in Engineering/Technology with a good academic record / 5 Year Dual Degree in Engineering or 5 Year BS+MS Dual degree with a good academic record.
• 2 Year M.Sc. from IITs (entry through JAM) with 8.0 and above are exempted from qualifying in National Level Examinations otherwise with valid National Level Examination score is required.
• Candidates with Master’s degree in Sciences with a good academic record and of exceptional merit are eligible, for the relevant Engineering disciplines (as decided by admitting departments). Candidates must have a valid GATE score or UGC-JRF/NET/CSIR-JRF or equivalent qualification in the relevant area tenable for the year of registration.
• In the case of candidates with Bachelor’s degree in Engineering / Technology AND possess more than 5 years relevant work experience after the Master’s degree in Engineering/Technology, the requirement of a test score may be waived by the Selection Committee.

PhD in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence

• Candidates need to have completed a PG degree in Engineering/Technology.

PhD in Humanities and Social Sciences

• Master’s degree / dual degree or equivalent in a relevant discipline other than Engineering / Technology AND Qualifying UGC – NET or JRF / CSIR-JRF / GATE Score or equivalent qualification tenable for the current year in the relevant area or international level post graduate admission examination such as GRE applicable to OCI/NRI/Foreign Nationals (Non-HTRA). OR
• Master’s degree in Engineering/Technology or 5 Year BS+MS Dual degree/ 5 Year Integrated degree with a good academic record.

PhD in Management

• Master’s degree or 2 year PG Diploma in a relevant discipline, and a Bachelor’s degree with a good academic record (minimum five years of undergraduate and postgraduate education) OR Five year integrated master’s degree / dual degree or equivalent in a relevant discipline with a good academic record AND Qualifying in national level examinations such as GATE/CAT/UGC-JRF/NET/CSIR-JRF or equivalent OR International level post graduate admission examination such as GMAT/GRE (Non-HTRA) applicable to OCI/NRI/Foreign Nationals.
• Master’s degree in Engineering / Technology with a good academic record or a Master’s degree by Research in Engineering / Technology in a relevant discipline.
• Candidates with MBA or 2 year PG diploma from Centrally Funded Technical Institute (CFTI) with CGPA of 8 and above are exempted from qualifying in National level examinations.

For Direct PhD Program

Candidates who have qualified for the award of Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/Technology/ Bachelor of Science (Research) of 4 year duration with exceptionally good academic record in an eligible discipline will be considered for Direct Ph.D. Programme in various
Engineering/Sciences/Humanities & Social Sciences/Management stream as a Regular scholar subject to fulfilling any one of following criteria –

• a B.Tech. degree holder of Centrally Funded Technical Institute with a minimum CGPA of 8.0 on a 10.0 point scale or with a valid GATE score.
• a BS (Research) 4 year degree holder of Centrally Funded Technical Institute with a minimum CGPA of 8.0 on a 10.0 point scale or with a valid GATE score.
• a Bachelor’s degree holder in Engineering/Technology with a minimum CGPA of 8.0 on a 10.0 point scale or equivalent from any other University and having a valid GATE score.
• a Bachelor’s degree holder in Engineering/Technology with a minimum CGPA of 8.0 on a 10.0 point scale or equivalent from any other University and working in a reputed R & D organization & having a proven research record (External Category).
• a MBBS/BDS degree holder with minimum first class and valid NEET PG qualifying score will be eligible to apply for direct Ph.D. programme under HTRA category in Engineering Design department. If the candidate meets the above degree requirement but doesn’t possess valid NEET PG qualifying score then they can apply under NHTRA category (Parttime / External / Project) to the same department.
• Candidates possessing M.Sc (Maths) or M.Sc. (Computer Science) from CFTI or a highly recognized institute such as Indian Statistical Institute and Chennai Mathematical Institute with the minimum CGPA of 8.0 on 10.0 scale and valid GATE (Maths) or GATE (CS) score can apply under HTRA category in Computer Science & Engineering department.
• Candidates with Bachelor’s degree in Engineering / Technology or 4 year online / any recognized 4yr B.Sc / 4yr BS Degree (of IITs / CFTIs/ UGC) in Engineering / Technology/ Sciences/Management with valid GATE score with a good academic record in the relevant areas.

For Permanent Institute Staff members / Research Scholars under QIP / Research Scholars under External Registration / Research Scholars under Part-time Registration

• For Research Scholars in the above categories, the minimum educational qualifications are the same as prescribed for Regular Research Scholars for admission to the Ph.D. Programme in the respective categories.
• However, valid GATE score or CSIR-JRF/UGC-JRF/NET or equivalent qualification as applicable for Regular research scholars may not be required in these cases.
• One year PG programme from Accredited Universities is considered as one of the eligibility criteria for admission to Ph.D. at IIT Madras. Following are the conditions:
  • The Selection committee may consider the applicant for direct Ph.D., if the candidate found suitable and meet eligibility requirements.
  • Courses completed already in one year PG programme may be considered by the Doctoral Committee towards course requirement for Direct Ph.D.
  • The scholar will be eligible for HTRA, if they qualify GATE (equivalent to Direct Ph.D. scholars)

Department wise requiremts is given in brochure. Before applying please make sure to see the eligibility criteria in the admission brochure.

Financial Assistance

Scholars admitted to Ph.D. and M.S. programmes under Regular scheme are eligible for the Half-Time Research Assistantship (HTRA) for which:

• They should work for 8 hours per week in the Departments to earn this assistantship.
• Renewal of assistantship every semester will be contingent on enrollment, satisfactory progress in research work and good performance during the preceding semester in the discharge of responsibility as research assistant.
• PhD HTRA scholars are eligible for Institute Fellowship of Rs.37,000/- per month for the first two years and Rs.42,000/- per month for the next three years. In addition, they are also eligible for HRA as per GOI norms.
• Other scholarships like UGC-JRF, CSIR-JRF, DBT-JRF, NBHM, INSPIRE etc. may also be available for those who had qualified for these schemes and if admitted under any one of these scholarships then the amount of fellowship will be as per the norms of the funding agency. The admission procedure and other requirements are same as applicable for the Regular HTRA candidates.

Selection Process

• Shortlisted candidates will be called for test and interview / interview.
• Please refer the Department’s website regarding the selection process.
• Candidates called for Ph.D./Direct Ph.D. interview under the Regular (HTRA) category will be paid second sleeper class single to & fro rail/bus fare from their place of residence to Chennai by the shortest route. A candidate is entitled for a single TA as above even if he/she may attend interview in more than one department in the same trip

Application Process

• Candidate has to apply online on https://research.iitm.ac.in/
• Read the instructions and information brochure carefully before filling application form.
• Candidates who wish to apply to multiple departments or research programmes should register individual application and pay the application fee separately.
• Shortlisted Candidates called for written test/interview should submit soft copy of the online application along with relevant certificates/documents.

• Portal Open for Online Application: 11th November 2024
• Last date of Receipt of Online Application (Extended): 3rd April 2025 5:00 PM

• Brochure
• Application Form
• IIT Madras Website