IIT Palakkad PhD Admission 2025 (July)

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Palakkad invites applications for PhD admission in various disciplines for July 2025 Session.

Eligibility Criteria

PhD in Engineering

• Candidates with a Master’s degree in Engineering/Technology/ Architecture/Planning or a Master’s degree by Research in Engineering/Technology/ Architecture/Planning with a good academic record.
• Candidates with a Master’s degree in Sciences with a good academic record and of exceptional merit are eligible for the relevant Engineering discipline. They should have a valid GATE score or CSIR-UGC NET (all categories)/NBHM or equivalent qualification in the relevant area tenable for the year of registration.
• Candidates who have qualified for the award of a four-year Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/Technology/Sciences with an exceptionally good academic record and a valid GATE score in an eligible discipline will be considered for direct admission to PhD.
• Candidates who have qualified for the award of a four-year Bachelor’s or integrated Master’s degree in Engineering/Technology/ Sciences/Architecture/Planning from a Centrally Funded Technical Institute (CFTI) or a two-year MSc from CFTIs (entry through JAM only) with an exceptionally good academic record in an eligible discipline, provided he/she has a minimum CGPA of 8 (7.5 for OBC-NCL/GEN-EWS and 7.0 for SC/ST/PwD) on a 10.0 point scale.

PhD in Sciences

• Master’s degree in Sciences/Medical/ Pharma/Veterinary Sciences/Allied Health Sciences with a good academic record and a valid GATE score or UGC-CSIR NET (all categories)/NBHM/INSPIRE/ICMR/JEST or other similar National Level Fellowships or equivalent qualification tenable for the current financial year in the relevant area.
• Candidates who have qualified for the award of a four-year Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/Technology/Sciences/Architecture/Planning with an exceptionally good academic record and a valid GATE score in an eligible discipline will be considered for direct admission to PhD.
• Candidates who have qualified for the award of a four-year Bachelor’s or integrated Master’s degree in Engineering/Technology/Sciences/Architecture/Planning from a Centrally Funded Technical Institute (CFTI) or a two-year MSc from CFTIs (entry through JAM only) with an exceptionally good academic record in an eligible discipline, provided he/she has a minimum CGPA of 8 (7.5 for OBC-NCL and 7.0 for SC/ST/PwD) on a 10.0 point scale.
• Candidates with a Master’s degree in Engineering/Technology/ Architecture/Planning or a Master’s degree (by Research) in Engineering/Technology/ Architecture/Planning with a good academic record.

PhD in Humanities and Social Sciences

• Master’s degree in Humanities with a good academic record and a valid GATE score or UGC-NET (all categories) or other similar National Level Fellowships or equivalent qualification tenable for the current financial year in the relevant area.
• Master’s degree in Sciences with an exceptionally good academic record with a valid GATE score.
• Candidates who have qualified for the award of a four-year Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/Technology/Sciences/ Architecture/Planning/Humanities and Social Sciences with an exceptionally good academic record and a valid GATE score will be considered for direct admission to PhD.
• Candidates who have qualified for the award of a four-year Bachelor’s or integrated Master’s degree in Engineering/Technology/Sciences/Architecture/Planning from a Centrally Funded Technical Institute (CFTI) or a two-year MSc from CFTIs (entry through JAM only) with an exceptionally good academic record in an eligible discipline, provided he/she has a minimum CGPA of 8 (7.5 for OBC-NCL/GEN-EWS and 7.0 for SC/ST/PwD) on a 10.0 point scale.
• Candidates with a Master’s degree in Engineering/Technology/ Architecture/Planning or a Master’s degree (by Research) in Engineering/Technology/ Architecture/Planning with a good academic record.

Institute staff members or Research Scholars under External Registration

• For MS/PhD Research Scholars in these categories, the minimum educational qualifications are the same as prescribed for full-time research scholars. However, a valid GATE score or CSIR / UGC JRF or Lectureship / NBHM or equivalent qualification as applicable for regular full-time research scholars shall not be required in these cases.
• Candidates who are sponsored by and employed in the parent industry/organization having R&D facilities and recognized by DSIR (or IIT Palakkad, or from national laboratories and CFTIs) are only eligible for MS (by Research)/PhD under the external registration category. The List of Scientific and Industrial Research Organizations (SIROs) Recognized by DSIR is available at this link.
• The list of institutions other than CFTIs, DSIR recognized organizations, and National Laboratories, recognized by IIT Palakkad for external registration, is available in Appendix – 5.
• Research scholars under this category will normally carry out part or all of their research work in the industry / organization / national laboratory employing the scholar under the supervision of a co-guide employed in the same organization and a guide at IIT Palakkad. The co-guide should have a PhD degree in Engineering/Technology; in the absence of which, a research coordinator belonging to the parent organization should be designated.

Selection Procedure

• Eligible candidates possessing the minimum educational qualifications and satisfying additional and stiffer criteria set from time to time, will be called for an interview and/or test by the Selection Committee.
• If you are shortlisted, you will be required to submit a statement of purpose (SOP) in support of your application in about 500 words in pdf format.
  • SOP should list research areas in the order of preference.
  • SOP should not exceed 500 words.
  • SOP should be submitted in pdf format.
• The applications of foreign nationals may be considered with or without a personal interview / test.
• Based on the academic record and the performance of the candidates in the interview and/or test, the Selection Committee will recommend to the Chairman, Senate the names of candidates found suitable for admission.

Financial Assistance

Assistance will be as per MHRD norms. Fulltime Scholars admitted to M.S. and Ph.D. programare eligible for the Half-time Teaching/Research Assistantship (HTRA) for which:

1. They should work for 8 hours per week for the Institute to earn this assistantship. The work would normally involve assistance in teaching/research, and will be assigned by the Institute.
2. Renewal of assistantship every semester will be contingent on enrolment, satisfactory progress in research work and good performance during the preceding semester in the discharge of responsibility as teaching/ research assistant.

Other scholarships like UGC- JRF, CSIR-JRF, ICMR, ICAR & AICTE etc. may also be available for those who have qualified for these schemes and get admission and the amount of fellowship will be as per the norms of the funding agency.

Application Process

• Application form is available online.
• Kindly go through the information brochure before applying.
• Create an account in the portal.
• Please check your email for the welcome email.
• Log in with your email and password.
• Click on “Programs” > Choose “MS” or “PhD”.
• Click the “Apply” button against the MS/PhD program that you wish to apply.
• Fill personal details.
• Fill qualification details.
• Enter the details of your GATE/UGC-NET/Other National Level Test scores
• Upload the required documents. If you do not possess a valid category Certificate (due to current situation), please fill the enclosed undertaking and upload the same in PDF format.
• Verify the data in profile using “Preview” and do the final submission if everything is okay.
• Make the payment.
• Download application after successful payment.

• Advertisement to Appear: 4 April, 2025
• Application Portal Opens: 4 April, 2025
• Last date for submission of application online: 27 April, 2025
• Shortlist to appear: On or before 12 May, 2025
• Interview dates: Between 21 May, 2025 and 6 June, 2025
• Selection list to appear: Before 12 June, 2025
• Date of Joining: 7 July, 2025

• Information Brochure
• Application Form
• IIT Palakkad Website