IIT Patna PhD Admission 2025 (July)

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Patna invites applications for admission to the Ph.D. program for July 2025 (Autumn Semester, AY-2025-26).

Admission Categories

REGULAR and FULL-TIME

• (a) INSTITUTE FELLOW
  • She/he receives assistantship from the Institute. The qualifying degree for financial support is:
  • BE / B. Tech./ BS / M. Sc./ MA/ MBA/ MCA /equivalent degree with a valid GATE score above the prescribed cut-off level / NET qualification. However, the minimum GATE cut-off doesn’t guarantee shortlisting for the test / interview.
  • The requirement of a GATE score is waived for candidates with a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering from the Centrally Funded Technical Institutes (CFTIs) with a CGPA of 8.0 and above (out of 10) in line with MHRD (now MoE) letter no. 17-2/2014 -TS. I dated February 18, 2015, and other IITs. Such candidates are required to appear in the interview for selection.
  • ME/ M Tech/ M Phil /equivalent degree with a GATE qualification not older than 05 years from the last date of submission of application / NET qualification.
  • Age Limit: Please refer to General Terms & Conditions – Minimum Eligibility Criteria for Admission to the PhD Programme.
• (b) RESEARCH FELLOW – JRF/SRF
  • Applicants having external fellowship from recognized Government funding agencies are encouraged to apply.
  • S/he receives fellowship from any government recognized funding agencies, such as CSIR, UGC, DBT, NBHM, DST (INSPIRE programme), and similar other schemes.
  • The Institute encourages candidates with external fellowship to apply year-round. However, admission to PhD would be considered during the regular cycle in July / January each Academic Year.
• (c) PROJECT STAFF
  • This category refers to a student who, as a project staff member, is working on a sponsored project (registered at R&D Unit, IIT Patna). The said project staff member is eligible to be admitted to the PhD Program (of this Institute) to work on a full-time basis. The minimum remaining duration of the project at the time of admission, as well as the tenure of the project employee, should be at least 2 years from the date of joining the PhD program. S/he must have qualified GATE not older than 05 years from the last date of submission of application / NET qualification.
  • If the project gets completed before the student completes their PhD, their category will no longer be that of Project Staff and their category will be converted to that of SELF-FINANCED unless s/he is granted an assistantship / fellowship from the Institute or any other funding agency.
  • A project staff member intending to join the PhD program of IIT Patna must produce an NOC on the day of the interview in the prescribed format: Form II, available on the website and annexed herewith: https://academics.iitp.ac.in/forms/Form-I-II-and-III-for-PhD-Admission.pdf through the Principal Investigator (PI), Head of the Department, and Dean/Associate Dean, R&D with suitable endorsement.

SPONSORED (FULL-TIME)

• A candidate in this category is sponsored by a reputed industry, R&D organization, academic institution (universities/colleges), government organization, PSUs, and autonomous bodies (central / state) for research and career advancement. The Institute does not provide any assistantship/fellowship to such a candidate.
• Candidates in the Sponsored category must be regular employees of the sponsoring organization (of repute) with a minimum of two years of job experience in the respective field. Candidates in this category must be regular employees of their organization with at least two years of professional experience in the respective field. The work experience of a minimum of two years is essential with the current employer.
• A student in this category is therefore a professionally employed person who pursues a PhD while continuing their services. The candidate has to work full-time in the Institute to obtain the degree for a period of 3 years.
• An intending sponsored candidate must produce an NOC on the day of the interview in the prescribed format: Form I, available on the website: https://academics.iitp.ac.in/forms/Form-III-and-III-for-PhD-Admission.pdf and annexed herewith.

EMPLOYED & PART-TIME

• A candidate in this category is a regularly employed person (including the staff of IIT Patna) who pursues the PhD program while continuing the duties of their service. The Institute does not provide any assistantship / fellowship to such a student. The minimum residential requirement is one or two semesters depending on the completion of mandatory coursework required for PhD students. Candidates in the Employed and Part-time category must be regular employees of their organization with at least two years of professional experience in the respective field. The work experience of a minimum of two years is essential with the current employer. An NOC must be produced on the day of the interview in the prescribed format: Form III, available on the website: https://academics.iitp.ac.in/forms/Form-I-II-and-III-for-PhD-Admission.pdf and annexed herewith.
• Candidates having experience for more than 10 years may be given a relaxation of up to 5% in the qualifying degree as specified in brochure.
• Candidates selected for Sponsored, and Employed & Part-time categories can have the opportunity to complete the mandatory coursework in online / hybrid mode with examination in physical mode on the Institute campus with prior approval from the competent authority of the Institute.

Eligibility Criteria

Age Limit

• In all the disciplines, the upper age limit is 28 years (B. Tech. / B.S. / B.E. / M. Sc. / MA / MCA / MBA) and 32 years (M. Tech. / M.E./ M.S. /M. Phil.) to be calculated as on the last date of application and is applicable only for candidates applying in Regular and Full-time category, as Institute Fellow.
• Upper age limit is relaxed up to 05 years in case of candidate belonging to Schedule Castes / Schedule Tribes, OBC, Women and PwD candidates.
• For Research/ project fellows, age limit will be as per the funding agency norms. In absence of any age criteria, the Institute norms will be followed.

Minimum Educational Qualification

PhD in Engineering / Science:

• M. Tech. / M.E. degree in Engineering / Technology with minimum 6.5 CPI or 60% marks.
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering / Technology (relevant branch/area) with minimum 6.5 CPI or 60% marks.
• Master’s degree in Science (relevant area) with minimum 6.5 CPI or 60% marks.

PhD in Science:

• M. Phil. or Master’s degree in Science (relevant area) with minimum 6.5 CPI or 60% marks.
• Master’s degree in Engineering / Technology (relevant area) with minimum 6.5 CPI or 60% marks.
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering / Technology (relevant branch/area) with minimum 6.5 CPI or 60% marks.

PhD in Humanities and Social Sciences:

• M. Phil. or Master’s degree in Arts/Commerce/Science/Management/Business Administration (relevant area) with minimum 6.5 CPI or 60% marks.
• Master’s degree in Engineering / Technology / Design (relevant area) with minimum 6.5 CPI or 60% marks.
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering / Technology (relevant branch/area) with minimum 6.5 CPI or 60% marks.

Relaxation for SC/ST Candidates:

5% marks or 0.5 CPI for SC/ ST applicants.

Reservations

The reservation of seats in admissions for SC, ST, OBC, EWS categories and for persons with disability (PwD) will be as per Government of India rules. OBC (Non-creamy layer) candidates will have to produce certificate and self-declaration statement as per formats indicated at brochure.

Direct Admission

For candidates in Sciences, Engineering & Technology

The Institute may admit exceptionally bright candidates as Full-time (Institute Fellows) by direct admission (i.e., without written test). Direct admission to PhD program for exceptionally bright candidate is permissible subject to fulfilment of the following conditions:

• B.Tech. / B. S. from the CFTIs, graduated within the last five years, with a degree in the respective discipline with a CPI/CGPA of > 8.0
• Masters from the IITs / IISc, graduated within the last five years, with a degree in the respective discipline with a CPI/CGPA of > 8.5

Such a candidate has to apply online. Additionally, an email claiming candidature for direct admission must be sent with scanned copy of the supporting documents to phd_admissions@iitp.ac.in .

There would be no admission in direct admission category in Department of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Financial Support

• The Institute assistantships will be available to eligible (Indian) students as per prevailing (MoE, GoI) norms, as applicable from time to time. At present total emoluments are Rs. 37,000/- per month for first two years and Rs. 42,000/- per month for subsequent years (governed as per MoE letter F.No. 32-18/2023-TS-l, dtd. 13.09.2023).
• Assistantships from external funding organizations will be available as per terms and conditionsof the concerned funding organizations. Students receiving assistantships from the Institute or fellowships from any other funding agencies are required to perform academic duties as per prevailing norms.
• The continuation of the assistantship / fellowship is subject to satisfactory performance of the assigned duties and satisfactory progress of the student in the PhD Programme.

Application Process

• Candidates are required to apply online.
• Candidates, applying for more than one department, must submit a separate application with separate fee-payment for each application.
• The application fee should be paid online through SBI Collect (Link in Notification). Application fee shall not be refunded.
• A reference/journal number will be generated after the payment, which must be mentioned in the application form and the printed e-receipt of payment and the hard copy of the application must be preserved.
• The candidates are required to take printout of the application details received in email after submitting online application. This printout along with self-attested copies of mark sheets & certificates (from class X to highest degree obtained/appeared), caste certificate (if applicable), GATE /NET/Relevant certificate related to any fellowship, experience certificate, other testimonials (both sides), and printed e-receipt of online payment must be produced on the day of test/interview, failing which the candidature is liable to be rejected.
• Candidates are NOT required to send application by post.

Selection Process

• The Institute reserves the right to call a limited number of candidates for test/interview, based on performance in GATE/NET, grades/marks in the qualifying examination, shortlisting criteria etc.
• Merely fulfilling minimum eligibility criteria does not guarantee call for test/interview.

• Start Date of On-line Application: 7 April, 2025
• Last Date of On-line Application: 30 April, 2025
• Issuance of Call Letter by Email: 7 May, 2025
• Examination Date Window: 16 May, 2025 – 23 May, 2025
• Result Release Date: 28 May, 2025
• Issuance of Offer Letter: 30 May, 2025

• Brochure
• Application
• IIT Patna Website