IIT Ropar PhD Humanities & Social Sciences Admission 2026 (April)

IIT Ropar invites applications for admission to PhD Programs in the Department of Humanities & Social Sciences for First semester of the academic year 2026-27.

Category for PhD Program

Candidates will be admitted to the PhD programme of the Institute under one of the following categories:

Regular Full-Time PhD

• Institute Fellowship
  • Candidates under this category are entitled for Institute Research Assistantship/Fellowship as per Ministry of Education, Govt. of India norms.
• Visvesvarya Ph.D Scheme
  • • Candidates under this category are entitled for Visvesvaraya fellowship. Details are at link: https://negd.gov.in/visvesvaraya-phd-scheme/
• Govt./ Semi Govt. Fellowship Awardees, such as PMRF, CSIR-JRF, UGC-JRF, DST-INSPIRE, DBT, NBHM, PMRF, QIP, DST- WISE PhD, etc. or any other full time fellowship
  • These candidates are financially supported under various Govt./Semi Govt. schemes. The admission procedure and other requirements are the same as applicable to research scholars/institute fellowship.
• Fellowship through Project (FTP)
  • The admission procedure and other requirements for research Fellows (JRFs/SRFs) in various projects/schemes in the institute who wish to enroll for the PhD programme are the same as applicable to Institute Research Scholars. They will be paid assistantship/fellowships as per the norms of the project and sanctioned amount. The candidate has to fulfill all the eligibility requirements of the funding agency and the institute criteria.
• Self financed Indian Nationals, including those on Study Leave (SF)
  • The candidates admitted under this category are not eligible for any financial support from the Institute (IIT Ropar). Candidates with the provisional DST -INSPIRE fellowship award letter may apply under Self-Finance (SF) category. After successful admission, if the candidate subsequently clears the final round of selection of DSTINSPIRE, s/he would be allowed to convert from the Self-Finance (SF) to Fellowship Award (FA) category. Candidates who are released from the Government or educational Institutions on study leave for a period not less than three years for doing research work at IIT Ropar, can seek admission under this category. Employer’s Letter for Study Leave should be produced at the ti888o99me of joining, if selected.
• Sponsored Candidate (SW)
  • The candidates admitted under this category are not eligible for any financial support from the Institute (IIT Ropar) and are sponsored by their employers. They are expected to be relieved for full time course work and research at the Institute for a minimum period of three years. An appropriate sponsorship letter should be submitted at the time of written test and/or interview.

Part Time PhD Programme

• External Registration Programme (ERP)
  • This category refers to a candidate employed in an R&D organization/academic institution/industry having adequate research facilities. The research work leading to the Ph.D. degree may be carried out largely in the parent organization of the candidate under a Local Supervisor from the organization but with the overall guidance provided by a faculty member (Institute Supervisor) of the department in which the candidate is registered.
• Part-time
  • A research scholar under the Part time PhD Programme will carry out major part or all of his/her research work at IIT Ropar under the supervision of supervisor(s) at IIT Ropar. The feasibility of doing this with sufficient intensity will be an important consideration in admitting the scholar in this category
  • A candidate in this category is a professionally employed person having regular employment in Government Organizations, like MEITY, DRDO, MHA, CSIR, Central Universities (including IIT Ropar regular staff), the employees of National and International reputed private organizations/industries viz. Reliance, TATA, Birla, Samsung, Nokia, Infosys, GE, similar MNC companies, etc., who would like to pursue the Ph.D. program while continuing the employment at their parent organization. The institute does not provide any financial assistance/fellowship to such a candidate.
  • Temporary employees, outsourced employees, employees from private universities, state universities, startups, small enterprises etc are not eligible.
• IIT Ropar regular Staff
  • Members of non­teaching staff (working in permanent capacity, including technical and non­technical) may be permitted to join the Ph.D. program under this category. All common rules laid down in the Ph.D. Regulations relating to course work, prosecution of research work under the supervision of a member of faculty, etc. shall be applicable.

Eligibility Criteria

Regular Full-time PhD

Qualifying Degree	Minimum Performance in Qualifying Degree for General/OBC (Non-Creamy Layer)/EWS Category Candidates	Minimum Performance in Qualifying Degree for SC/ST/PwD category Candidates	Qualification Through National Level Examination Requirements
M.Sc/M.A/MBA or equivalent Master degree) OR (PG diploma in management and a relevant Bachelor’s degree such that minimum five years of Undergraduate & Postgraduate)	60% marks or 6.00 CGPA on a 10-point scale	55% marks or 5.5 CGPA on a 10-point scale	Qualified GATE/ CSIR/UGC -NET/ DST-INSPI RE/ JEST/NBHM or other national fellowship
M.Tech./M.E/M.D. or equivalent/5 year Integrated Master’s degree in engineering / 5 year BS-MS Dual degree	60% marks or 6.00 CGPA on a 10-point scale	55% marks or 5.5 CGPA on a 10-point scale	Nil
B.E./B.Tech. or equivalent four years program	60% marks or 6.00 CGPA on a 10-point scale	55% marks or 5.5 CGPA on a 10-point scale	Qualified GATE/CSIR/UGC -NET/DST-INSPI RE/JEST/NBHM or other national fellowship

Exemptions

Requirement of qualification in GATE / National level Exam is waived off for the following categories of applicants.

• Candidates from Centrally Funded Technical Institutes (CFTIs) completed B.Tech./B.E./ Integrated M.Tech./ Integrated M.Sc. programmes (or any other programme of minimum four year duration, admission to which is on the basis of JEE), must obtain a CGPA of 7.5 or above (on a 10 point scale) at the time of graduation, and before they formally register for Ph.D. programme (75% aggregate marks, if marks is the primary mode of evaluation).

Eligibility Requirement for ERP candidates

Minimum Eligibility Requirements : In addition to possessing the academic qualifications mentioned in the table under regular full-time Ph.D program, an applicant should fulfill the following additional requirements also.

• GATE or equivalent qualification : GATE or Equivalent Qualification is not required for admission.
• Professional Experience: Should have completed full time employment of 2 years of service as on the deadline of application.
• Organization/Institution: Organization/Institution must have at least 5 years of its existence for sponsoring candidates to the ERP programme. Only persons engaged in R & D work in Technical / Scientific Institutions/ Industries or R & D Establishments are eligible. The organization should have adequate facilities for carrying out research. All CFTIs/GFTIs will be considered irrespective of their years of existence.
• Sponsorship/NOC – Unconditional sponsorship or NOC by the employer is essential and a must at the time of joining. IIT Ropar will not have any financial liability for the candidate throughout the tenure of PhD. The sponsorship certificate must be provided in the format specified at FORMAT-A in brochure.

Eligibility Requirement for Part-Time candidates

Minimum eligibility requirements : In addition to possessing the academic qualifications mentioned in the table under regular full-time Ph.D program, an applicant should fulfill the following additional requirements also:

• Professional Experience: The minimum full-time experience required after obtaining the qualifying degree and as on date of application deadline, is given in table below

Qualifications	Work Experience (Post Qualification)
M.A./M.B.A /M.Sc./. B.E./B.Tech. or equivalent, from CFTIs/Central Universities	1 Year
M.Sc./M.A./MBA/B.E./B.Tech./or equivalent, from institutions other than CFTIs/Central Universities	2 Year
M.E./M.Tech./M.S.(R)/M.D. or Equivalent	2 Year
B.Tech./BE with valid GATE	2 Years

• Minimum Eligibility Qualification for these candidates is the same as for full-time candidates, except that the requirement of qualifying in a national examination is waived for serial No. 1, 3 and 4 of above table.
• No Objection Certificate: Part-time candidates are required to submit a “No Objection Certificate” on a proper letterhead from the Head of the Institute/Competent authority in the organization on the specified format given at FORMAT-B.
• If the candidate after joining the PhD program changes the organization, he should inform the Institute immediately and get NoC from the new organization as well.

Eligibility Requirement for IIT Ropar Staff

Minimum eligibility requirements: In addition to possessing the academic qualifications mentioned in the table under regular full-time Ph.D program, an applicant should fulfill the following additional requirements also:

• GATE or equivalent qualification: Minimum qualification for these candidates is the same as for regular PhD candidates except that the requirement of qualifying in a national examination (e.g., GATE or equivalent) is waived off.
• No Objection Certificate: Prior permission/No Objection Certificate (NOC) has to be obtained from competent authority before applying for admission to the program. NOC has to be submitted at the time of submission of application. Institute work should not suffer due to joining the PhD programme by the candidate.
• Selection Procedure: Short-listed eligible staff will be called for written exam or interview or both Final selection is based on the performance of the staff in the written exam or interview or both.
• Fellowship: Members of staff permitted and enrolled for the PhD degree shall not be entitled to institute fellowship.
• Duration: The minimum period to be spent in the research work registered under the Part-Time Ph.D. for Staff degree shall be 4 years. The maximum period admissible for completion of the course work, research work and submission of the thesis, shall, however, remain to be the same as in the case of regular candidates.

Selection Process

• Eligible candidates possessing the minimum educational qualifications & eligible degree and satisfying additional and stiffer criteria set by the departments from time to time, will be called for a “test and interview” or “interview” by the Selection Committees of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Application Process

• Candidates have to fill application form online.
• Register on online application portal available on IIT Ropar official website.
• Read instructions carefully before filling application form.
• Submit the application ONLINE. After filling the form, take a print of your application and keep the same for your record. Print copy of the application is not required to be submitted.

• Last Date for Application: 10 April, 2026
• Date of interview: 18-12 May, 2026

• PhD Admission Brochure
• Application
• IIT Ropar Website