NIT Patna PhD Admission 2026 (Jan)

National Institute of Technology Patna invites applications for admission to PhD Program in various departments for even semester ((Jan-June 2026) for the academic session 2025-26.

PhD Admission Categories

• Full Time Ph.D. Programme:
  • With Stipend/Scholarship – Funded by NIT Patna
  • Full time Sponsored Candidate: Regular Employee of PSU, Government department, R&D organization, Industries of repute, Faculties of the Educational institutions and sponsored defence personnel may be considered for admission as a sponsored full-time research scholar.
  • The sponsored candidates are exempted from GATE/ NET qualification, but they should possess the minimum entry qualification fixed by the institute as per eligibility criteria for full time candidate selection. These candidates may be exempted from the Screening written test for admission. However, they have to undertake the selection interview for assessment of their knowledge in the field of their research interest.
  • Sponsored applicants have to submit NOC from their employer and shall be considered against supernumerary seats, and shall not be counted against open seats notified for admission to the program. If sponsored candidates join new job during his/her PhD programme then he/she MUST submit NOC from new employer.
  • Candidates with direct financial support from Govt. / Semi Govt. agencies e.g. CSIR, UGC, DST, DAE, etc. may also be considered for admission/treated as a sponsored full-time research scholar.
• Part Time: without Assistantship
  • Sponsored employee of PSU, Government department, Research & Development organization, Industry of repute, Educational institutions Faculty, employees under MoU, sponsored defence personnel, etc. The candidates must be working in regular/permanent capacity in the aforesaid organisation.
  • The sponsored candidates are exempted from GATE/ NET qualification, but they should possess the minimum entry qualification fixed by the institute as per eligibility criteria for part time programme. These candidates may be exempted from appearing in screening written test for admission, however, they have to appear in the selection interview for assessment of their knowledge required in the field of their research interest.
  • Sponsored applicants have to submit NOC from their principal employer and shall be considered against supernumerary seats, and shall not be counted against open seats notified for admission to the program. If sponsored candidates joins new job during his/her PhD programme then he/she MUST submit NOC from new employer.
• JRF/SRF working in Project:
  • JRFs/SRFs who fulfill the eligibility criteria and are working in an externally funded research project running in the Institute provided such projects must not have less than one year tenure left on the date of registration in the Programme are eligible for Admission in Ph.D. programme in the respective domain/department.
    Such a candidate should submit a No Objection Certificate from the Principal Investigator (PI) of the project. They will be required to attend normal duties assigned to them by the PI of the research project and attend classes to complete the course work requirements. They are also required to continue the work of Research Project till the duration for which they were appointed in the project, failing which their admission in Ph.D. Programme will stand cancelled.
  • He/she will not be eligible for any Institute Scholarship/Fellowship even after completion of research project. Such admission will be taken against supernumerary seats only. Such candidate will be guided by PhD regulation of the Institute. Admission committee of the department will send the recommendation for admission to Dean (Academic). In case, he/she leaves the project during the project duration then his/her admission will be terminated without assigning any reason.
• Faculty
  • Non-PhD Faculty either Regular or Appointed on Consolidated salary of NIT Patna can be admitted into the Ph.D programme as a Part-time candidate to the Doctoral program against supernumerary seat provided they fulfill minimum eligibility of qualification and will be governed by the regulation of the Doctoral program. They will be required to attend normal duties assigned to them by the Head of Department and attend classes to complete the course work requirements.

Area of Specialization

• Electronics and Communication Engineering:
  • RF/Microwave/THz Devices and Circuits
  • Antenna Engineering
  • Meta- materials and Meta- surfaces
  • Radar
  • VLSI Design
  • Analog and Mixed Signal Integrated Circuit Design
  • FPGA-based System Design
  • Image/Speech/Biomedical Signal Processing
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Wireless Communication and Networks
  • Network Security
  • Quantum Communication
  • Optical communication
  • Photonics
  • Drone/UAV Applications
  • Wireless Sensor Network (WSN)
  • Internet of Things (IoT)
  • Robotics
  • Intelligent Control
• Mechanical Engineering:
  • Thermal and Fluids Engineering
  • Design Engineering
  • Manufacturing Engineering
  • Smart Manufacturing
  • Production Engineering
  • Industrial Engineering
  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Robotics
  • Applied Mechanics and other sub specializations of Mechanical Engineering
• Mechatronics and Automation Engineering:
  • Mechatronics Product Design
  • Robotics & Intelligent Systems
  • Drone/UAV Application
  • Field Robotics
  • Smart Material and Structure
  • Sensor and Actuator
  • Automation and Control
  • MEMS
  • FEA
  • Computer Integrated Manufacturing
  • CAD/CAM
  • Smart Additive Manufacturing
  • Biomechanics
  • Implant Design
  • Biomechatronics
• Chemical Science and Technology:
  • PhD in Chemical Sciences: Chemistry, Applied Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Polymer Science, Material Science & Technology, Nano Technology, Biochemistry, Environmental Chemistry, Life Sciences.
  • PhD in Chemical Engineering: Heterogeneous catalysis, Reaction Engineering and Petroleum Refining, Energy storage devices, Supercapacitors, Fuel cell, Heat transfer using non-Newtonian nanofluids, Complex fluid, Process control, Rheology, Wastewater treatment, Colloid and interface science.
• Mathematics and Computing Technology:
  • Analysis
  • Algebra
  • Topology
  • Differential Equations
  • Numerical Analysis
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Nonlinear Dynamics
  • Mathematical Biology
  • Numerical Methods for PDEs
  • Stochastic Modelling in Biology
• Applied Physics and Materials Engineering:
  • Experimental: Solid State Physics, Experimental Condensed Matter Physics, Materials Science, Fuel Cells, Ceramic Membranes, Multifunctional Materials, Nano and Bulk Inorganic and Organic Sensing Materials, Biophysics, Thin Films and Optoelectronic Devices, Magnetism in Strongly Correlated Systems, Defect Induced Magnetism by Ion Beam in 2D Materials, Ion Matter Interaction, High temperature deformation, characterization and Finite element simulation, Atomistic Modelling, Polymer Composites, High Entropy Alloys, Bio-Materials and Dynamic analysis.
  • Theoretical: Black Hole Physics, String theory, Thermodynamic Information Geometry, Statistical Mechanics, Geometry of Open Quantum Systems.
• Humanities and Social Science:
  • Innovation & Entrepreneurship
  • Optimization
  • Development Economics
  • Psychology
• Architecture and Planning:
  • Architecture
  • Urban Planning
  • Rural Planning
  • Climate change
  • Regional Planning
  • Architectural Conservation
  • Heritage Management
  • Sustainable Architecture
  • Structural forms in Architecture
  • Environmental Planning
  • Vernacular Architecture
  • Housing
  • Healthcare Architecture
  • Building Science
  • Landscaping
  • Urban Design
  • Construction Management & Technology
• Civil Engineering:
  • Structural Engineering
  • Geotechnical Engineering
  • Water Resources Engineering
  • Transportation Engineering
  • Environmental Engineering
• Computer Science & Engineering:
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Machine Learning
  • Deep Learning
  • Pattern Recognition
  • Recommender System
  • Big Data
  • Data Mining
  • Network and Information Security
  • Multimedia Security
  • Threat Modelling
  • Biometric
  • Social Networks
  • Computational Geometry
  • Data Network
  • Wireless Sensor Networks
  • Internet of Things
  • Bioinformatics
  • Semantic Web
  • Natural Language Processing
  • Cloud Computing
  • Knowledge Engineering
  • Software Engineering
  • Blockchain Technology and Cyber Security
  • Distributed Systems
  • Cloud Computing
  • Fog Computing
  • Security in edge Computing
  • IoT Security
  • Access Control
  • Privacy Models in Cloud
  • Optimization Algorithms
  • Evolutionary Algorithms
  • Differential Privacy
  • Game Theory
  • Federated Learning
  • Human- AI interaction
  • Graph Neural Network
  • Computational Biology
• Electrical Engineering:
  • Power System
  • Power Electronics
  • Electrical Machine & Drives
  • Electric Vehicle
  • Renewable Energy
  • Automation & Control
  • Instrumentation
  • Semiconductor Devices
  • Microelectronics

Eligibility Criteria

Candidates with following qualification will be eligible for admission to the Ph. D. Programme of the Institute:

• M.Tech./ M. E./ M. Arch/ M. Planning/M. Design or equivalent degree with at least 6.5 CGPA (in the scale of 10) or 60 percent marks in aggregate from a recognized technical institute or university.
• B.Tech/BE/ B.Arch/MCA*/ M. Sc./ M. Com./ MBA/MA or equivalent degree with First class, if not specifically mentioned by the Institution, then 60% marks or 6.5 CGPA with a valid GATE/ UGC-NET/CSIR-NET score. *(MCA for CSE branch only)
• The minimum CGPA/marks percentage shall be relaxed by 0.5 CGPA or 5 percent in case of candidates belonging to the SC/ST/PwD categories in all cases.
• All Candidates are required to produce a proof of having qualified GATE/UGC-NET/ CSIR-NET score card at the time of submission of application form.
• The candidates who possess certificates/qualifications from any of the professional societies (such as The Institution of Engineers (India) (IE), The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), The Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE), The Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI), The Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers, including Polymer and Environmental Group (IIChemE), The Indian Institute of Metals (IIM), The Indian Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE), etc.) and have enrolled with these institutions with permanent recognition up to May 31, 2013 may also be eligible to participate, as per the eligibility criteria mentioned above. However, the candidates who have enrolled with these institutions after May 31, 2013, are not eligible.

Admission Procedure

• Admission to the Ph.D Programme shall be made by the Institute based on minimum eligibility criteria for the programme and selected after evaluation of the candidate in Screening Test and/or selection Interview conducted by the respective Admission Committee.
• Candidates’ name with application number, fulfilling minimum eligibility criteria for admission to the respective department and programme will be displayed on the Institute website as per admission schedule. No Separate mail will be sent.
• The merit list will be prepared based on selection interview only. Admission will be strictly based on merit subject to verification of documents and original certificates.

Admission Test details and marks distribution for preparation of merit list:

• There will be Screening Test consisting of 100 Marks.
• The qualifying Screening test marks is 40% of the full marks of the test for General, EWS and OBC candidate and 35% of the full marks of the test for SC/ST/PwD candidates. Syllabus for screening test will be as per the Syllabus of GATE/NET Exam of respective discipline.
• There will be Selection Interview consisting of 100 Marks which would be conducted by the Department/Centre.
• Interview: Candidates based on screening test will be shortlisted for the interview, and are required to appear at Interview. In Selection Interview, his/her depth of the knowledge in domain/Research subjects and aptitude for research will be tested. Their original documents, academic records and credentials will be verified before the interview. If found not eligible for admission, he/she shall not be permitted to appear at the interview and his/her candidature shall stand cancelled. A candidate recommended for rejection by Interview Board is summarily rejected from admission in the program.
• Merit list: The merit list shall be prepared by the admission committee based on the Selection Interview Marks and availability of seat. Cut off marks for admission cannot be less than 50% of full marks for Selection Interview. Selected candidates shall be notified on Institute website by the Academic Section.

Scholarship & Financial Assistance

• Institute Research Fellowship/Assistantship will be available to the eligible students as per MoE, GOI norms. The Period and amount of research fellowship shall be as per notification of the competent authority from time to time.
• Selected candidate is required to execute an undertaking/agreement bond mentioning that they will refund the stipend/scholarship/assistantship received from the Institute in the case of leaving the programme without its completion, irrespective of the reasons at his/her end on the prescribed format.
• Note: The scholarships/fellowship/Assistantship from any other agency/ organization are governed by rules and regulation of funding agency only. If certain rules/regulations are not mentioned then candidates shall be governed by PhD rules/regulation of NIT Patna.

Application Procedure

• All candidates are advised to apply only through online on NIT Patna website http://www.nitp.ac.in. Application fees need to be paid online through Institute website only. Please note that Application form without payment of applicable fee will not be considered.
• After submission of online application, applicant should download the printed application for future reference.
• Applicants from SC/ST/PwD category must enclose Certificate issued by competent authority to claim relaxation in application Fee.

• Last date of online fee payment and last date of online application: 30 December, 2025 (up to 5:00 PM)
• Display of list of eligible candidates for Admission Test on Institute’ website: 31 December, 2025
• Admission Test: 5 January, 2026
• Result of Written Admission Test: 5 January, 2026
• Interview for eligible candidates: 6 January, 2026 to 7 January, 2026
• Merit list of selected candidates: 9 January, 2026
• Admission and Registration in 1st Semester: 12 January, 2026
• Commencement of Classes: 13 January, 2026

• Notification
• SOP for online application
• Application
• NIT Patna Website