NITK Surathkal PhD Admissions 2025-26 (July)

National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK), Surathkal invites applications for PhD admission 2025-26 (July).

PhD Admission Categories

A. Scholarship seats

• A.1 Candidates with M.E. /M. Tech. or equivalent degree with/without GATE
• A.2 Candidates with B.E. /B. Tech. or equivalent degree with/without GATE
• A.3 Candidates with M.Sc. /M. A./M.C.A./M.B.A. or Master’s degree in any relevant discipline with/without GATE/UGC-NET/CSIR /NBHM/DAE-JEST.

B. Non-Scholarship seats

• B.1 QIP seats (Full time)
• B.2 Full time – Sponsored seats from Industry, Educational Institution or other organizations
• B.3 Internal Registrants- sponsored Institute or Project staff of NITK (part time)
• B.4 Full time Non –sponsored/non-scholarship
• B.5 External registrants – Sponsored seats from Industry, Educational Institution or other organizations (part time)

Eligibility Criteria

• Admission to Ph.D. Programme shall be open to Indian Nationals with M.E./M.Tech. or equivalent degree with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of at least 6.0 in the 0-10 scale grading system, or not less than 60% marks in the aggregate (taking into account the marks scored in all the subjects of all the public/ university examinations conducted during the entire prescribed period for the qualifying degree) or a CGPA of 5.5 or 55% marks in the aggregate for SC / ST / PwD candidates.
• Direct admission to Ph.D. Programme shall be open to Indian Nationals with B.Tech./B.E./B.Arch./ B.Plan./B.Des./B.S. (Four year degree programme) in relevant discipline within five years of obtaining the qualifying undergraduate degree. Such candidates should have a qualifying GATE score and a CGPA of at least 8.0 in the 0-10 scale grading system, or not less than 80% marks in the aggregate or a CGPA of 7.5 or 75% marks in the aggregate for SC / ST / PwD candidates (taking into account the marks scored in all the subjects of all the public/ university examinations conducted during the entire prescribed period for the qualifying degree). However, candidates who have obtained the above mentioned undergraduate degree from a centrally funded Institute with a CGPA of at least 8.0 in the 0-10 scale grading system or not less than 80% marks in the aggregate, or a CGPA of 7.5 or 75% marks in the aggregate for SC / ST / PwD candidates, are exempted from the mandatory requirement of a qualifying GATE score.
• Admission to Ph.D. Programme shall be open to Indian Nationals with M.Sc./M.A./M.B.A./ M.C.A. or master’s degree in any other relevant discipline with a CGPA of at least 6.0 in the 0- 10 scale grading system, or not less than 60% marks in the aggregate (taking into account the marks scored in all the subjects of all the public/ university examinations conducted during the entire prescribed period for the qualifying degree) or a CGPA of 5.5 or 55% marks in the aggregate for SC / ST / PwD candidates. In addition, the candidate must have a qualifying GATE / UGC-NET/CSIR/ NBHM/DAE-JEST. However, Candidates who have obtained the above mentioned master’s degree from a centrally funded Institute with a CGPA of at least 8.0 in the 0-10 scale grading system or not less than 80% marks in the aggregate or a CGPA of 7.5 or 75% marks in the aggregate for SC /ST / PwD candidates (taking into account the marks scored in all the subjects of all the public/ university examinations conducted during the entire prescribed period for the qualifying degree), are exempted from the mandatory requirement of a qualifying GATE /UGC-NET/CSIR /NBHM/DAE-JEST.

Selection Procedure

• Selection of eligible candidates for admission to Ph.D. programme will be based upon the written test with 40% weightage and a technical interview with 60% weightage in the overall evaluation process.
• Research publications and experience (research/teaching/ industry) with 5% weightage each, are part of interview component. Other interview components are technical presentation to assess the research aptitude of the candidate with 10% weightage and technical interview to assess the subject knowledge with 40% weightage.
• Written test and technical interview will be conducted by the respective DRPC of the concerned departments in physical mode at NITK.

Financial Assistance

• Full time research scholars of type A.1, A.2 and A.3 are eligible for a fellowship of Rs. 37,000/- pm for the first two years and Rs. 42,000/-pm for the remaining two years on satisfactory progress if they qualify in the national level written test and a technical interview, both conducted by the respective DRPC of the concerned departments in physical mode at NITK, Surathkal. Pursuant to the directives of MHRD Government of India, the revision in PhD scholarship will be considered. The Research scholars have to assist in teaching and laboratory work assigned by the department and are eligible for 30 days’ vacation leave per year.
• Full-time QIP candidates of type B.1, are sponsored teachers who are permanent faculty members of AICTE recognized degree level colleges admitted under QIP scheme.
• Full-time sponsored candidates of type B.2 may receive complete financial support including stipend, contingency grants and project expenses from the sponsoring organizations.
• Internal Registrants of type B.3, (Institute Faculty / Staff, Project staff) are expected to work for their Ph.D. Programme while fulfilling their normal duties.
• B.4 are full time non –sponsored type of students and are not entitled for Institute scholarship. The number of admissions under this shall be restricted to the number of vacant seats in type A, against the sanctioned intake.
• Part time students sponsored from Industry/Educational Institutes of type B.5 are expected to carry out their Research work in their parent organization after fulfilling certain pre-requisites in the Institute. They are not entitled for Institute scholarship. The external candidate shall produce a sponsorship and clearance certificate from his employer and submit it along with the application.

Application Process

• Candidates have to apply online on the official website (https://www.nitk.ac.in/)
• The Information Bulletin, Seat Matrix and Online Application portal is available on the Institute website.
• The hardcopy of the completed application form with payment receipts and copies of all necessary documents is to be sent to the mentioned address in brochure.
• If a candidate desires to apply to more than one course he / she should submit separate APPLICATION along with Payment Receipt of Application fee for each program.

• Opening of Application Portal: 10 March, 2025
• Last Date for Online Submission of applications: 28 April, 2025
• Last Date for hard copy of applications to reach NITK: 2 May, 2025
• Last date for dispatch of call letters (by email only) to short-listed candidates, and announcement in the website by respective departments: 12 May, 2025
• Selection Test and / or Interview (Offline): 28 May, 2025 to 30 May, 2025
• Last date for sending recommendations merit list by Departments to the Dean (Academic): 2 June, 2025
• Publication of provisional selection / merit – list on website by Dean (Academic): 6 June, 2025
• Online fee Payment Dates for Selected Candidates: 9 June, 2025 to 18 June, 2025
• Last Date for sending admission offer letters to wait – listed candidates: To be announced later
• Last Date for physical Reporting , document verification and admission for the selected candidates: To be announced later
• Class start date: To be announced later.

• Information Bulletin
• Application
• Certificate Formats
• NITK Surathkal Website