IISER MOHALI

Admissions to Ph.D. Programme in Interdisciplinary Research August 2026

Applications are invited from prospective candidates for admission to the Ph.D. in interdisciplinary research (I-Ph.D.) at IISER Mohali for various interdisciplinary projects for the session beginning in August 2026.

Eligibility Criteria: The applicant should have a Masters/B.Tech/B.E/MBBS/M.Tech degree OR equivalent degrees (from Recognized Institute/University, with at least 55% marks or CPI 5.5 on a scale of 10); OR 4-year BSc/BS (Honours with Research, with at least 75% marks or CPI 7.5 on a scale of 10); (relaxation to OBC-NCL/ SC/ ST/ PwD/ Third gender category candidates will be provided as per the GOI rules) with good academic records and should be CSIR-UGC-JRF / ICMR-JRF / DBT-JRF / DST-INSPIRE* qualified in the relevant subject or other national-level fellowships or sponsored fellowships from private or state agencies. *DST-INSPIRE qualified candidates with additional national-level test qualifications are preferred.

Selection will be done following the provisions of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006, and its amendments. The candidates should have a valid national-level test qualification at the time of the interview.

Projected need-based seats based on the resources: 13.

Available Projects:

1. Phospholipases and Phospholipids: Essential Roles in Cell Death (PIs: Dr. Tripta Bhatia and Dr. Abhishek Chaudhuri)

2. Development of Novel Bent-Core Mesogens as Tunable Platforms for Chirality-Induced Spin Selectivity and Organic Spintronic Applications (PIs: Santanu Kumar Pal and Dr. Goutam Sheet)

3. Impact of Quaternary glacial cycles on mammals in the Indian subcontinent: integrating geoarchaeological and evolutionary thinking. (PIs: Dr. Kritika M. Garg and Dr. Parth R Chauhan)

4. Designing Ln(III)-based Molecular Magnets for Nanotechnological Applications (PIs: Dr. Kuduva R. Vignesh, Dr. Sanjay Singh and Dr. Sugumar Venkataramani)

5. Translating insights from the ultrafast photophysics to the development of red fluorescent proteins for applications in bioimaging (PIs: Dr. Arijit K. De and Dr. Kausik Chattopadhyay)

6. Designing and Exploring Earth-abundant 3d-metal Photocatalyst: A Tandem Synthetic and Ultrafast spectroscopic Approach (PIs: Dr. Debashis Adhikari and Dr. Arijit K. De)

7. Intellectual and institutional history of Sciences in modern Punjab and its surrounding regions (PIs: Dr. V. Rajesh and Dr. Kavita Dorai)

8. Geo-Hydrological Hazards over the Western Himalayan Region: Towards Developing Early Warning System (PIs: Dr. Raju Attada and Dr. Yunus Ali Pulpadan)

9. Nonequilibrium DNA Mechanics: Force–Extension Transitions in Active Environments (PIs: Dr. Anil K Dasanna and Dr. Sabyasachi Rakshit)

10. Self-Propelled Lipid-Enzyme μ-Bots for Minimally Invasive Treatment of Solid Tumors via Internal Kineto-Mechanical Actuation (PIs: Dr. Sabyasachi Rakshit and Dr. Hasan Mohammad)

11. NMR-Based Metabolomics Investigation of the impact of Environmental Stress on Aging, Longevity and Immunity of Drosophila Melanogaster (PIs: Dr. Kavita Dorai and Dr. N.G. Prasad)

12. Integrating Climate-Smart Microbial Communities (CSMCs) to Modulate Plant Nutrient Homeostasis in Saline-alkaline Stress. (PIs: Dr. Santhosh Satbhai and Dr. Sunil Patil)

13. Rational Design of Synthetic Polypeptides and Their Structural Characterization Using Advanced NMR Spectroscopy. (PIs: Dr. Raj Kumar Roy and Dr. Kavita Dorai)

Application procedure: Prospective candidates should apply online using the Google Form

Link: https://forms.gle/kF2KJ4JNtciRRYCQ8

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for a screening test/interview at IISER Mohali.

Instructions: Read the instructions carefully before filling out the google form (Link: https://forms.gle/kF2KJ4JNtciRRYCQ8) application.

Last date: The online application facility will remain active from 1^st June, 2026 until 10^th June, 2026, up to 5 PM. For further details about the programme and research areas, please visit the IISER Mohali website: https://www.iisermohali.ac.in. Additional information may be sought from the candidates shortlisted for interview. The candidates must check their email periodically and provide the necessary information, if asked, failing which may lead to cancellation of their application.

Salient features of the Ph.D. Programme in Interdisciplinary Research (I-PhD) programme at IISER Mohali

1. Cutting-edge research in various subjects – Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences and Physics – and a large number of their subdisciplines.

2. Interdisciplinary areas of research.

3. Research teams with a unique mix of Ph.D. fellows working with undergraduate and postgraduate students and post-doctoral fellows.

4. Opportunities for training, tutoring, and teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students.

5. A number of institute fellowships are offered to students who have qualified for a national exam but could not secure a fellowship.

6. Yearly contingency to students with institute fellowships (similar to the students with external fellowships).

7. Financial support (partial) to well-performing Ph.D. fellows after completing the tenure of Ph.D. fellowships.

8. Financial support to present research at international conferences.

9. On-campus hostel accommodation for all Ph.D. students.

Coursework and Structure 

In general, the tenure of the I-PhD programme is 5 years. In the initial year, students are required to complete course work with at least 24 credits with a CPI of at least 7.0 (including 2 credits of research ethics and publication course with pass or fail grade and 2 credits of research methodology). Coursework waiver policies applicable to regular PhD students may also apply here (however it is encouraged that the students do the course work to meet the minimum required credits mandated by UGC). The structure allows flexibility to accommodate interdisciplinary learning, with course selection guided by both the supervisor and co-supervisor (PIs). The students are encouraged to complete the course work by taking courses from IISER Mohali. Online courses may be permitted where only if necessary (e.g., to cover the research ethics and publication or research methodology courses). Upon successful completion, a coursework completion certificate may be issued if applicable.
The formal supervisor allotment will be done as per the existing Senate rules.
A student of the I-PhD programme must appear in a Comprehensive Examination after the completion of course-work requirements in order to be permitted to take up research work towards a PhD under the faculty supervisors (PIs) under the given project. At most two attempts at clearing the Comprehensive Examination are permitted with a gap of at least two months and at most six months between the examinations. The Comprehensive Examination must be cleared before the completion of two years in the PhD programme (three years in the Integrated PhD programme). Other evaluation criteria for the programme remains as per the prevailing PhD programme (monitoring committee, annual evaluation, JRF to SRF conversion, etc) and all prevailing Senate rules will apply.

Exit option:

The current programme provides an exit option for students who wish to leave after completing their coursework. In such cases, a certificate of completion will  be awarded, but no degree will be granted. Given the project-specific nature of the ‘Ph.D. Programme in Interdisciplinary Research’ (I-PhD), the selected PhD candidates will be expected to do their PhD work on the specific projects (as indicated by the candidates during selection process) changing supervisors (PIs) is not permitted, and students are required to carefully note this. Students may reapply to regular PhD programme within the institute through the standard admission process and if they are selected, they may be allowed to transfer completed coursework, subject to applicable rules. 

Additional information:

Abstract of projects can be found in the link: Abstract of projects (PDF).