Applications are invited from prospective candidates for admission to the PhD program at IISER Mohali in Biological Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Physical Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Earth and Environmental Sciences and Humanities and Social Sciences for the session beginning in August 2025. Candidates interested in pursuing research in interdisciplinary areas are also encouraged to apply. Additional details are available at the link: https://www.iisermohali.ac.in.
Eligibility Criteria: The applicant should have a Masters / B.Tech / MBBS / M.Tech degree with good academic records and should be CSIR-UGC-JRF / ICMR-JRF / DBT-JRF / DBT-BINC / DST-INSPIRE qualified in the relevant subject or other national-level fellowships or sponsored fellowships from private or state agencies.
GATE/JEST/GPAT/ICAR-NET/NET-LS/CSIR_UGC-Cat3 candidates willing to join for a PhD without a fellowship will also be considered for admission. A limited number of SC/ST/PD/OBC-NCL/EWS candidates with these qualifications would be eligible for a PhD fellowship from IISER Mohali, and some candidates from all categories may also be paid fellowships from extramural project grants available with the faculty. While applying for admission in a given department, candidates are expected to meet departmental eligibility criteria given below. Selection will be done following the provisions of The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 and its amendments.
Projected vacancies: 176 (UR – 81, OBC-NCL – 43, SC – 24, ST – 8, EWS – 16).
Application procedure: Prospective candidates should apply online using the "Online Application Facility” by visiting the website at https://www.iisermohali.ac.in. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for a screening test/interview at IISER Mohali.
Instructions: Read the instructions here before filling out the online applications
Last date: The online application facility will remain active until Wednesday, April 16, 2025 up to 11:55 PM. For further details about the program 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.
DEPARTMENTAL ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:
Biological Sciences: The applicant should have a Master’s degree / B.Tech / MBBS / M.Tech / ME / M.Pharm or equivalent degrees with a good academic record (at least 60% and above) and should be GATE / CSIR-UGC (JRF/LS) / ICMR-JRF / ICAR-NET / DBT-JRF (Category I/II) / DBT-BINC / DST-INSPIRE qualified in the relevant subject or other national-level fellowship or sponsored fellowships by private or state agencies.
Chemical Sciences: The applicant should have a Master’s degree / B.Tech / MBBS / M.Tech / M.Pharm in Chemical sciences, Physical and Biochemical sciences/biotechnology/ nanotechnology or any other relevant subject with a good academic record (at least a high second class) and should be CSIR-UGC (JRF/LS) / GATE/ ICMR-JRF/ DBT-JRF / DBT-BINC / DST- INSPIRE qualified in the relevant subject or other national-level fellowshipor sponsored fellowships by private or state agencies. Candidates’ research interests will be considered while assigning a laboratory and guide.
Physical Sciences: The applicant should have a Master’s degree / B.Tech / M.Tech with a good academic record (at least a high second class). The candidate should also have passed one of the following entrance tests: CSIR- UGC (JRF/LS), JEST-Physics, DST-INSPIRE in Physics, or GATE-Physics (all of these to be valid as of August 01, 2025).
Mathematical Sciences:
Minimum Eligibility: Master’s degree or a BTech degree with a good academic record (at least a high second class). Students from SC/ST/PD/OBC-NCL/EWS who have not qualified the national level tests mentioned above, but are GATE/JEST/GPAT/ICAR-NET/NET-LS qualified in the relevant subject would be eligible for consideration of award of an institute PhD fellowship, and are hence also encouraged to apply. Please note again that for admission in Mathematics, all candidates must appear in the NBHM Doctoral Scholarship Test conducted by the National Board for Higher Mathematics (NBHM), and while applying through the online admission portal of IISER Mohali, candidates must mention their NBHM Doctoral Scholarship Test roll numbers and test centre in their application.
How to apply? Candidates must appear in NBHM Doctoral Scholarship Test conducted by the National Board for Higher Mathematics (NBHM).
Online application link: https://www.imsc.res.in/~nbhm/
While applying through the online admission portal of IISER Mohali, candidates must mention their NBHM Doctoral Scholarship Test roll numbers and test centre in their application.
Selection: Based on the performance in NBHM Doctoral Scholarship written test some candidates may be invited for an interview at IISER Mohali. Based on the performance in the interview, some of them may be offered admission. Preference will be given to candidates who have a valid scholarship, e.g. UGC-CSIR (JRF), DST- INSPIRE, NBHM Doctoral Scholarship etc.
Earth and Environmental Sciences: An applicant should have an MSc/M. Tech degree with a first-class academic record throughout (minimum 65% for General/OBC category and minimum 60% for SC/ST/PD) in one or more of the following sub-jects: Atmospheric Sciences / Computer Sciences and IT / Climate Sciences / Chemistry / Data Sciences / Artificial Intelligence / Earth and Environmental Sciences / Microbiology / Biotechnology / Bioscience and Bioengineering / Environmental Engineering/ Geology / Geophysics / Hydrology / Mathematics / Meteorology / Microwave Remote Sensing / Planetary Science / Physics / Remote Sensing / Civil Engineering / Geomatics Engineering or BTech degree (with a minimum 75% for General /OBC category and minimum 70% for SC/ST/PD) in one or more of the following subjects: Computer Science and Infor-mation Technology/Data Sciences/ Artificial Intelligence/engineering streams (e.g. Civil / Aerospace / Agri-culture / Electrical / Electronics and Communication). Applicants should have qualified for a national-level qualifying exam such as GATE, CSIR-UGC (JRF/LS) / DST-INSPIRE fellowship / DBT-JRF in the relevant subject or any other national-level fellowship or sponsored fellowships by private or state agencies (all of these to be valid as of August 01, 2025). A limited number of institute fellowships will be available in the following areas: Meteorology, Seismology, Geochemistry/hydrogeology, Microwave Remote Sensing and Microbiology/Biotechnology/Bioscience and Bioengineering.
Humanities and Social Sciences: Applicants should have an M.A. / M.Sc. / M.Phil / B.Arch / M.Arch degree (minimum 55% for General and OBC category, minimum 50% for SC/ST/PD.) in one or more of the following subject areas: English Literature and film studies / Modern Indian History / Political Economy / Intellectual History / Archaeology or its sub-disciplines / Anthropology / Ancient Indian History / Ancient History / Built environment studies / Architecture / Critical Infrastructure Studies / Labour Geography / Feminist geography /Political philosophy / Ethics / Post-structuralism – Modern Indian thinkers / Buddhist philosophy / Philosophy of science / Philosophy of language. Applicants should have a valid national-level qualifying exam such as GATE, UGC (JRF/LS). External fellowships are encouraged as the available institute fellowships in HSS department are highly limited at the individual faculty level. Candidates from SC/ST background and women who do not have external fellowships are encouraged to apply. It is recommended to see faculty profiles on the department website before applying. Apart from applying online, an applicant must send a statement of proposed research (minimum 1500 words) to the following email address:
Salient features of the PhD program at IISER Mohali:
1. Cutting-edge research in six major subjects – Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences, Mathematics, and Physics – and a large number of their subdisciplines.
2. Subject-specific as well as interdisciplinary areas of research.
3. Research teams with a unique mix of PhD 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 PhD fellows after completing the tenure of regular PhD fellowships.
8. Financial support to present research at international conferences.
9. On-campus hostel accommodation for all PhD students.