Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology envisions basic and applied research for meeting the national R&D requirements of Science and Technology in general and the Indian Space Programme in particular. The institute provides a vibrant research atmosphere and offers doctoral and post doctoral programmes.

Applications are invited from highly motivated applicants for admission to the Ph.D. Programme starting in January 2019, in the departments given below:-

(i) Aerospace Engineering
(ii) Avionics
(iii) Chemistry
(iv) Earth and Space Sciences
(v) Humanities
(vi) Mathematics
(vii) Physics

Fellowship

• All scholars selected to the programme specializations listed in Table 1 shall receive a fellowship of Rs.25000/- per month. (Research Scholars selected with UGC/CSIR/NET-JRF/NBHM and State Government Science and Technology Scheme etc., shall draw fellowship from the concerned organizations). For all research scholars with external fellowship, the concerned rules and regulations apply.
• The fellowship will be enhanced based on a performance review after two years of  Research
• The scholars will be required to assist the Departments in tutorials, practical training in labs or similar academic activities normally limited to 6 hours per week
• The scholars will have to pay applicable fees as well as charges for the   services provided by the    Institute like boarding/lodging/medical facilities etc., as per IIST rules.
• For those who receive fellowship from agencies such as DST, CSIR, NBHM, UGC and candidates who have been provided research fellowship by State Government Science and Technology Scheme through competitive written test etc., the Institute will not bear the fellowship of the student if the same is stopped due to any reasons by the concerned agency.
• The Institute is completely residential and will provide accommodation to all the regular Ph.D students. However, in the event of shortage of rooms in the hostels, preference will be given for room allotment to candidates whose fellowships are borne by the Institute.

Selection Procedure

• Applications will be received until November 14, 2018 through on-line only
• Candidates having fellowship from funding agencies such as DST, CSIR, NBHM, UGC, State Government Science and Technology Scheme etc, applying to research areas in Table 2 may also apply for other research areas in Table 1, if eligible. Final decision on the eligibility of such fellowships will be taken by IIST
• Candidates are advised to visit the individual department profile for more details on the respective areas of research
• Candidates with valid fellowship from Government funding agencies shall upload a scanned copy of the fellowship award letter
• A short-list of applicants for written test or interview will be displayed in IIST website by November 21, 2018
• The Ph.D. written screening test will be for one and half hours, starting at 9:30 AM on December 02, 2018 (Sunday) in the cities listed below.
• Thiruvananthapuram
• New Delhi
• Kolkata
• Mumbai
• Hyderabad
• Chennai
• The written screening test for candidates without holding eligibility through a national test for PhD admissions will have two parts A & B. Part A (40 marks) will comprise of questions that test both aptitude and mathematics, Part B (60 marks) will have questions related to subject area that are identified in the eligibility. While Part A (30 minutes duration) will be conducted first for all candidates, Part B (60 minutes duration) will be held starting from 10:15 AM and lasting one hour for different subject areas. A student applying to multiple research areas can write the corresponding subject area (Part B) of the various different research areas in the indicated time slot
• Candidates screened in through the written test will be called for an interview to be held at IIST, Thiruvananthapuram on 17th and 18th December, 2018
• Provisionally selected candidates list, after the interview, will be displayed in the IIST website on December 21, 2018.
• Outstation applicants will be reimbursed to-and-fro sleeper class train fare/bus fare by shortest route from the place mentioned in the application to Thiruvananthapuram, or actual fare paid (whichever is less) for attending the interview.  The applicants are advised to make their own arrangements for their stay at Thiruvananthapuram
• No travel support will be provided for attending the written screening test
• Admissions are governed by Ph.D Rules and Regulations of IIST. (https://www.iist.ac.in/academics/rules-regulations).
• The date of the Written Screening Test and the dates of Interview will not be changed under any circumstances

   How to Apply

• Applications shall be submitted online at the IIST website: http://admission.iist.ac.in.  Applications received online only will be considered.
• The applicants will not be allowed to make any changes in their registration profile once submitted. Hence utmost care should be taken by the applicants while filling their         profile
• Application  fee  is  to  the  extent  of  Rs. 700/-  per  Department (for  SC/ST/PD and Women applicants - Rs.350/- per Department).  If the applicant is eligible and wishes to apply for more than one Research Area in the same Department, he/she need not pay any additional application fee.  The application fee is non-refundable. Applicants who wish to apply to multiple departments, will have to pay the appropriate application fee (sum of the application fee for each department).
• The application fee shall be paid, once enabled by the system one day after the registration, through “SBI Collect” only.
• Applicants who are employed in Government/Semi Government/PSUs/ Autonomous Bodies need to produce a “No Objection Certificate (NOC)” from the current employer at the time of Interview.

Research Plan for January-2019 PhD Admission

Nationality

Applicant should be an Indian citizen

Age Limit

Applicants should be below 35 years as on November 14,2018. Age relaxation applicable as per Government Rules.

There is no provision for PhD admission in IIST under Self Financing Category

Minimum Qualifications

• Applicants with Master’s Degree in Engineering/Technology as their highest qualifying degree
  

  Applicants with Master’s Degree in Engineering/Technology must have secured 65% marks or 7.00 CGPA or equivalent in the Qualifying Master’s degree (60%marks or 6.50 CGPA for OBC, 55%marks or 6.00 CGPA for SC/ST/PD). They must have pursued their Master’s degree on the basis of qualified GATE score.  However there is no GATE cut off score for applicants with M.Tech/M.E as the highest qualifying degree, who are applying for Ph.D. in Engineering Discipline. Applicants with Master of Science in Engineering or equivalent from leading foreign Universities with minimum CGPA 9/10 or equivalent can be considered without GATE score.

  Selection Procedure: For candidates with M.E/M.Tech as their highest qualifying degree, selection to the PhD programme will be based on a written screening test followed by an interview. However, candidates with a valid fellowship such as CSIR/NET-JRF fellowships and CSIR-NET Lectureship post their ME/M Tech, will be directly called for the interview.

• Applicants with Master’s Degree in Science as their highest qualifying degree

  Applicants must have Master’s Degree in the relevant area with a minimum of 65% marks or 7.00 CGPA or equivalent in the Qualifying Master’s degree (60%marks or 6.50 CGPA for OBC, 55%marks or 6.00 CGPA for SC/ST/PD). They must have cleared a National level eligibility test, such as a valid UGC-CSIR-NET-JRF/Lectureship/ fellowship or NBHM/JEST/GATE and State Government Science and Technology Scheme, in the relevant disciplines.
  
  Selection Procedure: For candidates applying with their Master’s degree in Sciences as their qualifying degree and having a valid score card/certificate in any of the National level eligibility tests listed above, selection to the programme will be based on an interview to be conducted at IIST.

  Applicants applying with their JEST score should have secured a rank within the first 300.

  Candidates applying with a valid GATE score in a Science discipline, having a minimum score of 500 for General Category (450 for OBC and 350 for SC/ST/PD categories), are exempted from the Ph.D. written screening test conducted by IIST. Applicants having GATE score in Science disciplines less than indicated cut-off above will not be considered for Ph.D. Admission
• Applicants with Master’s Degree in Humanities/Management/Social Sciences as their highest qualifying degree

  Applicants must have Master’s Degree in the relevant area of Humanities/Management / Social Sciences with a minimum of 65% marks or 7.00 CGPA or equivalent in the Qualifying Master’s degree (60%marks or 6.50 CGPA for OBC, 55%marks or 6.00 CGPA for SC/ST/PD). They must have cleared a national level eligibility test, such as a valid UGC-NET-JRF fellowship/ State Government Science and Technology Scheme or similar fellowship schemes of Central/State Governments.

  Selection Procedure: For candidates applying with their Master’s degree in Humanities/Management/Social Sciences as their qualifying degree and having a valid score card/certificate in any of the National level eligibility tests listed above, selection to the programme will be based on an interview to be conducted at IIST.

  Candidates who have been provided research fellowships by State Government Science and Technology Scheme through competitive written test can also apply. For Candidates having research fellowship by State Government without competitive written test will have to appear for written screening test.

Note

Candidates awaiting their results in the final year/semester are also eligible to apply, provided they satisfy all the other requirements. Such applicants may be screened in for written test/interview based on the marks obtained by them until the current year/semester.  Based on their written test/interview performance, these applicants may be provisionally selected, subject to the condition that they have to produce the provisional certificate of obtaining the qualifying degree with required percentage of marks by the date stipulated in their provisional admission letter.  If they fail to produce the provisional/ degree certificate, transfer certificate and conduct certificate by this date, their admission offer will be withdrawn and the offer may be given to next eligible applicant in the waiting list.

A provisionally selected applicant who is awaiting his/her final certificates may be allowed to join IIST without submitting the provisional/degree certificate on the stipulated date of joining, subject to the conditions that (a) At the time of joining the applicant should have completed all the requirements for the award of the qualifying degree including all examinations, project works and viva voce,  (b) The applicant should produce at the time of joining, a Course Completion Certificate issued by the competent authority in the University/Institute specifically confirming that all examinations, project works and viva voce for the qualifying degree are completed, (c) If the above condition is satisfied, the applicant can be given  provisional admission with the undertaking that all pending certificates, mark sheets, degree certificates (Original or Provisional) will be submitted to IIST , latest by 30th April  2019, failing which the admission shall stand cancelled. For such applicants who are funded by IIST and provisionally admitted to the IIST Ph.D. Programme as per (c) above, no fellowship will be paid during the period before the required certificates are submitted. However, on regularization of admission following the submission of all required documents before the stipulated date, the applicant will be paid fellowship with retrospective effect from the date of joining.

Applicants who are employed in Government/Semi Government/PSUs/Autonomous Bodies should produce a “No Objection Certificate (NOC)” from the current employer at the time of Interview.

• Notification (English version)

Online Submission of Application

• List of candidates provisionally selected for admission to PhD programme January-2019