Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Mohali, an autonomous institute supported by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, Knowledge City, Sector 81, Mohali, Punjab-140306, has invited applications from those with an independent source of fellowship for admission to its Ph.D. Programme August 2026 session.

INST has invited applications for Ph.D Programmes in the following units: (i) Energy Environment unit (EEU), (ii) Quantum Material and Devices unit (QMaDU), (iii) Chemical and Biology unit (CBU), and (iv) Director Research group (DRU).

For joining the Director's Research Group (DRG), interested students should apply to any one of the three research units, EEU, QMaD, or CBU, based on their preference.

Students having a background in physical sciences, chemical sciences, biological sciences, pharma, agricultural sciences, and other related fields can apply. Students with an independent source of fellowship, such as CSIR/UGC-JRF fellows, etc., may apply. Selected students will be enrolled in the Ph. D. program of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Mohali, and the Ph. D. degree will be awarded by IISER, Mohali. Details of faculty specific requirements for individual units are given in the Admission Notification at https://inst.ac.in/careers. Subject-wise details are also provided in the notification.

Eligibility: Applicants should hold an M.Sc. or M. Pharm. or M. Tech. in basic or applied sciences, engineering, or related areas. Students who have appeared for the final year/semester examinations are also eligible, provided that the degree will be granted by the time of joining.

Applicants should have qualified for at least one national examination out of CSIR/UGC-NET, ICMR-JRF, DBT-JRF or Project-Funded (as per INST rules). DST INSPIRE holders may apply. However, any selection of such a candidate will be on adhoc basis subject to successful activation of the Inspire Fellowship.

Age limit: Age limit will be as per the guidelines of CSIR-UGC and DST.

Application: The application form is available at https://inst.ac.in/careers.

Application Fee: Application fee is Rs.590/ for General, OBC and EWS candidates and Rs.295/ for SC, ST and PH candidates. The application fee may be transferred online to the bank account of INST details of which are given in the notification. With a single application fee, the students may apply to multiple units. However, separate applications along with all necessary documents and the details of the online fee payment should be submitted for each unit application.

A hard copy of the application (affixing a recent passport-size photograph) along with the self-attested copy of certificates providing age, educational qualifications, experience (if any), and reservation category should reach ‘The Director, Institute of Nano Science and Technology, Knowledge City, Sector 81, Mohali, Punjab- 140306’, by Registered/ Speed Post/ Courier/ by hand, in an envelope super scribed as ‘Application for the Ph. D. Program – August 2026’, to reach by 23rd March 2026. Applicants must also submit an online synopsis at the link provided in the Notification.

Eligible candidates will be shortlisted for an interview, and the date and mode of interview will be communicated to the email address provided by the candidate. The list of shortlisted candidates will also be uploaded on INST website.

After the interview, the list of candidates selected for Ph. D. will be uploaded on INST website, and the candidates will be intimated by email.

Selection of students shall be done as per the provisions of The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 and amendments made thereto.

Number of seats: SC/ST-18, OBC-21, EWS-8, and Gen -39.

Applicants may visit https://inst.ac.in/careers regularly for updates.

In case of queries, email to apply@inst.ac.in