The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore, has invited applications for the Mid-Year Admission for Ph. D. Programmes for the Academic Year 2025-26, with the session starting in January 2026.

Admission will be offered to regular (1) Research Programmes (2) External Registration Programmes.

Research Programmes [Ph.D.]: (a) Science Faculty: Inorganic & Physical Chemistry, Developmental Biology and Genetics, Neurosciences, Organic Chemistry, Physics, Solid State & Structural Chemistry, and Instrumentation and Applied Physics (b) Engineering Faculty: Aerospace Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Earth Sciences, Electrical Communication Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronic Systems Engineering, Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Nano Science and Engineering, Design & Manufacturing, Computer Science and Automation, Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (AS), Centre for Sustainable Technologies, and Computational & Data Sciences (c) Interdisciplinary areas: Energy (offered by Interdisciplinary Centre for Energy Research), Cyber Physical Systems (offered by Robert Bosch Centre for Cyber Physical Systems), Climate Change (offered by Divecha Centre for Climate Change), and Water Research (offered by Interdisciplinary Centre for Water Research).

Eligibility: Applicants should have any one of the mentioned degrees as applicable to the individual departments/areas, with minimum second class/equivalent: (i) Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/ Technology/ 4- year Bachelor of Science (ii) Master’s degree in Science / Master’s degree in Economics, Geography, Psychology, Management, Commerce, Operations Research, Computer Science/ Application (iii) Master’s degree in Engineering / Technology / Architecture / Agriculture / Pharmacy / Veterinary Sciences (iv) Graduate Degree of any course with a minimum duration of 4 years, from any Centrally Funded Technical Institution (including IIITs in PPP mode) with a minimum CGPA of 8 out of 10 or its equivalent (v) MBBS/MD/MDS/Pharm D (vi) B Pharm (vii) BDS (Bachelor of Dental Surgery)(viii) BE/ B.Tech./Equivalent examinations of Professional Societies, recognized by MoE/ UPSC/ AICTE (such as AMIE of Institution of Engineers). Those enrolled up to 31.05.2013 with professional societies (e.g AMIE) recognized by MoE are only eligible to apply (ix) Master's degree in Life Sciences/ Chemical Sciences from IISc with a minimum CGPA of 8.5 or equivalent (x)1 Year M. Engg from IISc. The minimum class prescribed in the qualifying examination is relaxed to a ‘Pass Class’ for SC/ST candidates.

Qualifying in national entrance tests is mandatory. Depending on the qualification, GATE/ GPAT/ JEST/ NET JRF/other National entrance test passing certificate/ score card etc; will be considered and it should be valid as on 1st January 2026. NET JRF includes –Joint CSIR-UGC NET for JRF; UGC-NET for JRF; DBT JRF; ICMR JRF; JEST; NBHM Research Award; INSPIRE. Details are given in the Notification at https://www.iisc.ac.in/admissions/

External Registration Programme (ERP) [Ph.D.]: ERP is meant for: (i) Professionals from R&D Organizations / Industries and (ii) Faculty members from Engineering, Agricultural, Pharmaceutical, Veterinary, Medical Colleges/ Universities, recognized by the appropriate government agencies.

Eligibility: The educational qualifications remain the same as for the regular candidates. Qualifying in one of the national entrance tests like CSIR-UGC NET for JRF, UGC-NET for JRF, DBT JRF, ICMR JRF, GATE, NBHM is desirable but not mandatory. Further, the candidate should have completed two years of full-time employment as on 1st January of the respective Academic year. Candidates must be officially sponsored by their employing organizations and they should compulsorily fill in an online application form and submit the printed version, in duplicate, on or before 04.11.2025. Detailed eligibility criteria, is given in the Notification. Selection will be based on the performance in the in-person interview.

Application: Applications can be submitted online at https://www.iisc.ac.in/admissions/ by 23:59 hours on 27.10.2025. Application fee is Rs. 800/- (Rs. 400/- for SC / ST / PwD). For ERP candidates, it is Rs. 2000/- for all categories. The fee can be paid online through net-banking, debit card, credit card or UPI.

Those in the final semester/year of their qualifying examinations expecting to complete all the requirements for award of the degree (like examinations, project dissertation, viva-voce, etc.) by 31st December 2025, and can furnish the necessary certificates by 31st March 2026, are eligible to apply.

Last date for the submission of hard copies of the application and other relevant documents for ERP applicants is 04.11.2025.

Interview will be during 17.11.2025 and 20.11.2025. Session commences on 01.01.2026.