Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), a Deemed to be University, Thiruvananthapuram- 695547, has invited applications for admission to its Ph.D. Programme, July 2025 session.

IIST 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. 

Ph.D. Programs are offered in the departments of (i) Aerospace Engineering (ii) Avionics (iii) Chemistry (iv) Earth and Space Sciences (v) Humanities and Social Sciences (vi) Mathematics (vii) Physics. Research Areas in each department for July 2025 PhD Admission is given in the Notification at https://www.iist.ac.in/admissions/phd/regular 

Eligibility: Applicant should be an Indian citizen, below 35 years of age as on 7th May, 2025. Age relaxation is applicable as per Government Rules.

Minimum Qualification: (a) Applicants with Master’s Degree in Engineering/Technology as their highest qualifying degree: ME/M.Tech with 60% marks/equivalent grade (55% marks/equivalent CGPA for OBC/EWS/SC/ST/PwD) in the qualifying master’s degree or Master of Science in Engineering or equivalent from leading foreign Universities with minimum CGPA 8.00/10 or 3.60 /4 or equivalent 

(b) Applicants with Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering/Technology as their highest qualifying degree: BE/B.Tech with 75% marks or its equivalent grade (70% marks or equivalent CGPA for OBC/EWS/SC/ST/PwD) in the Qualifying Bachelor’ degree. They should have a valid GATE score. Candidates in the following categories are exempted from the requirement of GATE score: (i) BE/B.Tech from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) /Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) with 7.50 CGPA (CGPA of 7.00 for OBC/EWS/SC/ST/PwD) on a scale of 10 or equivalent in the Qualifying Bachelor’s degree. They need to qualify the screening test conducted by IIST (ii) Dual degree (Bachelors in Engineering and Masters in Science from IITs and Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology) with minimum score in Bachelor’s degree as mentioned above. They need to qualify the screening test conducted by IIST (iii) Applicants who have qualified UGC-CSIR-NET-JRF/LS or NBHM/JEST in the relevant disciplines with score/certificate valid at the time of application. Applicants with JEST should have valid JEST rank 

(c) Applicants with Master’s Degree in Science/Humanities/Management/Social Sciences as their highest qualifying degree: Master’s in the relevant area with a minimum of 60% marks or its equivalent grade (55% marks or equivalent CGPA for OBC/EWS/SC/ST/PwD) in the Qualifying Master’s degree. They must have qualified a National Eligibility Test, such as UGC-CSIR-NET-JRF/LS or NBHM/JEST/GATE in the relevant discipline. The score/certificate should be valid at the time of application. Applicants with JEST should have valid JEST rank.

(d)  Applicants with Bachelor’s Degree with four-year duration in Science Humanities/ Management/ Social Sciences as their highest qualifying degree: Bachelor’s Degree (4 years’ duration) with 75% marks or its equivalent grade (70% marks or equivalent CGPA for OBC/EWS/SC/ST/PwD). They must have cleared a National Eligibility Test, such as UGC-CSIR-NET-JRF/LS or NBHM/JEST/GATE score in the relevant discipline. The score/certificate should be valid at the time of application. Applicants with JEST should have valid JEST rank. Candidates with Bachelor’s degree as their highest qualification need to undergo additional course work, as prescribed by the institute. 

Selection: Applicants with valid UGC-CSIR-NET-JRF/LS/NBHM/ JEST Rank/GATE score (2023/2024/2025) will be selected through Direct Interview. For all others, selection will be through Screening Test (objective type) + Interview for those who qualify the screening test. There will be a relaxation of 5 % in qualifying marks for SC/ST/PD and OBC / EWS candidates. Final selection will be based on performance in the interview. A UR candidate should score 60 % and above to be selected. For SC/ST/PD and OBC / EWS candidates, the score should be 55 % and above. 

Application: Applications can be submitted online at https://admission.iist.ac.in latest by 2359 hrs on May 07, 2025 (Wednesday). One can apply up to maximum 4 broad research areas only, including research areas across different departments, if eligible. Application fee is Rs. 700/- (Rs. 350/- Women/SC/ST/PD applicants) to be paid online.  

List of shortlisted candidates for Screening Test & Direct Interview will be displayed at 1700 hrs on May 16, 2025 (Friday). Screening test will be held at IIST Campus, Valiamala from 1000hrs-1100hrs on June 16, 2025 (Monday). Orientation and lab visit will be arranged in the afternoon on the same day.  Interview will be held at IIST Campus, Valiamala during June 17-19, 2025.

Research Fellowship: All scholars selected to the PhD programme as listed in Table 1 of the Notification, shall receive a Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) of Rs. 37,000/- 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 of the funding agency apply. The fellowship will be enhanced to Senior Research Fellowship (SRF) of Rs. 42,000/- per month based on a performance review after two years of the programme. SRF will be given for a maximum of another three years. 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.