Doctoral Programmes are offered in all Departments and Schools. Admissions to the Ph.D. programme of the institute are carried out as per schemes I – VI as detailed below.

Scheme I: Full-time registration with Institute Fellowship or other Govt. Fellowships like CSIR-UGC JRF/KSCSTE/INSPIRE/QIP etc. The full-time registrants admitted through scheme I will work on full-time basis at the institute and are eligible to receive financial assistance in the form of Institute Fellowship or other Govt. Fellowships like CSIR-UGC JRF/KSCSTE/INSPIRE/QIP etc. as applicable to the scholar. Such candidates are required to perform the teaching assistantship and other duties assigned by the department from time to time. Candidates with B.E/B.Tech/B.Arch/B.Plan/B.Des degree who meet eligibility criteria as notified in the information brochure can also join as a fulltime registrant for Direct PhD programme under Scheme I.

Scheme II: Full-time registration under the Self-Sponsored category. The full-time registrants admitted through scheme II shall work on full-time basis at the institute and are not eligible to receive financial assistance in the form of institute fellowship. However, such candidates can avail financial assistance from other agencies, by applying through proper channels.

Scheme III: Full-time registration for candidates sponsored from Industry or other organizations including Educational Institutions. The full-time registrants admitted through scheme  III will work on full-time basis at the institute and are not eligible to receive financial assistance in the form of institute fellowship. Such candidates are required to be sponsored by their parent organization for pursuing the PhD programme on a full time basis in the Institute.

Scheme IV: Internal Registration for regular staff employed at NITC/ Research staff employed in funded projects at NITC . The Institute offers Ph.D. Programme under Internal registration for regular employees of the Institute. They need to apply for the same at the normal time of admission with the recommendation of the Head of the Department (HoD) in which the candidate is employed in the Institute. Such candidates are required to perform the regular duties assigned by the institute from time to time. Project Staff, who are working on sponsored research projects in the institute are also eligible for registration under this scheme if they apply for the same at the normal time for admission with the recommendation of the Principal Investigator, HoD and Dean (R&C). A certificate to this effect should be attached alongwith the application form. Such project staff shall register for Ph. D programme under Internal Scheme, once they successfully complete the Institute admission process for the Ph. D programme.

Scheme V: External Registration for candidates from Industry or other organizations including Educational Institutions. This scheme is for candidates employed in Govt/Industry/R&D Organizations/Educational Institutions. The applicant must be a regular employee of the institution/organization with relevant experience and be engaged in professional work in the broad area to which admission is sought. A no objection cum experience certificate issued by the competent authority of the parent organization needs to be submitted while applying for the programme. Such candidates will pursue the PhD programme along with their regular job at parent institute. There is no mandatory residential requirement for these candidates, however they are required to complete the formalities such as Coursework, Semester registration, DC meetings, Comprehensive examination, open seminar, synopsis submission and Thesis submission as per the relevant sections of  applicable ordinances and  regulations. These candidates are required to work on a PhD topic assigned by the guide. However, those external registrants having facility to carry out research work at the parent institute can be permitted by the guide to work on a research problem relevant to the parent institute.

Scheme VI: This scheme is specifically for External Registration to Direct PhD programme by candidates working in industry who do not have a post graduate degree but have relevant experience in reputed Industry. This scheme  permits the combination of Direct PhD and External registration for working professionals from reputed industries. There is no mandatory residential requirement for these candidates, however they are required to complete the formalities as per the relevant sections of  applicable ordinances and  regulations.

While a total of 300 seats are allocated per year for scheme I and II together there is no cap on admission for PhD in other schemes provided the research area matches with that of the Department/School/Faculty Member concerned. Admissions to the doctoral programmes are through merit based selection processes done twice a year.The academic qualification and other eligibility criteria for admissions to different schemes will be notified in the information brochure for the PhD programme published by the institute in the respective academic session. For all schemes PhD scholars are selected  based on written tests and/or interviews conducted by the Institute and/or their performance in national level examinations such as  GATE / NET / JEST/ NBHM. It is advised that prospective candidates visit the relevant web pages of Departments/School/Faculty members to understand the areas of research as well as expertise of the research supervisors available in the Institute from time to time.