PhD Admissions

The EE department is one of the largest departments in IIT Hyderabad, with its own building, 39 regular faculty members, and a research funding in excess of Rs 300 crores since its inception.

We are actively seeking PhD candidates with a strong academic background and an interest to pursue high quality research in all areas of Electrical Engineering.

Candidates must apply online via https://iith.ac.in/phdadmissions/.

While submitting your application, you can specify which funding modes are preferable to you.

The EE Department at IIT Hyderabad also accepts admissions through the Quality Improvement Program (QIP) of AICTE. For QIP admissions you must apply through the AICTE website and not through the IIT Hyderabad admissions portal.

PhD candidates who have secured fellowship offers, such as from INSPIRE Fellowship and CSIR-UGC NET JRF can apply to our PhD program at any time of the year by sending their application through email addressed to head@ee.iith.ac.in and phd.admissions@ee.iith.ac.in Please enclose your CV, fellowship offer letter and your academic degrees as well as marksheets. Your application must satisfy the eligibility criteria set by IIT Hyderabad and the Department Electrical Engineering. Applications will be considered subject to the availability of hostel accommodation.

Each candidate must choose from the five specialisation streams available at the department while specifying their 'Areas of Interest' during the online application. This is important for the application to be considered for further processing. The five specialisation streams are:

Candidates shortlisted for interview will be intimated via email. If you have shown interest in more than one specialisation stream in your online application, you could potentially be invited to participate in interviews for more than one stream.

The shortlisted candidates must bring the call letter, a valid and original government-issued photo identification, and photocopies of educational degree certificates, score cards (if applicable) and any other certificates relevant for the selection process.

Please note that the intimation of selection for interviews will be via email. The decision of the selection committee will be final.

The syllabus for the written test and interview differs across specialisation streams. Please see the brochure for details.

Information about faculty members associated with the EE department (along with their research interests and research group details) is available at the Faculty page.

Given the wide variety of research conducted at the EE department, the eligibility criteria for applications vary across the five specialisation streams. Some specialisation streams consider candidates from streams in addition to traditional EE and ECE related areas (such as Power Electronics, Power Systems, VLSI Design, Microelectronics, etc.), including: AI, Math and Computing, MSc in Maths/Statistics/Physics, Engineering Science, Engineering Physics, Nanotechnology, Material Science and Engineering, Automation Engineering, etc. Also, apart from GATE qualification, some specialisation streams allow qualification through JEST, CSIR/UGC JRF and DST-INSPIRE scheme.

There are four admission categories. Each has its own set of requirements.

Please note:

• First Class is defined as 60% marks or 6.0 CGPA.
• MSc (such as MSc in Math or Physics) is not considered a post-graduate degree.
• A centrally funded institute (CFI) is an institute/university fully funded by the Ministry of Education, Government of India.
• Only 1 seat is available under the Special Direct PhD (High CGPA) scheme. Applications submitted under this category are not considered under Direct PhD category.

The applications must be filled and submitted online. One of the first steps while starting a new application is to choose the following three fields: Program, Programme and Department. Please choose 'PhD' under the field Program and 'Electrical Engineering' under the field Department. For the field Programme, choose as follows

These are the minimum institute-level criteria. The EE department's stream-wise criteria (in the next section) are additional.

The EE department has five specialisation streams. Eligibility criteria vary across them. Each candidate must choose up to three of these streams while specifying their "Areas of Interest" during the online application. Here we describe the criteria for applications under Regular and Direct PhD categories. Information about External category can be found further below.

Candidates must satisfy at least one of the following criteria:

• BE/BTech in EE, EC, AI, MC, CS, ES, EP or equivalent
• ME/MTech in EE, EC, AI, MC, CS, ES, EP or equivalent
• MSc in Mathematics/Statistics or Physics or equivalent

Here MC stands for Math and Computing, ES for Engineering Science, EP for Engineering Physics.

Candidates who do not hold an ME/MTech degree must additionally hold at least one of the following:

• BE/BTech/BS/MSc from any CFI with at least 8 CGPA
• A valid GATE score in EC, CS, DA, MA, ST or PH
• A valid JEST score in Physics
• A valid CSIR-UGC NET from a relevant subject
• Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) of CSIR/UGC or DST-INSPIRE fellowship

Candidates must satisfy at least one of the following criteria:

• BE/BTech in Telecommunication Engineering (EC) / Electrical Engineering (EE) / Engineering Physics (EP) / Instrumentation Engineering (IN) / Engineering Sciences (ES) / Nanotechnology / Nanobiotechnology / Material Science and Engineering / Computer Science
• MSc or equivalent in Electronics / Electronic Sciences (EL) / Physics (PH) / Nanotechnology / Material Science
• ME/MTech in Microelectronics / VLSI Design / Nanoelectronics / Nanotechnology / Nanobiotechnology / Material Science and Engineering

Candidates without an ME/MTech must also fulfil at least one of the following:

• BE/BTech/BS/MSc from any CFI with at least 8 CGPA
• A valid GATE score in CS, EC, EE, IN, PH, MT or XE
• A valid JEST score in Physics
• A valid CSIR-UGC NET from a relevant subject
• Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) of CSIR/UGC or DST-INSPIRE fellowship

Candidates must satisfy at least one of the following criteria:

• BE/BTech in Telecommunication Engineering (EC) / Electrical Engineering (EE) / Engineering Physics (EP) / Instrumentation Engineering (IN) / Engineering Sciences (ES) / Nanotechnology / Computer Science
• MSc or equivalent in Electronics / Electronic Sciences (EL) / Physics (PH)
• ME/MTech in Microelectronics / VLSI Design / Nanoelectronics / Nanotechnology

Candidates without an ME/MTech must also fulfil at least one of the following:

• BE/BTech/BS/MSc from any CFI with at least 8 CGPA
• A valid GATE score in CS, EC, EE, IN, PH
• A valid CSIR-UGC NET from a relevant subject
• Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) of CSIR/UGC or DST-INSPIRE fellowship

Candidates must satisfy at least one of the following criteria:

• BE/BTech in Electrical / Electrical and Electronics / Power Engineering or equivalent, or any other related branch of Electrical Engineering / Technology
• ME/MTech in Power Electronics / Power Systems / Electrical Engineering, or any other related branch of Electrical Engineering / Technology

Candidates who do not hold an ME/MTech degree must additionally hold a valid GATE score in EE or a BE/BTech/BS/MSc from any CFI with at least 8 CGPA.

Candidates must satisfy at least one of the following criteria:

• BE/BTech in Instrumentation and Control / Control Engineering, or any other related branch of Engineering / Technology
• ME/MTech in Systems / Control & Computing / Automation Engineering, or any other related branch of Engineering / Technology

Candidates who do not hold an ME/MTech degree must additionally hold a valid GATE score in IN, EE or EC or BE/BTech/BS/MSc from any CFI with at least 8 CGPA.

Candidates employed in well-resourced scientific institutions, R&D establishments, and industry laboratories engaged in research-based activities can opt for the External (or Sponsored) category. The candidate should be working in an organisation closely related to the proposed PhD research topic.

The educational qualifications mentioned under the stream-wise eligibility above apply here as well. If the candidate does not hold a ME/MTech or equivalent degree, then at least one of the following is required:

• Two years of work experience, or
• A valid score from GATE, CSIR/UGC, etc. as specified in the stream-wise eligibility criteria

If shortlisted, the candidate must furnish a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from their organisation.

Candidates admitted under this category are not eligible for any financial assistantship from the institute.

• First Class is defined as 60% marks or 6 CGPA. In case there are a large number of applications, the cut-off may be increased.
• Relaxation on the selection cutoff is provided for SC/ST/OBC candidates (10% for OBC candidates and 15% for SC/ST candidates). This is not applicable for Special High CGPA Direct PhD and External PhD.
• Students with a degree from a foreign university should produce an equivalency certificate and meet the institute criteria and government norms, amended from time to time.

Hyderabad is well connected to all major Indian cities by air, rail and road networks. The closest airport is the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad. The closest major railway stations are Lingampalli, Secunderabad, Hyderabad (Nampally), and Kacheguda.

Popular online taxi hailing services can be used to reach IIT Hyderabad campus from railway stations and the airport. Public transport can also be used, such as by MMTS train or Metro train followed by a bus service and/or auto-rickshaw. Auto-rickshaws can be hailed from either Patancheru or Isnapur (closer to IIT Hyderabad than Patancheru). The bus service with number 219 connects Secunderabad to Isnapur via Patancheru. Please see this page for more details.

Please register at the security office while entering IIT Hyderabad campus; you may have to produce the call letter and a photo identification during entry. Shuttle buses are available from the main gate to the hostel zone.

For details of the fee structure for the PhD program, please visit the IIT Hyderabad fee structure page.