IISc PhD admission

Which IISc PhD route fits you: regular, direct, integrated or ERP?

There are four doors into a PhD at IISc. The one you use depends on your last degree, and on whether you have a job that you want to keep.

The regular PhD and the M.Tech. (Research) share one application and one eligibility table on the research programmes page. With a B.E. or B.Tech. and a GATE score, you can be considered for both. IISc calls engineering students admitted on their bachelor’s degree “Direct PhD” students. The July 2026 handbook says they get a dual M.Tech. (Research) and PhD degree.

The Integrated PhD is for science graduates. IISc says it admits 70 to 90 students a year across biological, chemical, physical and mathematical sciences. The handbook calls it a seven-year programme. If your CGPA ends up between 5 and 7 after the coursework, you leave with an MS (Research) instead.

The ERP is for people in work. We cover its rules in the last section, and our part-time PhD in Bengaluru page sets it beside VTU and the private universities.

Who can apply for an IISc PhD, and is GATE or NET compulsory?

You need at least a second class in your qualifying degree. SC and ST candidates need only a pass class. Your bachelor’s degree in engineering must take four years after Class 12, and a science master’s must take two years after a three-year bachelor’s. A five-year BS-MS counts.

Whether a test score is compulsory depends on what that degree is. Here is IISc’s table, in short:

• B.E., B.Tech. or a four-year B.Sc.: a valid GATE score or NET JRF is mandatory.
• Master’s in science, economics, geography, psychology, management, commerce, operations research or computer science/applications: GATE or NET JRF is mandatory.
• Master’s in engineering, technology, architecture, agriculture, pharmacy or veterinary science: GATE, NET JRF or GPAT is only desirable.
• MBBS, MD, MDS or Pharm.D.: a score is desirable. The January 2027 notice adds NEET-PG to the list.
• B.Pharm.: GPAT or NET JRF is mandatory. BDS: NET JRF is mandatory.
• A four-year degree from a Centrally Funded Technical Institution (CFTI) with a CGPA of 8 or more: a score is only desirable, for the PhD only.

The CFTI rule surprises people. Centrally funded institutes such as the IITs and NITs count, and IISc keeps the full list on its admissions site. The rule lets a strong four-year graduate apply without GATE. But it applies to the regular PhD only. The Integrated PhD page says plainly that the exemption does not extend there.

What does IISc count as “NET JRF”?

More than the name suggests. IISc’s list is Joint CSIR-UGC NET for JRF, UGC-NET for JRF, DBT JRF, ICMR JRF, JEST 2025 or 2026, NBHM 2026 and INSPIRE. JGEEBILS-2026 scores are also accepted for the biological sciences. For the August 2026 intake, GATE 2024, 2025 or 2026 counted, valid on 1 August 2026.

The January 2027 notice is firm on one point. If you qualified only for Lectureship or Assistant Professorship, or under NET Category 2 or 3, you cannot apply. For the medical sciences, it also accepts NEET-PG, INI-CET and AIAPGET. Every score must be valid on 1 January 2027.

For the Integrated PhD, the test is JAM. Biological sciences take JAM in biotechnology, chemistry, mathematics or physics. Chemical sciences take JAM chemistry or physics. Mathematical sciences take JAM mathematics or mathematical statistics. Physical sciences take JAM physics or JEST physics. You need a first class in your B.Sc. or B.E., or a pass class if you are SC or ST.

When does IISc PhD admission open, and how are scholars selected?

IISc admits PhD scholars twice a year. The main call is for an August start, and it covers every programme. The mid-year call is for a January start, and it is smaller.

The January 2027 call (open now)

• Official notice, theMid-Year Admission Notice 2026–27, No. IISc/Acad/MidYearAdmission/2026/01, dated 2 September 2026.
• Applications: 6 October to 26 October 2026, on admissions.iisc.ac.in. The site closes at 23:59 on 26 October.
• Interviews: 16 to 20 November 2026 in the notice. IISc’s Important Dates page says 16 to 19 November. Go by your call letter.
• Session starts: 1 January 2027.
• What it covers: the PhD only, regular and ERP. There is no M.Tech. (Research) or Integrated PhD intake in January.

Not every department takes part in it. The notice lists eight science departments, twelve engineering departments, four interdisciplinary programmes and medical sciences. A corrigendum of 29 September 2026 then dropped Brain, Computation and Data Science (BCD) for January 2027. Did you interview at IISc in May 2026? The notice lets you apply again.

The August call

The 2026–27 admission notice is dated 4 February 2026. IISc later extended the last date for research programmes, regular and ERP, to 6 April 2026. The 2026 notice came out in February. We’ll add the 2027 dates only when IISc publishes them. Our admission notifications tracker lists it once it is out.

How selection works

Departments shortlist you on your test score, your degree marks, or both. Selection then rests on an in-person interview. Some departments hold an aptitude test or a first interview before the final one. Some routes give no score or rank, such as INSPIRE, CFTI, ICMR JRF, DBT JRF and NBHM. For these, IISc may shortlist you on Career Analysis Marks. It works them out from your school and degree marks.

For the Integrated PhD, shortlisting is on JAM or JEST. Biological, physical and mathematical sciences then select on a test plus interview. Chemical sciences select on the interview alone.

How much is the IISc PhD fellowship, and what are the fees?

The fees and scholarships page sets the monthly amounts:

• PhD: ₹37,000 as JRF, then ₹42,000 as SRF.
• Integrated PhD: ₹16,000 at first, then ₹37,000 as JRF and ₹42,000 as SRF.
• M.Tech. (Research): ₹12,400.

The PhD fellowship runs for up to five years. It comes from CSIR, UGC, DBT, ICMR, the Ministry of Education, AICTE, NBHM or DST, depending on how you entered. So send your joining report to that agency as soon as you join. IISc also has private and donor fellowships that can raise the monthly amount up to two times. One rule matters for working people. If your employer or sponsor pays you a salary, you get no fellowship. That covers every ERP scholar.

What you pay

For a General, OBC or EWS PhD scholar, the first-year total is ₹40,800. That includes ₹15,000 of refundable deposits. SC, ST and PwD scholars have their tuition waived and pay ₹20,800. The Integrated PhD first year is ₹35,800. IISc says these fees rise by 5% every year. Medical insurance through the institute is compulsory, and its premium is extra.

How does the IISc External Registration Programme work?

The ERP page names two groups who can apply. The first is people “employed in R & D environments in scientific institutions or industries”. The second is young engineering and science faculty of recognised colleges and universities, including agricultural, pharmacy, veterinary and medical colleges.

The degree rules are the same as for regular applicants. The test score is the one difference. The ERP rules say a GATE, NET JRF or NBHM score is desirable, not required. You are shortlisted on your academic record and selected at an in-person interview. You also need these:

• two years of full-time employment by 1 August, or by 1 January for the mid-year call
• an age under 50 when classes begin
• an employer at least five years old (for a PhD), doing R&D
• an unconditional sponsorship certificate in IISc’s format, sent with the application
• a joint supervisor at work who holds a PhD, has three years of post-doctoral experience and has five years of service left
• an IISc supervisor you have identified before you apply.

After admission, you spend one or two terms on campus, then at least eight weeks a year with your IISc supervisor. A progress report goes in every six months. You must also stay with the same employer. A change of job before the thesis ends the registration.

The ERP costs far more than the regular PhD. The first-year fee for an ERP PhD in 2026–27 is ₹87,300 if your employer is an educational institution, ₹1,53,800 for a government body and ₹2,20,300 for a private company. Who pays is between you and your employer. Is a job at an IT company enough to qualify? That question, and how the ERP compares with VTU’s part-time PhD, is on our part-time PhD in Bengaluru page.

IISc PhD application checklist, and what the first two years look like

Go through this before you open the portal:

• Pick two or three departments and read their research areas. IISc admits to a department, not to the institute at large.
• Match your degree to the row in IISc’s eligibility table, and check whether your test score is mandatory or only desirable.
• Check that your GATE, NET JRF, JEST or other score is valid on 1 January 2027 for the mid-year call, or on 1 August for the main call.
• Make sure your NET result says JRF. A lectureship-only result does not qualify.
• Keep the fee ready: ₹800 (General, OBC, EWS), ₹400 (SC, ST, PwD) or ₹2,000 for ERP.
• For ERP, get the unconditional sponsorship certificate in IISc’s format and name your joint supervisor at work before you apply.
• In your final year? You can apply if you finish every degree requirement by 1 January 2027 and send the certificates by 31 March 2027.
• Prepare for an in-person interview on the core of your subject. Some departments hold a written or aptitude test first.

After you join

The student handbook (July 2026 version) sets the frame. A PhD normally takes five years, with a minimum of two and a maximum of six. Coursework is called the Research Training Programme. You need at least 12 credits with a CGPA of 7, or 24 credits if you are a Direct PhD student. Finish it within eighteen months, or two years for Direct PhD.

IISc is one of several research institutes in the city that admit through national tests. If you are also looking at NCBS, JNCASR, RRI or ICTS, our research institutes in Bengaluru guide sorts them by test. For the UGC’s national rules, see our PhD admission in India guide.