PhD fellowships in Kerala

Which Kerala schemes pay a PhD scholar, and who runs each?

Five schemes are left after our checks. Two of them, KSCSTE and the minority fellowship, are for the whole state. Each of the other three belongs to a single university.

Two universities are missing from this table. The University of Kerala has a fellowships page, and it explains how the university processes CSIR, KSCSTE, INSPIRE and ICSSR awards. But that page gives no rate for any fellowship the university pays from its own side. For CUSAT also we could not find a current rate. If you are at either one, ask the research section.

How does the KSCSTE Research Fellowship work, from test to third year?

The Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment gives this fellowship for PhD work in seven streams. The seven are mathematical, life, chemical, physical, engineering, environmental, and earth, atmospheric and planetary sciences. If you are from humanities or social science, you cannot apply. The council put up its scheme page on 22 September 2025 and updated it on 12 November 2025. As per that page, you need 70% in the PG examination, or 65% if you are SC, ST or differently-abled. Your PG degree also has to be from a university in Kerala. That means a Kerala resident with an MSc from Pondicherry or Madras is not eligible, even with very good marks. In 2025 the fee was ₹750. SC, ST and differently-abled applicants did not have to pay it.

The test

The detailed rules still come from the council’s December 2019 guidelines. The exam is online at three centres in Kerala, and it is usually held in the second week of December. Paper A has 20 general aptitude questions and all of them are compulsory. Paper B has 100 questions from your subject, out of which you attempt 50. The syllabus is close to CSIR-NET. Wrong answers carry no negative marks. In the final score, 70 marks come from the test and 20 come from your PG marks. The cut-off for SC, ST and PwD candidates is 5% lower. The 2019 guidelines kept a cap of 100 fellowships on the scheme, and 28 of these were for life sciences. Even in 2019 they wrote that fewer may be given when funds are short.

Our advice for a science postgraduate from Kerala is to write this test in same year as CSIR-NET. NET preparation covers most of Paper B, and fee is small.

After the offer letter

With KSCSTE you get the award first and the PhD seat later. The council’s 2021 terms give you one year from the award to register at a university or recognised research centre in Kerala. Your offer letter lapses after one year if you have not joined anywhere. The award helps at admission time too. In its January 2026 notification, the University of Kerala lists fellowships of state government agencies approved by the university among the exemptions from its entrance test. Calicut’s December 2025 notification has the same provision. KTU’s 2025–26 notification works a little differently. KSCSTE fellows write only Part A of the KTU entrance test, and their marks are scaled up to 70.

As per the 2021 terms, you also get HRA at 10% of the fellowship. Day scholars and fellows staying in the institute’s hostel don’t get it, and everyone else does. KSCSTE sends each year’s money to your institution, and they pay you. For each release you have to give a progress report and an audited statement of expenditure. The real condition comes in the third year. The 2019 guidelines want a paper in a Scopus-indexed journal with an acknowledgement to KSCSTE. In the 2021 terms they only want minimum one paper in some refereed journal. If you target Scopus, both conditions are met. Our publication requirement guide has more on planning that paper. One more point in the 2021 terms is that the fellowship will not be extended after three years. Your institution may still allow you to continue the PhD without it.

Which minority scholars does the Chief Minister’s fellowship cover?

This scheme is run by the Directorate of Minority Welfare. Its 2025–26 notification (MWD/695/2025) is for Muslim, Christian (all denominations), Sikh, Buddhist, Jain and Parsi scholars. You should be a permanent resident of Kerala and doing a regular full-time PhD. In the English guidelines, the condition is enrolment at a recognised government or government-aided institution in India. So the institution can be outside Kerala also. Non-resident Keralites, though, cannot apply.

The amount is ₹20,000 a month, released as ₹2,40,000 for one year. You can receive it up to three times within five years. There is no test. BPL applicants get first priority. When there are not enough BPL applicants, the Malayalam notification says APL families with income up to ₹8 lakh will be considered. Out of the awards, 30% are reserved for women and 5% for persons with disabilities. Only one member from a family can get it, and for 2025–26 the number of awards was set at 250. For age, applicants had to be under 40 on 1 October 2025, though women and PwD candidates got some relaxation.

Read three rules carefully. Employees of a university, college or government are not eligible, even if they are on leave without allowance. If you already draw JRF, KSCSTE or an institutional stipend, you have to give up one of them. And the same guidelines say a scholar who has already used any fellowship for the PhD, fully or partly, is not eligible. This does not match well with the option of giving one up. Holding some award already? Call the Directorate and clear your doubts, then only apply. From the second year onwards you need to submit RAC reports and a coursework completion report. At a later stage you also have to show proof of a paper in a peer-reviewed or Scopus-indexed journal.

For 2025–26, applications went on paper to the Director, Directorate of Minority Welfare, 4th floor, Vikas Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram 695033, and by email also. Last date was 15 January 2026. We tried the Directorate’s website in September 2026 and it was showing maintenance notice. So we went by the copy that MG University circulated.

What do MG University, KTU and Calicut pay their own scholars?

Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam

The University Junior Research Fellowship of MGU is meant for full-time scholars in its teaching departments and approved research centres. Scholars in autonomous colleges are not covered. The 2025–26 notification was issued on 19 April 2026, and only scholars admitted in 2023 and 2024 could apply. The application window on the MGU research portal was from 4 May to 4 June 2026. How many awards to give was left to the Vice-Chancellor. Your age should be 35 or below on the date of joining. You are allowed to apply while doing coursework. But payment starts only after you produce the coursework mark list. What that coursework stage involves is covered in our coursework guide.

This year the rate was increased. As per a university order dated 19 March 2026, the UJRF went up from ₹12,000 to ₹15,000 a month. (The 2023–24 notification had ₹12,000.) After that, on 20 May 2026, the syndicate decided from when each batch gets the new rate. For 2024 admissions it applies from the first year itself. For 2023 admissions it starts only from the third year.

KTU

KTU’s PhD notification for 2025–26 is dated 30 April 2025. It promised eligible full-time scholars ₹25,000 a month over three years, along with a contingency grant of ₹10,000 every year. There is another scheme in the same notification. Scholars selected for full-time study in government engineering colleges get Higher Education scholarships from the Directorate of Technical Education, after registration. Who exactly counts as eligible for KTU’s own fellowship, the notification never says. Ask the research section about it after you get admission.

University of Calicut

The Directorate of Research at Calicut has an FAQ, and it describes a University Fellowship for full-time scholars who hold no other fellowship. Usually applications are called in June or July after admissions are over, and the award is sanctioned by a university order. Then you sign an agreement and send a stipend bill every month. Tenure of this Calicut fellowship is four years. It pays ₹11,000 (JRF) and ₹13,000 (SRF) a month, with ₹6,000 contingency for the full tenure. No date is there on that FAQ page. Ask the Directorate once whether these rates are still current. For the thesis rules at Calicut, see our Calicut thesis format guide.

Can a KSCSTE fellow also draw a university or minority award?

No, you cannot combine them. KSCSTE’s terms do not allow any other fellowship during its tenure. MGU asks scholars who already get a fellowship not to apply at all. The minority fellowship also makes you pick one. Some KSCSTE fellows later want to move to a national JRF. For that you resign through your supervisor and the head of the institution, and KSCSTE has to approve it. After that the accounts are settled. Only then KSCSTE issues the no-objection certificate.

Scheduled Caste scholars should also know about the laptop assistance from the SC Development Department. It gives up to ₹25,000 to SC students in the first year of certain courses, and the PhD is in that list. The department’s post-matric assistance goes through the e-Grantz portal. Its page does not give a date for the laptop amount, so confirm it with the SC development office in your district.

• Have your PG mark list and degree certificate ready by September. The KSCSTE call has mostly opened in September or October, and the fellowship counts your PG marks along with the test score.
• Keep count of your attempts. KSCSTE gives three consecutive chances, counted from the year you pass your PG. A year you sit out still gets counted.
• Check the age limit for each scheme separately. The KSCSTE 2019 guidelines put it at 35. MGU’s 2025–26 notification says 35 on the date of joining. For the minority fellowship you must be under 40 on 1 October 2025.
• Apply for community, nativity and income certificates at the village office well in advance if the minority fellowship is your plan. The Directorate wants the original income certificate.
• Don’t count on holding two awards together. Kerala’s KSCSTE, the minority fellowship, MGU and Calicut all keep out scholars who already draw another fellowship.

When the fellowship ends, KSCSTE wants a soft copy of your thesis and your degree before it closes your file. If you are registered at the University of Kerala, our University of Kerala thesis format guide explains how that thesis has to be laid out.