IISER Ph.D. Admissions – August 2020

IISER Ph.D. Admissions – August 2020

About the IISER PH.d Admissions

The Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram (IISER TVM) is dedicated to scientific research and science education of international standards. Traditionally, teaching has been segregated from research in undergraduate science curricula in our country. The IISERs were established by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, to bridge this dichotomy. IISER TVM was founded in 2008. The institute aims to provide high quality education in modern science, integrating it with outstanding research at the undergraduate level itself, and to develop a spirit of enquiry cutting across disciplines. IISER TVM is an autonomous institution offering a five-year BS-MS programme in addition to iPh.D and Ph.D. programmes in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics and inter-disciplinary areas.

IISER TVM operates at Vithura, 40 kilometres from Thiruvananthapuram city, at the foot of the Ponmudi hills. With rich greenery and a spectacular mountain backdrop, this eco-friendly campus enjoys a tranquil environment, ideal for the conduction of research and learning. Separate hostel accommodation is provided for nearly 1050 boys and girls in the permanent campus. The institute has a fully functional multi-cuisine mess that is supervised by a student committee.

Applications are invited from highly motivated students for admission to the Ph.D. programme of Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram (IISER TVM) in Biological (SoB), Chemical (SoC), Mathematical (SoM), and Physical (SoP) Sciences for the session starting from August 2020, i.e., Varsha 2020 semester. Candidates are required to apply through the online portal only. The online application portal will be open from 01/03/2020 at http://appserv.iisertvm.ac.in/phd/

Eligibility Criteria

1. 7.5 CGPA in 10-point scale (or first class equivalent) or first class Master’s degree in relevant areas as declared by the respective University.
2. The candidate must have qualified either of the following examinations: CSIR-UGC, UGC-NET-JRF and GATE with validity as of August 2020. Candidates with DST-INSPIRE fellowship or fellowship through any other national-level examinations as mentioned.

Biological Sciences

Biological Sciences/ Mathematics/ Bioinformatics/Agricultural Sciences/ Veterinary Sciences or a Bachelor Degree in Medicine (MBBS)

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT

• Eligibility Criteria 1

AND

• Eligibility Criteria 2

OR

DBT-JRF (Category I), ICMR-JRF
Note: Only candidates whose ranks make them eligible to avail Category I DBT-Junior Research Fellowships tenable at any university/institution in India. Fellowships restricted to join DBT or ICMR-sponsored projects are not eligible.

OR

GATE (EY, XL and BT only)
Note: GATE (EY) qualified candidates will be considered only for Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour. GATE (XL) or GATE (BT) qualified candidates will be considered only for Bioinformatics.

OR

JGEEBILS (GS-2020)
Note: Candidates who have appeared for the JGEEBILS 2020 test can apply.

#JGEEBILS and GATE (EY, XL and BT only) candidates may be further shortlisted by IISER TVM Ph.D. applications shortlisting committee based on the marks/score.

Chemical Sciences

• Eligibility Criteria 1

AND

• Eligibility Criteria 2

• Eligibility Criteria 1

AND

• Eligibility Criteria 2

OR

Qualified NBHM JRF Scholarship Written Exam 2020 and have received the NBHM interview call letter.

Mathematical Sciences

Mathematics, Statistics, Engineering/ Technology in a relevant area

OR

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/Technology with a minimum CPI of 8.0 (or 75% Marks), and a CSIR-UGC-JRF/NBHM JRF(or qualified NBHM JRF Scholarship Written Exam 2020 and have received the NBHM interview call letter)/ GATE- Fellowship valid as on 01 August 2020

Physical Sciences

Physical Sciences/Material Science/ Engineering areas (closely related to the research areas of IISER TVM)

• Eligibility Criteria 1

AND

• Eligibility Criteria 2

OR

• JEST 2020 (Physics)

In situations where no University declaration exists about first class, UGC regulations on eligibility criteria will be followed.

Research Areas

Biological Sciences  : –

• Bioinformatics
• Cell Biology
• Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour
• Genetics
• Genomics
• Molecular Biology
• Structural Molecular Biology
• Mammalian Cell Division
• Neuroscience

Chemical Sciences

• Main Group Chemistry
• Macrocycles/Planar Antiaromatic and Extended Pi-Conjugated Systems
• Bioinspired Coordination Chemistry and Metal-free Small Molecule Activation
• Inorganic-Organic Hybrid, Metal Nanocluster and Catalysis
• Inorganic and Hybrid Materials Chemistry/Energy Storage-Batteries-Supercapacitors/Porous Materials-Gas Separation-Membranes
• Synthesis and operation of molecular switches and machines
• Synthesis of artificial foldamers and their applications.
• Designing out of equilibrium self-assembled system and their application
• Synthetic Methods for Organic Synthesis, Asymmetric Catalysis, and C–H Activation/ Functionalization
• Target-Oriented Organic Synthesis via (Asymmetric) Transition Metal Catalysis
• Insight-Driven Implementation of Radical Chemistry in Advanced Organic Chemistry
• Synthesis, Characterization and Application of (Chiral)Nanomaterial heterogeneous Catalysts in Sustainable Organic Synthesis
• Asymmetric Total Synthesis, Asymmetric Catalysis, Development of New Methodologies and Medicinal Chemistry
• Asymmetric Catalysis and Cross-Coupling Reactions
• Development of new synthetic methodologies driven by visible light photoredox catalysis, Metallo-photoredox catalysis in organic synthesis.
• Supramolecular Chemistry and DNA Nanotechnology
• Supramolecular Chemistry, Organic Synthesis and Chemical Biology
• Photochemistry and Photophysics and Light-Matters Interaction at Nanoscale
• Ultrafast Spectroscopy, Physical Organic Chemistry and Biophysical Chemistry
• Electrocatalysis.

Mathematical Sciences

• Algebra, Number Theory & Geometry
• Analysis
• Applied Analysis
• Computational Sciences

Physical Sciences

• Magnetic and Superconducting Materials
• Light Sheet Microscopy (LSM) or Selective Plane Illumination Microscopy (SPIM)
• Nonlinear Dynamics: Cooperative Phenomena in Complex Networks
• Condensed Matter Theory: High Performance Thermoelectric Materials, Topological phases of matter, Machine Learning many body wavefunctions
• 2-Dimensional Layered Nanostructures for Energy Applications
• Terahertz Spectroscopy of Condensed Matter Systems
• 2D Electronics & Neuromorphic Devices
• Organic, Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Semiconductors and Devices, Especially Solar Cells
• Infrared Plasmonics of Conducting Oxides
• Semiconductor qubits, Quantum-transport
• van der Waals materials for gas sensors
• String Theory, Supergravity
• Foundations of quantum theory and applications in device independent technology. Enhanced communication through quantum technology
• Beyond the Standard Model Phenomenology

Selection Procedure

The shortlisted applicants will be invited to attend a written test/interview at IISER TVM. The final selection of the candidates will solely be based on the performance in the interview.

In the School of Biology, there will be two rounds of interviews. In case of a high turnout of candidates, an entrance exam will be conducted (based on Master’s-level Biology questions for 70% marks and 12th-level Physics, Mathematics and Chemistry questions for 30%) on the first day of interviews. be two rounds of interviews. In case of a high turnout of candidate

Application Procedure

• Applicants should complete the online application form at the url: http://appserv.iisertvm.ac.in/phd
• Only applications complete in all respects would be considered. Do not forget to click the “Submit” button after completing your application.
• Applicants will also be prompted to upload all the supporting documents online.
• Applicants should provide Name/Affiliation/Contact number and Email addresses of two referees in the application form.
• Applicants belonging to GE/OBC and SC/ST/PH categories are required to make a payment of Rs. 500/- and Rs. 250/-, respectively, as a processing fee online at: https://www.onlinesbi.com/sbicollect/icollecthome.htm
• On submission of the online application form, the applicants will receive an acknowledgment email with a unique application number.
• Applicants are NOT required to post a hard copy of the application to IISER TVM.
• In case of any application-related queries, please contact the Ph.D. coordinator by email at: phdprogramme@iisertvm.ac.in. Any other mode of communication will not be entertained.
• Mere fulfilment of the eligibility criteria does not entitle a candidate to be called for the written test and/or interview.

For the School of Biology, it is mandatory for all the candidates to submit a short research proposal of 300-400 words, which should clearly state a research problem you find interesting to address and how you approach towards solving this. While applying online, please upload this proposal under the section “Statement of Purpose”. Please note the proposal does not need to be related to the research ongoing at the School of Biology, IISER TVM. The proposal will be used to evaluate your scientific aptitude and will be a major criterion for short-listing candidates for the interview.

Important Points

1. Relaxation for reserved categories to the eligibility criteria will be applicable as per Government of India rules.
2. Candidates who meet minimum eligibility criteria for obtaining INSPIRE Ph.D. fellowship as per the DST guidelines can also apply. In the event of being shortlisted, and successfully cleared in the interview, the candidate shall be provisionally admitted for the Ph.D. program. The admission shall be cancelled, if the candidate cannot submit necessary documents for INSPIRE Ph.D. fellowship at the time of registration.

Important Dates

For more details refer the Official Website :  http://www.iisertvm.ac.in/

Information Document