Ph.D. Programme 2026

Invitation to pursue Ph.D. programme in specialized areas of Physical Science, Life Science and Engineering (Mechanical Engineering) Science at Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology, Indore

Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT), Indore, was founded in 1984 by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) for pursuit of R&D in the areas of Accelerators, Lasers and related technologies. Since then, the Centre has set up two Synchrotron Radiation Sources: Indus-1 & Indus-2, which are now working as national research facilities. There are also other accelerators developed at RRCAT for radiation processing applications. The Centre has excellent cryogenic facilities as well as state-of-the-art equipment for low temperature physics measurements. A variety of laser systems, particularly high-power lasers, have been built and are being used for a wide range of applications. These include gas lasers (like copper vapour lasers, CO2 lasers), solid state lasers (like - diode pumped solid state lasers, semiconductor lasers, high power lasers) for the studies in the areas like –laser materials processing, laser-plasma interaction. The Centre also has long-standing program in the areas of advanced accelerator physics, RF-superconductivity for accelerating cavities and magnets, low-temperature physics, photonic and functional materials, condensed matter physics, cold atom physics, non-linear optics, opto-electronics, photonic sensors, nano-science, micro-electro-mechanical systems, additive manufacturing and computational physics (in condensed matter, laser-plasma interaction, photon-tissue interaction) etc. At RRCAT, we are also actively pursuing R &D in biophotonics. Considerable expertise has been developed on use of photonics-based approaches for biomedical diagnosis, phototherapy, optical tweezers and optical bio-imaging. Some of our recent endeavors include targeted antimicrobial/anticancer light therapy, nano-biophotonics, and development of novel biomaterials etc.

RRCAT is a Constituent Institute of the "Homi Bhabha National Institute" (HBNI), a Deemed to be University with NAAC “A+” grade. RRCAT invites applications from students with appropriate qualifications to pursue Ph.D. program in various specialized areas of Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, and Engineering (Mechanical / Electronics, Electrical Engineering) Sciences as listed above. As per the rules of HBNI, the Ph.D. program consists of course work of one-year duration and research work leading to Ph.D. thesis. The Ph.D. 2026 program will commence classes on 1^st August 2026.

Eligibility:

Qualification :

• For Physical Sciences: The candidate must have passed M.Sc./M.Tech degree in Physics, Applied Physics, Engineering Physics, Photonics, Applied Optics, Laser Technology, Optoelectronics, Materials Science, Nano Science / Nanotechnology, with a minimum of 60% overall marks. The candidates who have passed 4 years / 8-semester bachelor’s degree programme (B.S./B.Sc.) in Physics with a minimum of 60 % marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade are also eligible for admission to PhD programme. All the candidates must have qualified Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST-2024/2025/2026), GATE (i.e., GATE-2024/GATE 2025/GATE 2026) and/or CSIR-UGC NET (held during 2024 -2026: JRF, not lectureship).


• For Life Sciences: The candidate must have passed M.Sc. degree in Life Sciences/ Biotechnology/Zoology/ Biochemistry / Microbiology a minimum of 60% overall marks. The candidates who have passed 4 years/ 8-semester bachelor’s degree programme (B.S./B.Sc.) in Biological Sciences/Life Sciences/ Biotechnology with a minimum of 75 % marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade are also eligible for admission to PhD programme. All the candidates must have qualified CSIR-UGC NET held during 2024/2025/2026: JRF, not lectureship) / BET- JRF (2024/2025/2026), ICMR-JRF (held during 2024/2025/2026), GATE (i.e., GATE-2024/GATE 2025/GATE 2026). For BET qualified candidates, applicants of category-II, not eligible for DBT-JRF will not be considered.
  
  
• For Mechanical/ Electronics / Electrical Engineering:
  
  
  • Mechanical Engineering:The candidate must have passed M. Tech / M.E. degree (with BE / B. Tech / four-year B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent branches) in Mechanical / Thermal / Production / Design / Mechatronics Engineering / Manufacturing / Material Science /Applied Optics / Laser Technology / Optoelectronics with a minimum of 60% overall marks, and must have qualified GATE.
    
    
  • Electronics / Electrical Engineering: The candidate must have passed M. Tech/M.E. degree (with BE / B. Tech / four-year B.Sc. in Electronics / Electrical Engineering or equivalent branches) in Electronics / Electrical Engineering, Power Electronics, RF and Microwave Engineering, Controls and Instrumentation, with a minimum of 60% overall marks, and must have qualified GATE.

The candidates must have valid JEST/GATE/CSIR NET-JRF/BET-JRF/ICMR-JRF score at the time of application.

Those applicants who are completing the qualifying degree in the year 2026, but with a with a valid score (JEST/GATE/CSIR NET-JRF/BET-JRF/ICMR-JRF) can also apply. If selected, the final degree mark sheet should be submitted by 31^st October 2026. Continuation in the Ph.D. programme will be subject to the candidate obtaining the minimum qualifying marks; as mentioned in the eligibility criteria. Five-year integrated M.S. (of IISERs) will be treated at par with five-year integrated M.Sc.

Fellowship:

DAE Research Fellowships will be offered to those selected for the pursuit of Ph.D. The present fellowship amount is ₹ 37,000 per month for the first two years (as Junior Research Fellow) and ₹ 42,000 per month for the subsequent three years (as Senior Research Fellow), subject to satisfactory yearly progress. Presently, there is no tuition fee for the PhD programme. Further, JRFs/ SRFs are provided Contingency Grant (up to ₹ 60,000 per annum), one-time foreign travel assistance (up to ₹ 2,25,000), full medical facilities (@1% of fellowship) and mess & hostel accommodation at concessional rates. The research fellows are expected to stay at the institute hostel, and are not paid HRA.

Nationality: The applicant must be an Indian citizen.

Selection Process:

The selection of the students for the Ph.D. programme will be a two-step process:

1) Screening of the applications, followed by

2) an interview of the short-listed candidates.

The screening will be done on the basis of applicant's valid score/rank in qualifying examination, i.e., Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST) and/or CSIR-UGC NET and/or GATE and/or BET as per the discipline as indicated above.

How to Apply:

Important deadlines:

• Registration will start online from 1^st May 2026 [ Apply Online ]
  
  
• Last date for online submission is 20^th May 2026
  
  
• Likely date for publication of screening results on RRCAT website and email communication to shortlisted candidates for appearing on line interview: 5^th June 2026
  
  
• Duration of online interview: 10^th June 2026 - 18^th June 2026
  
  
• Probable date of declaration of result on RRCAT web site: 5^th July 2026
  
  
• Probable date of reporting at RRCAT: 25^th July 2026
  
  
• For any queries kindly send e-mail to : rrcat_phd[at]rrcat[dot]gov[dot]in