Admission Modalities

Eligibility Criteria for Admission to the Ph.D. Programme

Subject to the conditions stipulated in the guidelines the following candidates shall be eligible to seek admission to the Ph.D. programme in The ICFAI University, Sikkim:

1. Candidates who have completed

• A 1-year/2-semesters master's degree programme after a 4-year/8-semester bachelor’s degree programme or a 2-year/4-semester master’s degree programme and after a 3- years bachelor’s degree programme or qualifications declared equivalent to the master’s degree by the corresponding statutory regulatory body, with at least 55% marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade in a point scale wherever grading system is followed or equivalent qualification from a foreign educational institution accredited by an assessment and accreditation agency which is approved, recognized or authorized by the authority, established or incorporated under a law in its home country or any other statutory authority in that country to assess, accredit or assure quality and standards of the educational institution.
• A relaxation of 5% marks or its equivalent grade may be allowed for those belonging to SC/ST/OBC (non-creamy layer), Differently-Abled, Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and other categories of candidates as per the decision of the University from time to time.
• Provided that a candidate seeking admission after a 4-year/8-semester bachelor’s degree programme should have a minimum of 75% marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade on a point scale wherever the grading system is followed. A relaxation of 5% marks or its equivalent grade may be allowed for those belonging to SC/ST/OBC (non-creamy layer), Differently-Abled, Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and other categories of candidates as per the decision of the Commission from time to time.

2. UGC NET qualified candidates will be eligible for Ph.D. admissions in the following three categories

• Category 1 – Eligible for (i) Admission to Ph.D. program with JRF and (ii) appointment as Assistant Professor.
• Category 2 – Eligible for (i) Admission to Ph.D. program without JRF and (ii) appointment as an Assistant Professor.
• Category 3 – Eligible for Admission to the Ph.D. program only and not for the award of a JRF or appointment as an Assistant Professor.

The result of NET will be declared in percentile along with the marks obtained by a candidate to utilize the marks for admission to Ph.D.

The JRF-qualified students are admitted into the Ph.D. programme based on an interview as per the University Grants Commission (Minimum Standards and Procedures for Award of' Ph.D. Degree) Regulations. 2022.

For students who quality in Categories 2 and 3, 70% weightage will be given for test scores and 30% weightage for the interview for admission to Ph.D. programmes. The Ph.D. admission will be based on the combined merit of NET marks and the marks obtained in the interview/viva voce.

The marks obtained in the NET by the candidates in Categories 2 and 3 will be valid for a period of one year for admission to Ph.D.

3. Candidates who have completed the M.Phil. programme with at least 55% marks in aggregate or equivalent grade in a point scale wherever grading system is followed or equivalent qualification from a foreign educational institution accredited by an assessment and accreditation agency which is approved, recognized or authorized by an authority, established or incorporated under a law in its home country or any other statutory authority in that country to assess, accredit or assure quality and standards of educational institutions, shall be eligible for admission to the Ph.D. programme. A relaxation of 5% marks or its equivalent grade may be allowed for those belonging to SC/ST/OBC (non-creamy layer), Differently-Abled, Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and other categories of candidates as per the decision of the Commission from time to time.

Application for research in inter-disciplinary areas and from applicants belonging to a different discipline other than the subject in which the research is proposed to be done, shall be considered by the RAC, whose decision shall be final and binding.

4. NOC from the Institute is mandatory for employees of the Institute which shall be obtained before appearing at the admission test for the PhD program.

5. Employees from other organizations shall produce NOC from his/her respective employers at the time of admission.

Note: In case of the candidates with other grade point scale, the decision of the equivalence made by the assigned committee of the University shall be final.

Ph.D. Program Guidelines

Fee Schedule

Admission Fee

Admission Fee (One Time) of Rs.10,000 is to be paid by all the students along with the application forms.

Program Fee

In addition, to the above fees, an amount of Rs. 10,000/- as the Examination Fee must be remitted at the time of thesis submission.

Caution Deposit

All students are required to pay a Caution Deposit (One Time) of Rs.5,000 along with the First Semester Fee. The Caution Deposit will be refunded without interest and after adjusting for dues, if any, to the students on completion of the Program.

Program Fee

Students have to pay the fee at the beginning of each semester, as per the due dates which will be notified separately at the relevant time.

Remittance: All payments should be made by way of Demand Draft, banker’s cheque drawn in favor of “The ICFAI University, Sikkim - Fee Collection A/c” payable at Gangtok, Sikkim. or through University website only.