Indian Institute of Management Admission to Ph.D. (Four-Year Residential) Program, 2026

Indian Institute of Management

Shillong, Meghalaya

Admission to Ph.D. (Four-Year Residential) Program, 2026

Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Shillong
Shillong, Meghalaya
Admission to Ph.D. (Four-Year Residential) Program, 2026

Program Structure

Areas of specialization offered
- Economics and Public Policy
- Finance and Control
- Information Systems and Analytics
- Marketing
- Operations and Quantitative Techniques
- Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources
- Strategy & Liberal Studies
Click here for detail program structure.

Eligibility Criteria

To apply for the Doctoral Program (Ph.D.) - Four-Year Residential at IIM Shillong, following are the eligibility criteria.

Educational Qualification
- A Master’s Degree followed after a Bachelor’s Degree obtained in 10+2+3 pattern, or a 5-year Integrated Master’s Degree (obtained after completing higher secondary schooling in 10+2+5 pattern) in any discipline, with at least 55% marks (or equivalent CGPA) in the Bachelor’s and 60% marks (or equivalent CGPA) in the Master’s degrees.
OR
- A Master’s Degree followed after a Bachelor’s Degree (4 year/8 semesters Bachelor’s degree (10+2+4 pattern) with at least 6.5 CGPA or equivalent percentage marks.
OR
- A professional qualification like CA, ICWA, CS with at least 55% marks in B.Com. degree.
- A relaxation of 5% marks or its equivalent grade may be allowed for those belonging to SC/ST/DA categories.

In case of Grades/CGPA, the conversion to percentage of marks would be based on the procedure certified by the respective University/Institution. If a University/Institution confirms that there is no scheme for converting CGPA into equivalent marks, the equivalence would be established by dividing the candidate’s CGPA by the maximum possible CGPA, and multiplying the result by 100.

The above qualification should be from any of the recognized Universities incorporated by an act of the central or state legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an Act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University under Section 3 of UGC Act, 1956; or, recognized by the Ministry of HRD/Ministry of Education, Government of India.
Qualifying Examination Test Scores
Candidates require a valid test score of either GMAT, GRE, CAT, GATE, UGC-NET (JRF and/or Eligibility for Assistant Professorship and/or Admission to Ph.D. only), and CSIR UGC-NET (categories same as above) to be considered for admission. Candidates must mention the qualified score and the year while filling in the application form.
Age Limit
Applicants must not be more than 30 years of age as on June 1, 2026. SC, ST, DA categories, Transgender and Women candidates are given an age relaxation of up to 5 years.

Admission Process

The admission process for Ph.D. 2026 will involve the following process:

Filling in of the application form by the candidate. This includes a tentative research proposal, wherein the candidate will have to present the tentative research problem proposed to be researched upon.
Shortlisting of candidates for the Personal Interview/Interaction based on the profile and tentative research proposal. The applicants will be informed about this process, once they were shortlisted for the process.
Each applicant is expected to select three venues for this, in the order of their preference. The Institute will intimate the applicants about the final venue and schedule of this process.
Personal Interview/Interaction with the candidate.
Offer of admission extended to selected candidates.

NOTE
Mere fulfilment of minimum eligibility criteria is not a claim for admission process/interview call. Based on the number and quality of applications received, the admission committee reserves the right to use additional criteria for shortlisting of applications.

Selection Process

Candidates who fulfil the eligibility criteria and who have cleared the Common Admission Test (CAT) held by the IIMs in last 2 years from the date of application can apply.
Alternatively, those who have valid GATE, GRE, GMAT, UGC - NET (JRF and/or Eligibility for Assistant Professorship and/or Admission to Ph.D. only), and CSIR UGC-NET (JRF and/or Eligibility for Assistant Professorship and/or Admission to Ph.D. only) examinations till February 2026 (or as per notification) can also apply in the relevant area of specialization.
Candidates who have already obtained a two-year PGDM from any of the IIMs with a CGPA equivalent to 60% are exempted from above mentioned TEST SCORE eligibility requirement and can apply directly through the prescribed Application Form.
Short-listed candidates (on the basis of their academic record and performance in the competitive examinations as mentioned above) will be called for a personal interview. Based on the personal interview performance the shortlisted candidates will be considered for admission into Ph.D. program.
Admission to the program is open to overseas candidates including NRIs and foreign nationals. Their admission will be based on valid GMAT/GMAT FOCUS/GRE scores including the other criteria as mentioned above.

How to Apply

Candidates who have qualified scores of the test/examination such as GATE, GRE, GMAT, UGC-NET (JRF and/or Eligibility for Assistant Professorship and/or Admission to Ph.D. only), and CSIR UGC-NET (JRF and/or Eligibility for Assistant Professorship and/or Admission to Ph.D only) are invited to fill the application form, October 23, 2025 onwards by clicking on the link provided on the website.
(https://www.iimshillong.ac.in/doctoral-program/admission-process)
The application form should be filled up and submitted online. Any incomplete submitted form will not be accepted.
The candidates are requested to be careful while filling the form and to check the same before submitting it. In case there are multiple submissions, only the first such submission will be considered.
The Application fee for General category is Rs. 1,000/- to be paid online (Non-Refundable) and for SC/ST/DA categories candidates fees are waived off.
Please read the instructions in this page as well as in the application form carefully before filling in the form.

Important Dates

Application open	23rd October, 2025
Last date for submission of application	22nd January, 2026
Intimation of interviews for shortlisted applicants	28th January 2026
Start of Interview/Interaction Process across centers (Tentative):
- Mumbai	07th - 11th February, 2026
- Bengaluru	16th - 18th February, 2026
- Hyderabad	11th - 12th April, 2026
- Kolkata	28th - 30th March, 2026
- Delhi	16th - 18th April, 2026
Declaration of results	by end of April, 2026 / Beginning of May, 2026