Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS), Pilani
Pilani, Rajasthan
Admission to the Ph.D. Programme (2nd Semester), 2026-27
Applications are invited for Second Semester admission to the Ph.D. program (Full time and/or Part time)
starting January 2027 in Pilani, Goa and Hyderabad campuses of BITS Pilani.
Admissions open for II Semester 2026-2027 10th September, 2026
Last date for submission of application 06th November, 2026
Applications are invited for Second Semester admission to the Ph.D. program (Full time and/or Part time) starting January 2026 in Pilani, Goa and Hyderabad campuses of BITS Pilani in the following Departments:
- Engineering: Chemical, Civil, Computer Science and Information Systems, Electrical & Electronics, Mechanical
- Science: Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics
- Pharmacy
- Economics & Finance, Humanities & Social Sciences,Management
For details about vacancies in specialized area, please visit department website on
BITS Pilani official portal or contact the Head of the department/Convener DRC (Department Research Committee) through email.
Department openings with regard to the Full-time and Part-time student admission#1 are tabulated below:
| Department |
Pilani |
Goa |
Hyderabad |
| Full Time |
Part Time |
Full Time |
Part Time |
Full Time |
Part Time |
| Biological Sciences |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Chemical Engineering |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Chemistry |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Civil Engineering |
Yes |
Yes |
NA |
NA |
Yes |
Yes |
| Computer Science and Information Systems |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Economics & Finance |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Electrical & Electronics Engineering |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Humanities & Social Sciences |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Management |
Yes |
Yes#2 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes* |
Yes* |
| Mathematics |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Mechanical Engineering |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Pharmacy |
Yes |
Yes |
NA |
NA |
Yes |
Yes |
| Physics |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes – Department intends to admit students under the specified scheme.
No – Department does not intend to admit students under the specified scheme.
NA - Not Available
* Only in Marketing, Strategy, Entrepreneurship, Scholarship of Teaching & Learning
#2 Only in Finance & Accounting, Marketing, Operations Management & Decision Sciences, Information Technology & Technology Management
Information on specific departments and related research activities is available on the department website of respective campuses. Candidates are requested to visit the relevant website and if needed, further contact the concerned Head of Department (HOD) for details.
Full-time Students: Preferably individuals who would like to pursue Ph.D. in-house, residing on campus.
Part-time Students: Preferably individuals working in organizations providing basic facilities and environment for research.
#1 This call is for Full-Time & Part-Time students’ admission only. If you wish to apply in other scheme please visit BITS Pilani/ AGSRD Website for details or contact the AGSRD Office, BITS Hyderabad Campus.
-
M.E. / M.Tech. / M.Pharm. / MBA / M.Phil., or an equivalent degree with a minimum of 60% aggregate in the qualifying examination.
-
M.Sc. / B.E. / B.Pharm. / 4-Year B.Sc. / B.S. (Honors with Research), or an equivalent degree with a minimum of 60% aggregate in the qualifying examination.
-
For admissions to Humanities and Social Sciences, candidates with an M.A. degree and a minimum of 55% aggregate may apply.
-
For part-time applicants, a minimum of one-year experience in the related field of study is required.
-
Meeting the minimum eligibility criteria does not guarantee admission into the Ph.D. program.
-
In addition, Departments may set specific admission criteria for shortlisting. Candidates are advised to visit the departmental website for specific admission criteria.
-
Shortlisted candidates will have to appear for an admission test, which may comprise of a written exam and/or interview as recommended by the Departmental Research Committee (DRC).
-
Candidates admitted with qualifications equivalent to BITS First Degree programmes including M.Sc., B.E., B.Pharm. etc., will be required to do course work with minimum of 6 courses and minimum 24 units in the first and second semester after admission to the programme.
-
Candidates admitted with qualifications equivalent to BITS Higher Degree Programmes including M.E. / M.Tech. / M.Pharm. / MBA / M.Phil. etc., will be required to do course work with minimum of 2 courses and minimum of 6 units in the first semester after admission to the programme.
-
The admission will be provisional and will be formalized after passing a qualifying exam and/or submissions of Ph.D. Proposal by the DRC of the relevant discipline.
| Activity |
Date / Deadline |
| Admissions open for II Semester 2026-2027 |
10th September, 2026 |
| Last date for submission of application |
6th November, 2026 |
| Declaration of shortlisted candidates for written test and interview |
11th November, 2026 |
| Written test and/or interview date |
27th November, 2026 and 28th November, 2026 |
| Announcement of admission offers |
7th December, 2026 |
| Last date for fee payment |
22nd December, 2026 |
| Reporting at the respective BITS Pilani campus selected for |
5th January, 2027 |
| Course registration |
6th January, 2027 |
| Beginning of classwork |
7th January, 2027 |
| Orientation |
7th January, 2027 to 9th January, 2027 |
The Institute reserves the right to change the above deadlines. Candidates will be informed in advance should there be such a change.
Applicants are advised to take careful note of the dates scheduled for the written test/interview and the reporting date for joining the institute, to make appropriate travel arrangements well in advance.
-
The Admission portal to apply online opens on 10th September, 2026.
-
Interested and eligible candidates should apply through the prescribed application form available online at https://bitsadmission.com/bitsphweb/Index.aspx . Hard copy of the application form is not required to be sent. Candidates are advised to take a printout of the filled form and retain it for further reference.
-
Candidates will need to register online prior to filling the application form. A registered mobile number and email ID will be required to generate a username and password essential for filling the application form.
-
While filling the application form online, candidates are required to give preference of the campus or campuses to which they wish to apply for. It is advised that the candidates provide preference after careful thought. This preference will be used to assign the campus for appearing in the written test/interview if shortlisted. The preferences cannot be changed after submission of application. Please refer to Department offering full and part-time admissions prior to filling the application form.
-
The completed application form along with the prescribed application fee should be submitted online by the prescribed deadline. Details on modes of Fee Payment will be available while applying online. Campus preference and priority cannot be changed once the application form is submitted#.
-
Deadline for submission of the completed application form online is 05:00 P.M. on 6th November, 2026.
-
A non-refundable application fee of Rs. 2,600/- is payable at the time of submission of the online form.
-
A candidate can submit only one application form for Ph.D. admission. However, if a candidate discovers any mistake in the form to be submitted by him/her, there will be an edit option# which will be made available before the final submission of the application form, which he/she can make use of to incorporate necessary changes. This option will be available only till the deadline for submission of the form which is 05:00 P.M. on 6th November, 2026.
-
The final decision on admitting the candidates to the Ph.D. program will be taken by the Admission Committee of the Institute and will be binding on all.
# It is advised to choose a campus (Pilani/Goa/Hyderabad) nearer to your current location to avoid any travel hassles.
-
Candidates shortlisted for test in any of the following Departments.
Candidates shortlisted for the department of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Mathematics, or Physics will be required to write a test. The details of the tests are as follows:
The question paper will consist of 50-100 multiple-choice questions, all subject specific, covering the relevant syllabus for the candidate. The total duration of the test will be 2-3 hrs.
Negative Marking may be applicable, with a 25% deduction in marks of each incorrect answer.
Candidates with M.Phil. / M.E. / M.Tech. or with National level fellowships like CSIR NET-JRF, DBT-JRF, UGC NET-JRF etc. are exempted from writing the above test.
-
Candidates shortlisted for Test in any of the following Departments:
Candidates shortlisted for the department of Humanities & Social Sciences / Economics & Finance will have to write two tests. Test-I will be common to both disciplines and Test-II will be discipline specific. The details of the tests are as follows:
-
Test-I will comprise of the following components:
| Sl. No. |
Component |
Number of Questions |
Time (in minutes) |
| 1 |
Reading Comprehension (2 Passages) |
5 Questions for each passage (10 questions in total) |
20 |
| 2 |
Logical Reasoning |
10 questions |
10 |
| 3 |
Analytical Reasoning |
15 questions |
15 |
| 4 |
General Awareness |
15 questions |
15 |
-
Test-II for candidates shortlisted in Humanities & Social Sciences will be discipline specific and subjective in nature.
Candidates with an M.Phil. degree or with fellowships like CSIR NET-JRF, DBT-JRF, UGC NETJRF etc. are exempted from writing the above test.
-
All Candidates shortlisted for the Department of Management, Pilani campus, need to appear in a One-hour subjective test.
The nature of the written test will be application-based in the areas of Business & Management to test basic management knowledge and research aptitude.
Based on the test results, there may be shortlisting of candidates for Interview.
-
Candidates with a B.E./B.Pharm. or an equivalent degree, if shortlisted, will be required to appear for the written test.
The test for B.E./B.Pharm. will be conducted by the Departments concerned as per the applicants’ discipline and will be informed after shortlisting the applicants.
Based on the test results, there may be shortlisting of candidates for Interview.
All notices/shortlists will be put on the admission website
https://admissions.bitspilani.ac.in/PhD/phd.html . Candidates are advised to check this website regularly. No written communication will be sent to the candidates.
Contact:
admnhd@pilani.bits-pilani.ac.in
admissions.office@goa.bits-pilani.ac.in
admissions@hyderabad.bits-pilani.ac.in
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Published By: Sahadeb
Published On:
23 Oct 2026
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