The following are minimum criteria to seek admission to the Ph.D. programme:
Candidates who have completed:
A 1-year/2-semester master's degree programme after a 4-year/8-semester bachelor's degree programme or a 2-year/4-semester master's degree programme after a 3-year 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 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 the educational institution.

The subject (/allied subjects) in master's degree required for admission to a Ph.D. programme shall be decided by the concerned department. In case of admission to Ph.D. in the department of IndoTibetan, the candidate should have at least one paper of 100 marks in Indo-Tibetan Studies at Postgraduate level.

A relaxation of 5% marks or its equivalent grade may be allowed for those belonging to SC/ST/OBC (non-creamy layer)/Differently-Abled category as per the decision of the Commission 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 category as per the decision of the Commission from time to time.

The University Grants Commission (UGC), vide its notification dated 27th March, 2024 has decided that from the Academic Session 2024-25, the score of the National Eligibility Test (NET) conducted by UGC score can be used for admission to Ph.D. programmes in place of entrance tests conducted by the different Universities/HEIs.

Accordingly, in place of entrance test, Visva-Bharati has decided to use National Eligibility Test (NET) scores for admission to Ph.D. programmes from the academic session 2025-26 except the cases mentioned in sl. no. IV & VI.

Based on the scores obtained in NET, the candidates will be eligible in three categories (As per the notification of UGC dated 27th March, 2024):

• Admission under UGC-NET/UGC CSIR NET-JRF category (including category 1) will be taken as per the Notification No.F.4-1(UGC-NET Review Committee/2024 (NET)/14068, dated 27th March, 2024), where 100% weightage will be assigned to viva-voce/Interview. The validity of JRF will be counted as mentioned in the JRF Award letter.
• For students who qualify in UGC-NET/UGC CSIR NET under 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 validity of UGC-NET/UGC-CSIR NET certificates (Categories 2 and 3) will be considered until the closing date of application.
• Candidates who qualify for fellowship/Scholarship in GATE/CEED/ICAR-AICE-JRF/SRF (Ph.D.) and other similar national level tests will be eligible for Ph.D. admission at Visva-Bharati based on an interview with 100% weightage. Candidates without fellowships will be assessed in the same manner as NET-qualified candidates under category 2 and 3. However, for assessing under category 2 and 3, the score/certificate of GATE/CEED should be issued within one year prior to the closing date of application. For ICAR-AICE-JRF/SRF (Ph.D.) only the valid score in the current academic session will be considered. For admission to Ph.D. in the department of Agricultural Engineering, the applicant should have a valid GATE score.
• UGC-NET/UGC CSIR NET or other qualifying certificate being in a particular subject/allied subject area for admission to a Ph.D. programme will be decided by the concerned department.
• Visva-Bharati will conduct the entrance test for those Ph.D. Programs where NET is not conducted by UGC/CSIR/ICAR. The admission test will be conducted for admission in Ph.D. programs such as Rural Studies, Rural Management, Italian and Design (Silpa Sadana) as NET is not conducted by UGC for the respective subjects with the incorporation of the following points:
  • In above mentioned subjects, Visva-Bharati may admit students through an Entrance Test. The Entrance Test syllabus shall consist of 50% of research methodology and 50% shall be subject specific.
  • Students who have secured 50% marks in the entrance test are eligible to be called for the interview.
  • A relaxation of 5% marks will be allowed in the entrance examination for the candidates belonging to SC/ST/OBC/differently-abled category as per the decision of the Commission (Government of India) from time to time.
  • Provided that for the selection of candidates based on the entrance test conducted by the VisvaBharati, a weightage of 70% for the entrance test and 30% for the performance in the interview/viva- voce shall be given.
• Visva-Bharati may decide the number of eligible students to be called for an interview based on the number of Ph.D. seats available.