PhD Admission 2021

Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) invites application for admission to the PhD program (January 2021 session) in various domains of Disease Biology and Plant Science.

Eligibility for PhD admission

1. Candidates with a post-graduate degree in Life/ Agricultural/ Environmental/ Veterinary/ Pharmaceutical/ Medical Sciences or allied subjects (Biochemistry/ Biotechnology/ Bioinformatics/ Biophysics/ Chemistry/ Microbiology, etc.) with a minimum of 55 % marks or equivalent grade point are eligible to apply. Candidates who are appearing for their final qualifying degree exam or awaiting the qualifying degree result are also eligible to apply.
2. A relaxation of 5% of marks, from 55% to 50%, or an equivalent relaxation of grade point, may be allowed for those belonging to SC/ST/Differently abled candidates.
3. Applicants must have a valid JRF Fellowship (UGC/CSIR/ICMR/DBT/DST-INSPIRE/ or any other nationally-competitive fellowship offered by the Government having a valid fellowship for a period of 5 years
4. Upper age limit is 28 years as on March 1^st, 2021 Age limit will be relaxed for SC/ST/Physically challenged candidates as per Government of India regulations.
5. RGCB is currently affiliated to the University of Kerala, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Regional Centre for Biotechnology and Kerala University of Health Sciences (KUHS). Registration of the selected candidates will be as per the guidelines issued by these Universities for the award of PhD degrees.

Selection Procedure

1. Candidates will be shortlisted based on the academic performance and performance in the national level tests.
2. PhD interviews may be held online.
3. Guidelines for interview will be provided to candidates shortlisted for the interview.
4. The list of selected candidates will be displayed on RGCB website.

Application Procedure

1. Only online applications will be accepted.
2. Application Fee (Rs. 500) must be paid online using ‘SB Collect’ of State Bank of India through the URL given in the Payment Stage.
3. SC/ST/EWS candidates are exempted from paying the processing fees.
4. Last date for receiving completed applications is 10^th March 2021 . Incomplete applications or those without processing fees will be rejected.

Fees for PhD Programme

1. The students admitted for PhD programme will have to pay a laboratory fee of Rs 5000 per semester for the first eight semesters and Rupees 10,000 for every semester after.
2. SC/ST/EWS candidates are exempt from these tuition fees.
3. University fees will have to be paid directly to the University directly by the student.

Note

1. All communication with candidates will be by email only.
2. Kindly check this website for periodic updates.
3. In case of any application-related queries, please contact: phd.admn@rgcb.res.in

Applicants should note that the PhD program of RGCB is primarily designed to produce top class PhD holders who will drive future research programs in the country. Hence we would like to see our PhD holders continue in active research by proceeding for suitable postdoctoral assignments and then as research scientists or young entrepreneurs in biotechnology. RGCB does not view as its main mandate production of PhD holders primarily for teaching in colleges and universities, which may often need the PhD degree to be in a particular domain (such as Zoology, Chemistry or Botany). This may not be possible at RGCB where most degrees are granted in biotechnology or other interdisciplinary subjects. Candidates who wish to have career in teaching may find other universities or institutes where “subject-wise degrees” are given a better option. Applicants are advised to consider this aspect very carefully before applying for the PhD program.

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