NIT Delhi PhD Admission 2026-27 Autumn Semester applications are invited for vacant seats in the PhD programme for the Academic Year 2026-27. The admission advertisement covers Full-Time PhD with Institute Assistantship, Part-Time PhD for working professionals, Full-Time PhD with Own Fellowship, Full-Time Self-Financed PhD and Full-Time Sponsored PhD programmes.

The advertisement is for the Autumn Semester of the Academic Year 2026-27 and is issued as Advt. No. NITD/R&C/03/PhD/2026-27 dated 07 August 2026. Candidates are required to apply through the online application process. The last date for submission of the online application is 20 August 2026 till 11:59 P.M.

1. Introduction
2. PhD Programmes and Categories
3. Departments and Research Areas
4. Eligibility Criteria
5. Part-Time PhD for Working Professionals
6. Full-Time PhD with Own Fellowship
7. Full-Time PhD with Self-Finance
8. Full-Time PhD with Sponsorship
9. PhD Programme for NIT Delhi M.Tech Students
10. Seat Matrix
11. Admission Procedure
12. How to Apply
13. Application Fee
14. Reservation
15. Teaching Assistantship-cum-Scholarships/Fellowships
16. Important Dates
17. Documents and Important Conditions
18. Contact Details
19. Important Links

The NIT Delhi PhD Admission 2026-27 Autumn Semester advertisement allows candidates to apply under the following categories:

NIT Delhi PhD Admission 2026-27 Autumn Semester – Available Departments

For NIT Delhi PhD Admission 2026-27 Autumn Semester, the qualifying course and the University/Institute/Organization awarding the qualifying degree must be recognized by AICTE, UGC or equivalent. The Institute will verify the qualification before registration.

Full-Time PhD under Institute Assistantship

The applicant must have a Master's degree in Engineering/Technology in the preceding relevant area of research with a first class or minimum 60% marks, or CGPA of 6.5 on a 10-point scale, in the qualifying examination. The applicant must be GATE qualified/NET qualified.

OR

A Bachelor's degree in Engineering/Technology/BS (4 years)/M.Sc. in relevant discipline/MCA with a CGPA of 8.0 and above on a 10-point scale or 80% aggregate from a Centrally Funded Technical Institute (CFTI), State-funded Institute/University or AICTE-approved Institute. Such candidates must have a valid GATE score/NET qualification.

Part-Time PhD is available for working professionals under the conditions specified in the advertisement. Candidates may be from organizations having an MoU with NIT Delhi.

The advertisement also includes regular faculty, Teaching-cum-Research Fellows or Scientists from educational institutions ranked within the top 100 by NIRF, within the top 1000 QS Ranking, Institutes of Eminence, Scientists from Government-funded R&D organizations of national repute, Government Departments, Government Institutes, Government Undertakings, regular faculty from Government Institutes and reputed research organizations among Fortune 500 companies.

Minimum Qualification

The applicant must have a Master's degree in Engineering/Technology in the preceding relevant area of research with a first class or minimum 60% marks, or CGPA of 6.5 on a 10-point scale.

OR

A Bachelor's degree in Engineering/Technology/BS (4 years)/M.Sc. in relevant discipline/MCA with a CGPA of 6.5 and above on a 10-point scale or 60% aggregate from a CFTI, State-funded Institute/University or AICTE-approved Institute.

GATE score/NET qualification is not required for Part-Time Working Professionals candidates.

Work Experience Requirement

Additional Requirements

• The candidate must be able to complete mandatory course requirements along with regular counterparts.
• The official duties must permit sufficient time for research.
• A No Objection Certificate from the employer is required.
• The NOC must state that the candidate is permitted to pursue studies on a part-time basis and will complete the residential requirement as per NIT Delhi norms.
• The NOC must confirm that official duties permit sufficient time for research work.
• The NOC must confirm that research facilities in the candidate's field are available at the place of work.
• Part-time candidates must complete the residential requirements up to the completion of coursework at NIT Delhi.
• The Part-Time student category cannot be converted into the Full-Time category at any instance.

This category includes candidates who have qualified national-level examinations such as UGC/CSIR-NET for fellowship/GPAT/DST Inspire Fellowship or have received fellowship from an outside agency.

The applicant must have a Master's degree in Engineering/Technology in the preceding relevant area of research with a first class or minimum 60% marks, or CGPA of 6.5 on a 10-point scale.

OR

MCA with a CGPA of 6.5 and above on a 10-point scale or 60% aggregate from a CFTI, State-funded Institute/University or AICTE-approved Institute.

Qualifying or appearing in the Institute's written examination is not mandatory for such candidates.

Candidates applying under the Full-Time Self-Finance category, if selected, will not be provided any fellowship or contingency grant by the Institute.

The eligibility criteria for this programme are the same as those mentioned under the Full-Time PhD under Institute Assistantship category.

Sponsored candidates are sponsored by recognized Government/Semi-Government R&D organizations to carry out research work at the Institute. Candidates are expected to pursue full-time research but will not receive financial support from the Institute.

Sponsorship letters should be brought at the time of interview. Minimum qualifications are as given under the Full-Time Institute Assistantship category.

An organization having a research collaboration MoU with NIT Delhi may also sponsor a candidate. In such cases, the minimum residential requirements may be met at NIT Delhi or the collaborative institute.

Students pursuing M.Tech from NIT Delhi who have completed their first year can convert their M.Tech degree programme to the PhD Programme through the Institute's PhD admission process.

• The student must apply through the regular advertisement and submit the required documents.
• NOC from the respective department should be submitted, if applicable.
• The student should have a minimum CGPA of 7.5 in the first year of M.Tech.
• Required coursework must be completed.
• Up to two courses already completed during the first year of M.Tech may be exempted, subject to approval through RAC/DPGC.
• Research Methodology and Seminar carrying two credits must be completed.
• Institute Assistantship may be available to students having a valid GATE score at the time of entry into M.Tech, subject to availability of Institute Assistantship seats.
• On successful completion of the requirements, the students will be awarded a PhD Degree only.

The number of seats depends upon the number of available PhD supervisors. The following are the tentative Full-Time PhD vacant seats under Institute Assistantship for Autumn Semester 2026-27. The number of seats may increase or decrease according to vacancies available at the time of admission.

Note: These are tentative vacant seats for Full-Time PhD under Institute Assistantship.

1. Candidates applying for Full-Time PhD under Institute Assistantship must be GATE/NET qualified.
2. GATE/NET, JRF/LS, UGC JRF/LS, GPAT, Inspire Fellowship, sponsorship from outside agencies or Institute Examinations are used for short-listing applicants.
3. Short-listing does not confirm admission.
4. Admission is based on performance during presentation and interview and the availability of a supervisor in the proposed research area.
5. Admission to the PhD programme in the disciplines mentioned in the advertisement is based on a presentation by shortlisted applicants in their proposed research area followed by an interview conducted by the respective Department Admission Committee.
6. The Department Admission Committee recommends suitable candidates based on assessment of the presentation and interview.
7. The Department Admission Committee/Institute reserves the right not to recommend a candidate if performance during presentation and interview is not satisfactory.
8. The decision of the Competent Authority shall be final.
9. Online presentations and interviews will not be conducted.

1. Students must fill up the online Google Form within the stipulated time.
2. Late submissions will not be entertained.
3. The application format attached with the advertisement needs to be filled with the required documents and uploaded on the Google Form.
4. Documents are required to be uploaded in JPG/PDF format as applicable.
5. Candidates applying under more than one category, such as Full-Time with Institute Fellowship, Full-Time Self-Sponsored or Part-Time, must apply separately.
6. Conversion from one category to another at the time of admission will not be allowed if the candidate has not applied separately in that category.
7. Candidates should carefully read the requisite details and upload all relevant documents with the application form.
8. Candidates applying to more than one department/category must submit separate application forms with appropriate fees and documents.

The application process is strictly online and there is no requirement to send the hard copy of the application form to the Institute.

The application fee is non-refundable.

The application fee can be paid online. Candidates must mention the Transaction ID in the appropriate section of the application form after making the payment.

Foreign Nationals can pay online through the bank details specified in the advertisement.

Reservation rules will be followed according to Government of India guidelines prevailing at the time of admission.

• The category selected by the applicant in the application form cannot be changed at a later stage.
• OBC-NCL/EWS certificates must have been issued on or after 1 April 2026.
• Certificates issued before 1 April 2026 will not be accepted.
• Relaxation in minimum percentage/equivalent grade point requirements will be provided according to the National Reservation Policy of the Government of India.

• Candidates who have qualified GATE/NET in the respective discipline are eligible for Teaching Assistantship-cum-Scholarships/Fellowships, subject to availability.
• Full-Time PhD students may be awarded scholarship-cum-teaching assistantship according to Ministry of Education, Government of India guidelines.
• The scholarship-cum-teaching assistantship is subject to availability.
• If scholarship-cum-teaching assistantship is not available, a candidate may be considered for Full-Time PhD without scholarship-cum-teaching assistantship.
• Selected candidates without scholarship-cum-teaching assistantship must submit an undertaking on judicial stamp paper that they will not claim the Institute scholarship-cum-teaching assistantship in future.
• Such candidates may submit research proposals to different funding agencies or apply to outside funding agencies for scholarships.

• Part-Time candidates must produce an NOC from their employer at the time of Interview/Document Verification.
• Sponsored candidates must produce NOC/Sponsorship Letter from their Institute at the time of Interview/Document Verification.
• OBC-NCL/EWS certificates issued before 1 April 2026 will not be accepted.
• Original certificates of candidates recommended for admission will be checked by the concerned department along with the fee receipt and documents submitted by the candidate.
• Incomplete, improper and wrong applications will not be considered for short-listing.
• All admissions are provisional until confirmation subject to medical fitness, payment of all fees, fulfillment of eligibility conditions and verification of certificates.
• After payment of admission fee, no fee refund will be entertained in case of surrender of seat.
• Only Caution Money/Security shall be refunded if a candidate withdraws after taking admission to the PhD programme.

NIT Delhi PhD Admission 2026-27 Autumn Semester – Important Dates

Important: The Institute reserves the right to fix suitable criteria for short-listing eligible candidates satisfying qualification and experience. The Institute also reserves the right to modify or cancel the advertisement or any part of it at any stage.

• PhD coursework for Executives having 15 years or more of work experience in Government/State Government/Autonomous Bodies/Reputed Companies may be conducted through Project Work/Seminar.
• Full-Time Self-Financed PhD candidates may be converted to PhD Institute Fellowship if they qualify the NET/GATE examination of the concerned discipline before the Comprehensive Examination, subject to availability of Institute Fellowship/Scholarship.
• Merely fulfilling minimum eligibility criteria does not ensure selection or even eligibility for the entrance test/interview or both.
• The decision of the Competent Authority regarding selection shall be final and binding.
• Requests for online presentations and interviews will not be entertained.
• All selected candidates will be governed by the rules and regulations of the PhD Ordinance available at the Institute website.

For queries regarding the admission process, candidates may contact the Office of Dean (Research & Consultancy), National Institute of Technology Delhi.

Use the following links for the NIT Delhi PhD admission process:

NIT Delhi PhD Admission 2026-27 Autumn Semester provides admission opportunities under Full-Time Institute Assistantship, Part-Time for Working Professionals, Own Fellowship, Self-Finance and Sponsorship categories across Applied Sciences, Humanities and Management, Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering, and Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering. Candidates should carefully check the category-specific eligibility requirements, application fee, required documents, seat matrix and selection procedure before submitting the online application.

The last date to submit the application is 20 August 2026 till 11:59 P.M. Eligible candidates should follow the prescribed online application process and keep the required documents ready for upload and subsequent document verification.