Ph.D. PROGRAMMES
The International School of Photonics is equipped with one of the best laser laboratories in India. It has a well resourced and dynamic research group with a proven track record in high quality research. With a reputation for excellent work in photonics and related fields, ISP has won several government and international funding to support its R&D and education. ISP has collaboration with many leading institutions in the world like University of Gothenburg, Sweden, University of Rennes, ENSSAT, Lannion, France, University of Troyes, Troyes, France, Dublin City University, Ireland, University of Naples Federico II, Italy, etc. Our PhD graduates always go on to a range of careers in both public and private sector research, in professional fields and in academic life. Please also visit the sections “Faculty Members” and “Publications” to see our research contributions.
Candidates for PhD Program are advised to visit web pages of teaching faculty members of the School for having an understanding of their fields of research. They may contact the research guides of the School of their concerned field of study and check the vacancy under them. After getting the consent of a guide the candidates have to obtain the hard copy of the application form (within the prescribed time as per CAT 2026 Notification) from the School by making the payment of required fee through Demand Draft taken from State Bank of India in favour of The Registrar, CUSAT, payable at Ernakulam. See Notification for CAT 2026 for fee details. Application format can also be downloaded from this webpage (See the link below). The duly filled in applications along with the required fees(if the application is downloaded), should be submitted within the time prescribed in the CAT 2026 Notification. Once the applications are submitted, the School will intimate the candidate the schedule for DAT, Interview etc. in due course.
Eligibility for Admission to the Ph.D Programme
Candidates seeking registration to the Ph.D programme shall hold a Master’s Degree from a recognized University with 55% marks in the qualifying examination, or a CGPA of 6.0 in the 10 point scale or an equivalent grade in similar scales. A candidate belonging to SC/ST community is eligible for concession upto 10% marks for admission provided that he/she has a pass in the qualifying examination.
-
Candidates seeking registration shall have passed the Departmental Admission Test and ranked as per the norms laid down in the regulation.
-
Candidates who possess national/state research fellowship with valid scores, with committed financial assistance at the time of seeking admission, in any of the national/state level eligibility tests conducted by the agencies or by industries so recognized by the University for the purpose, are exempted from provision (ii) above.
-
Teachers of Universities/Aided Colleges in Kerala/Teachers who are working in Quasi Government/Government Institutions recognized by CUSAT and scientists in National Level Research Laboratories, who have put in five years of continuous service, and foreign nationals who have been sponsored under a scholarship scheme by the Government of India for undergoing Ph.D. programme in India, are exempted from provision (ii) above.
Application Submission
Candidates for PhD programme can either obtain the printed application form from the concerned Departments by paying the required application fee through Demand Draft issued by State Bank of India only, drawn in favour of “Registrar, CUSAT” payable at Ernakulam or download and submit the filled in application form along with the required Demand Draft to the department office.
Download the application format for PhD Registration
ADMISSION
a) Written test (b) Interview
2) Candidates who have scored at least 50% marks in the written examination alone will be eligible to be ranked for admission.
For Ph.D Programmes Candidates belonging to SC/ST communities are entitled to a concession of 5% marks in the written examination of the DAT.
3) The weightage for written test and interview for ranking will be as follows.
| Marks obtained in the Master’s Degree Level | 50% |
| Marks obtained in the written test | 30% |
| Marks obtained in the interview | 20% |
| Total | 100 |
Interview for Admission
All candidates seeking admission to the PhD Programme who have passed the admission test with a minimum of 50% score, or who are exempted from the admission test under clause 2(c) (iii) above, shall be required to present themselves for an interview with the Research Committee or with a Sub Committee appointed by it. It shall also scrutinize the academic records of the candidate, the research proposal made by him/her in the application, the long term plan of the academic work to be undertaken by the candidate and recommend remedial courses to be taken by the candidate to complete the requirements of the course work.
For the latest Ph.D regulations please visit the PhD regulations in the University Website.
Visit Directorate of Admissions, CUSAT for more details.