Doctor of Philosophy Programme (CESSI)

Admission to the Doctor of Philosophy Autumn Programme 2024

Center of Excellence in Space Sciences India, IISER Kolkata

The Center of Excellence in Space Sciences India (CESSI) is a multi-institutional Center of Excellence hosted by the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata and has been established through funding from the Ministry of Human Resource Development. CESSI aims to explore the Sun's activity, generate the understanding necessary for space weather forecasting, hunt for gravitational waves, support national space science initiatives, participate in international capacity building activities and pursue public-private partnerships in space science research.


We seek highly motivated candidates with MS/MSc/MTech degrees with at least 55% aggregate marks (or equivalent grade-point average) in Physical Sciences, or allied disciplines that are deemed suitable by the selection committee for PhD research in the space sciences. Final year post-graduate students who are yet to obtain their degree may also apply; however, they must have completed their degree at the time of admissions with the requisite aggregate marks. Preference will be given to candidates with their own PhD fellowships, such as, UGC/CSIR-NET JRF, INSPIRE or any other equivalent fellowship. Outstanding candidates, who do not have any independent fellowships, may also be selected if deemed suitable by the selection committee; however they should have qualified in at least one of the following exams: GATE, JEST, CSIR/UGC NET-LS.


Detailed PhD advertisement:Click Here



Selection Procedure

Note that these are the minimum eligibility criterion. The selection committee will short-list a certain number of candidates based on their applications, inform them through email of this short-listing, and may seek additional details, including recommendation letters. The short-listed candidates will subsequently have to appear for an interview by a panel of experts and the final selection will be based upon the recommendation of this expert panel. The interview will be held online which will be communicated to the candidates.

Required Documentation and Instruction for the Online Application

1. You will need a functional (personal) email-id for completing the online application. If you do not have one, create one before you apply.
2. Please have your picture (soft copy, preferably in JPG or PNG format) ready.
3. Please read the eligibility criteria above carefully.
4. The applicants should open the link (Click Here) and under the option Apply For, choose "PhD in Space Sciences (Autumn 2024)".
5. Complete the application form as instructed. The form can be opened and edited/corrected until the last date.
6. In the field Remarks within the online application, write a statement of purpose, outlining your motivation for pursuing a PhD in sciences, and why you are interested in CESSI; this should be limited to 500 words. We suggest that you first write this using your favourite text editor and subsequently start the application process during which you can cut-and-paste the same into the online form.
7. You must complete your application. Incomplete applications will be rejected.
8. Applicants should save the completed application form and take a printout of the s
ame. Those who are short-listed for the interview should bring a signed hard-copy of the application with them at the time of the interview.

Contact Us:cessi@iiserkol.ac.in


CESSI Autumn 2024 PhD Timeline :
PhD application portal opens: 01st March 2024
Application portal closes: 30th April 2024
Publication of shortlist for the Interview: 08th May 2024
Selection Interview window : 24.05.2024 to 31.05.2024
Publication of PhD interview results by: 14th June 2024
Pre-registration portal opens: 17th June 2024
Pre-registration deadline: 15th July 2024
PhD Registration (as per Academic Calendar): 26th July 2024