Being among the most reputed courses globally, Ph.D. isn't everyone's cup of tea. It involves a lot of hard work, patience, research, and in-depth knowledge of varied topics. Along with it, it requires enough funds to back research and write papers in support of that research.
In India, a lot of students who are passionate about a Ph.D. step down from pursuing the program after learning about the costs involved. They either choose a different career path or postpone the decision until enough funds are accumulated.
But with the Ph.D. scholarships in India mentioned below, students can fulfill their dreams and add the prestigious "Dr." prefix ahead of their names.
Excited? Well then, hop on to learn more!
How Scholarships Can Benefit you?
First, let us understand how PhD Scholarships in India can benefit the student in the journey to become a doctorate.
Financial support - Yes, financial assistance is the basic one that one can hope for. As pursuing Ph.D. is not like graduation or a master's degree; it is time-consuming and challenging. Financial assistance helps to cover your tuition fees and living expense for a time period.
Flexibility and Autonomy - As compared to research assistantships or teaching positions, scholarships come with fewer restrictions. This allows the student to choose the research topic with full freedom and be more focused and innovative in research.
Networking and collaborations - some scholarships, like the Prime Minister's Fellowship Scheme, provide tickets to conferences, seminars, and workshops. These practices help build a good network; student students can learn from industry experts and can also go for collaborations.
Recognition - Getting a scholarship award adds charm to your academics and career. It acts as a prestige and recognition in society. Also, it opens the door for future research grants and opportunities.
Enhanced learning environment - some scholarships have additional benefits, such as access to specialized labs, libraries, and equipment. This help creates an enhanced learning environment for Ph.D. students.
Personal growth and time-dedication - With access to fully funded Ph.D. scholarships for Indian students, a student can focus better and save more research time. Can work with total concentration without any financial debt distractions.
Popular PhD Scholarships in India
Prime Minister's Fellowship Scheme for Doctoral Research -
Launched in 2012, the Prime Minister's Fellowship Scheme For Doctoral Research is a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) between the government and the Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB).
It encourages students to take up industry-relevant research topics and explore the different possibilities of the thesis.The program provides the best PhD Scholarships in India which has double the financial aid that any Ph.D. scholarship aspirant receives in India.
The government funds 50% of the scheme while the industry partner interested in the topic provides the other 50%, increasing the bar for Ph.D. scholarship programs to an all-time high.
Eligibility
• One PhD Scholar and one industry will apply together.
• The candidate should have been admitted to a full-time Ph.D. program in the last 14 months.
• Research scholars should take a 'No Objection certificate' from the institute.
• Research areas should include Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture or Medicine.
• The research duration should not be more than 4 years.
Rewards
• Up to 100 research projects would be supported
• A maximum of INR 10.41 lacs is provided per annum
• The amount is being provided by two parties equally, as mentioned above.
Research scholars can apply anytime for the Scholarship within 14 months of their admission to the program.
Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Scholarship (JNM)
In Dr. S. Radhakrishnan's words, "The Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund symbolizes our determination to keep burning the torch that he has left to us. Let us make it a symbol worthy of our regard and affection for him and of all he has so generously bequeathed to us."
Launched with the aim of providing financial assistance to underprivileged students, the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Scholarship - one of top PhD scholarships in India is open to 18 Indian nationals and 2 foreigners from Asian countries to study research in india.
The award is handed over to specific individuals wishing to conduct research in specified categories listed by the organization.
Eligibility Criteria
• Areas of research should be Indian History and Civilization, Sociology, Comparative studies in religion and culture, Economics, Ecology, and Environment.
• Candidates must hold a postgraduate degree and must have an aggregate of 60% of graduation and post-graduation.
• Must have been admitted to a full-time course in a respected Indian institute.
• Maximum age - 35 years
Rewards
• Maintenance allowance of rupees 18000/- per month for two years.
• And 15000/- per annum for contingent expenses.
The application form should reach the concerned department on or before 31st August.
Fully-funded PhD Scholarships for Indian students
For students seeking fully funded PhD Scholarships for Indian students, they must connect with professors researching in the same domain. Now, this is a more time-consuming task and requires a lot of patience from students. To benefit from this, students must follow the steps below.
• Step 1 – Finding professors
• The first step is to select universities that interest you. Next, make a list of professors whose work you admire and understand, or better look for professors with papers in the same domain you're interested in. Finally, send a short email to the professor, making him/her aware of your interests.
• Step 2 – Connect with professors
• Once the said lecturer recognizes your email and gives a heads-up to discuss the topic further, try and build understandable relations with your common work of interest. Keep the conversation short and try to touch upon the future aspects of the research and how the lecturer can play a role in it.
Google PhD fellowship India Program
Google initiated an opportunity for Ph.D. candidates who have a deep interest in future technology and related fields.
Google's mission is to foster inclusive research communities and encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply for one of the best PhD Scholarships in India. Moreover, they have this program in more than 10 countries, including India.
Eligibility Criteria
• Areas of research should be Algorithms, optimizations and markets, Computational neural and cognitive sciences, Health Research, Human-Computer Interaction, Machine learning, Machine perception, speech technology and computer vision, Mobile computing, Natural language processing (including Information Retrieval and Extraction), Privacy and Security, Programming Languages and Software Engineering, Quantum computing, Recommender systems, Structured data, and database management, or Systems and networking.
• Must be admitted to an Indian university for a Ph.D. Program
• Must have done a master's from an Indian university.
Rewards
• The selected candidate will receive 50,000 USD for a duration of 4 years to cover the stipend and other research-related expenses.
Research scholars can apply for the fellowship between February to April.
Vision India Foundation fellowship (VIF)
Vision India foundation provides a one-year residency program (which is expandable up to 3 years) for motivated change-makers. VIF basically focuses on providing fellowships to master's and PhD students in terms of monetary support and residency support.
They believe in candidates who are self-motivated and can bring a change in the society.
Eligibility Criteria
• The candidate must have a relevant master's or PhD degree.
• Fellows having a work experience of two or more years are welcomed.
• In rare cases, a candidate can be selected, ignoring the above criterias.
Rewards
Accommodation and food at VIF residency that costs INR 15000 per month.
• Training component worth rupees 5000 per month.
• INR 15000 monthly stipend
• The performance-driven reward of 100,000 rupees after successful completion of the fellowship.
• The aggregate cap is 500,000 rupees per year.
Applications are open in the months of December and January.
Swami Vivekananda Single Girl Child Scholarship for Research in Social Sciences
You can observe that there are many Scholarships for PhD students in India, but this one is specifically for girl children as specified in the name only.
The promotion of women's education is one of the main objectives of our education policy. It is observed that the dropout ratio at various levels of education for girls is much higher than that of boys.
Therefore SVSGC is one of the initiatives by UGC to support higher education for single girl children in Social science, and also they recognize the value of small family norms.
Eligibility Criteria
• Any single girl child is pursuing Ph.D. in Social science.
• Candidates must be in a Full-time Ph.D. in a recognized institute in India.
• Transgender candidates can also apply
• The maximum age is 40 years and 45 years in the case of reserved categories.
Rewards
• A stipend of rupees 25000 per month for the first two years and rupees 28000 for the remaining tenure.
• INR 10,000 per annum for the first two years and INR 20,500 for the remaining tenure as a contingent Expense.
The application can be filed between November to January.
To Sum up
In the given blog, we have covered how Scholarship will benefit you in the journey to become a doctorate and covered the best PhD Scholarships in India, ranging from government to private, and even those especially for single girl children.
For aspiring Ph.D. candidates, it is essential to note that scholarships are not only for financial assistance but also provide various other benefits like mentorships, Industry exposure, workshops, etc.
To Sum up, I wish you the best of luck in your pursuit of Knowledge and Excellence and hope this blog provides some value to your search.
