Thursday, October 30, 2014

Direct PhD after BTech

A few months ago, we computed an interesting statistics. What is the median time taken to complete PhD by students of different academic backgrounds. We divided students into three buckets - those who had joined after BTech (that is, four years of college), those who had joined after MSc/MA/MCom, etc., (that is, five years of college), and those who had joined after MTech (that is, six years of college). The time taken was defined as the time from first registration to submission of thesis.

We were surprised by the results. All three categories of students had a median completion time of 5 years and six months (across all disciplines - students after 5 years of college are common in sciences, humanities, and management, and students after 4/6 years of college are common in engineering).

To put the result in perspective, we used to have a requirement of minimum 10 courses for BTech graduates, 6 course for MSc graduates and 4 courses for MTech graduates. Now, if we look at the BTech and MTech students, who both are mostly getting admitted in engineering departments, a BTech graduate is doing 3 semester course work and 4 years of research and writing thesis, while an MTech graduate is doing 1 semester course work and 5 years of research and writing thesis. So an MTech graduate is taking one extra year of research even though s/he already has experience of conducting research, has already written one thesis, and in many cases had a publication.

We don't fully understand the reasons behind this, though my own guess is that the duration is based on the expectation of students and faculty members. There is perhaps an expectation that PhD shall take 5-6 years irrespective of the academic background, and irrespective of the number of courses, etc. The hope is that it is something else. May be it is because BTech graduates are younger, and work longer hours. May be BTech graduates join at an age that they can complete their PhD, join a job and then worry about marriage and family, while MTech graduates are two years older on an average when they join the PhD program and are more likely to marry and have family during the PhD, which will provide some bit of distraction.

Whatever it may be, it is quite clear that it is in the interest of BTech students to go for PhD directly, as they save 2 years. The only issue in the past has been the long commitment of 5-6 years. It is difficult to make that commitment without understanding what you are getting into.

IIT Kanpur has made it easier for BTech students to make that commitment. It is possible to leave the PhD program in between with an MTech degree if you lose motivation or for whatever reason, you wish to leave the program in-between.

Another issue that we used to face earlier in our PhD recruitment was that many good students did not give GATE which was a requirement for getting financial assistantship. A few years ago, MHRD allowed that we could pay from government funds, a stipend to graduates of IITs even if they did not have a GATE score. Recently, the IIT Council has decided that IITs can pay stipend to graduates of ANY Centrally Funded Technical Institute, even if they do not have a GATE score. CFTIs include NITs, IIITs, and a few other institutes (and of course, include IITs).

The last problem with PhD recruitment was that students would get a job in December, while we will call them for interview in May, and by then they have already committed to join this job, the families are looking forward to a gift from the first salary, they have asked their friends to find an apartment in that city, and so on. After so much of mental commitment to join the job, it is extremely difficult for them to apply for PhD, then come for an interview, and if selected, give up that job.

We are solving this problem by seeking applications now, in October/November, and holding the interviews in December. We will make the offer within a few days of the interview for you to join in July, 2015. (In fact, if your exams get over early, feel free to join in May itself, why waste time, and why not start getting a stipend early.)

So here is the deal:

If you are from a CFTI, and a final year student with a CPI/CGPA of at least 7.5 (in case of BTech) and at least 7.0 (in case of Integrated MSc), and are going to graduate in summer 2015, please apply for PhD admission to IIT Kanpur now. Since this is the first time we are doing it, only a few departments are taking part in this round of admission. These are: Computer Science and Engineering, Material Science and Engineering, Biological Sciences and Bio-Engineering, and Chemistry. If you wish to apply to another department, send an email to them, may be they would have changed their mind too, or would change their mind by looking at your excellent application.

If you are not from a CFTI, and you already have a GATE score, feel free to apply now.
If you are not from a CFTI and are giving GATE in winter, apply to us as soon as the GATE result is out.

For more information on direct PhD after BTech for CFTI final year students, please visit this link.

For admission to Computer Science and Engineering Department, please visit this link.

41 comments:

  1. My Cpi is 7.4 and I expect it to get more than 7.5 just after this sem.Can I apply too?

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  2. Dear Sir,

    I agree that it is in the interest of BTech students to go for PhD directly, except for one thing that you have not mentioned in your post. Some institutes like IIT Bombay and IIT Kharagpur award both M.Tech and Ph.D. degrees to these students on the completion of their programme, while IIT Kanpur awards only Ph.D. and not M.Tech. May we know the reason behind this policy?

    A student ending up with Ph.D. after B.Tech faces problems when going for career in academics in colleges that come under the purview of AICTE as AICTE faculty norms explicitly mention the following -

    Assistant prof - BE/BTech & ME/MTech with 1st class
    Associate prof - Qualifications for assistant prof and PhD

    Even overseas universities award both degrees on the completion of their direct PhD programmes.

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  3. Technically, you are eligible. We require 7.5 at the time of admission. However, this is the first time we are offering admissions 7 months in advance, and the admissions committee may want to be conservative this time, and ask you to apply in April/May. So can't say, which way it will go.

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  4. @Kedar, Giving out both MTech and PhD would mean satisfying both MTech and PhD requirements, and therefore, you will end up spending extra time. We don't have this option, because the difference between MTech on the way to PhD and doing MTech and then PhD is very little, and it essentially means that we pay PhD fellowship for MTech level activity at least in few semesters. But we continuously look at our offerings and that of other fine institutions, and keep updating our offerings.

    As far as some institutions requiring MTech despite having a PhD, we expect our graduates to get jobs in better institutions where such stupid rules are not there.

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  5. Dear Sir,

    I am from mechanical department therefore whom should I contact the dean of mechanical department or the individual faculties?

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  6. sir, I am in my final year now, but came to know about you programme a bit late because of which I could not apply. I have a CPI of 8.71. Can I apply next year under without GATE criteria?

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  7. @Rajarshi, you may write to the department. They might be able to hold your test/interview at some other point in time.

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  8. sir,as mentioned above that if one looses motivation one can drop the course.
    sir is their any min. credits or min year one has to devote before he/she is eligible to achieve the MTech degree.

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    Replies
    1. I think it is either 5 semesters or 6 semesters. Basically the idea is that you shouldn't be getting PhD level assistantship for 4 semesters and then suddenly decide to leave with an MTech, while the person who joined the MTech program gets less than half the assistantship.

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    2. Sir i am final year civil engineering student from private engineering college and i am having 8.54cgpa till 6th semester. Can i get into iitm for direct phd without gate score??? Is it possible sir

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  9. Respected Sir,
    I am currently a student of final year B.tech from Madan Mohan Malaviya University Of Technology , Gorakhpur and I want to apply for the direct PHD program after B.tech. When i searched for the same i found that the last date of application was Nov 2014. Final year results along with Gate score was also asked. As i will be appearing for Gate in 2015 and my final year result will be accomplished in may 2015 so please guide me as to how to apply for it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can apply in March/April, 2015, just after the GATE result is out.

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  10. Sir is there any phd opportunity for those who completed b.tech in 2013 from state university and does'nt given gate...

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  11. Sir is there any direct phd opportunity after B.Tech for those who have 5+ years of industrial experience & qualified gate score?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, as long as you meet the academic requirements of direct admission.

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    2. Sir,
      What are the essentials for the academic requirement?

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  12. Sir, is there any chance of applying for direct phd for 2010 pass out CFTI student having industry experience.

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  13. Respected sir,
    I had completed B.tech in 2014 and given GATE in 2015 and got GATE score of 639, i have CGPA above 8 during my B.tech, now i want to pursue direct ph.d at IITK, how far this GATE score helps in getting a chance to do ph.d?

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  14. Dear Sir,

    I completed B.E from OUCE in ECE of 1998 - 2002. There after I’ve been to UK for MS and completed one year masters course in the Year 2006. since then I am working with various organizations nationally and internationally.

    However, recently I come to know that my MS is not valid due to its one year course and hence to register a PhD they are asking me to do M.Tech again.

    I am already working with NAL (National Aerospace Limited) on a defense project on Perching Mechanism with Prof. N. Chari (Adviser for Defense Ministry and Technical adviser for NDRF). We along with our team published a book in the recent times with NDRF.

    Now, based on suggestion by Prof. N. Chari am I eligible to submit my research work for PhD directly, since a good progress has been taken place.

    I will be waiting for your reply.

    Thanks and Regards,

    Kamalakar

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. IIT Kanpur does not accept research done elsewhere without the status of a student for PhD. You have to be a student of IIT Kanpur and go through all stages of PhD to get a degree.

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  15. Dear Sir,

    I am in final year of my Mechanical Engineering and my CGPA is 8.09 till 7th semester. Can I apply for this course without giving GATE?

    I will be waiting for your reply.

    Thanks and Regards,
    Divyanshu Sood

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  16. Sir I m Btech Chemical Passout 2014 batch. After that i am working as assisstant manager in operations. I had also given GATE 2014 but score not pretty good.

    Can i Apply for P.hd at IITK now??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you had above the minimum specified marks/CGPA in BTech, you can apply. But application is not a guarantee of admission.

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  17. can a person who is B Tech and 15 years relevent industrial experience can directly register for Ph D as an external candidate in any Indian UGC recognised universities?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Up to the institute/university. I know that IIT Kanpur admits students to PhD directly after BTech.

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  18. Dear Sir, I am a B.Tech Grad in ECE having 65% marks or 7.22 CGPA, 2015 passed out. But I am passionate in research works. I have a huge number of project works in my B.Tech life. Now I have three international journal publications and I am doing research on two more projects. currently I am working as an Electronics Engineer in a Private Company (MNC) in Delhi in which I have made the first product which is applied for US Patent. Sir I want to pursue the doctoral study and design my career as an engineering prof. Am i eligible to get admission in IITs ? one thing I want to tell you, I do not believe in GATE score (just personal opinion). please tell me where and how should I approach. thank you sir.

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  19. Sir
    I passed B.tech in 2009 with 78.40 Marks from MDU rohtak .I have 4 year industry experience now I am working in haryana govt . as information manager from last 3.5 years .now I want to apply for PhD course directly without Gate . Sir is it possible .if yes please provide process ......thanks sir I am waiting for reply ...

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  20. Dear Sir,
    I am B.Tech chemical engineer with 10+ years of experience in the field of process engineering and project management. can I do Phd with the industrial experience.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Dheeraj sir, I am an IIT-BTech(Mechanical) working in PSU for the past 10 yrs in Aero-Propulsion(gasturbine engines). DO i stand a chance for direct PhD admission?? Pls clarify & suggest sir..
    Krishna

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  22. Sir, my marks in b.tech is 6.86. Though my background is electronics engineering I would like to go for researching on a social science subject, ie: Economics. Is that possible? If yes can you please let me know the procedure to follow? Thank you.

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  23. I have passed my B. tech in 2016. This year my GATE score is not good enough. Can i apply for Phd with a good GATE score in year 2017?

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  24. How should an external student apply for phd after btech?
    Through directly mailing or counselling held after Gate?

    ReplyDelete
  25. Dear Sir,
    I am a final year B.Tech student from one of the NITs and have a CGPA above 9 in Mechanical Engg, with a good rank in the batch. I am interested in the direct PhD programme. Is it available for my branch? Is there a Gate cut-off for assistantship? When should I apply?

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  26. Respected Sir,

    I am btech pass out from one of the old NITs. I am interested to go for direct PhD program. My Branch is ECE. Sir my question is after doing Direct PhD after Btech skipping MTech then what are the career opportunities. Also Sir will I be eligible to apply for faculty post in CFTIs? Will there be any disadvantage for direct PhD holders as they don't have MTech degree?

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  27. Sir,I graduated in 2015 with B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from a top NIT having a CGPA of 8.05, I was working after that and don't possess any prior research experience. Will I be able to get into the direct PhD programme now? I have GATE Score of 2015 which is still valid.

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  28. Dear Sir,

    Is it true that the students who converted their M.Tech to PhD will get both the degree, M.Tech and PhD ?

    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  29. sir, is it possible to get admitted for ph.d after the end of first sem in any iits depending on the student performance and ability?

    ReplyDelete
  30. Hello sir, iam a graduate from CFTI with cgpa 7.8,but on conversion to percentage by institute it is 73% which makes be uneligible. So am i eligible for direct phd programme

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  31. Hello Sir, I am B.E graduate in Mechanical from Pune University with 60% aggregate. I know I am not meeting the eligibility criteria of 7.5 but still is their any chance I can get a direct admission to Phd by giving any test followed by an interview?

    ReplyDelete