About Ph.D. | Admissions, TISS

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Tata Institute of Social Sciences

Ph.D. ADMISSIONS

ABOUT Ph.D.

Ph.D. Admission Notification 2024

 

For the Academic Year 2024, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) is a Deemed to be University funded by Ministry of Education through UGC is announcing admission notification for Ph.D. Programmes across Mumbai Campus and Hyderabad, Guwahati & Tuljapur Off-Campuses.

Updated number of seats and core thematic areas of research: Total number of seats available for all the Ph.D. Progammes is 103. The core thematic areas of research and the number of seats available under each Ph.D. Programme are given below:

For TISS Mumbai Campus:

Sl. No

School/Centre

Number of Seats  

Core thematic areas of research

1

School of Social Work

Ph.D. in Social Work

 

 

20 Seats

  • Social Work Practice in Rural/Adivasi Areas

  • Tribal Issues, Tribal Migration and Climate Change

  • Social Work Praxis, Social Service Organizations, Volunteerism

  • Mental Health, Disability and Family

  • People-Centered Social Innovation,

  • Participation and Development,

  • Social and Enterprises,

  • Social and Solidarity,

  • Higher Education Access and Equity

  • Criminal Justice Social Work with Children and Youth

  • Disability Studies and Action

  • Women (Dalit/Adivasi) Issues and Development Practice, Citizenship and Conflict, Children Issues

  • Violence Against Women

  • NT-DNTs and Reintegration of Custodial Populations

  • Lifelong Learning, Gerontology, Training and Education

  • State, Development and Indigenous/Tribal Studies

2

School of Human Ecology

Ph.D.in Applied Psychology

 03 Seats

  • Health psychology - health and wellbeing, lifestyle diseases and their impact on mental health; interventions for mental health and well-being

  • Identity studies

  • Marriage and divorce and impact on families and children

  • Therapeutic interventions

  • Psychotherapy training/practice/supervision

  • Couple and family wellbeing and interventions

  • Youth mental health and well-being and interventions

  • Gender and sexuality

  • Gender-based violence and interventions

  • Psychosocial wellbeing and interventions

3

School of Health System Studies

Ph.D. in Health Services Management

 

08 Seats

 

  • Nutrition and health (with special focus on marginalized and underprivileged populations),

  • Maternal and child health, sexual and reproductive health, mental health

  • Hospital and health services administration, human resource for health

  • Population dynamics and health, migration, gender, urbanization and health, child and adolescent health Aging and health, spiritual health and wellbeing, indigenous systems of care and treatment

  • Digital health, urban health, social and spatial health inequalities

4

School of Health System Studies

Ph.D.in Public Health

04 Seats

  • Indian Knowledge System and Public Health

  • Traditional Indian Healing Sciences

  • Health systems management with healthcare services delivery systems, health financing, and health inequity and comparative health systems, mental health

  • Sociology of medical practice/medical anthropology, social epidemiology approach to public health problems, mental health (with special focus on marginalized and underprivileged populations), non-communicable disease social epidemiology, human Resource for Health, spiritual health and wellbeing

  • Health information, evidence and policy, health programmes evaluation, health data and information systems,

  • Availability, access and utilization of health services (in rural and urban areas), health status of marginalized sections, Dalit and Tribal health issues

5

Jamsetji Tata School of Disaster Studies

Ph.D. in Disaster Studies

 

07 Seats

 

 

  • Interface of vulnerability and psychosocial well-being.

  • Economics, DRR, development

  • Geospatial decision support systems and citizen science in disaster management/GeoArtifical Intelligence for Integrated Coastal Management/Adaptation strategies in complex human-water systems.

  • Adaptation and coping strategies in recurrent water hazard affected population with specific reference to floods and riverbank/coastal erosion, Policy and governance issues with respect to flood management in India.

6

School of Management and Labour Studies

Ph.D. in Management and Labour Studies

 

 10 Seats

  • Human Resource Management/Organizational Behavior

  • Customer Engagement/ Social Marketing/ Investor Behavior

  • Sustainable Entrepreneurship/ Services Management/ CSR

7

School of Habitat Studies

Ph.D. in Habitat Studies 

12 Seats

  • Gender and climate change, Gender and the urban governance, Gender and water

  • Urban governance and sustainable transport

  • Forest rights and Jurisprudence

  • Food systems and Regulatory governance climate studies; water governance

 

8

School of Development Studies

Ph.D. in Development Studies

 

14 Seats

  • Digitalization and Development

  • Creative Industries

  • Urbanization and Regional Development

  • Public Finance and Public Choice

  • Public Policy & Governance

  • Elections & Electoral Management 

  • State & Democracy in Comparative context

  • Elections & Electoral Management

  • Violence, Insurgency & Conflict Resolution

  • Migrants, Mobility & Citizenship 

  • Interpreting Justice & Welfare

  • Civil Society & Social Movements

  • Global Governance & International Development

  • Gender and Development

  • Violence against Women

  • Feminist Approaches to Development

  • Youth Crime and Crime against Women

  • Social Economic Mobility

  • Financial Inclusion

  • Agricultural Innovations

  • Poverty, Inequality and Human Development

  • Social Security and Labour Market

  • Development Co-operation and Global South

 

9

Advance Centre for Women’s Studies, School of Development Studies

Ph.D. in Women’s Studies

 01 Seats

 

  • Social Movements, caste and gender relations, citizenship and Dalit – Adivasi women's questions

 

10

 

School of Media and Cultural Studies

 

 

Ph.D. in Media and Cultural Studies

 

2 Seats

 

  • Gender and Media,

  • Feminisms, Feminist Academia and Activism

  • Politics of Public Spaces

  • Friendship

  • Sexualities

  • Feminist Pedagogies

  • Neoliberalism.

  • Digital Publics

  • Journalism

  • Digital Media and Politics

  • Audience Studies

  • Documentary Film

  • Work and Labour

 

 

11

 

Centre for Library and Information Management

Ph.D. in Library and Information Science

 6 Seats

 

  • Knowledge Management, Information Storage and Retrieval, Cataloguing and Metadata, Digital Libraries, E-Resources

  • Assistive Technologies, Artificial Intelligence and Libraries, Green Library Initiatives, Library Management

 For Off-Campuses of TISS:

Sl.No

Campus/School

Number of Seats

Core thematic areas of research

12

Tuljapur Campus- School of Rural Development

Ph.D. in Rural Development

 

07 Seats

  • Agriculture; Capacity Building; Entrepreneurship;

  • Education and Development; Social Exclusion; Human Rights; Culture, Society and Social Work;

  • Political Ecology, Technology and Politics, Agriculture and Migration;

  • Disability Studies, Disaster Management, Gender and Development, Social Marginalities and Vulnerabilities

  • Sociology of Development, Sociology of Marginal Groups, Sustainable Rural Development; Participatory Irrigation Management and Water User Association (WUA), Farmer Suicides and Food Security; Civil Society Organizations; Social Movements; People Centred Advocacy; Local Self-Governance; Sociology of social movements; Development induced Displacement, Rehabilitation & Resettlement Projects"

13

Guwahati Campus

Ph.D. in Social Sciences

 

07 Seats

  • Health; Mental Health; Disability; Gender Studies and Social Work Education

  • Indian politics, tribal issues, development and deprivation, social discrimination and marginalization, preferential treatment, distributive justice, migration studies, policy studies, democracy and development

  • Ecology, Climate Change, Disaster Studies and Sustainability Studies.

  • Health and equity, Tribal Health, Access to medicines and Treatment, Public Health, Cancer Epidemiology, Health service system, Gender and Health, Trade and health, Communicable diseases, determinants of health

  • Health service utilization, Gender and health, Maternal and child health, Substance abuse, Ageing, HIV/AIDS, Stigma and Discrimination, Care and Support

  • Anthropology of religion, migration, pastoral nomadic, culture and communication. 

  • Gender, Sociology of law & legal pluralism, Religion

  • Cultural Studies. Intersectional Feminism, Gender and Sexual Violence issues especially in North-East India. The role of state, public institutions, legal and religious institutions, Education and society

  • Gender/Livelihoods, Microfinance/Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation /Migration

  • Rural Development Programme and Policies/ Informal Labour

  • Gender, politics, Indian politics, Governance, policy studies, South Asian Politics, Human Rights, gender and politics 

14

Hyderabad Campus - School of Public Policy and Governance

Ph.D. in Public Policy

 

2 Seats

  • State, markets and Regulation

  • Cities and Governance

 Ph.D. Eligibility Criteria:

(1) Those clearing in UGC-NET 2024 in any of three categories are eligible to apply for the admission to Ph.D. programmes:

Category-1: Eligible for (i) admission to Ph.D. with JRF and (ii) appointment as Assistant Professor.

Catcgory-2: Eligible for (i) admission to Ph.D. without JRF and (ii) appointment as Assistant Processor.

Catcgory-3: Eligible for admission to Ph.D. programme only and not for the for the award of JRF or appointment as Assistant Professor

(2) For admission to Ph.D. in Social Work, clearing in UGC-NET 2024 in the subject of Social Work is the eligibility requirement.

(3) For admission to Ph.D., in Applied Psychology, clearing in UGC-NET 2024 in the subject of Psychology is the eligibility requirement.

(4) For admission to all the remaining Ph.D. programmes mentioned in Serial Numbers 3 to 14, clearing in UGC-NET 2024 in any one of the subjects of Social Science discipline/allied fields is the eligibility requirement.

(5) Those who are having valid JRF prior to 2024 in Social Work, Psychology are also eligible to apply for Ph.D. in Social Work and Ph.D.in Applied Psychology respectively.

(6) Those who are having valid JRF prior to 2024 in any subject of Social Science discipline/allied fields are eligible to apply for the Ph.D. programmes mentioned in Serial Numbers 3 to 14.

(7) Those students who have cleared only NET prior to 2024 are not eligible to apply for any of the Ph.D. programmes.

Eligibility criteria of qualifying degree:

  • Candidates who have completed: A 1-year/2-semester master's degree programme after a 4-year/8-semester bachelor’s degree programme or a 2-year/4-semester master’s degree programme after a 3-year bachelor’s degree programme or qualifications declared equivalent to the master’s degree by the corresponding statutory regulatory body, with at least 55% marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade in a point scale wherever grading system is followed

  • Or equivalent qualification from a foreign educational institution accredited by an assessment and accreditation agency which is approved, recognized or authorized by an authority, established or incorporated under a law in its home country or any other statutory authority in that country to assess, accredit or assure quality and standards of the educational institution.

  • A relaxation of 5% marks or its equivalent grade may be allowed for those belonging to SC/ST/OBC (non-creamy layer)/Differently-Abled, Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and other categories of candidates as per the decision of the University Grants Commission from time to time.

  • Provided that a candidate seeking admission after a 4-year/8-semester bachelor’s degree programme should have a minimum of 75% marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade on a point scale wherever the grading system is followed. A relaxation of 5% marks or its equivalent grade may be allowed for those belonging to SC/ST/OBC (non-creamy layer)/Differently-Abled, Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and other categories of candidates as per the decision of the University Grants Commission from time to time.

Selection criteria for Ph.D. admission:

(1) For those students with category 2 and category 3 of UGC-NET 2024, 70% weightage is given to their NET score and 30% weightage is to their performance in the personal interview

(2) For those students who are having a valid JRF (JRF prior to 2024 or JRF of 2024), the selection will be done based on the performance in personal interview only.

(3) In case, the valid JRF holders are not selected based on performance in personal interview, then the criteria applied to category 2 and category 3 of UGC-NET i.e., 70% weightage for NET score and 30% weightage for personal interview shall be followed in such cases.

(4) The candidates have to upload a research proposal or concept note (minimum 2000 words) on their proposed research. The questions/discussion in the personal interview will mostly focus on the proposed research topic/research interest.

 

Reservation*:

Tata Institute of Social Sciences is Deemed to be University funded by Ministry of Education through UGC and follows all the norms and regulation of Government of India with respect to reservation policy. According to this, in the Central Universities and Institutions which are deemed to be Universities, the reservation of seats shall be as follows:

i. 15% of the seats for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates.

ii. 7.5% of seats Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates.

iii. 27% of the seats for Other Backward Classes (OBC) Non-Creamy Layer (NCL) candidates as per the Central List

iv. 10% of the seats for General-Economically Weaker Sections (General- EWS) candidates.

v. 05% of the seats in the above-mentioned categories for Persons with Disabilities (PwD) with 40% or more disability.

vi. 05% of the seats in the above-mentioned categories for Kashmert Migrants as per GoI guidelines

vii. 05% of the seats in the above-mentioned categories for Armed Forces

*The details/eligibility regarding reservations may be accessed through following link https://admissions.tiss.edu/view/6/admissions/reservations/reservation-policy/

 

Mode of Ph.D. Programme:

Ph.D. Programmes are offered in Full-time and Part-time mode. Both the full-time and part-time Ph.D. programme are offered only through regular mode. TISS does not offer any Ph.D. programme in distance mode.

TISS follows all the guidelines and norms issued by the University Grants Commission from time to time in regulating the Ph.D. programmes such as “University Grants Commission (Minimum Standards and Procedures for Award of Ph.D. Degree) Regulations, 2022.

The full-time and part-time Ph.D. programmes follow uniform standards such as successful completion of coursework, regular presentations before the Research Advisory Committees, stipulated time period to complete Ph.D., the evaluation and assessment methods of coursework and thesis. The Ph.D. degree certificate of TISS does not make any distinction between full-time and part-time Ph.D. and both are treated equally.

The part-time Ph.D. candidates are working professionals who join Ph.D. programme by obtaining a No Objection Certificate from their organizations/employers that assures them providing leave and other support to complete the Ph.D. work. Those candidates who wish to apply under part-time Ph.D. mode are required to submit a NOC from their employer/organization clearly mentioning that (i) The candidate is permitted to pursue studies on a part-time basis. (ii) His/her official duties permit him/her to devote sufficient time for research. (iii) If required, he/she will be relieved from the duty to complete the course work.

TISS encourages professionals working in development sector, government employees, people working with grassroot organizations and corporate groups to join its Ph.D. programmes through part-time mode.

The full-time Ph.D. students are not working professional and devote their full time to the Ph.D. research. They are mostly fellowship/scholarship holders and are required to put their attendance on daily basis in the Attendance Register maintained in the Doctoral Students’ Office (DSO) of the Institute. Full-time Ph.D. students are also required to attend the course work classes, research seminars, talks arranged on regular basis by their schools and the DSO. Whenever, the full-time Ph.D. students get a job, they can request for converting their Ph.D. into part-time Ph.D.

 Ph.D. Coursework:

All the selected candidates for Ph.D. programme – both part-time and full-time are required to successfully complete the Ph.D. coursework which is a minimum of 12 credits, including a “Research and Publication Ethics” course as notified by UGC vide D.O. No. F.1- 1/2018(Journal/CARE) in 2019 and courses on qualitative, quantitative research methodology.

A Ph.D. scholar must obtain a minimum of 55% marks or its equivalent grade in the UGC 10-point scale in the course work to be eligible to continue in the programme and submit his or her thesis.

The Ph.D. Coursework will be offered in off-line regular classroom mode in the campus during the first semester of the Ph.D. programme for the full-time Ph.D. Students. The part-time Ph.D. students have to attend the Ph.D. coursework that will be organized in six modular workshops in regular off-line mode spread across the first semester in the campus. Some of the schools may also offer a rigours workshop on school specific disciplinary themes/research methodology to the Ph.D. Students during the second semester of the programme.


About Hostels:

Limited number of hostel seats are available for the full-time Ph.D. scholars. The part-time Ph.D. students are not eligible for the hostel accommodation. Hostel seats will be allocated on the basis of need-cum-merit principle. The part-time Ph.D. students will be provided accommodation in hostels/guest house based on their request during the period of the modular workshops. Hostel admission will be provided only for the duration of three years. Ph.D. students have to vacate the hostels after completing three years. An undertaking in this regard may be compulsorily executed.

About Fee Structure: The details of the semester-wise fees to be paid by those who get selected for the Ph.D. programme will be announced soon on this webpage.

Link for applying to the Ph.D. programme is given in this webpage

For any information, updates/amendments in timeline, guidelines, etc. you are required to visit Website: https://www.tiss.edu/. Any admission related queries at any stage should be sent to admissionsinfo@tiss.edu or call the Admissions helpline at 022 - 25525252. Mails sent to any other email-ids will not be considered for further action and response.

TISS does not take responsibility for any information provided by any source other than Institute website https://www.tiss.edu/ and Helpline number mentioned above.