IIT Hyderabad invites international scholars for 4-year PhD fellowship

Under the ‘FIRST@IITH’ fellowship, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad has started inviting online applications from international scholars for its four-year Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programme. IIT Hyderabad said that this fellowship programme will attract international scholars and boost PhD research at the institute.

The programme will give complete financial support to eligible foreign nationals who are pursuing doctoral research at IIT Hyderabad. Candidates from disciplines like artificial intelligence, biomedical engineering, biotechnology, chemical engineering, chemistry, physics and mathematics can apply to The FIRST@IITH programme.

Other domains under which candidates can submit their applications include design, liberal arts, materials science and metallurgical engineering, and heritage science and others. The last date to submit applications is October 31, 2026, by 5 pm and no application fee is required for the fellowship.

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IIT Hyderabad FIRST@IITH details

Foreign nationals, excluding Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) and Non-Resident Indian (NRI) candidates can apply. Interested candidates should have a master's degree in engineering or technology in a relevant domain with a minimum CGPA of 8.5 on a 10-point scale.

Candidates should also have their bachelor's and master's degrees from foreign universities. Applicants who have degrees from leading universities in their respective countries and those with research publications or patents may get an advantage when applications when the institute selects applicants.

Selected scholars will get a fellowship grant of Rs 60,000 per month along with other research-related help of Rs 1 lakh per year. The four-year programme will allow candidates to do research in different fields in the various departments of IIT Hyderabad.

IIT Hyderabad has asked candidates to use the subject line ‘Application for FIRST@IITH fellowship – January-2027’ while sending an email. They will have to share one filled application form and documents related to their field of study, along with one copy of a reference letter.