Centre for Development Studies - CDS ,Thiruvananthapuram

PhD Program in Economics

Ulloor, Thiruvananthapuram - 695 011,
Kerala, Website: www.cds.edu

PhD Program in Economics

Admission 2010

CDS invites applications for admission to its full - time residential program, leading to PhD in Economics of the Jawaharlal Nehru University or the University of Kerala.

The Program has a strong orientation towards Development Studies with a core economics component and encourages cross - disciplinary inputs. Core areas of research at CDS and the current themes of PhD studies are listed elsewhere.



Master's with ≥ 55% marks and MPhil with FGPA of at least 6.0 (high second class) in Economics or related disciplines in Development Studies.

Those awaiting award of the MPhil Degree can also apply.
SC, ST & PH candidates eligible irrespective of percentage of marks.
Those who do not have an MPhil may be considered in exceptional cases of merit, if having at least two years research experience in a University / Research Institution and research publications in refereed academic journals.
Foreign nationals and those who have undergone the qualifying Programs abroad will be eligible subject to clarification on equivalence of their Degrees by the University.
Financial Assistance:

All the selected candidates will be offered Fellowships, available under various schemes.

ICSSR Institutional Doctoral Fellowships Six:

Presently @ Rs. 6,000 per month for those who have cleared NET for lectureship and @ Rs. 5,000 for those who have not cleared the NET. The Fellowships carry an annual contingency Grant of Rs. 12,000 and have a tenure 3 Years.

ICSSR is considering revision of the tenure and emoluments; pending such revision, CDS has augmented this scheme to provide stipend @ Rs. 6,000 for all and an additional fourth year.

Further, ICSSR has earmarked one fellowship for University / College Teachers which will have a tenure of two years and with salary protection.

CDS Endowment Fellowships:

Two fellowships under the National Research Program on Plantation Development, funded by the Government of India Ministry of Commerce, are available to selected scholars who plan to work on aspects of Plantation Development.

These Fellowships have a maximum tenure of four years; emoluments are presently at ICSSR rates, but are likely to be revised.

Selected scholars can avail of the UGC's JRF and the RGNF for SC / ST candidates, if awarded such fellowships by the UGC. The schemes provide fellowship @ Rs. 12,000 for the first two years and @ Rs. 14,000 for the final three years.

Selected scholars from SC / ST communities of Kerala can seek assistance under the Government of Kerala Fellowship Scheme which is of UGC Fellowship tenure and 75% of UGC rates.

Selection Process:

The selection process has two phases:

First, candidates will be short - listed for Interview on the basis of their scores for Academic Record and Study Proposal.

1. Evaluation of the Research Proposal by a faculty panel.

2. Score for the Academic Record on a weighted scheme:

(2 x % of marks for the +2 course) + (3 x % marks for Bachelor's) + (5 x % of Marks for Master's) + (5 x % of marks for MPhil). Coursework grades will be reckoned for those awaiting award of MPhil Degree.

Final selection will be based on a personal Interview by the Admission Committee, comprising of CDS faculty as well as an ICSSR nominee.

The Committee shall base its recommendations on an assessment of the viability of the proposed study, whether it can be undertaken at CDS and the candidate's aptitude and capability to undertake the study.

Applicants are encouraged to take note of the current areas of research and research interests of the faculty at CDS.

The Personal Interviews are scheduled at CDS on 07 January 2010.
Selected candidates shall join the Program on or before February 01, 2010.
For additional information please contact:

Program Office,
Phone: 0471 - 244 8884; 098950 53902,
Email: acad@cds.ac.in.

How to Apply:

Application is to be submitted in the Prescribed Format along with

Self attested copies of all mark sheets / certificates from +2 onwards.
Study Proposal (Please read the Guidelines with the Application form).
Application Fee of Rs. 200, as a DD drawn in favour of the Centre for Development Studies, payable at Trivandrum.
SC, ST and PH (with ≥ 40% disability) applicants are exempted from payment of application fee.
Application Deadline: 30th November, 2009.