• FAQ

Students from various science and technology streams such as Life Sciences, Biotechnology, Medicine, Engineering, Pharmacy, Agriculture etc. are eligible to apply for this programme.
Track I
1. Indian students with an MSc/MTech in any Life Sciences, Chemistry, Physics, Environmental Science, MPharm, MVSc, MBBS or an equivalent degree and eligible to apply.
2. Four-year undergraduates from all of the above disciplines are also eligible.
3. Minimum 60% aggregate marks in the preceding qualifying degree examination for General/EWS candidates, and a 5% relaxation for SC/ST/OBC-NCL/differently-abled (PwBD) allowed as per extant statutory norms.
4. All applicants must have a five-year valid national level fellowship for pursuing PhD such as the DBT- JRF, CSIR-JRF, UGC-JRF, ICMR-JRF or similar.
5. The age limit for track 1 is as per the respective fellowship agency norms.
Track II
1. Undergraduate in any branch of engineering from non-biological sciences (BTech/BE) or medicine (MBBS) with 60% aggregate marks in the preceding qualifying degree examination is an essential qualification (with a 5% relaxation for SC/ST/OBC- NCL/differently-abled (PwBD) allowed as per extant statutory norms).
2. Age limit: 30 years on the application deadline.
3. No requirement of any prior national fellowship.

No, Track II is only for BTech/BE degree holders in non-biological sciences or MBBS degree holders. BTech/MTech Biotechnology students can apply under Track I with valid five-year fellowships.

These are two separate PhD programmes. One is the RCB PhD programme in Biotechnology (https://phd.rcb.ac.in/). Candidates selected through this programme will pursue their PhD at RCB only.
The i3c BRIC-RCB PhD programme in Biosciences (https://i3cbricphd.rcb.ac.in/)is a separate national level PhD programme launched by BRIC since 2024-25, for which the degree will be awarded by RCB. Candidates selected through this programme will join any one of the 15 DBT-funded institutions across India (BRIC+ institutions, also called iBRICs) and are likely to work on specific network projects of national importance. Applicants wishing to apply to both programmes must fill up separate application forms through the respective portals and pay application fees separately (where applicable).

Yes. Final-year Master's degree students can apply, but must produce the final mark sheet/transcript at the time of the interview.

Candidates appearing for the National Fellowship examinations are eligible to apply, but must produce the valid fellowship award letter/result of the 5-year fellowship at the time of interview.

Four year BSc nursing students fall under Track I, provided they have a relevant five-year valid fellowship and meet other eligibility criteria.

No, Track II is only for B.Tech/BE degree holders in non-biological sciences or MBBS degree holders.

Candidates may apply, but a fully awarded, valid five-year national fellowship is mandatory to take admission to this programme.

No. A fully awarded, valid five-year national fellowship is mandatory to take admission to this programme. A provisional fellowship is not acceptable.

You are eligible if you have a valid 5-year fellowship and meet all other eligibility criteria.

No. After completing the registration, one cannot change the track from I to II or vice- versa with the same email ID. Applicants are advised to carefully scrutinize the entire application before final submission.

No. Once the application has been finally submitted, no details can be changed. Applicants are advised to carefully scrutinize the entire application before final submission.

You can enter the marks of the qualifying degree with the decimal point if the portal permits that.

Please check the age cut-offs and other eligibility criteria such as a valid 5-year fellowship to confirm eligibility.

The fellowship has to be valid for 5 years, and you need to be selected to the program through the shortlisting and interview process.

Track I: This will be as per the fellowship guidelines of the respective funding agency (CSIR, UGC, DBT, ICMR, etc.).
Track II: G.N. Ramachandran Fellowships
JRF: INR 43,000 pm + HRA (years 1-2)
SRF: INR 50,000 pm + HRA (years 3-5)
Contingency: INR 1,00,000 per annum

This information will be updated in due course.

Please report your issue by email to “i3cadmissions@rcb.res.in” with the details of your application and contact email. The admin team will get back to you, explaining the details.

The application may be incomplete because fellowship details may not have been provided, or some other detail is missing. Please email us at “i3cadmissions@rcb.res.in”, explaining the problem faced. We will look into it and get back to you.

Interviews are likely to be similar to those of any other regular PhD program.

To be eligible for the i3c-BRIC-RCB PhD program, you need to apply to this program separately.

The labs are assigned immediately after the interviews, based on student preference for the institute following interactions with the iBRICs, availability of positions in the faculty labs and student merit in the interview. Details regarding the faculty and research projects will be announced in due course. The first semester involves mandatory coursework at RCB. After this, all candidates will go for a 3 month immersion program. Then, they will report to their allotted PI in the selected BRIC+ institute.

The selected candidates will join multi-institution, mission-mode projects broadly falling under the following thematic research areas:
1. Health Innovations for Rog-Mukt Bharat 2. Sustainable biomanufacturing and biofuel production 3. AI-driven innovations and computational data science 4. Biotechnology for Jaiv-Shakti Nirman (animal, plant, bioresource)

This will be updated after the second round of interviews, where the iBRIC+ representatives will be available at RCB for interactions.

Regional Centre for Biotechnology will provide the final PhD degree certificate. Regional Centre for Biotechnology (RCB) is an academic institution established by the Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India with regional and global partnerships synergizing with the programmes of UNESCO as a Category II Centre. The primary focus of RCB is to provide world class education, training and conduct innovative research at the interface of multiple disciplines to create high quality human resource in disciplinary and interdisciplinary areas of biotechnology in a globally competitive research milieu. In 2016, RCB was recognised as an Institution of National Importance by the Parliament of India.

No, we are an equal opportunity employer, and gender and marital status are not criteria for selection.

Yes, candidates can reapply for Track 1 with a BET score even if they have previously applied through Track 2.

Yes, the i3c BRIC-RCB PhD programme has an annual admission cycle. Check the official website (https://rcb.res.in/i3c/) for specific dates and deadlines.

Selected students will be housed at RCB-administered accommodation for the first semester, during which all campus facilities will be available.

The interviews will be conducted in 2 rounds. The first round is online and the second round is in person for the shortlisted candidates. Kindly visit the https://rcb.res.in/i3c/eligibility- selection.php page for more details.

The fee structure will be communicated in due course.

In the Statement of Purpose (SOP) section of your application, you should aim to address your motivation for pursuing a PhD and provide a brief outline of your research interests.

Each selected candidate will join, register with and activate their fellowship with the BRIC+ institution they are allotted. The PI will be from this institution. However, the project they work on could be a network or collaborative one spanning multiple BRIC+ institutions.

Yes, the institute-specific PhD calls are independent from the i3c BRIC-RCB PhD programme. A candidate needs to apply separately to each call.

Please send your application number and details in an email to “i3cadmissions@rcb.res.in”. Please also attach a screenshot of the issue. We will resolve the issue and get back to you.