1. Candidates with a Post-graduate degree with a minimum of 60 % marks and 4-year Bachelor's degree having a minimum of 75% marks in Life/ Agricultural/ Environmental/ Veterinary/ Pharmaceutical/ Medical Sciences or allied subjects Biochemistry/Biotechnology/ Bioinformatics/ Biophysics/ Chemistry/ Microbiology) marks in aggregate or equivalent grade in the UGC 10 point scale (or an equivalent grade in a point scale wherever grade system is followed) or an equivalent 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 which assess, accredit or assure quality and standard of the educational institutions are eligible to apply.
2. A relaxation of 5% of marks or an equivalent relaxation of grade point may be allowed for those candidates belonging to the SC, ST and differently abled candidates.
3. The candidate should have a valid JRF (UGC/ CSIR/ ICMR/ DBT or any other nationally competitive fellowship) for 5 years offered by the Government of India.
4. The candidate should be below 28 years of age as of the last date of the application submission. However, the upper age limit may be relaxed up to 5 years in the case of SC/ST/Persons with Disability (PwD)/female applicants and 03 years in the case of OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) applicants. Reservation criteria will be applied as per GOI rules and regulations.
5. Candidates awaiting final results of their post-graduate degree or 4-year Bachelor's degree, and holding a valid JRF (UGC/ CSIR/ ICMR/ DBT or any other nationally competitive fellowship) for 5 years offered by the Government of India are eligible to apply. If selected, such candidates must produce their provisional / original certificates with eligible grades at the time of admission or as soon as it is issued.
6. If the original certificate of National fellowship is unavailable, the candidate can submit a photocopy of the admit card and the particular result page highlighting their roll number, along with the application. Candidates with score sheets can also apply; however, they must submit their certificates at the time of the interview if shortlisted.

The interviews will be held offline at the BRIC-RGCB Main Campus, Poojappura. There will be three levels of selection procedures.

Level -1: Preliminary Assessment:

Candidates will be assessed on their research aptitude, intentions, and general demeanour. Those qualifying this level will proceed to the second level of assessment.

Level-2: Subject Knowledge and Academic Evaluation

In this level candidates will be evaluated on their subject knowledge and academic preparedness, based on their preferred research areas. Faculty members from relevant domains may also participate in this evaluation.

Level-3: Laboratory Rotation

The shortlisted candidates (staying outside Thiruvananthapuram) from the 2^nd level of the interview will be provided with complimentary accommodation (twin-sharing basis) in the institute hostel to spend time in RGCB laboratories, interact with the PIs of the laboratory of their interest followed by the final selection.

1. Only online applications will be accepted.
2. Application Fee ₹ 500 (non-refundable) must be paid online using 'SB Collect' of State Bank of India through the URL given in the Payment Stage. SC/ ST/ EWS/ differently abled candidates are exempted from paying the processing fees subject to the submission of a valid certificate.
3. The last date for receiving completed applications is 5:00 PM, May 10, 2026
4. Applications that are incomplete, contain false or incorrect information, or do not meet the required qualifications at any stage will be rejected. The decision of the competent authority at BRIC-RGCB will be final. If a candidate is found not meeting these requirements at the time of the interview or later, they will not be selected, and if already selected, their admission will be cancelled.

Students admitted to PhD program will be required to pay an administrative fee of ₹ 5,000 per semester for the first ten semesters, and ₹ 10,000 for subsequent semesters. In addition to the RGCB fee, students must pay an administration fee of ₹ 5,000 per semester to the RCB until the completion of the thesis defence.

The fellowship and other emoluments will be as per the guidelines of the respective funding agencies: UGC/ CSIR/ ICMR/ DBT and revised from time to time for fellowship holders.

The list of candidates finally selected for admission to the Ph.D. programme shall be published on the Institute's website.

1. All communications with candidates will be by email only.
2. You are requested to check the RGCB website for periodic updates.
3. In case of any application-related queries, contact: phd.admn@rgcb.res.in
4. The Interview will be conducted strictly in offline mode.